3.2
Quality3.4
Difficulty33%
Would Retake120
Reviews33%
Would Retake
120
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
45
4
11
3
14
2
22
1
28
What Students Say
“boring & annoying class, gets even more annoying with his stupid jokes”
COMM291 - 3.0 rating“And believe me, I actually like statistics, so he's doign pretty bad for it to be boring and annoying”
COMM291 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
70%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.36 avg changeRatings by Course
HCEC501
5.0
(1)BA001
5.0
(1)COMMCOMM
5.0
(1)COMM291
3.3
(95)STAT
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
STATSEMBA
5.0
BABS500
4.6
BABS550
4.0
COMM191
4.0
291
3.9
Reviews (120)
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Probably the best Stats prof in the faculty. He is also the course coordinator so his notes are very useful for the open book exams. Stats itself is a very boring course but he makes it at least semi-interesting. Knows what he's talking about.
Takes a what could be a very boring course and makes it at least semi-interesting. Highly recommend him.
If it were another prof this class would have been the most painful thing in the world but he actually makes you look forward to class. His cool examples, love for the subject, and interesting misc. tidbit trivia facts made stats more than bearable.
One of the best teachers in the Commerce faculty, he actually mangaged to make 2 hours of stats one of my more enjoyable classes. Try hard to get in one of his classes, it is worth it!
Materials for the Course is hard. But his classes are lively and exciting. Does not put students on the spot with questions. Lots of interesting factoids and tidbits. Clear explanations
he's actually trying really hard to make the class interesting but then again stat is not the most exciting thing that you'll ever learn in english. I like him enough to come to his classes and actually listen.
BERKOWITZ RULES. He is a hilarious guy... awesome lecturer... puts lots of effort into what he does. Amazing prof, take his course FOR SURE!!!
Very good Prof! He is able to make this boring course very interesting! Take detailed notes in his class, it will become your lifesaver for the midterm and final since it's open book.
Good prof, second time taking a statistic course and was actually able to learn the material in his class. His notes are very helpful, and is probably the only cheat-sheet you will need in the exams.
Stats, ugh. Ok, Berkowitz does this thing where when you register for him, you MAY end up with a grad student instead (found out the hard way on this one - my registration said "Berkowitz," but turns out that wasn't quite true) The class isn't overly difficult, but it's so painfully boring, I wish it wasn't mandatory or I'd never take it
Definitely the best teacher ever. He has a great ass too
HE'S THE BEST! YAY BERKOWITZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The best prof I've ever had. But his T/F test was really mean.
This is by far the worst class in the program. Better to read the book and not come to the class, so you can spare yourself from his silly jokes.
Worst prof. ever come across. No value added after the course. Infact whatever little interest I had in Stats prior to joining his class has disapppeared. Only obsessed about marks without being bothered about actual learning from the course. Assignments are too long & irrelevant. Exam! Tough & completely useless. Has made me hate Stats forever.
I personally think this was a very dry and boring course, but Dr. B definitely makes up for it with his purposely corny jokes and efforts to make the material relevant and simple. Open book or not, I wouldn't consider this course easy, but Berkowitz tries to give you everything you need to do well.
He explained statistics in a way that was fun and practical. Very helpful outside of class.
No Comments
Treats class like a theater - he being the showman, glosses over the stats and tries to fit way too much in to 10 lectures (more interested in theatrics). Assignments aren't explained and the exam although open book was too hard, doesn't respond to emails after course is finished and altogether too arrogant. Not a good prof.
Boring class, Idiot professor. Detested this course, and has made me vehemently HATE statistics. Exams are too hard, assignments too long. Repeats notes and exams perpetually - take SELECTIVE notes, because his in-class notes are useless. Don't be fooled by "open book" - exams are seriously brutal, and they give basically NO part marks. AVOID!!
Not a very good professor. Tough marker. Long difficult exams. BUT he is a very considerate, kind person.
Dr. Berkowitz is actually one of the better professor at Sauder. He's smart and kind. Sure some of his jokes can be corny, but they help pass through the dry stats materials in class. Although the textbook is highly useful, attendance is recommended. I got an A in his class.
