3.3
Quality3.3
Difficulty45%
Would Retake109
Reviews45%
Would Retake
109
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
42
4
19
3
16
2
9
1
23
What Students Say
“This is a help yourself lab”
BIO1492 - 1.0 rating“Need to ask a question”
MICRO2192 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
92%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.29 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOLOGY124L
5.0
(1)BIO123L
5.0
(1)MICRO239
5.0
(1)BIOLO123
5.0
(1)BIOINT
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOINT
5.0
MICRO201
5.0
BIO250
5.0
BIO2110
4.3
MICRO2192
4.3
Reviews (109)
Karen is not clear as to what she expects. She changes her mind constantly. Her lectures are confusing. Also, don't expect a study guide in her class. Avoid this teacher.
Karen is a nice person, but is extremely hard. She asks questions on her exams that were not covered in class. The average for her exams have been 69 percent, which she says is "good"
Karen is very disorganized and confusing. Her lectures are extremly hard to follow and she asks questions on tests that aren't covered on lectures.
I really enjoyed this class. I thought Karen Bentz explained things clearly and was very supportive. She gave study suggestions that were very helpful and if followed could result in excellent grades.
Karen may be hard to follow at times. If you have questions she is very approachable. when I took her for the above courses I received an "A" in both. You do need to read the book.What I found helpful is printing notes from another instructor's
Her directions are not very clear but she is willing to help you with whatever you don't understand. Her quizzes are not that difficult just as long as you review your notes you should be ok.
Karen is super nice but its sometimes hard to know exactly what she expects. She gives notes and a study guide but the study guide is really general. She asks VERY specific questions on tests.Sometimes she is just not very clear, however she is approachable.
scattered teaching process, behind in lectures
I find her lecture confusing, as she goes from topic to topic, skimming over information she expects you to know. She is way behind her syllabus schedule. Find another teacher for this class if you want a good grade.
she does not teach ..if you have had no bio your totally confused
Karen is very nice, too nice. During final presentations, her large bio class was supposed to be 10 minutes max per person. She had no way of controlling this and never spoke up when people got up to 25 min even. Others had to shorten theirs. Tests are a total surprise, do not match study guide.
one word: DITZ
Karen is a good teacher. She takes the time to answer questions, and likes to make sure you understand what she is telling you. I would definetly recommend her to other students. The only negative thing I can say about Karen is that she is not very good at answering her E-mails. But other than that she is definetly a good teacher.
No Comments
This class was pretty easy. The only thing that sucked was the weekly article you had to do...other than that....I liked her. She makes the final soooo easy!
She's a nice lady and a good teacher. I felt she was very good at explaining the material and gave good reviews to help study for tests.
Lectured right out of the book. Wished the class went a little more in depth, or covered more. Enjoyed it anyway, and Karen is very nice.
She is super nice. Easy class, but that s ok.
She was not clear at all. She would start and stop in the middle of chapters. Had to do community service work or do a presentation. She was not clear in explaining things that many of us did not understand. I would not take her again.
Interesting class! She is very nice patient, open for discussions, and questions. Pretty easy class with not much homework.
Karen is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!! Very helpful.. Will answer any questions you have about anything to the best of her ability.. Wants her students to suceed!!! Drops lowest test grade!!! Goes over exams next class... A Great instructor!!!!!!!!
Very PATIENT and understanding instructor... Am taking her again for Micro!!! Would recommend her to anyone!!! Failed Bio 123 last****ter & passed w/ A this semester... If that doesn't tell you something I don't know what else will!!!!
Great teacher. Always answered questions, and was willing to help. She gives an outline for notes, and study guide for the test. You get out what you put in.
She sucks. Not a good teacher at all. Is she even a certified teacher she does not know any of the material taught in class. DON"T TAKE HER...
She is an ok teacher drops 1 lowest test you get out what you put in.
Great Teacher. Loved her teaching style and wish i could take her for all bio courses.
She is very Help full and gives really good study guides and notes.. she is ausome!!
Great teacher. Very knowledgeable. I would take her for more classes if I needed to. It is up to the student to keep up. Great chapter outlines! She is also very good in labs.
She is great, she knows a lot and helps students with just about anything you might need (related to bio). The person who wrote the first comment probably sat in the back talking about the other students questions and didn't do the work required to get a good grade in her class!
She is a great teacher. She is helpful and clear and doesn't make you feel stupid when you ask questions. She is awesome!
Mrs. Bentz is a nice person, but when it comes to teaching; I just don't know. We didn't use the text book a lot because she said to focus on the lecture notes,which were really all scattered, she related stuff from the lab too. Even following the lecture notes, it was not clear at all, she would even test you on things we never went over.
Karen is great! She drops lowest exam score.All multiple choice. I took her for both intro bio and micro. She's always willing to help struggling students! Her classes are full w/in the 1st week of registration if that does not tell you something I don't know what will!!
