I would not recommend taking this teacher. He is not fair at all. He will fail you if you don't post the assignments early. I took an online class so that my schedule was more flexible. I took this class for my Major (Communications!)and less than a month from the semester ending, he dropped me from the class and I had a B!

although i took an intro to communication, we had to do long speeches. i had As on all test and assignments but i still only received a B in his class. He is unfair on grading and will take any opportunity to belittle or put you on the spot.

Only reason I didnt drop this class is because it fit with my schedule. Very rude and unapproachable. Seems to get a rise out of humiliating students in front of the whole class. Expect to spend hours on speeches and speech outlines just for them to be torn to pieces by him. There are so many other great communication professors to take instead.

This professor was pretty cool at first. Some weeks into the semester you see his true colors. He tends to belittle students when asking questions about the material, making one feel stupid. He, overall, isn't a very respectable teacher. Would definitely not recommend him.

The review below mine is pretty much what I wanted to say. I don't think he adequately prepared us for the speeches. Definitely a hard class, but if you do all the assignments to his standard it's not horribly difficult to get a B. Ive taken anatomy and statistics, but I think this class has caused me more stress than those classes combined.

The absolute worst professor I have encountered at Ventura College. Maritato has no respect for anybody but himself. He takes every opportunity to make his students feel stupid for asking any possible question. Learned more from reading the textbook than from his lectures or his feedback. Would recommend taking argue and debate and MP or OX college

Maritato has very high standards as he was a professor at USC. He's a very tough grader. He'll find something bad to say, or a bad grade to give for any of your work. Very tough grader, and barely gives credit for homework that is 100% done and turned in on time. DONT TAKE HIS CLASSES. IM WARNING YOU!!

Personality wise, he attempts to be the smartest in class and is willing to shut students up in the middle of a sentence which may come off as rude. As a teacher and how he grades, he assigns work at least once a week which requires you to read the textbook in depth.

He has handed out many assignments, we use flip grid weekly. He is a tough grader, and has a view of his way or no way. He is knowledgeable about his study and it shows, tries to be funny and isn't. If you don't need to take this class, don't.

Of my 8 years that I have been taking college courses, I can safely say that Jim is the most hostile professor that I have ever had. He will take every opportunity to berate students for anything he can, especially if you have the audacity to ask him to clarify something. He also regulatory wastes the class's time ranting about his personal life.

Jim likes to talk about himself. Took his class and found out the hard way that he is very nit-picky and not always pleasant to listen to. Gives decent feedback but could defiantly improve on his own communication skills.

i turned in every singke assignment on time to the critera he assigns. he gives bad grades to people based on something that he didn't explain or just gives you a bad grade with no reason why. emailed him for help on time and he argued with me like a small child. Totally disconnected from the class after that. i was almost scared to ask him for hel

Jim may be the single worst professor I have had. He gives you a clear set of criteria for speeches, you meet them, only for him to turn around and say you did something wrong that was never mentioned before. The "feedback" you receive is demining, he speaks to you as if you were a child. This was the most stressful course I have taken. stay away!

I went to ask for help during office hours and left feeling humiliated. You can tell he tries way too hard to be "quirky" and funny but just comes off as abrasive. He tries to show off how "smart" he is by being so above his students. Even if you try your hardest, he doesn't recognize that, he only grades on accuracy. Unforgiving and rude.

Honestly this is the first teacher at VC that has been very difficult to communicate with, he is very though and met with a lot of negative feedback. Instead of being a teacher and helping he always finds something negative or wrong to critique you in. Not an enjoyable course.

As mentioned with some of the other reviews, he loves to talk about himself. "I do all these wonderful things for you, the student". "Not because i want to, but because you need someone like me to stand up for you". Has no concerns with belittling students in class for questions, missed answers, or what he deems to be unworthy responses.

I really suggest you look for a better professor. He always gives us feedback very late and is disappointed when you don't meet his very high expectations. This is just a V01 class and doing the work felt like my life depended on it. Unless you want a professor who works you to the bone and still gives you a bad grade, then look for another one.

Literally worst class i've ever take. So rude. CANNOT stand this teacher.

Taking a V01 class and he does not have an efficient way of teaching it. He has very high expectations. Grades harshly. He will tell you all of the things you did wrong and take his time doing so, but will not offer any solutions to how you can improve. He is also not understanding at all! Keep that in mind. Look for another one I don't recommend.

Incredibly rude, made my girlfriend upset. Take anyone else.

He didn't give feedback in a timely manner at all. He relied mostly on the students peer reviews as guidelines for what to do. Assignments weren't worth as many points as they should have been with all the different lines he wanted the students to hit. Very hands off teaching style. The instructions were sometimes unclear or even contradictory.

Understandable that Professors must be little strict and provide constructive criticism towards their students. BUT this professor grades very harshly

Just don't.

Idk what's up with this professor but he's a big NO for taking this class whether it's online or not. def don't recommend.

Doesn't grade until weeks after but has a strict deadline set for students stating that if you miss the first assignment you lose credit on the next few that are linked to it. He leaves very long comments on your assignments stating what you did wrong but doesn't give you the chance to correct it. LOTS and I mean LOTS of peer reviews as well.

He is strict on due dates and when you don't turn something in, that makes you lose the opportunity to even turn in the next assignment after. Some of the instructions are not very precise or clear and made it very hard to even do the work. A lot of the work that you do for this class is grading other peoples work which wasn't beneficial at all.

Spare yourself and do not take intro comms with this dude. An intro class is not supposed to be as difficult and complicated as this professor makes it. You do not learn anything as one the main things you do is basically grade other people's work through peer evaluations. Can be rude w/ his feedback and lags with grading.

Bias in grading practices is evident, compounded by contradictory instructions. Upon raising concerns about uneven grading practices within the class, retaliation ensued, characterized by meticulous scrutiny and disproportionately harsh grading of all assignments.

Definitely the rudest teacher I've ever had. He gave me "feedback" on an outline that just consisted of him going on for PARAGRAPHS of everything I did wrong in the most snide manner possible. I understand teachers have to be tough with grading but there's a difference between tough and just downright disrespectful. Take literally anyone else.

Did not grade assignments until the last week of class. Very unclear instructions on all assignments.

I had this professor for the spring of 2025 and nothing about what is said has changed. I can see why more than half the class ended up dropping the class by the second and third assignments. He's is not understanding of any sort. I am failing this class, basically because he didn't like my assignment topics and didn't let me fix them, he failed me

I'm telling you right now, even if you need this class, do not take it, my class started with around 30 students, then dropped to 7 by the end. He's gives no extra credit, so if you fail, you fail hard. Please do not take his class! I have never had a professor like this!

An extremely tough grader that does not give the opportunity of re-takes or opportunities for extra credit. His idea of “feedback” is leaving you paragraphs telling you what you did wrong with no way of rectifying mistakes. If understand communications is important, but he really acts all high and mighty for what the class actually is. Avoid him.

Do not take this class. He has no respect for his students. 17 students have dropped and he claims they “wasted his time” He doesn't know the rules of what can be used in his own class, the class average is very low, and he WILL NOT give you the critical feedback he claims. I encourage any other teacher other than him.

I highly recommend avoiding Intro to Communication with Professor Jim Maritato. For an entry-level class, he makes the course unnecessarily difficult and confusing. By the second or third assignment, more than half the class had dropped, which speaks volumes about the learning environment.

Professor can have confusing feedback on assignments and shows no remorse over your grades. He grades tough. I feel that he is a good professor if you are ONLY a communications major. If you are any other major and you need to take a comms class please do not take him. Save yourself unless you are a COMMS major. Thanks! Listen to the reviews.