Very good teacher! Takes lots of notes, but then posts them online after, so pay attention in class instead of frantically writing. His jokes makes the class go by a lot faster. Take stats with him!
If he could spend less time joking in class and more time writing slower + explaining concepts more thoroughly, lectures wouldn't be such a waste of time. He's not a bad lecturer when he's actually teaching the material. Open book - do ALL the practice exams + hw as exam prep. Material really isn't difficult as long as you practice.
One of the greatest prof at UBC! He is humorous and nice. His notes are very useful, and there's always a lot of fun in his class! He provides summaries of his class notes every week on vista, makes everything clear and detailed.Take his class, you will enjoy it!!
A great prof. makes dry stat class interesting, although sometimes the jokes are too cold. But generally his notes are really helpful.
Very good prof, makes a lot of witty jokes even though it's recycled. I look forward to his classes more than any other one (and I hate stats).
One of the best profs in Sauder, has a passion for statistics like no other.
Let's face it: statistics is boring. BUT that's where Jonathan Berkowitz comes in, he makes this course the best it can be! Yes, his lectures are long and dense, and yes, you need to attend class and take notes to do well. But he cares a lot about his students, entertains the students, and somehow makes dry statistics interesting. A great prof
taking this course with him, he will change your way of thinking.
Gets mad on students so soon. You have to attend every class. Hard tests come up so soon. Don't explains with so care and details. Not recommended. Thats all I can say.
Awesome prof, great lectures, and can be funny at times. What more can u want from a stats prof?
Best Prof I have ever met!
He knows his stuff and makes it intereseting but tells better than teaches. Not interactive at all.
Simply the best. Comprehensive, engaging and funny lectures despite teaching a rather dry subject. Very helpful and approachable. Gives students online notes and tons of practice for his exams, which cover the whole material but are fair. He's also a master of clever word play. A++++++++
Funny, nice, and knowledgeable. Homework is mostly dependent on stuff learnt in tutorial. Notes are given on Vista.
Really helpful professor, very approachable and nice. Course is boring, but he helps you through it with his jokes.
Best instructor I had in University. Witty, engaging, and impactful at a statistically significant level!
Great prof. If you go to class, and do the assignments and practice midterms in the textbook, you will probably do well. The prof himself is a great guy, very entertaining, and super helpful if you go to his office hours or see him after class. Highly recommend doing stats with Berkowitz.
boring & annoying class, gets even more annoying with his stupid jokes. What could have been done in 30 min, takes 80 because of his stories and jokes. In the end of the course he makes what he says a useful review session, in fact it is just another stupid jeopardy game with no benefit for writing the exam.
Berkowitz is very good at teaching and he makes the rather dry and boring subject of stats more interesting and fun through jokes and many guidelines. He is also very helpful in person through office hours or at the end of class.
Extremely helpful - can be compared to Brian Graham of Comm 291. Very clear instructions, knows the topics that students struggle with the most and clears it up. Exams are fair. Makes Stats at least marginally interesting. I am 95% confident that his jokes are between 1 and 2 on a scale of 10 for funniness.
Berkowitz is a wizard - both in teaching Statistics and his wonderfully witty and punny humour. Always a pleasure to attend his classes; this man will likely make you love his course by the end of it if you do your part to pay attention and do the work. Course is not too difficult as he posts ALL THE PAST EXAMS, albeit with some trickier concepts.
As it turns out, 45% of statistics are made up on the spot. I love Professor Berkowitz. He is an intelligent and incredibly witty man, who teachers with clarity and inspires learning in a subject that most people might find dull (even myself, before taking this class). His assignments are hard but fair, and I gladly recommend his class.
Wastes time in class making bad jokes
Definitely take another professor if you have the option. I used to like Statistics but he just ruined it. His jokes are incredibly lame and even if you like them which is unlikely they are still distracting from the course material which he barely teaches, meanwhile expecting us to look it up alone after asking him questions he didn't teach
Boring class. And believe me, I actually like statistics, so he's doign pretty bad for it to be boring and annoying. His jokes are lame and integrated in questions which make you get the wrong answer just because of the joke. The class average is below the minimum expected 70 which makes the course even more annoying.
