2.1
Quality3.9
Difficulty24%
Would Retake145
Reviews24%
Would Retake
145
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
28
4
7
3
6
2
19
1
85
What Students Say
“Basically, her exams are too hard for her terrible level of teaching”
BIO225 - 1.0 rating“I never went because she's so difficult to follow”
BIO225 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
63%
Textbook Required
20%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.24 avg changeRatings by Course
MCDB424
5.0
(5)MCDB422
4.3
(6)BIO305
3.9
(17)BIOLOGY225
2.0
(9)BIO225
1.6
(108)Difficulty by Course
BIO225
4.2
BIOLOGY225
4.1
BIO305
2.9
MCDB422
2.8
MCDB424
2.4
Reviews (145)
Often unprepared. Sometimes was wrong.
Really helpful in office hours
Definitely a class you want to buy the book and religiously read. I think Dr. Haenfler knows the material, but she has a difficult time conveying the information clearly to the students. She often stumbled over words or have to take a moment to regroup because she became lost in her own lecture. She was a mediocre professor.
You can tell she really cares about teaching. She was a good lecturer.
Enjoyed the class. Really liked that Dr. Haenfler wrote on her slides. It made it easy to keep up with.
I can forgive her for not being comfortable with public speaking. But I can't forgive her for just being so, so terrible at explaining the concepts clearly. She seemed to get confused about what she herself was trying to say and then try to rush through that part, resulting in whole sections of notes that are contradictory and useless.
Honestly, the most frustrating lecture to listen to. It just isn't fair to the students. Lectures should be clear and useful so if you can't teach, you shouldn't. She's a very nice woman, but the worst lecturer I've had. Everything is made to be unnecessarily confusing just because she can't explain things clearly.
Dr. Haenfler was a good prof overall. Sometimes she did get lost in her explanations, but she would always re-explain everything before moving on, so it wasn't really a problem. I liked that she wrote on her slides too. She is really helpful in office hours and really cares about her students. Difficult class but good prof.
I liked her lecture style. She gives you her annotated slides and records her lectures. The exams are difficult, but fair.
The exams are really difficult, but it helps to do the practice problems. Office hours are a must!
Haenfler is dedicated to teaching and goes above and beyond to respond to e-mails and meet with students outside of class. Genetics is hard regardless of who teaches it. Some concepts don't make sense at first, but if you keep exposing yourself to the material and go to her office hours (I've never had more helpful office hours) you'll be fine.
This class was more than challenging. However, all the resources and time Jill put into the class really helped and I am so thankful for that! Her explanations, especially during office hours, were very helpful every step of the way!
She was confusing sometimes and at times contradicted herself but if you asked her a question to clarify she did a good job of slowing down and explaining something correctly. Exam 3 was a breeze but exam 4 was a little tougher, though she added an extra credit question. The class is mostly memorization so as long as you can do that you'll be fine.
It's clear that she isn't a very seasoned teacher. In lecture, she often pauses and is very confused herself. I guess I forgive her because it's her first time teaching 225. However, even in tests, she'll use the easiest questions from practice exams and then throw in things she's never said before. Needs to improve test-writing and speaking skills
Basically, her exams are too hard for her terrible level of teaching. Often doesnt know what shes saying, corrects her self a lot, feels very lost, says does that make sense every other word, and her exams are not a fair representation of her lectures. Her powerpoints are also just images plastered on a slide without any text.
She is very passionate and kind, but her lectures are painful. I never went because she's so difficult to follow. I'd go home and watch the lecture (50 mins) and it would usually take me about 2 hours because I'd have to pause and google most things. I've taken physiology before and got a B, but I was lost in this class.
Haenfler is new to teaching this class, which causes her to misspeak in lecture. The pace of her lectures becomes the students' burdens when she realizes she needs to pack everything into the last two lectures for an exam. We were able to see a lecture recording from last year, though, and she has definitely improved in the clarity of her speech.
While Dr. Haenfler seems like a very kind person, she is, quite simply, a very bad professor. She often gets lost during her own lectures, and stops speaking in full sentences when she gets confused. Despite this, she will still ask very difficult exam questions over material she clearly does not understand herself. Would not recommend.
Jill is a very kind professor. MCDB 424 is a great lab course where you learn a variety of lab techniques; Jill is helpful in ensuring that everyone is learning and excelling in the course. She also gets to know her students well.