Nice lady, very helpful. You get out what you put in. I couldn't have made a better choice for lab. Tests and quizzes are cake as long as you put in the study time. I recommend her to anyone. DONT TAKE MCNAMARA, WHATEVER YOU DO!!!!
Very helpful, and very approachable. Anytime I had a question she would make sure I got the answer. You have to work for a good grade, but she will help you if you try.
She jumps around a lot, confunsing, not helpful. I had her for another Bio class where she used to be more helpful but with Micro she wasn't. I know it is a hard subject but she made it harder. Her tests were tricky. She play favoritism
I didn't think she was confusing at all. She gives out notes so you don't have to write a whole lot, just listen. The tests were not tricky in my opinion, since everything on the tests are in her notes, maybe some people just didn't study enough. I think it usually took about 4 hours total to study for a test and get an A. She is a nice too.
Confusing, not helpful, tried very hard. Micro is a very hard subject, studied lots even though she may think I didn?t study enough. Spend more than four hours per day studying. She would help her favorites. She had handouts that didn?t match the book so it was hard to follow.
Her class is pretty easy if you read the textbook. She does powerpoints completely off of the book. Her tests are based off the book. She does have several hw assignments and quizzes, 3-4 tests, and a final. She doesn't always explain the topic clearly. If you are willing to read the textbook, her class will be relatively easy for you.
I loved her, she was a great teacher, not too demanding, but just study and you'll do fine, like always!
I had Karen for bio and micro.She gives notes and worksheets and if you follow both you will do well on her tests.She does the test right off her notes. And she was very approachable! Willing to help.
Mrs. Bentz is a very kind person. She expects a lot, but truly cares about the success of her students. She is more than willing to help out. I highly recommend her to anyone.
Offers a general explanation and overview and encourages you to ask for specifics if you need help beyond that. VERY helpful & knowledgeable if you take the time to ask for assistance. Cares about her students and genuinely wants them to do well.
Her class is Not easy. Her lecture notes are very vague and not very helpful to study with. Her test questions are worded tricky. I would not recommend her to anyone unless your life revolves around Biology. As hers does.
Karen is a really nice person and a good professor. She expects you to learn how to do the things in lab and as long as you study, you'll do fine.
She isn't helpful at all. She WILL NOT give extra credit. If you don't want to teach yourself, do not take her class. If you tell her you don't understand something, she will not explain it another way, just the same thing over again. Her tests are "comprehensive". If micro is not your life you will probably not do well.
Best teacher I have ever had. She wants her students to do well. Very kind. Very clear about what she is going to test on. I wish she taught all of my classes.
Was able to get out of her classes. Tests are terrible - more for an upper level course, not a community college course. Did prefer non-"confrontational" students, so has her favorites. Not clear. Couldn't answer a questions straightforwardly. Very typical personality for her "upbringing." You learn more about microbio with other profs.
She is an alright lab teacher, she gives weekly quizes. A midterm and an open book lab report type final. I stronlgly suggest not taking her for lecture. As long as you do your thing you will pass. But she does through in some random quiz questions so look beyond the box.
Very good teacher, but also very hard class. lots of resources are available and if student wants to learn to study right, this is the class for them.
Karen is a very nice teacher. If you do not have any previous classes of biology or chemistry, then it will be harder. She gives you notes, doesn't mind answering questions and goes over what will be on the test. If you don't study, you will fail.
Mrs. Bentz is a great teacher,I recamend her for Biology 1410 She is great.
when i asked her to explain a homework problem, she ignored the question and talked about a different question
Karen is a great teacher. I had to retake this class and was fortunate to have a teacher (Karen) that wanted you to learn. Her tests are not easy but when you finish the class you hang on to the knowledge that was learned.
Very hard teacher, but give her a chance and she'll not be so bad by the end of the semester.
very pleasant and very easy to understand. Always puts some trick questions in tests and no post test reviews
If you just show up to her classes and skim the book, you should get an A. Pretty dry though...
Karen was an awesome teacher! She really cares about her students.Take her and Elizabeths community coarse.It's a lot of work but you will learn so much!I enjoyed her lecture more than her lab.Her notes are clear and if you do your homework, the front page of the test is easy!Emily is a GREAT SI and will get you to pass with her study groups!!
She is a very nice teacher and she gives notes! If you are confused about something, she is willing to clarify.
She is a very nice person.Her lectures go by quickly. Anything she writes on the board WILL BE ON THE TEST!!!! I took her Bio1410 as well.She is a very supportive instructor.
She is a good teacher until you have questions. She quickly becomes agitated anytime anything interrupts her lectures. if you have any questions at all, be sure to talk with her SI or meet her during her office hours
I relied a lot on self study and studygroup to get an A, not an easy lab. If you are comfortable w/that kind of environment you do well, if you'd like someone that really explains things and helps out I would not recommend her.