Gets offended really easily, even over little mispronunciations or questions. Asked him about "z-scores" for instance and he got annoyed because I pronounced z wrong. He then said not to test him because he has control over the grades (lame) (was very serious) all because of a mispronunciation! Bad prof or person to speak to in general take another
I know he is a famous professor or whatever but he isn't really that good. I got an 80% average on the course and that was purely because of Beat Your Course (heavily recommended). His notes are awful, his jokes are awful and he teaches material way too fast. He also makes you buy a textbook that I never opened.
He is one of the "geniuses" in Sauder! Although the lecture is hard, he actually does care about your learning and wants you to thrive. Jokes are pretty cold but I actually like it!
The guy is a genius, smartest person I have ever met in my life. One of the best profs in Sauder. If you go to class and take thorough notes, the course really presents no problems. Do every practice midterm and final available, because his exams are very similar.
His lectures are mostly boring although he throws in a few weird jokes, stories, and things to try to make it more interesting. However, if you follow along and pay attention he is a very good teacher. You will need to go to class for iClicker Qs regardless.
Awesome prof, shows genuine care for his students. Course material is not too difficult and he always follows with detailed examples.
Presents information in the most confusing and annoying way possible. He can make things that are super simple seem impossible and dull. His jokes are a nightmare and his voice is annoying. The only way ull do good is if you have previous knowledge in stats or willing to put in 14 hours of work every week.
All he wants is selling his textbook. He even asked the last page number of his textbook in our final exam.
He gets a lot of hate but honestly he's not too bad. His teaching style is at times confusing and can make relatively simple concepts seem somewhat complicated but if you follow his lectures, it's pretty easy to do well. He tells some pretty bad jokes, but they're appreciated. Do as many past papers as possible.
probably an ok guy if you knew him outside of class, but he thinks he's Gods gift to Earth and doesn't let you forget it. He makes easy concepts seem extra hard to make himself look extra smart. The class is hard in general, not his fault, but he makes the class more painful. Also, pushes the textbook so hard cause he makes a dollar off it.
Honestly my fav prof at Sauder so far. He's hilarious and super clear with teaching. anyone who doesn't like him is because they're not puttingthe necessary effort to do well. He is SUPER clear with what he expects you to know and gives a lot of practice finals/midterms that are exactly like what the exam. Easy A and amazing prof!!!
Such fun lectures! Hilarious guy, super smart, really effective prof. hes everything i would ever want in a prof. i would take every course with berkowitz if i could! Hes very caring and engaging and the midterm and final are relatively easy. the practice exams make you very prepared and he tells you exactly whats going to be on it!
Berkowitz is a good prof. He's funny in like a dad-joke kind of way and seems to be a pretty nice guy. His exams are very reasonable and as long as you keep up with the homework and read the lecture slides, and tb for anything you're confused about, you'll do pretty fine.
Dr. Berkowitz is so cool and interesting! His lectures are easy to follow, and I like that he doesn't use PowerPoint slides; it's easy to copy down his lecture notes. He's also very good at explaining the concepts. And if I still don't understand something, he clears things up in office hours and the textbook is like a bible for this class.
coolest prof at sauder and maybe the smartest. very good at explaining concepts and making funny puns and dad jokes that lighten the mood and make stats not a bore as you would expect. midterm and final are extremely fair (i would even call them easy) and he tells you exactly whats on them and how to study before hand. recommend him, hes the best!
Very boring never ever take his class. I stopped going to class after 2 weeks. I studied on my own and went to BYC and finished with A-. Makes weird jokes you won't understand anything. BYC was very very helpful.
Makes hilarious jokes. Wrote the textbook. Was the word guy on CBC and won backwards spelling contests. Will make you mind-blown every lecture by the patterns he finds in numbers, words, anything really.
Boring and unclear lectures, simply not the best at explaining difficult concepts. Course is okay at first but escalates quick towards the end, and this professor doesn't make it any easier. Lame jokes and the kind of guy you would avoid real life. Only got a B because I found people that could actually explain the tough concepts to me.