She cares a lot about her class. Poorly prepared for lecture though and writes exams horribly. She makes last minute corrections on the exam with a lot of typos
Jill may not be the best lecturer in the world but she is really sweet. To do well in this class, you NEED to go to office hours because she explains things a lot better. Also, she's good at clarifying things. All you have to do is ASK. Her exams are a lot more straightforward than Pavgi's. Haenfler is not that bad! Also, show up to class to get EC
Really good prof who really teaches to the exam. Very easy class once u figure out how to memorize things quickly exams are 95% from lecture and 5% from the textbook so use lecture recordings
Professor Haenfler cares a lot about her students and their futures. She helps ensure that students learn what they need to know for professional tests later in life like the MCAT. I really appreciate the time she took in office hours to address outstanding questions after lecture. All in all, not to bad if I do say so myself.
Lectures are composed of 95% pictures and 5% text. Her lecture recordings are very choppy, as she frequently misspeaks and has to cut out things later in the recording. Her lectures are not fluent at all. This is by far the worst biology class I have taken. If it weren't for the textbook, I would not understand her lectures at all.
I didn't enjoy the first half of the semester with Dr. Haenfler. Her lectures were not good at all - she regularly mixed things up. Note-taking was difficult because her ppts only consisted of pictures, no words. Her exams were very difficult, even if you had a good understanding of the material. Would avoid taking the class with her, if possible.
Professor Haenfler knows the subject well but doesn't always give clear explanations. The exams test a lot of specific facts that were only briefly mentioned in lecture. Also, the lack of practice opportunities before the exam was difficult. Definitely have to work for an A in this class (like memorize every ppt slide), but it's do-able
Lecture slides are awful and disorganized. It's too bad because a lot of the material in this class is quite interesting. Exams were difficult with exam averages falling far below the historical averages with zero curve. I would avoid taking this class if she is one of the professors. Stick to Dr. Casey if you want a good professor.
Why would someone pace the classes so badly that there will be lecture on new content right before the exam? Also the least thing a professor could do is to make sure that the slides are updated on canvas but she has failed to do so because many slides are missing and I dont even know how to take notes on it with all the graphs and figures.
Doesn't ever vary time onto more difficult subjects, but just has equal shallow explanations of every topic and always feels like she is in a rush to complete material rather than explain . Seems very knowledgeable but can't expend it onto others properly . Would recommend Dr Casey for a better professor and better chance at understanding.
Office Hours are a MUST! There is so much to cover in this class that lectures are packed with details, but Dr. Haenfler is great at answering questions and breaking it all down during office hours. Grades are based on exams that are difficult, but if you go to office hours it's doable.
Dr. Haenfler explains things pretty well and her slides are organized, except that sometimes she doesn't update them on Canvas, which is annoying. Her office hours are super helpful and I recommend going to those if you want to get a good grade. Her pacing is not good that she had to rush through some material on the last lecture before exams.
Dr. Haenfler is an amazing professor. She has to cover a lot of material just because that is the set curriculum for this class, and she did an exceptional job. I gained a lot of knowledge in the topics we were taught with her. Definitely recommend going to office hours if you are able to. She answers many questions and clears up confusions!
MCDB424 was my favorite class and it was a great way to finish my time at U of M! Dr. H gives students a good amount of autonomy for completing the labs, but was almost always in the classroom with the GSI to help answer questions and make things go smoothly. Highly recommend!!!
I was dreading this class, but Dr. Haenfler was good at explaining the topics. Her exams are based on her lectures. Office hours were really helpful.
Loved the lab that she teaches!
Dr. H was not the best in my opinion. There's too much material in this class to be covered in a short amount of time, so she tends not to give in-depth explanations that are necessary for exams. It didn't really appear that she cared much for the concerns of her students. The style of the class doesn't fit well with her as a professor.
Seems like an okay person, some accommodation. Bright. But she's a bit loopy, doesn't communicate well. Makes mistakes frequently. All the students struggle to follow, then she seems to think it's that they just don't pay attention. Don't take an accelerated course with her, maybe a longer one. The class is already a lot to cover normally.
Dr. Haenfler was great! She is very well spoken and knows her stuff. Office hours were very organized and helped me learn the material really well. After I started going to office hours, my grade went from an 88 on the first test to a 100 on the second one. She is super accessible and willing to help, and the material is very interesting!