Easy,she test on her notes, not so much the book. Shes easy to talk to, laidback.
Karen is a good instructor, a bit low key she is unpredictable though. Seems to play favorites, reaches out to help a struggling student, catch her with an obvious question? BAM she will get angry! She assumes a tone of "you idiot!" Overall her class is good, don't expect inspiration and assume the role role of apple polisher to get an A.
Karen is the best she knows her material.take her class and you won't regret.
Her teaching style is unpredictable. She gives you notes but some of the information is not in the notes or even talked about and will end up on the test (this is what she did to us on the finial). When she is lecturing she may say stuff under her breath try to pay attention, more than likely it will be on a test or quiz.
This is a help yourself lab. She puts questions in quizzes that have nothing to do with the unit she told you to study for. She doesn't help at ALL!
Karen is such a great woman! I feel like she really cares about her students. Anytime I had a question or problem she was more than willing to help me! Thank you Karen!
sometimes she may forget to mention something on her lecture but puts it on the test. if you dont answer it right she says it was in the textbook. hard grader.
I had Karen for Bio 1410. Look, it is a weed-out class. You MUST attend all lectures/labs and you have to study! Go to the tutoring sessions (they are a lifesaver). I highly recommend Karen. I know she recognized the work I put in to her class. Do the work and you will be fine!
I took Karen's Bio 1410 class and it was my first bio class in a very long time. She was a little dry and it was hard to get into the class at first, but as time went on, it got more interesting. I will definitely be taking her micro class soon. Attend/study, you will pass!
Very good teacher the notes explained exactly what she wanted you to study. She made the material easy to understand.
The class was hard but if you study the notes you will be fine. She is always willing to help if you don't understand.
Soft spoken so sit in the front of the class, but a really helpful teacher.
She's really good! She follows the book, but puts together good notes to follow. As long if you study her notes you'll do fine. She's really nice, nothing unexpected. I bought the book, but didn't really use it much.
Instructor gives outline for notes. Follow the outline and her lecture. All material comes directly from the book. She is very helpful.
I took Karen for Micro Lecture and Lab she is awesome. Micro is a hard subject and you have to put the effort into studying no matter who you have. Karen is very helpful and patient she really knows her stuff. She gives an outline for her tests follow that her notes and reading and you'll do fine.
Karen through this lab reminded me of some forgotten childhood memories of discovery through a microscope. Bringing back lost, good memories of childhood, made me enthusiastic for this class! Keeping a field journal was so much fun.
Good teacher. Clear and simple expectations. Kept me interested in the subject. I would highly recommend.
This is a help yourself lab. She doesn't help at ALL!
She is a tough grader- if the answer isn't in the verbiage she would use, it's marked wrong. Need to ask a question? Forget it. She won't answer it. I wasn't the only one frustrated, believe me. She made the class harder than it needed to be.
Highly recommend! The subject matter is tough. However, Professor Bentz gives you ample opportunity to do well. She is not a tough grader, in fact, many times the exams and quizzes have enough questions on them that you are able to miss quite a few and still get a decent grade. She is also very considerate in regards to the schedule.
Very confusing! Goes from one thing to another, and then back to the first thing : Doesn't make students feel welcome to ask questions, doesn't give a good study guide or exam review, talks very low, and focuses mainly on the first row of the class. For her exams the best thing is to study from the book. I do not recommend taking her class! :(
She's a nice professor and is willing to help. The study guides don't match the exams at all. To pass the exams study as much detail as possible. The exam questions are very detailed somewhat random. Spend a lot of time studying to pass.
I highly recommend taking Karen! I absolutely loved her class and learned so much! Extra credit available with online homework, and her tests aren't that hard if you pay attention and study. I received one 97% & four 100% on all tests including the final. Biology is a very interesting subject and Karen will be there to help you when you need it!
Karen is a really sweet lady but if you take her for lab, be prepared to reach yourself. She writes some notes on the board and then sends you off to do the experiments and doesn't help much after that. Groups are basically on their own to figure everything out. If you finish early and try leaving she stops you and wants proof as if its high school
One of the most difficult classes I've experienced thus far. I put in a lot of work into the course only to have to take it again. She is an extremely hard grader with no sympathy or curves, class average was a constant 60-70% DO NOT TAKE
If you have a question might as well look up the answer yourself. Karen does not answer questions, she does not assist in lab or lecture instead says read the book. I would no recommend anyone taking her.
Several test questions come from info she writes on board. Taking lab with class really helps you understand the material.