This prof is extremely ineffective in class. During class he just let student see a paper of definition and tell his jokes, which he thinks interesting but students think boring. His lecture and his assignment are not related at all, they only have one thing in common, which is they are not related with his exam at all!
Just had a nightmare about this class. Nice guy but classes are inefficiently taught. Lectures teach you exactly whats in the textbook. Time spent telling jokes can be spent applying the concepts to more problems. Have fun learning excel on your own which is needed for your assignments and exams.
His lectures are a repetition of unrelated statistic results and jokes that all sauder students know since he makes the same ones every year. If you only listen to what he teaches in class get ready to fail, because no one can pass by knowing the statistic results of how much sauder students drink alcohol or how he can spell backwards.
not fun stats is never fun, but somehow it got worse, but you have to take it because they don't give you AP credit even though its the same stuff as the AP test sad hates pie charts goes on random rants about stuff that doesn't matter but claims to not have enough time to teach excel which is how we have to do every problem on the homework/test
Dr. Berkowitz is an professor. His wit and devotion to the subject is evident in every lecture; however, the onus on doing well will lie to the student as many of the excel concepts taught these days are only briefly skimmed in lecture. Easy A for student who have taken AP stats.
Learned nothing from this guy because his lectures are ineffective Literally, take BYC for both midterm and final and youre guaranteed at least an A-
The course is quite interesting and he teaches well. (Spoiler alert)Get ready for his pie chart jokes!
not the easiest marker nor the best lectures, but Berkowitz will keep you entertained for the most part. the lectures offers lots of theoretical knowledge but lacks in practical skills like excel. though his humour may not be everyone's cup of tea, I found it enjoyable even though I dislike stats
His lectures didn't teach me anything. You will need to teach yourself or get outside help. I used Wize for the excel portion of the course and it saved me.
It takes a bit to get used to his style of teaching but in the end, everything worked out fine. As long as you read his notes and try to keep up throughout the semester, you should be fine. Textbook isnt necessary but it does help clarify some concepts that he doesnt explain in depth. Was stressful in the beginning but eventually just adapted lol
He's usually a hit or miss for people. He's not the worst prof but could be better. The content gets more difficult as you get farther along and lectures are pretty boring. If you just read the textbook and make sure you have a good excel sheet for the midterm and final, attendance isn't even really mandatory (except for participation marks).
Dr. B is a decent guy, but he is very far away from being a great professor. His lectures consists of reading off his notes and reading off his notes. Class is always dry, boring, and not very engaging. He does not do a good job with online teaching via Zoom. The quality of this class is so far off compared to COMM290 (the pre-requisite course).
one of those profs that dont seem to care whether his students do well or not. the class would literally be more engaging if a robot read the notes out loud to you. he also doesn't teach a thing about excel, however excel is literally the one key to success in his class
lectures are so dry and don't cover what is asked in the assignments. Textbook is useless but necessary for the mystatslab. Textbook, is filled with junk and exercises don't give you all the answers.... useless. His "slides" don't provide any help, they just show the answers with barely any intermediate steps.
Dr. Berkowitz is one of the most condescending professors at UBC. He makes students feel as if they are not intellectually capable if asked a question that he this is obvious. What he doesn't seem to realize is that what he thinks is obvious may not be so clear to the student. I never recommend asking him questions.
Dr. B does an amazing job at clearly explaining complicated statistical concepts. He is so caring, and his jokes help to bring the class to life :) Pay close attention in his lectures, and make sure to do his practice exams before the midterm and final.
Overlapping lectures, talks too much. For real, he's gotta be the most narcissistic person I know and he doesn't even try to hide it. He's condescending and not even slick. Also, have seen him mentioned on Sauder unspoken but thats a whole different conversation...
Doctor Berkowitz is a fine instructor for this course - no more, and no less. His lectures were quite boring, to say the least, because he read off his printed notes and that was about it. The assignments were helpful in applying the concepts, however, I wish he taught us Excel because that is the only way to succeed on the midterm and final exam.
