2.7
Quality4.1
Difficulty22%
Would Retake101
Reviews22%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
22
4
14
3
19
2
23
1
23
What Students Say
“She comes off very unapproachable”
403 - 3.0 rating“It was a gen ed for most of us but she believed it was the best thing ever”
SPK230 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
74%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.56 avg changeRatings by Course
COM208
5.0
(1)RECAPPWPT
5.0
(1)SPK280
5.0
(1)HON382
4.0
(1)SPK208
3.9
(14)Difficulty by Course
400
5.0
403
5.0
COMM216
5.0
COM208
5.0
SPK201
5.0
Reviews (101)
Dr. Sawyer is a pleasue! I've been in her Business and Prof. Speech for only 3 weeks now, but it's great working with her. Dedicated, dynamic, very in tune with her students' needs. If you ever get the opportunity to take her, DO IT!
Sawyer sucks big time. She is so vague and her personality just makes you want to kill yourself. COM216 was supposed to be a fun class, but she just ruined it. Don't take her for any reason. There are so many awesome COM teachers, but she is NOT one!
Sawyer is a very hard teacher and she gives very large assignments that are difficult. It is hard to work in a small group when she assigns them. However, she is very helpfull and has an upbeat personality. BEWARE if you are lazy do not take her she hates slackers.
Prof Sawyer is probably the worst professor ever. She assigns a 20 page paper that you are supposed to write in groups of three. Not only that, but she sets very unrealistic goals, and assigns way too many assignments at a time. Just avoid the stress, and don't take her!!!
A very funny teacher, outgoing and enjoyable to listen to. The assignments, however...I think she makes them a lot more difficult than they should be, and she often has two assignments going at the same time. I wouldn't recommend unless you have a LOT of time to devote to this class.
Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER!! Sure, she seems cool the first few days, but then her true evil comes out. She expects so much but never tells you what she wants. She is the hardest grader ever. She is NOT funny but more condescending. If you like giving yourself root canals, take her.
Sawyer's a ditz. She gives you so much to do on such short notice. The woman is insane! Everything has to be perfect. Literally... perfect. If not, you suck. She's a lonely woman who plays favorites. Don't take her.
Hands down the worst teacher i have ever had in the communication department. Every aspect of this class sucked, and she was even worse.
Horrible...pretentious... very condescending... her grading is completely illogical for a 200 level course, gives overlapping projects that makes it almost impossible to do well. Makes petty comments on evaluations, she's just an ass definetely take someone else, you'll be grateful.
She's a very nice person, but a very poor professor. Her expectations for her small group communications class were WAY too high and the assignments far too in-depth for a gen.ed. She was too vague on assignment details and literally expected perfection on each project. While I commend her for attempt to challenge students, I wouldn't reccomend her
She is absolutely awful. She is extremely vague, even when you go to her for help. Nothing you ever do will be good enough. She is rude and condescending. She is the worst professor I have ever had, and I would rather be forced to sit in a locked room that played the spice girls 24/7 than take another class with her.
Dr. Sawyer is, contrary to popular opinion here, an excellent, friendly, and helpful professor. She asks for a lot, but that's only because she knows what students can do if they actually work. If you take notes, work hard, and ask her for help when you need it, you'll love her. If you don't work in her class, that's your problem.
I thought she was helpful, enthusiastic and really cared about whether I learned or not.
I hate her because she is evil.
She is very phony. She doesnt really care about the well being of the students but more so the failure of them. she gives assignements that are very in depth however she fails to explain them fully. She also grades horribly.
Dr. Sawyer's class is very time consuming! Although I disliked her during the semester,it was not too bad at the end. She does have the flaw of being vague, but if you bring it to her attention, she will clarify. From all of the classes that I have taken at WCU, I remember her material the most. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
If you want lots of work, this is the class for you! The whole semester you are assigned a "real" project and you have to be able to do ALL of the research and present it in front of the president of WCU at the end of the semester for your final. It is a lot of work, like another job almost and is VERY time consuming!