She's an okay instructor. Fairly boring, no book needed. Just study the outlines she gives you & its an easy A. No homework besides some take home quizzes but that's it. Lab was okay, she doesn't help. You have to learn yourself. Good thing I had a partner who already knew what she was doing otherwise it's a bit tough.
Simply professional
She's very strict in the lab, will watch you like a hawk, and constantly does not leave you alone. Disagree with the new tablets being in lab compared to a hard copy lab book. Will be a disaster one day. All of her quizzes come from the lab manual online. After taking her lab it made us appreciate the UNM biology labs a lot more. Do not recommend if you prefer to get done asap and work alone.
She offered so little thorough explanation. The micro bio lab book in online only. Very crucial to read ahead. Must be present to perform labs. Frequent heavily and subjectively graded quizzes. You have to stay on your toes or you'll get behind. Mid term and Final are 'easy' to help you catch up.
Attendance is required, but this is a policy of the school, so this will not alter. Exams play a major role in the class grade, but all of the content is listed on the review sheets. The reviews may be found online. Instructor Bentz provides templates to follow with the lecture. These are helpful for exams.
I took my first ever Bio class with Mrs Bentz. She is fair with grading but the exams don't match the study guides too much. Had to study with outside classroom material the whole class. She does not offer extra credit either.
I really liked her. Her lectures were straightforward and clear.
She's serviceable although her lectures are pretty dry, she is a bit unorganized and forgetful but lacks awareness to that. The notes don't always match all of whats on the tests but I think that's just her way of trying to test her students into understanding the content instead of just remembering it. If she is your only choice, you'll make it.
Shes great!!
She doesn't stick with her syllabus one bit. She doesn't communicate with students when she change things. She will change criteria for projects midway through that is so detrimental that you have to practically start over. You don't even need the textbook. Also if you do garden club with her, you pretty much don't have to do anything and get an A.
Unfortunately she is very vague when going over things. She cant answer any questions straight forward or she just wont help you. There is a Quiz every week on the material from the week prior. When she checks our notebooks, she simply turns the pages quickly and then gives you a 20/20 whether its right or not. Shes a bit spacey.
The people who are complaining probably didn't know how to study for her class because she gave us outlines on every single exam and almost everything she covered on the outline applied exactly to the study guide and if you study the outlines, you will pass the exams. If I had just studied the outlines more, I would have gotten an A.
I had a hard time at first. She gives you a study guide but it doesnt help. Once I started studying the outline she gives with each chp, I passed every Test with an A. She drops one exam too so that helped me out.
The people who rated her well probably only took this class. This lady expects you to dedicate your whole life and time to her. Her exams don't follow the study guides so you're studying useless information and when test time comes along you are blank. Her study guides are a good 20 pages long and she gives you short deadlines to get it done.
This instructor is simply awful. Don't take this with her. I have never seen an instructor so anal about this topic. It is so much to do for a one credit course. Be ready to a bunch of useless study guides although ill say their an east 50 points. She is too into her field and expects you to be too. DO NOT TAKE.
At first I thought this class was very easy because all we did for each week up until now were study guides for each unit. Although they were VERY lengthy, I didn't mind them because it was one assignment. I just took the midterm and did HORRIBLY after studying my "study guides" for weeks. The midterm is worth 37.5% OF MY GRADE. IMAGINE HOW I FEEL!
You will be expected to devote all of your time to this class, chapter assignments only, no lectures. Hopefully that suits your learning style. Test every two weeks, which don't match what you were to have taught yourself. You will be required to memorize a lot of information as tests are no textbook no notes and memory only. Good luck
Took professor Bentz for my Micro Bio lecture. There was a total of 8 tests, one every two weeks. A quiz every other week and a discussion board too. We had to completely teach ourselves, no lectures, just chapters out of the book to read each week and were expected to retain and memorize all of the material.
Solid choice for Intro Bio Lab. If you put in a moderate amount of effort you should be able to get an A or B no problem. Buy the lab manual, read the chapter introductions in order to complete the pre-lab questions, do the lab activities, complete post-lab questions. That's it. If you know the material you'll do fine on the quizzes.
STAY AWAY! I put endless hours into my study guides to make sure they were up to standard. Every single one she found something to deduct points for. I love receiving feedback but to deduct 10 points of a 20 page study guide and having two questions be wrong is ridiculous. She expects all your time and effort to be in this class only.
I took Ms. Bentz for microbiology lecture class and if i could take her for my other classes i 100% would. She really cares about her students and always is down to help with any questions. The lectures aren't too boring especially it being biology. She drops the lowest score and curves your exam scores. i would recommend taking her class.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
92%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.29 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOLOGY124L
5.0
(1)BIO123L
5.0
(1)MICRO239
5.0
(1)BIOLO123
5.0
(1)BIOINT
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOINT
5.0
MICRO201
5.0
BIO250
5.0
BIO2110
4.3
MICRO2192
4.3