By far worst prof in Sauder - extremely low quality of teaching for a Master's class. Reads off his printed lecture notes and goes on way too many tangents - thinks he's slick with the off-hand comments & unrelated facts, but just not funny. Arrogant & condescending. Assignments are all Excel work but doesn't teach you or show examples. No structur
Berkowitz seems like an interesting guy, but he is an awful lecturer. Reads off his printed "slides" and doesn't explain the content well. Also doesn't teach Excel at all which is critical to passing the course. The tests are okay but a lot of stupid "gotcha" questions. Only good things about him as a prof are his practice questions and Dad jokes.
Bruh dude don't even make a slideshow bro just literally scroll down his printed out word document notes.
Do you want to go to a lecture with 10% content and 90% useless anecdotes... then this class is for you. Otherwise, take this course in the summer and save your time and sanity.
He treats class like a comedy show. You don't learn in class and its incredibly boring. The clicker is with 2%, therefore, no incentive to come to class. The 2022 midterm was nothing like the old ones, it was mostly theory. Take this class in the summer!!
Dr Berkowitz's passion for statistics is unmatched. I would highly recommend sitting in front and centre, and also taking actual notes. This completely changed my 291 experience--the material instantly became easier to understand and Dr Berkowitz interacts and becomes familiar with you too. The lectures are great if you actually take the time.
This man spends all his time trying to make the "crowd" laugh instead of teaching useful content. He also expects us to watch his finger as he points to the words he wants us to read on a SHEET OF PAPER that is projected onto the screen. Clicker is worth 2% and I'd rather lose the marks than to waste my time in his class.
Prof. Berkowitz is awesome. He always has funny jokes to keep us awake in long lectures. He has a ton of resources in Canvas that are available to students and he seems to genuinely care about us. 291 is a hard class, but Prof. B makes it bearable. Despite the subject, I looked forward to attending his lectures. Prof, if you see this, thank you.
Dr. B puts himself at a high pedestal, not sure why. If you have course-related questions, ask someone other than the prof. He's condescending and makes you feel stupid for asking such questions. Don't be late to lecture; he humiliates you in front of the class if you don't bring him chocolate. Talks about unnecessary things instead of the course.
Jonathan Berkowitz wastes a lot of lecture time telling jokes. He really just reads off his slides (which aren't really slides) and doesn't make effort to explain things well. Tests are pretty easy and so is the homework, but his class is boring and I often fall asleep.
This is honestly the worst class I've taken in Sauder. He is condescending, makes jokes that aren't funny, and goes on about topics and then says "but you don't need to know this excel will do this for you" then proceeds to not teach excel. Take this in the summer if you can otherwise good luck not falling asleep in class.
Exams are too theoretical with too many trick questions. Uses 75% of class time to crack jokes and share stories and states there's no time to teach excel functions. If you don't use excel during the exams, you won't be able to finish. I'd say avoid him, but he's the only 291 prof for term 2 at Sauder unfortunately.
Prof Berkowitz was intelligent and humorous, and, as such, had interesting lessons (although he went off topic at times, making classes seem like a drag). His exams were not super challenging, but definitely theory heavy. Overall, if you have an open mind to learning and aren't intimidated by mathematical concepts, this course should be a breeze.
I like Stats as a subject, but Berkowitz does not teach it well. His lectures are extremely boring and his jokes usually fall flat. He spends more time explaining his unfunny jokes than teaching. He also doesn't teach excel during class even though it's extremely important for exams. Make sure you review your excel before taking 291.
Dry, useless (at least for me), and hard-to-follow lectures.
Berkowitz just reads off his printed lecture notes without adding much content. Although the tests do test your knowledge of the subject because they are fully open book with excel, I feel like he makes them too difficult with trick questions. Exam + midterm were worth some 85% of the course so focus on that and study using the practice exams.
Reads off his printed notes that aren't even very helpful. He wants everyone to buy his textbook which is also not very helpful. The tutorials are also not very helpful. When you ask him questions, he was still not helpful. PASS is helpful though!
Spends a very long talking about things that are not statistics. Lectures were quite useless. I would recommend just learning on your own.
His method of teaching was reading off printed notes. He didn't give us many examples to work from. The textbook is a pain to read through (he wrote it). Try to take it in the summer so you don't have to suffer in his class for 4 months.