Dr. H is a great lecturer. I had her for Bio 225 and enjoyed the course, so I decided to take her lab class as well. It has been a really great class, though the GSI is our main point of contact for the course. One annoying thing is that she absolutely does not keep up with grading. It's the end of the semester and almost no grades have been input.
nice professor but makes little mistakes frequently. I watched the recorded lectures and I understood her fine because I could pause and work out problems before her. unfortunately, those that attended in person seemed to get questions wrong on iclicker because she misspoke, omits information, or generally makes an error
Loved this lab and how much she was in the classroom with the GSI. Slow grading though.
I really learned how to read papers in this class. Dr Haenfler and Clowney were a good combo. They both would answer a lot of questions during lecture. Grading was fair.
It makes me sad that this class is some people's first introduction to anatomy and physiology. She often says the wrong thing and does iClicker questions mandatory attendance. However, since the signal is terrible they often don't go through. She taught action potentials in the weirdest way I've ever seen. Thank god for prior knowledge.
Dr. Haenfler was a good professor overall. Exams were not easy but reflected the lectures, and while lectures moved fast, the pacing was flexible based on where the class's understanding was. She also had a lot of office hours and opportunities to ask questions. The grading scale is quite unforgiving though, and there isn't much room for error.
The first exam was brutal, but I started going to office hours and I'm really glad I did. They were super helpful!
I loved 422; it was one of my favorite bio classes. I got so much better at reading papers during this class. And it was really interesting material!
The pace of the class was so slow, and the materials were not covered in depth. Materials were not prepared on time. She made mistakes in class frequently, including the office hours. The practice exam didn't reflect the final exam. However, she is a nice person, but she could not care that much about the class.
Avoid her if you can. Her exams were much harder than
She is very nice, just listen and you will be fine
Reads off the slides and is confusing. Does not know how to answer students' questions, made me fall asleep. Worst professor ever.
Avoid this professor if possible. Reads off lecture slides but somehow is still confusing. Very unclear, sets no expectations about what needs to be learned. Condescending in class, makes fun of students for getting questions wrong when in reality, she forgets to teach us the material. Overall, just very unclear and awful teacher.
Wow. You don't know what a bad professor is until you have her. I don't even think she knows what she's talking about. She just reads whats on the slides...then contradicts herself somehow. She doesn't know how to answer anyone's questions. Also rude to students. Avoid at all costs. The material isn't that hard but she somehow makes it impossible.
Has one of the most annoying voices, and is literally screaming during the whole lecture. She explains everything 10 times more confusing than it has to be. Her "study guides" are essentially useless, no practice questions/exams, and the only way to check exams are by going to office hours. If you can take it with anyone else, do it.
She genuinely has no clue what she is talking about. She has the most awful voice I have ever listened to, and i'm like 99% sure she doesn't write her own slides because her lecturing makes it seem like this is her first time seeing the information! She either makes absolutely 0 sense or is so incorrect so be prepared to teach yourself everything!
Confusing, unclear lecturer. Disrespectful and rude to students. Provides little materials. Often has to go back and correct herself because she mispeaks, forgets to teach a concept, or simply conveys incorrect information. Seems like she had positive ratings in the past, so I'm not sure what happened to her.
Professor Haenfler is very knowledgeable and passionate about what she is teaching. Her office hours are wonderful and if you put the work in to memorize terms and pathways, this class is very doable. However, she tends to read off of the slides and sometimes contradicts herself, but quickly makes corrections.
One of the worst professors I've had. I think she's knowledgeable but has absolutely no clue how to teach. She comes to class unprepared and just reads off the slides. It seems like she's seeing the slides for the first time and conveys the info in a way that makes no sense to anyone. Be prepared to teach yourself everything.
Added 15 extra questions to the exam without telling students! In addition to making it difficult after barely teaching the content! Thanks!
Reads off the slides, had the exam have 15 extra questions that we were not aware about. Makes the material harder than it needs to be, asks more stuff on the exam that we did not go over or she barley made any comments about.
She doesn't make teaching a priority. She gave us a practice exam that she found like 5 errors in during class the morning of the exam. I don't think she makes her own slides. She can't answer anyone's questions. Makes simple concepts 10x more confusing. I had to teach myself everything, and even then, her exam had ambiguous questions/answers.
