2.3
Quality4.3
Difficulty16%
Would Retake88
Reviews16%
Would Retake
88
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
9
4
13
3
12
2
21
1
33
What Students Say
“I have taken my fair share of online classes and this was by far the worst one”
WRD202 - 1.0 rating“Never found myself so frustrated with a professor no matter what you do you get a bad grade if the case is not laid out exactly how he thinks it should be”
WRD202 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
95%
Textbook Required
61%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.60 avg changeRatings by Course
REMEDIALENG
5.0
(1)ENGL270
5.0
(1)COS126
5.0
(1)WRD103
3.5
(2)ENG104
3.1
(11)Difficulty by Course
ENG103
5.0
ENGLISH202
5.0
ENGLISH104
5.0
REMEDIALENG
5.0
WRD204
5.0
Reviews (88)
No Comments
No Comments
Horrible! He is boring and teaches things that are irrelevant (i.e. Havard's plagiarism policy)....and if you take this guy you'd better bring an umbrella to class!
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He is not that bad!
No Comments
Working very hard in this class does not guarantee a good grade; 1 A out of 15 students in the class that I've taken. Unspeakably boring. Unclear what he wants on the assignments (and there will be many of them). Do yourself a favor...DO NOT TAKE HIM!
He is very poor at relaying directions and assignments to students. He pretentious and apathetic towards students and life in general. Do not take this man's class if you want to develop confidence in writing; all he will do is rip it down.
No Comments
one of the worst teachers i've ever had. SO BORING!!! material doesn't match what he expects out of a grade, memos are a joke, never even went over resumes!! STAY AWAY!!!
No Comments
you know how sometimes you think that maybe the ratings are wrong, and the professor can't be that bad....well, that is how i ended up in buckvold's class, and i sorely regretted it from day one. steer clear of this man at all costs. he really does suck
boring class & a tough grader...i wouldn't recommend him. Unlike other professor, I don't think he helped me become a better writer.
This guy may be boring at times, but he has a passion for what he does. He told me I shlould drop teh class 7 weeks into the course.I said that I wanted to catch up, he was very helpful and I ended up passing with a decent grade.
isn't an easy grader, and he isn't going to tell you something your High School teacher would've eaten up is good 'cause be honest, it sucks. He's a prof who actually understands how well kids who go to a school this exspensive should write.
This guy is flat out boring. Gives u intense work for a 5 week class. Alt of readings and is a very hard grader. The class requires alot of time and he expects a lot.
He's a good guy and really knows what he is talking about. Perhaps, all of you are dummies???
One of the worst teachers I have ever had!
This guys sucks! He wouldn't know good writing if it hit him in the face. He should be teaching at a grammar school and not DePaul. He hates English majors and will not give them an A, perhaps because he is jealous that they know more than him. He get a big F from me.
What a joke! He's so stupid! How the hell did he become an english teacher!?
HE is not a bad teacher at all. I dont know why people are so mad at him. As a commerce student, i think he did a good job teaching business writing.
He is the worst professor I have ever had at DePaul. I want my money back and will speak with the Dean of the English department about how bad this guy is. He's unclear about assignments or what he wants. I've taken my assignments to people with English degree's and they said my writing was adva.
No Comments
Really hard grader. Even your best work will not be good enough for him. I do feel like I learned how to write a good memo, even though I wish I would have gotten an A instead of a B. If your up for the challenge take him, but if you want an A avoid at all costs.
No Comments
he's a good teacher. shows a lot of video clips and things like that. he does foam at the mouth and when he talks to you he gets really close. but he is a good teacher. the only thing i don't like is that he is a really tough grader.
Must follow his style of writing in order to succeed. Frowns on individuality and creative thoughts. Has trouble 'reading between the lines'. Students must spell out what they want him to understand or else he will get confused and downgrade. Avoid at all costs.
He is extremely passionate about teaching. Interesting guy. Wears cool hats to keep you entertained. Seems to take a genuine interest in the student. Definitely talkative, but you gain a lot from the lectures. Always willing to supply you with additional information, goes above and beyond to fill you in. Awesome guy.
I have this theory that all english teachers are prejudice against commerce students.Why? Close to half a dozen Prof Business Writing course teachers and they all have bad ratings. This one is no exception. Expect to learn a little but come inches failing. Thank St. Vincent this course is only 2-credits as it deserves to be.
