2.2
Quality3.8
Difficulty27%
Would Retake83
Reviews27%
Would Retake
83
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
9
4
8
3
10
2
21
1
35
What Students Say
“This class is very unorganized”
FMST302 - 2.0 rating“7 weeks into the class and still no major grades back”
FMST302 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
63%
Textbook Required
7%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.38 avg changeRatings by Course
FMST485
5.0
(2)FMST110
3.0
(1)FMST302
2.8
(12)FMST101
2.6
(18)FMST490
2.5
(6)Difficulty by Course
FMST490
4.3
FMST201
4.3
FMST302
4.0
FMST301
3.9
FMST303
3.8
Reviews (83)
She is the wort professor I have ever had in my life. She is inconsistent, and flighty. I would not recommend her to my worst enemy. DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH HER
She's a tough grader. She gave lots of articles to read and you would not be able to do well in the class without reading them or the textbook. She does incorporate movies and real-life experiences to explain certain theories, but it was still tough. If you enjoy a challenge, then she's your gal.
Dr. Doneker is one of the best professors I've ever had at Towson. She is enthusiastic about her subject and about her students. She will do everything she can to explain and help you understand the material. She's a tough grader and she assigns a lot of reading, but it's very helpful. If you're not serious about college, she's not your prof.
I had Doneker for both 302 and 301. Yes, it's a heavy courseload but it's not impossible and if you do what she says, you will learn so much. Even though she's challenging, you learn things that you will be able to apply when you get into the field. Learn what she looks for when grading and you will do fine. I got A's in both courses.
I've had Dr. Doneker for FOUR classes (FMST 101, 302, 485, and currently 490). Yes, she's tough but she means well. She critiques you not in a way to hurt your feelings but to help you improve upon in future assignments. I can truly say that I've survived thus far. Come to class, ask questions, and ASK FOR HELP as much as needed & you'll be fine.
Extremely intelligent. had her for 301- Once I started putting effort into my education, it became my favorite class and she was my favorite teacher. 302 with her was AWESOME! a lot of reading. A LOT. But it was never purposeless. Every SINGLE THING we were assigned to read was valuable. Only take this class if you want to learn.
She tough. The information you learn is great. I havent stopped analyzing friend/relationships since I started this class. Weekly research articles we have to write about, that are on the exam. She came late to two exams and is kind of inconsistent. Uses real world examples. She's super busy and gives a bunch of work.
She's difficult, there's no arguing that. I've had her twice. Her classes take a ton of work & dedication and she often expects you to read & remember at least a dozen articles. If you really spend some time on reading/studying and go to her office hours occasionally, you should be fine. I took her along with Internship and survived, so anyone can.
She is a great professor! She expects college level work. She will work with you on certain things, shes flexible. Take her for 490 if you have the chance!
She's a really high stress professor which heavily reflects on her grading style, assignments, and lectures. It reflects on the students. Hardly responds to emails, gives sometimes unnecessary assignments that add to stress. Super difficult exam
I took her for an online summer course and for 301 this fall. She's tough; lots of reading, exams kind of hard, but it's not impossible to do well. The one thing that really bugged me was she was late to every exam but the final. She did take questions off, but her exams are the kind that take the full time given so we didn't have time to spare.
I have had Prof. Mancini for two courses. She is one of the best professors in the Family Studies department. She prepares her students to be professionals in the field. If you a person who likes to make excuses and are lazy, she is not the professor for you.If you are willing to be challenged and can take feedback then you will love her.
This class was awful. No regard to the fact that it was summer, that students work, or have other classes. The readings were extremely long, boring, and at times hard to comprehend. The Prof. was not consistent. The time given for exams was ridiculous compared to the unclear and long essay questions. This class made me hate my minor even more.
This class is very unorganized. If you like consistency and clear guidelines this isn't the class for you. She is nice however, I think she has too many obligations at once which makes receiving feedback in a timely manner difficult for her.
Do not take this class with her. Although she is very sweet and passionate, she is not a good teacher. She is confusing, none of the assignments are clear, provides no feedbackgrading takes forever, does not respond to any emails, tough grader and really hard testsquizzes. WOULD NOT TAKE HER AGAIN.
DO NOT TAKE HER! She's unorganized and she is a really hard grader. Majority of the class had a D and she was NOT helpful at all. She takes SEVERAL weeks to actually grade one thing and her online quizzes are hard. Her readings are LONG and hard. Her midterm and final are hard as well. Her exams have about 17 questions and they are short answer
WORST ONLINE CLASS. Does not post assignments when she says she will but still expects them due as marked. 30 min quizzes w 25-30 questions where 10 are short answer and cannot skip and go back. 7 weeks into the class and still no major grades back. Took this class to graduate on time and I would have rather stayed an extra semester.