What an AWFUL professor. Quite literally one of the worst professors I have ever dealt with in my Umich career. The woman simply does not know what she is talking about! She constantly makes mistakes during lectures; her practice exam questions were half wrong, and she cannot answer any outside questions other than "Here is the slide." Do not take.
She's awful. Not only is she unclear with her slides, she asked us to get the textbook (which is expensive) and then told is, "actually do not use it it is outdated." Waste of money. She reads off the slides and gets everything wrong. Her tests are unclear and practice exams have wrong questions written on them. Knowledgable but should not teach.
I never really dislike my professor's, but I can confidently say that she is the worst professor I have ever had. The material in this class is understandable, but her exams are extremely difficult and include questions regarding topics that we either barely talked about or didn't talk about at all.
Terrible professor. Her voice is awful, she screams into the mic. We were told the exam would be 50 MCQ but she threw in 15 extra questions (total 65). And didn't adjust the time. The exams are long, wordy, and confusing. She covered too much material and explained poorly. The worst professor! Iclicker is for accuracy, and complicated. DON'T TAKE!!
Don't take this class with her! She is the worst, and if you do take it with her, be prepared to spend all your time on it.
Truly awful professor. Does not have any idea what she is talking about and is incredibly unclear during lectures. I don't think she knows the content any more than her students seeing it for the first time. because of this, the class is harder than it needs to be. Also doesn't take any suggestions from previous classes or try to improve teaching
I've heard many things abt her. Personally, I did fine with the exam she gave. Study all the details thoroughly, everything on the slides, and you'll have no problem. She gives hard exams, and you have to use critical thinking and a mix of memorization. She does make mistakes, but she clearly knows the content well. I love how passionate she is.
Honestly, the worst professor I've ever had. You could spend weeks studying the material and still be blindsided on the exams, because she asks questions on things you never went over. Or things you won't even go over until AFTER the exam. Be prepared to teach yourself. Take this class with a professor who knows what they're doing.
She doesn't know anything and has 0 clue of how to teach a class. Constantly just reads off slides, does not take class feedback and screams into the mic. No repose or help what so ever on piazza, not that TAs do anything either. Do not take this class or lab with her. Trust me, it will be a waste of your time.
Truly the worst professor I have ever had. Her lectures are useless when she only reads off the slides. Her exams have questions that were never discussed. There are no easy points in this class. She's the worst professor with the hardest exams. Do not take her and spare your time, energy, money, and GPA.
bruh take it with anyone else
Haenfler made Bio 225 the WORST class I've ever taken. She stumbles over explanations of key content in class and often pauses to stare at the board to remember what she's teaching. You can spend sm time studying for her exams just to find out you bombed. I really wish I didn't take this class with her so please don't make the same mistake as me.
Slides very minimal information, rarely adds additional indepth info during lecture. Reads off the slides like it's her first time seeing them. Doesn't have a professor level of understanding of the material. A lot of times during OH and lecture, someone would ask a question and she wont know the answer. Teach other class, do not take!
Professor Haenfler is very nice one-on-one so I hate giving her this review but this class has just been so unnecessarily hard. Concepts that should be simple/review are explained in super convoluted ways, and the exams will blindside you no matter how much you study for them.
She was awful. Genuinely take this class with any other professor. Lectures make easy content extremely confusing for absolutely no reason.
feels like i'm having a stroke when i listen to her lecturing
Wanna have a hard class with a professor that is clueless? Then this is the class for you!
Dr. H is not a good professor. She reads off the slides and does not know what she is saying half the time. In her office hours, she cannot answer question and it was really frustrating to waste an hour of my time with her knowing nothing. Also, she sees students using phones for exams and doesn't do anything. How is that fair? Do not take.
Really poor time management. She didn't finish all the material for Exam 3, then chose to add the unfinished topics to Exam 4. Exams are super detailed, but she barely prepares you for them since she doesn't even know the info on her own slides. Might as well bring a pillow to class since you'll be put to sleep immediately
Run. Do not take
Her students spend as much time correcting her mistakes as she spends teaching. Mixes up the most basic terms, honestly don't know how or why she teaches in the first place because this is just ridiculous. A waste of tuition, time, money, energy, etc. She needs a new profession.
Awful awful awful. Shes rude and yells at us in class for trying to figure out what she's teaching when she herself is clueless. Not apprachable. Exams are not fairly written. Do not take with her, take 201 instead trust me I did both now. Iv'e even linked this rate my professer in her evaluation for her to get a sense of what others are thinking.