This class was alright. The professor is not bad at all; the secret is following his suggestions. If you wanna do things your own way you're not gonna do well. But what he teaches makes perfect sense, I actually learned a lot about business communications in this class. I would take him again.
He's a good teacher. Make sure you show up to class and follow every direction he says and then you'll be fine.
He's smart, well spoken, and even funny. He's also, sadly, very nitpicky; his grading is indeed ridiculous.
Do not take this professor. Worse professor I've had @ DePaul. Picky grader. You will never satisfy his standards. Class is boring. Do not take him during Election year.
Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. Do NOT take as a night class. I've never had problems taking night classes, but his is so boring I contemplate leaving every week. His standards are ridiculous; Even if you follow the strict guidelines, he will find something to complain about.
Absolutely terrible. You will have no idea what this man is asking for on his "papers". I literally revised a paper by adding bullets and changed my grade on it from a c+ to an a. I have no idea what this mans criteria is for grading but inconsistent is all i can say.
Awful, awful awful. He is not a very nice or approachable person and his grading is ridiulous. I have never gotten below a B on ANYTHING and I got a C+ on a paper I worked really hard on. No matter what you do you will never get a good grade especially if you don't agree with his own opinions. DO NOT take him!
Professor Buckvold restored my faith in DePaul University. His class was challenging but informative. He demands a standard that I think all University students should be able to meet. I saw that someone wrote that he was mean-that is bunk. Seriously, the only time I witnessed him brush anyone off is if they asked a ridiculously stupid question
He demands a lot out of you, but he is always available if you need help or if you just want to ask for help. Learned a lot and allows revision. Good teacher but difficult.
One word says it all. Pathetic. I have never met a professor who grades so unfairly. He is a slightly prejudice person. Overall, I think a small bar of soap is more knowledgeable than he is. Do not take him unless you want to get annoyed for 3 months.
if you want an A, just listen to what he wants on every assignment. Making your own ideas and assumptions will pretty much fail you. He is a rough teacher, but allows rewrites and gives alot of notes when editing, so just change it to what he wants and you got the A.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! Biggest ass at DePaul. Not only is his class pointless (drafting e-mails and office memos) he is an extremely difficult grader. Diction and a style of writing that would get you an A in any other Word class is at best a B in his. Do yourself a favor and take this class with a different professor. Boring, rude and a tool.
I would stay away from this class. He is a very hard grader. Everything is very dated the book hasn't been published in 10-15 years. When other classes are doing resumes and other relevant things we were doing memos that aren't used in offices anymore. He is not clear on what he wants and hasn't realized that the business world uses e-mail now!
Terrible teacher, bias and every way he teaches you to write is NEVER used in real life he thinks he knows how to write PERFECT and yet every example he showed in class is worse than any of his students writings
he really is not as bad as they make him out to be. he really loves what hes teaching and is really nice about helping with papers. his final is only 8 pages when a lot fo the other wrd 104 classes finals are 25 pages. his class is boring though and he goes over a lot of things many of us already know.
Teaches how to write a memo, style-tone, "design principles" bottom lining and other stuff that you should know already if you ever had any english class before. When I say he's a hard grader, I mean he tells you nothing about what he looks for when he grades, and he'll rag on you for not including the most insignificant details. Avoid if possible
One of the most biased graders I've ever had. Class materials were completely outdated and he never gave clear expectations of the hw. Just like a large majority of reviewers stated, avoid Buckvold.
Organized, uses same material from other business writing classes. Enthusiastic. Yes, he's picky but for good reason. Will learn something. He's not very helpful b/c he's paranoid that will give away the "solutions" to writing these cases. However, put in the effort & it'll pay off. Fair grader, expect him to be picky & a little unpredictable.
Not a very fun class at all, pretty boring. Not super hard to get an A, but very time consuming to.
Unreasnable grader. This class is a waste of time. And this opinion comes from a guy who writes tons of email and communications in the real corporate world. He punishes for creativity and personal touch. I dont know if there is a profesor at DePaul whom I hated so much. My GPA was 3.8 before taking this class. Past tense. Do urself a favor. Avoid.