She sucks. The whole semester we worked on a project only to find out that the ppl we did it for wanted something completely different. Does give alot of work. DO NOT TAKE HER SERIOUSLY. She has no clue what she's talkin about most of the time. Take someone else is u can and if u do take her, dont let her intimidate you, know she's a joke
She is the worst techer i have ever had. Her projects is like another job. She tells u to do one thing then when u do i she marks u wrong for it.Don't take her for anything. This was a basic com class and she treats you like you in her advance class. She will smile in your face and then rip you apart behind your back.
a lot of work, isn't very clear, misleading, do not take unless you want to spend a lot of time on a 200 level class
At first, Kanan is kinda scary. She can seem intimidating. Now, I realize that she is one of the only profs I will never forget and who is like a friend to me. Kanan will bend over backwards to help you outside of class, and she really cares about your improvement! Advanced Public Speaking was my hardest class at WCU, but I'm so glad I took it!
The year long project is really stupid. She contradicts the book, but makes you read it anyway and gives you quizzes on it. Her final is really easy though. Suck up alot and you will get an A. Even though I got a B, I still advise against her.
I took this class in teh summer! it was a lot easier and i really liked sawyer, she is hilarious and always willing to help you out with whatever you needed!
what ever you do, do not take her during the summer. She seemed very knowledgable in her field, however she expected just as much work in 2 days that you would do in over three weeks in an average class. She also wasnt clear on what she wanted.
She's overly beeyotchy. She'll pick a kid each class and decide to deride their contributions that day. She did it to one kid in my class, just smashed all his answers and questions. Smart, maybe. Unnecessarily mean, yeah.
Dr. Sawyer is an amazing teacher. everyone just complains because of the complex and amount of work she gives. she is a great teacher and a great person if you take the time to introduce yourself to her. if you want a course that will teach you life skills and a teacher who treats you like an adult take her!
Kanan knows what shes talking about. She has tons of experience all over the country. She will go way out of her way to help you all you have to do is show a little effort. She is really nice, although sometimes difficult but she just wants all her students to do thier best. she really wants to prepare you for a successful future. TAKE HER!!!
LOVE HER! SHE IS AMAZING. TAKE HER! SHE IS AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD. NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE A BETTER PUBLIC SPEAKER, BUT YOU WILL BE A BETTER STUDENT.... GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS. SHE GIVES YOU SO MUCH HELP!
Seriously, I can't speak my way out of a wet paper bag and I pulled a decent grade. So that's cool.
Pretty good teach, she's helpful and easy to look at. Plus she knows her stuff. Can be fun too. Class can be challenging but at least you come away knowing something about the subject.
power trip....rude need i say more?
Highly professional communications scholar with a highly engaging classroom delivery. Kanan uses all original material for her training. I look forward to her seminars on nonpartisan political persuasion and effective public presentation. Easily mistaken for Keira Knightley (aka Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean franchise).
Don't take her for your gen ed. Worrys more about her higher level classes then what you do. Grades your work on how easy you make it for her to grade it.
how does she not have a pepper? she is incredibly gorgeous! that being said, she can be tough to follow and understand and is definitely more comfortable with higher level classes i think. but she's still really hot. she also talks about her dog and tells stories a lot. did i mention she's hot? male students beware, this can be a distraction.
Awesome
No Comments
she is definately a morning person
Dr Sawyer is a tough teacher, When she grades your speech she is very hard, But she does have office hours you can go to for help. If you want to do well you need to put the effort in.
Dr. Swayer is an amazing teacher, and is really pretty. She can be though on some students, but it is usually to keep them focused. Her ability to help is kinda hard to find, unless you stay after class for help. She is sweet, funny, and very energetic. Just pay attention, PARTICIPATE, and laugh at her humor, and she will like you.
She definitely has a lot of experience it public speaking and knows what she is talking about. I enjoyed her class but this was also the class that kept me up late at night preparing for speeches. She is very helpful if you go see her during office hours. I am definitely going to come away from her class having learned something valuable!
She is such a hard grader. And her tests in the class are so hard. I didn't like the class at all. and she wasn't much help when I went to see her for extra help. I would advise NOT taking her for this required class. I wish I would have taken someone else.
DO NOT TAKE HER! I didn't like the class at all. she is so hard for just a gen ed class. Went to her for her and she didn't help at all. She is also the one of the hardest graders I have ever had.
Class wasn't easy and she can be a rough grader but she lays out how all the grades are and where you can lose points.
VERY HARD AND CONFUSING GRADER BUT IS VERY NICE
As a person she's great, as a professor she's one of the worst. Extremely hard grader for a class that's required. Worst class this semester I wish I hadn't of taken it.