If Dr. H was the one who taught all my major requirement classes, I would switch majors. Thats how awful she is. She ruined my love for physiology and science. Makes errors all the time non-stop and proceedes to write the exam as if we were phD students. She is rude and not helpful for my learning. I hope the department changes her position.
Oh. My. God. Never have I ever had a worse professor in my life. Do not take any class with her, trust me, it is not worth damaging your ears hearing her screechy voice and confusion when she doesn't know what she is teaching.
Maybe the worst professor at this school. I rarely dislike a professor but she genuinely has no idea what's going on. It seems like she's seeing the slides for the first time in class. Reads directly off of them. Can't answer anyone's questions. Rude to students. Explains things in the most confusing way possible. Do not take any class with her.
she is the reason im getting the same grade in physiology as orgo :(
Not the best lecturer but she did try and make adjustments based on student responses from surveys throughout the semester. I do think she could improve on her knowledge of the material because she's nice and I could tell she wants to help us learn the content, but doesn't seem to have answers to a lot of questions that come up.
There are a lot of bad ratings here. Some are exaggerated, but there is truth to some. Prepare for the exams extensively. Review every slide thoroughly, and for concepts that she doesn't explain well... just learn it yourself online or with the textbook. She is not a great teacher but honestly, the exams are fine if you know the content.
Alright I am officailly fed up. This is our FINAL exam. our FOURTH one and the practice exam key has errors in it! It is so hard to learn this way! This is not the first time this semester and it is extremlu frustrating. Went on piazza and the professor and TAs do not answer anything. What are they getting paid for (both) is beyond me. Don't do it.
Not the greatest prof but class isn't that hard. Maybe take with another prof if possible but yeah she's not the best.
STAY AWAY! When people say a prof makes or breaks a class, this is what they're talking about. Above being incredibly disorganized, she is incredibly condescending and I genuinely don't believe that she respects her students. Multiple errors on exams. Constant contradicting herself in lecture. This shouldn't be a tough class but with her good luck.
Dr. Haenfler was a great professor. She always opens the floor to questions and explains things clearly. The content is interesting and she does a good job at explaining the papers we were assigned.
Terrible class, do not take in the current state. Literally the worst class I have taken at this university. The professor does not even know the content. Lecture heavy, and yet the practice exams don't even match the slides.
Genuinely frustrates me that a professor like this can be hired at Michigan. Affecting all of our educations. Has no clue what she's talking about. Can't answer anyone's questions. Errors all over her practice exams. Reads straight off the slides then contradicts herself. Rude to students. The worst class and professor I have had here BY FAR.
Guys it was an exam review today and the ANSWERS on the KEY were WRONG! And she didn't even know how to CORRECT THEM?? If you are not hearing us now, you never will. DO NOT TAKE WITH HER!
Genuinely frustrates me that a professor like this can be hired at Michigan.
Covers a HUGE amount of material with minimal explanation of any specific topic. Just quickly reads what's on the slides then moves on. Our next exam has over 200 slides, each packed with information that she didn't explain. I could stand up there and read off the slides too! Maybe I should be a professor.
Can't answer anyone's questions. Errors all over her practice exams. Reads straight off the slides then contradicts herself
Literally the worst professor. She doesn't understand the content she's teaching, contradicts herself constantly, and is rude when you ask her to clarify questions. Day of the final exam changes answers on the practice exam and didn't know how to answer questions about content. Disappointed how a teacher like her could teach at this university.
Dr. Haenfler's teaching style was extremely scattered and disorganized. She constantly contradicts herself during lecture and appears as if she is seeing the slides for the first time as she's presenting the information. The practice exams are riddled with mistakes and the tests usually cover 200+ slides. Very poorly taught course.
BEWARE -- you will receive a better comprehension reading the textbook than you ever would in Dr. Haenfler's lectures. She reads straight from her slides and says multiple incorrect statements about the material as she speaks. She took a very straightforward curriculum and turned it into a more stress-inducing course than organic chemistry.
This was by far the worst professor I have ever had at Michigan. She would only read off the slides and somehow manage to contradict herself while doing so. She was never prepared for lecture and didn't take the ten minutes to proofread the practice exams and keys for errors. I had higher expectations, Michigan really dropped the ball on this one.