This was the worst professor I ever had in my life. I graduated from DePaul in 2004 & I've been very successful in corporate america. He's one of those instructors that is disconnected with the real world. AVOID at all cost!
one of the worst professor and very unreasonable grader. gives you 3 cases to write- doesnt tell you what he wants. Asks for 1st memo draft and gives feedbacks- follow his feedback will earn u a C/D anyways. gives quizzes weekly- quizzes are easy but alot to read. DONT TAKE BUCKVOLD.. he wont mind giving his students Fs.
self centered, stalked me for four years, expects recipercation for grades, I had a breakdown, should be fired
He's very clear on what he wants in the memos. He gives you exactly what's going to be on the quizzes and tells you what to include in the cases and even how to format them. Do the drafts because they will help. Very easy class overall!
Hard grader. But he tells you what he expects in the online lectures. 4 cases, 1 case due every week, the longest one is 1.5 page. He let you do drafts and 1 rewrite for the first 2 cases. Watch the online lectures! They help your cases a lot. Weekly quizzes, the lowest score one is dropped. Do every thing he assigns before you start the quiz!
Absolute joke. Contradicts himself every step of the way. No matter how much time you devote to the lectures, text, and/or practice assignments you WILL recieve a poor grade on your cases. PERIOD. This guy takes pleasure in handing out unsatisfactory grades. It's like it gives him a sense of power over you. GPA KILLER. AVOID!!!!!!!
He is oak techer
DO NOT TAKE HIM
Such a terrible class. Stupid assignments all revolving around the music industry. Extremely tough grader and his online quizzes are ridiculous. It is like he wants you to fail. I'm an A student and this class irked me.
He is honestly not as bad as people make him seem.. These bad ratings scared me before the class started, but I didn't think it was bad. His assignments are so easy, the major assignment is the research paper which you work on for like half the quarter! There's only like 2 other small assignments, so if you're stuck with him its not bad!
Avoid at all cost. The entire quarter I received straight A's from him and then on the final paper I received a C- which made absolutely no sense. I really do believe he just does not like to hand out A's.
I rarely rate professors poorly because most of their teaching styles and expectations can be understood and adapted to...however....This professor makes this easy course needlessly confusing, avoids giving help (or does so with an attitude) and scatters necessary information around for students to play hide-and-seek in order to find. Stay away.
This class (and professor) are the biggest waste of time. This is a freshman level class that consumes more time than all of my intermediate Finance classes combined. Useless assignments and useless lectures. He is a very tough grader. This course should be removed from the university. The entire class time feels like pulling teeth.
This is my first time ever feeling the need to rate a professor. He does not know how to teach and really should not continue to. I have taken my fair share of online classes and this was by far the worst one. Nothing is clear, he does not give help, he's rude when you make a mistake. Do not take him. You will regret it.
Terrible teacher! Teaches you how to write professionally yet does not lead by example. His emails to the class are all written in the subject field... real professional. Super unfair grader. Never found myself so frustrated with a professor no matter what you do you get a bad grade if the case is not laid out exactly how he thinks it should be
I've never broken down over a class as much as I have in this one. He's so confusing and hard to understand even after you ask him to clarify. He's a sweet fella but he is a sad professor. And if you screw up because of his confusing assignments and choice of wording on the 14( YES 14) quizzes among the essays... he WILL mark you down. Don't do it.
Buckvold is a nice professor. He is funny, passionate, and loves music. He is a tough grader and assigns a lot of homework but will always respond to your emails. If you take this class with a buddy you will be fine!
I had Mr. Buckvold for 3 hours on Thursday nights. It was a very long class, but it was only once a week. He's a very strict professor with clear opinions and he expects a certain amount of work to be put into his assignments. TIP: if you participate, ask for help, and build a good rapport, he will boost your grade .
Mr. Buckvold has very clear expectations and opinions, and you really have to stand out if you want an A. He says that if you put in the work and show that it's good work, he'll boost your grade, and he did that for me. There are some basic, rudimentary English worksheets that you'll have to complete, but it's not the worst class.
Very unorganized and very unclear in his true expectations for your assignments. Tough grader would be an understatement, think more along the lines of impossible to get 100% on any writing assignments he gives no matter how remedial they may be.