This is the most frusterating class i've ever been in. Ive never put so much effort into a Gen Ed. and to only get grades in B- to C range. Extremely hard grader. She will find a million things wrong with your work no matter how hard you try, She does not believe in partial credit, gives you dumb busy work, and is super strict with attendance!
never make the mistake of taking kanan sawyer. i never go on these websites, but i hated her so much that i needed to. no matter how hard you try, you dont succeed. entire class was lost all semester we all hated her. NEVER TAKE HER, SHE SHOULD BE FIRED
Incredibly unclear in what she expects in her assignments; too much work compared to other grad level classes. VERY unfair- would let some students do assignments over but not others. Tried to use humor, but just not funny. Most of us hated her; the rest just disliked her. Material important- it would be a good class if she wasnt teaching it
LOVED HER! Very helpful class! She prepares you for LIFE:)
very hard class and alot of busy work. dont take her
READ THIS: You must try in the class for a A/B. Teacher is very helpful & friendly. What you need to do is explained nicely. (READ SYLLIBUS FIRST DAY ALL OF IT) SUPER USEFUL INFO - I took spk208 at the same time and learned nothing. you take away SO much from this teacher. She can be kinda funny. hes not bad on the eyes. EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE HER!
This teacher was THE WORST. She is literally in my nightmares. Not only is she a bad teacher, but she is just a really terrible person. She was not helpful at all! All of her assignments were very unclear. She is rude, obnoxious, and even made a few **** remarks during the semester. The only thing you'll get out of this class is a lower GPA.
Extremely unclear in her expectations; no one knew what she wanted. Loved the sound of her own voice: very controlling of "discussions"/ her sermons. Letting some students do assignments over but not others was ridiculous and pure BS. Sawyer was literally the only WCU prof I had who was genuinely hated by most of us.
Sawyer is a down to earth woman. If you can't take a cruel, but truthful joke once in awhile then don't take this class. Her classes go by so quickly because she actually teaches useful information in an interesting way. If you do the readings and actually come to class, then you will get that A/B. She allows you to miss 6 classes too!!
Difficult, but makes it clear what you need to do. Allows you a certain number of classes missed and is really helpful in office hours. Also pretty hot.
Not an easy class, but she gives really helpful feedback and is helpful if you go to her office hours.
Sawyer is a great person but as a teacher she is horrible. I understand in university you need to put effort in but she had unrealistic expectations. only take her if there is no other option.
Way too into her job, and thinks she's really hilarious. Tries to make class fun but it kind of just makes you feel uncomfortable. Wouldn't recommend her for a public speaking class, especially if you're nervous about speaking to begin with. very hard grader. knows what she is talking about though
Sawyer has mastered making a subject that I didnt care about at all seem fun. During lecture she really tries to relate and make sure you UNDERSTAND what she's teaching, she is very engaging. She lets you know what you need to do to pass with an A & if you do all assignments thouroughly you'll be fine. LOVED HER!
I do no understand why everyone is giving her such low scores. I thought she was an excellent professor. Before having her I really did not want to take SPK, I thought it would be absolutely boring, however her class was not that at all. She knows her stuff well and is extremely helpful with assignments. I would recommend her 100 percent!
Spends all of 6 days of the entire semester teaching with the rest spent doing presentations or interviews. Comes in late every morning with excuses galore as to why she didn't get the grades done or why she's late. Even brings her dog into class. She obviously knows her stuff but cannot get anything to work for the class.
this is a 400+ level class and she treats it like such. She constantly took off points for "non relevance" on items or ideas that are very relevant- as ifa she refuses to realize her age. For example, she claimed that YOLO was not relevant to 18-24yr olds also "never heard of" Rockstar, AMP, and Monster as drinks and took off significant points.
BY FAR the most useful class I ever took in college. It was very difficult and you were put on the spot a lot (including the final which was you being interviewed in front of the class), but I am a working professional now and cant stress enough how much this class helped me.
I wouldn't recommend if u have other classes. She thinks shes a god. Theres a major project every week but 1 or 2 weeks isn't enough time to do them. The test are easy if you know the terms from the book SHE WROTE -_____- but her lectures don't help with them. She is very intimidating... However, she is more help in her office hours then in class.
She comes off very unapproachable. Very cocky, and has insanely difficult tests. Pretty useful class but I could have learned the information on my own.
I took her for the HON Event Planning seminar. It's one of the best classed I've taken-- you get to plan a real event and see it through, but the 25 page proposal that we worked on over the semester was the hardest project I've ever done. She's an insane grader, but very realistic. We worked on our presentation for almost 20 hours in one week.