While she's a lovely person, she doesn't know how to teach well. She would contradict herself multiple times during lecture and did not explain the material clearly. Her exams were mainly based on things she barely touched on making it nearly impossible to be properly prepared for the actual exam.
The exams aren't that bad IF you memorize every single detail on the 200+ slides for each exam (that weren't actually taught to us). If you take 225 with her, prepare to teach yourself the whole course and expect to waste an hour of your time at 9 am three days a week to end up spending HOURS trying to make sense of incomprehensible slides.
This woman is the worst educator I have ever encountered. She does not know the material. On the morning of the exam, we spent class going over the practice exams that she provided for us to study with. She had no idea what the correct answers were or why they were correct. The exams include terms and concepts we've never even touched in lecture.
Dr. Haenfler's lack of organization and accountability made this class an extremely stressful experience. She reads directly from her slides, gives surface-level explanations, is unable to provide clarification when asked, then acts irritated and condescending when students can't answer iclicker questions. Genuinely the worst class I've taken here.
I don't believe that there was ever a time that she came to class prepared. She would often look to US for answers to our questions about HER class because she didn't know how to answer them. Would also laugh off her constant mistakes as if its funny she's wasting our time, money and GPAs.
Avoid this woman at all costs if you can. Haenfler was unprepared almost every lecture and just read off slides she didn't even make. Exams were confusing, practice materials were minimal, and study guides didn't match what we were tested on. No way to ask questions during Zoom. I basically had to teach myself. Love biology, hated this class.
Yes, she is unprepared, unaware of the topics she is teaching, clearly puts questions on the exam that were not covered for more than a minute in class on purpose, and puts incorrect answers on the study guide. Her worst trait though is how condescending she is in the classroom. She is so rude when clarification is needed from her subpar teaching.
very unhappy with her performence. she was so disorganized the students knew more about the slides that she read off of than she did.
Worst professor i have ever had in my life
Worst professor I have ever had. Take this class with literally ANYONE else. She has no clue what is going on.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH HER. Has questions on the practice exam that she herself cannot answer, and then makes tests with questions about topics that were covered for 1 minute. Rushes through slides, reads off of them. Horrible. Made an easy class so stressful and difficult, always had no idea what to expect.
This professor is the worst professor I have EVER had at Michigan!!! DO NOT TAKE THE COURSE WITH HER
It is an absolute embarrassment that she is a professor at Umich.
You could memorize every slide in her unbearable lectures and still wouldn't know what's going on. Her answer key to practice exams will directly contradict info on slides. She says she's willing to give back points if you point it out but 1) not my job and 2) that would require you go to office hours to VIEW the exam. Also, headphone warning.
Would not suggest taking bio 225 with her. I don't know anyone who's confident they're doing well in the class, each exam had 200+ slides worth of content to memorize, and the exams added up make up over 80% of your grade. When the practice exams include wrong answers, you're bound to not do well on the them.
I've never had a worse professor in my life, and that includes high school. Shes just clueless. There is no other word to describe her. She can't answer questions, her practice exams have wrong answers, no reponse on piazza, nothing. I wish I would go back and un-register from this class. Do not waste your time and effort with her. Take 201 instead
Absolutely horrible professor. So much material to memorize for this class and I had to do it entirely on my own. I think I learned less by actually attending lecture.
Does not provide much study material. Makes mistakes frequently. Exam structure is confusing, has matching questions that make little to no sense. In Zoom format, does not check chat for questions. Does not know how to work iClicker half the time, but that's how they mark attendance (AND it's graded for accuracy). Returns grades late. Unresponsive.
i should not have to pay thousands of dollars for a professor to read of the slide for me. Like I can do that myself thank you. Stay away from her.
It baffles me how a professor can have a PhD can still be so clueless about their own subject. Worst class I've taken at U-M completely due to her awful teaching style and exams. Do not take
I did well in the class in spite of this professor, not because.
Please avoid this professor at all costs. She is always correcting herself during lecture, which makes material much harder to learn. Her teaching had a major impact on my grade no matter how hard I studied. Be prepared to memorize a bunch of slides and don't skip on the details because she WILL ask that on the exams. Every review here is accurate
Consistently got questions wrong on practice exams, exams 1-3, and iClicker. Had to be corrected by students. For the final exam, posted exam grades & final grades within a span of 5 minutes. Said "Given that I have already taken everything into consideration, these grades are regarded as final. Regrades won't be necessary." Can't even view exams!!
terrible...