The worst professor I have had at Sauder. His lectures are useless and make you fall asleep. Don't even go to his office hours, it's all just him making fun of you for asking questions. Extremely unhelpful!
Berkowitz had very dry lectures, other than his many jokes he would make (which I definitely appreciated!). The lectures were basically extended versions of the pre-recorded 15 minute videos, so most people seemed to go to class for the iClickers. Overall, the exams were fair as long as you did the practice midterms and finals that were provided.
Decent prof, but his lectures could certainly use some work. When he is explaining course content he does so effectively, however he frequently goes off on tangents and inserts unnecessary information into lectures, greatly increasing their length for no real purpose. Overall, the course is of mediocre difficulty and a good grade is achievable.
Took the course back in 2020W2. Personally I really liked the class, but I understand why his teaching style can be hit or miss. Lectures are dry and he explains everything quite well but you definitely need to be interested in the topic to stay engaged. Exams are representative of material and grading is objective.
Upon first impressions, a bit of a love hate relationship with Dr. Berkowitz. Though I appreciate his jokes and genuine passion for statistics there is a bit of ignorance about him. He tends to make students the punchline of his jokes and often uses lecture time to boast about his accomplishments or go on tangents on loosely related subjects.
I had high hopes for the course after his first uncanny introduction. Unfortunately, his lectures are unbearably boring, and most of the material is covered in his online lecture videos. Students asking relevant questions during class are put down with passive-aggressive comments. I wonder why students aren't attending his lectures hmmm...
Berkowitz was an absolute bore the entire semester, coming from someone who went to every. Single. Lecture. Not only does he often makes his student's the butt of his jokes, but his immense ego is apparent from his boasting tangents about his successes. As someone who got in the high A range for this course so far, I recommend self-studying.
Prof B is clearly passionate about statistics, but based on the midterm and final, his teaching is not effective to apply exams. He focuses on equations in lectures rather than applications, and all of which can be solved in seconds with excel. To perform well on actual exams, attend tutorials over lectures and get the master excel template!
People give Dr. B bad ratings when he is a really great Professor. He is obviously passionate about the class and if you actually go into it willing to learn you will do great. Practice tests that he posts for exams are super useful as are the tutorial sessions. Very reasonable to get a good grade in the class if you're willing to work.
Berkowitz's lectures are boring and a waste of time which is why I never attended after the first few weeks. I studied using past midterms and finals online (his are out of date) and by reading his lecture notes which he posts. Overall you are better off using the time you spend at his class self-learning the content and doing practice questions.
I do wish there was a point to going to his lectures. Unfortunately he just reads off of lecture notes that are already posted that you could read in 40min rather than sit through a 90min lecture (where he entertains himself with mediocre jokes). Not a horrible class but he could make it so much better with modern lecturing tools.
Pretty scummy that he makes the textbook that he wrote mandatory. It's a cheap way for him to milk us for more money. He cares about the class a lot, almost as much as he cares about himself. Pretty high ego. Puts little to no effort into class material with his outdated slides and lack of work material.
Professor Berkowitz has a unique teaching style - dry lectures but with plenty of jokes to keep things interesting. The practice exams he posts are super helpful, and Unstuck AI is a great study tool alongside the textbook. Overall, the class is manageable if you put in the work.
Does not teach excel in class and just gives excel functions in his notes rather than applying them into an actual sheet, which are crucial for the assignments and exams. Uses outdates teaching styles such as paper notes instead of modern lecturing tools and makes fun of you for asking clarifying questions in office hours. Do not recommend.
Very knowledge, experienced, and passionate. I like him outside of class, I like his humour and I think he's nice. I really do not like his attendance/late policy. If I was late, it just made me not go at all. One time he like berated a guy in front of the class for being late, really didn't like that. Really dry lectures, hard to pay attention.
Very thorough explanation of concepts, can go off on tangents at times. Homework is manageable just have to watch out for tests.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
70%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.36 avg changeRatings by Course
HCEC501
5.0
(1)BA001
5.0
(1)COMMCOMM
5.0
(1)COMM291
3.3
(95)STAT
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
STATSEMBA
5.0
BABS500
4.6
BABS550
4.0
COMM191
4.0
291
3.9