Makes you buy and read the book SHE wrote. She is SOOOO passionate about this class you'd think it was a 300 level. It was a gen ed for most of us but she believed it was the best thing ever. Really passionate but EXTREMELY annoying. She was so anal about dumb things like where we sat and what we did with our bags during exams.
I took an internship over the summer, and Dr. Sawyer was absolutely terrible. There was a 5 page report due every Thursday, and the way she grades is insane. She honestly made me hate my internship for the amount of work she expects. She is a terrible communicator as well. DO NOT TAKE HER!
For those who want to take an easy class, not learn anything, and waste your college career - then listen to the comments below. But, if you want to learn an insane amount and actually do something worth your time, take Doctor Sawyer. She knows what she is talking about and he wants you to succeed, but you have to work for it.
Dr. Sawyer is by far the best professor I have ever had. I'll be honest, she's tough, so if you're lazy don't take her. But, if you are academically driven, you will absolutely love being in her class. She pushes students to do their best, and I left every class feeling like a better student. I learned SO much from her. Amazing, amazing professor.
Dr. Sawyer treats her Event Planning class almost like a job/internship. I learned A LOT but it is also a lot to take on with 5 other classes. She is very informative and you will leave the class with experience and expertise but be prepared to WORK HARD. She is a very difficult grader and does not return grades quickly.
Dr. Sawyer is a great professor. She really prepares you for real life situations such as interviews, speeches and working with a team. She's a tough grader but you should be fine as long as you read the book and take good notes. Prepare to be called on randomly. She is very knowledgable and is a huge help in office hours! She's a great prof!
Way too harsh of a grader. She will stress you tf out. If someone says not to take her class, listen to them!
Sawyer is a great professor. Be prepared to read a lot because she wrote the textbook. She gives many reading quizzes, but it all helps prepare for the exams. We did a speech, group interview, and a group speech. It seems like a lot but she will help if you go to her office hours. She expects a lot for this class being a gen ed, but it helps
Do not take her unless you want to be stressed out and undermined as a student every single day. The worst ever
NEVER AGAIN WILL I TAKE HER I WAS SO STRESSED EACH DAY AND HER GRADING IS RIDICULOUS BEWARE THAT SHE WILL CALL ON YOU RANDOMLY AND IF YOU ANSWER INCORRECTLY, SHE WILL TRY TO EMBARRASS YOU IN CLASS
dr. sawyer 100% knows what she's talking about and is very qualified/experienced but com499 event planning is a TON of work - the class plans the 48-hour film race (a big event on WCU's campus) and its just a ton of work and she's a harsh grader but she's really just pushing you to do your best so she's very respectable
Professor Sawyer was definitely intimidating but she knows what she's talking about... I didn't expect the class to be very challenging but it was...
Loved Dr. Sawyer so much! She is clearly an expert in her field and knows her stuff. She is very fun and engaging and made me like public speaking. She is very no nonsense when it comes to how she grades but you will get as much as you put in to her class.
One of the most disrespectful and discouraging professors I've ever had. Thinks she is helping us become better speakers when her domineering and overly critical attitude creates a strong negative vibe in the classroom. Confusing assignment instructions, deadlines were not properly outlined on syllabus. So much more I could say. Do not take her.
Sawyer is a very intimidating professor, and I often felt discouraged to participate. That said, she KNOWS her stuff, especially since she uses her textbook for the course. You will learn a lot, but at the same time, you will have tons of work to do if you wanna consider getting an A. For a GenEd, she makes this course tougher than it needs to be.
Probably the most sarcastic and rude teacher/professor I have ever had the displeasure of being taught by. You'll get a lot of this class, but Sawyer's general demeanor makes you feel very intimidated. She even openly admits to poking fun at your recorded speeches when she's with friends, which really doesn't help if you're not good at speaking.
Probably one of the worst teachers I have had in my college career, as an almost graduated senior. She doesn't teach you a thing, it is all on your own to do/understand the outside readings, she's EXTREMELY picky on format of papers (she will dock you an entire letter grade for minor errors), and the tests are impossible. Avoid at all costs.
She is a horrible teacher. I recommend NEVER taking her class. She is very rude and sarcastic. She does not do a good job of explaining content clearly. She also makes you buy the textbook she wrote and gives so many quizzes it's difficult to keep up. Her quizzes are highly specific and vocabulary heavy. Barely even based on your speaking at all.