I also had her for BIOLOGY 225 a couple years ago, and I ended up having to drop that course due to the disconnect between lecture content and exams. Regardless, MCDB 422 was a much better experience, but be sure you go to her office hours to have content explained clearly, since she didn't answer piazza as consistently as Dr. Du.
Seriously horrible. It seemed like she had no idea what she was talking about. Very unconfident in her teaching and often used the "my brain isn't working right now" excuse. Very little practice for exams. Very poor organization. She would often ramble for ten minutes on one slide then declare it wouldn't be on the exam. She also got behind often.
I did well in this class only because I spent hours memorizing the slides… never have I been more baffled looking around during lecture at my friends because of how unprepared she would be or how much she con
i did well because i memorized every single word on each slide. she does not know how to teach. do not take this with her.
It seemed like she had to be dragged to class every day. She looked at the lecture slides for the first time with us, and her questions on her exams got pulled out of Narnia. There's little room for improvement on the exams in this class because they are truly just tough questions. She was also CONSTANTLY lecturing incorrect information, beware.
She was nice, but her lectures were sometimes very random.
I loved taking MCDB 422 with Dr. Haenfler. To be honest, I think some of these reviews are unfair. She genuinely cares and wants to see her students succeed, which is more than can be said for a lot of college professors. I highly suggest going to her office hours, whether or not you are struggling, if you are seeking more clarity.
Dr. Haenfler was a great teacher! I took her BIO 225 class in the spring semester, which means everything is even more accelerated, and she was an awesome professor. I liked the way she explained things and she was pretty prepared for questions and lecturing. I believe people are too hard on her because I understood everything and did well on tests
Dr. Haenfler is a poor professor in so many categories. She is disorganized during lecture, rude to students who have questions, and often doesn't know what she's talking about. The pre-exam review sessions are a laughing stock and had students leaving mid-lecture. Do not do the practice quizzes- they are often answered wrong.
She is great. These reviews are unfair to her teaching. Must be people who struggle to understand the concepts rather than the professor.
bad for mental health
She tries hard, but she often confuses herself with technology, HER slides, & basic bio concepts. She encourages us to be proud of low exam averages, though the exams don't reflect her teaching. If she tests complex material, she needs to be more confident teaching it, which hasn't been my or my peers' experience. She's kind, but lacks clarity.
She teaches in a way that supports low class averages, much like her rating on rate my professor. She creates exam questions that are not inherently difficult, but difficult because they require discerning true information from what is taught in lecture (ie. the difference between increase vs. decrease can be very challenging for this professor).
Teaches with Casey, and when comparing the 2 she is not the better lecturer. Grades you on iclicker rather than it just being points for completion. her lectures are not horrible however, they did feel a little disorganized sometimes or there was wrong information on them that she had to clarify. Tests have way too many choose all that apply.
One of the worst professors I have ever had DO NOT TAKE She never understood what she was teaching and would make very obvious mistakes on practice exams and lectures and wouldn't tell us until night before the exam, then have the AUDACITY to put those questions on the exam baffled they allow such a professor to teach an already difficult class
Dr. Haenfler taught 225 with Dr. Casey, and Haenfler was clearly the inferior lecturer. She frequently seemed confused and made errors on quizzes and practice exams, and her exams were poorly written and not representative of the material. She was friendly and accessible, but not my favorite professor. I would not take another class with her.
Often unprepared and taught the wrong material during class. The slides were incorrect at times and practice exams had incorrect answers which made studying very difficult.
As someone who got an A+ in this class, you literally had to memorize the textbook. She does not know how to teach at all. She reads off slides and a lot of times corrects herself and asks the class to goggle her lecture material. Don't take with her.
These reviews are so unfair. Dr. Haenfler was great at explaining concepts, especially during office hours. She did make a few mistakes in lectures, but there were no mistakes on the practice problems. Her exams were a little difficult, but the questions were at least straightforward and fair. If you know your stuff, you will do well on her exams.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
63%
Textbook Required
20%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.24 avg changeRatings by Course
MCDB424
5.0
(5)MCDB422
4.3
(6)BIO305
3.9
(17)BIOLOGY225
2.0
(9)BIO225
1.6
(108)Difficulty by Course
BIO225
4.2
BIOLOGY225
4.1
BIO305
2.9
MCDB422
2.8
MCDB424
2.4