Save yourself from frustration and anger and do not take this professor. His grading technique is absurdly difficult and I don't think it is possible to get an A on his assignments. Especially for a class worth 2 credits! You really don't learn anything through this course either, its boring material that he takes pride in and makes it way to hard
Online class is incredibly confusing. I am an A student who previously achieved an A in a similar business writing class , yet I can only get B's with him. His online lessons are low quality with blurry slides. His assignments are unclear and he does not have a straight-forward format. Ironic. The workload of a 4 credit class, but is a 2 credit.
Where do I even start with this professor. Confusing, and like others have said an impossible grader. It would be understandable if he gave clear grading criteria on how he wants the work done but he does not. Assignments are everywhere, and his emails are all written in the subject line (everything). Do yourself the favor and take another teacher.
There is a lot of work that needs to be done for this class, and the writing assignments, although short, are tedious in order to accomplish the formats for business writing. Some assignments can be submitted early for feedback which is very helpful. If he sees improvement by last assignments he will boost overall grade.
He does grade pretty hard, but if you follow what he wants you can definitely pass with a B. Can be a little harsh but its not so bad. Its mainly small business documents, like cases and letters. No long assignments or papers, just ones that you have to get like-perfect.
I had an 80% grade in the class but he failed me for missing a five point assignment. He plays favorites a lot and is low-key racist even though he is extremely liberal which still boggles my mind.
Had him online. He is very forgetful. He is a "professional writing" professor yet does not set the example with any of this emails. Talks so much about trying to be a credible source for your papers but he is far from credible. It is a 2 credit class and he grades it like its a 4 credit. Avoid!
Unbelievable amount of work for a 2 credit hour class. He is extremely picky about design and format. Luckily the assignments are repeatable or replaceable, so once you figure out how he likes things to be written, you can get a better grade. Online lectures are mandatory and so is the textbook since he bases quizzes off material from it.
Very interesting and easy to listen to. Loves music and relates to it in his lectures. Classes were mostly power points about writing techniques and homework/ online quizzes were very easy. You really only have to participate if he randomly picks your name from the class roster to answer a grammar question. Drops a lot of your lower grades.
2-hour course, but assigns like 4-hour course. Very strict grader and I'd avoid him, if possible... Does drop two of your lowest weekly quiz score, but the paper you have to write for the class can be very stressful. I will say this again, he is a VERY strict grader so please find a new professor, if possible. Save yourself
2-credit class that ended up being more work than all my other classes combined. Grades cases extremely hard and doesn't give clear feedback. Wasn't much of a learning experience because when I implemented the things I learned into my writing, I received even worse grades.
Unclear about what he wants, and then grades hard! Spare yourself the trouble and take a different professor. I will say he is a really nice guy who cares about his students, though.
The most disorganized class I have ever been in. You never know what is homework are what we just didn't get to. Even he seems confused most of the time on what exactly we are supposed to have ready for next class. He uses d2l but only the news portion and makes it very hard to prepare for quizzes, which he gives a lot of.
Seriously such a hard grader. Honestly the content wasn't hard he had good lectures and his videos were helpful. However, his methods of grading are ridiculous. His feedback is confusing. "Your design could be better" I also love the fact that he posts a short video saying that his students write bad reviews on him but it's really their fault.
He took over David Kossy's during the middle of the quarter and it was difficult at first to figure out his style. He is a VERY difficult grader but appreciates if you take the time to see him outside of class for help. He wants you to put in the effort because these are things we need to know when we work in business world. Take him!
John is a great professor, he likes to crack jokes and is genuinely a nice guy.
Bottom line, do not take this professor. 1) he makes up his own terminology in writing and expects you to know what he is talking about. Since it is online, he has over 100 links on his D2L page so stuff is impossible to navigate. The class was Async meaning there are no lectures but SIKE! You have to go to class on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays
I would recommend staying away from this professor. His class is very complex and has no structure.
Zero organization whatsoever. Takes grading way too seriously for a freshman English class. Attendance policy is ridiculous. I think he is a nice person and genuinely a smart guy, but needs to realize the skill level of the group he's grading.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
95%
Textbook Required
61%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.60 avg changeRatings by Course
REMEDIALENG
5.0
(1)ENGL270
5.0
(1)COS126
5.0
(1)WRD103
3.5
(2)ENG104
3.1
(11)Difficulty by Course
ENG103
5.0
ENGLISH202
5.0
ENGLISH104
5.0
REMEDIALENG
5.0
WRD204
5.0