She seems to have bad reviews, but she's lovely! She is sarcastic-but has good intentions. She expects a lot of you but helps a lot as well. Go to her office hours, participate in class, and do the homework and you'll be fine! Everything you do will help you for future courses/life! I loved her!
Dr. Sawyer seems to know A LOT, which reflects in her often times ridiculous expectations. Don't feel like a failure or you're stupid WHEN she rips all of your work and effort to shreds. If taking her class along with others, her's will stress and annoy you the most. She can be funny and cool at times, but unfortunately, her class is not.
She makes the class seem extremely difficult, but in reality it isnt if you just do the readings. The quizzes are usually never multiple choice, so that is the most difficult thing (least amount of points as well) She seems to have favorites but shes funny at least
Kanan Sawyer was my favorite professor to take. she makes speech class less stressful especially for a first year student. we did 1 individual speech, 1 group speech, and 1 interview. you do read the textbook a lot but everything you need to know is in it because she wrote it! overall really funny and helpful. very easy to talk to.
Do not take this class. Dr. Sawyer contradicts herself between lectures and textbook and will call you out and make you feel stupid in front of the entire class. However, she makes the midterm and final exam fairly easy (if you do the readings). If you take this class, be prepared to never miss a class/work in groups.
If you love being criticized and intimidated out the wazoo, then boy oh boy, do I have the class for you! No matter how hard I tried in this class I feel like she always scrutinized my work. She has the HIGHEST expectations of people taking a public speaking GenEd. It was often hard to participate and be motivated because of her daunting demeanor.
Most frustrating professor I've ever had. There were multiple times I met with Professor Sawyer outside of class, and it was never helpful. She gave me bad grades on assignments she approved of previous to me submitting them. Overall, just not a very good educator. I feel worse about public speaking now than before her class. Do not recommend.
For some reason my rating wont go through so here I am again. She is the most frustrating professor I've ever had. She tries to crack jokes to come off as cool but she is awful. Hardest grader and no one is ever good enough. She calls people out to make them look dumb. Ive never felt more defeated. I'm a straight A student receiving C's constantly.
Professor doesn't keep up on grades especially when coming to the end of the semester. She will cut you off during your speech and talk for half the time. She doesn't care if you pass the class or not and makes it extremely difficult.
Dr. Sawyer will talk all over your speech and rip it apart. She does not care if students pass her class. I am a straight-A student and I felt that no matter what I did to try to succeed, I kept receiving horrible grades. Also no feedback from assignments.
She can sometimes be funny but that does not make up for the fact that her classes will make you suffer. Her grading is very arbitrary and based almost 100% on her personal opinion. The lectures are more like conversations where it is hard to take notes because the material is unclear. She will not let you make up assignments.
this lady is clinically insane, she will call you out in the middle of class or cut you off during your speech to randomly interrupt you. she does not keep up with grading what so ever, annoyingly speaks every thought she has out loud, and is overall a terrible human. she is extremely inconsiderate and gives little to no direction. don't take her
Interrupts you when speaking, makes you feel stupid and will call you out
She is such a tough grader, I felt like I never knew what she wanted. She is also rude, she will interrupt you while speaking and picks on people. It really seems like she has no understanding and sympathy for people.
This class was tough for it to be a basic speech class. She often makes you take short quizzes that often killed peoples grades. This Professor is also a tough grader, inconsiderate of other classes and her overall workload is ridiculous.
The tough grader part is the biggest issue. She's the kind of professor who doesn't give 100s, she will always find something to dock points for, maybe that's just the nature of a public speaking class. Grading criteria isn't super clear, the way she structures the group speech is absurd. Read and took good notes and still averaged 4/5 on quizzes.
There was no option but this is for the event planning class COM349. This woman literally wants everything done in such a specific and perfect way that it is impossible to please her or get a good grade. This entire semester was filled with stress and anxiety because of her class. She tries to be funny but I never laugh. Do not take this class.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
74%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.56 avg changeRatings by Course
COM208
5.0
(1)RECAPPWPT
5.0
(1)SPK280
5.0
(1)HON382
4.0
(1)SPK208
3.9
(14)Difficulty by Course
400
5.0
403
5.0
COMM216
5.0
COM208
5.0
SPK201
5.0