Doctor Doneker gives a great lecture with many relevant references.
While the class & course material was simple and easy-to-understand, lectures often turned into tangents and were difficult to follow and focus on. Assignment instructions/expectations were unclear. While it was easy to get an A, it required staying on top of details and figuring out a lot for myself.
I would not recommend her for capstone. This course is supposed to wrap up everything you have learned and be prepared to enter a career. She did not prepare us at all. She spent ALL of class time talking about her life and her kids. I have never had a professor talk and talk and go on tangents as bad as her. AVOID AVOID
I absolutely loved Professor Doneker. She is so knowledgeable about the subjects she teaches and she is more than willing to help you if you ask her.
Professor Doneker has been my hardest prof yet- I knew what we were supposed to be learning. Theres 6 content activities (You'll get full credit if you do it, even if it doesn't make complete sense), 2 exams (Midterm + final), and 2 papers. Takes attendance but isn't mandatory, and never used textbook but still passed
Avoid at all costs. She is so unorganized, posts grades so late, stays on one powerpoint slide the whole class, and is not clear about anything. She expects you to know a lot of policies before taking this class. Doesn't answer emails often at all. Midterm was timed online w/ not enough time at all to answer all the short answers. I hated her class
Dr. Doneker is probably the most unorganized professors that I've had in my four years at Towson. She has lost nearly half of the assignments that I turned in, and she takes forever to respond to emails. One time I even made an office appointment to meet with her and she didn't show up. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from her class!
I took her for FMST 303. The class was hard because she tends to ramble about random policy's and her personal life. She is very disorganized and she is a tough grader. But if you go to class and participate and go to her office hours it will help you in the long run because she doesn't want you to fail. She cares for her students if you care too.
She's a great professor but becomes very disorganized. I had her for 2 classes and the material was hard to keep up with later on because she did not update BB or grades late. Very attentive individually but beware to keep up at your own pace when the disorganization happens. No need to show up to class honestly, take notes and you'll be fine.
This is definitely a difficult course to be taught by from Professor Mancini. I appreciate her enthusiasm and passion for the topics - but, she is scatterbrained and does not explain topics very clearly before jumping to another thing she wants to talk about. My class all had a hard time following her teaching style.
One of my least favorite professors at Towson. Have never rated a prof but my undeniable hatred for her has inspired this. assigns so much homework for a core class (doable as tests are online) but she SCREAMS (why) for over 2 hours of a 3 hour class, about things with zero relevance to boast herself and make her think she's more insightful than us
Prof. Mancini never stops talking, although she is very passionate about what she teaches. We never ever got out of class early and we didn't even cover all of the material that was on the syllabus. There were a lot of tasks to do outside of class, and the class was all lecture.
I dont know who needs to hear this but, DO NOT TAKE HER. I would have rather waited an extra semester to graduate than to take her class had I known the kind of awful professor she is. Take at your own risk. So many students went to the head of the department to complain of her. I truly dont understand how she is not yet fired.
If you want to live, do not take this class. Assigns so much busy work, rambles the whole class and does not reply to emails with a clear understanding of the topic. Hated this class the whole semester and nothing can change that.
Worst professor. She has 50 page point slides but only gets through 2 a class because she talks about her life and irrelevant information too much. DO NOT TAKE HER. Tests are nothing talked about in class or on power points. Im a straight A student, and this is awful. DO NOT TAKE HER. Ignores emails and grades without looking at students names
She tends to ramble during online class and if you do not participate on the discussion board you might as well drop the class. She's a good professor she just talks a lot
This was one of the most confusing classes ever. She sounds like she knows a lot about the subject but she rambles a lot so its hard to follow what she is saying. Talks a lot about her personal experiences. Talks the WHOLE class ,discussion post and follow up post REQUIRED to pass, TONS of reading articles & chapters, LONG PowerPoints
Shes a good professor but she never emails back and when she does its a mass email that doesnt answer your questions. If u have any questions I would suggest asking her during the zoom class because if you try to email her you wont hear back from her, unless more people are emailing her the same question
AWFUL TEACHER. she doesnt ever respond to emails. the HARDEST grader Ive ever had. I have a 4.0 so Im a good student, and she practically gives everyone an F. AVOID HER AT ALL COST.
Dr. Doneker isn't THAT bad. I mean don't get me wrong she doesn't respond to emails until like 3 days later, but you really don't need her for much. The class was very straight forward and attendance isn't mandatory. Just read the powerpoints, do the discussion boards and the weekly 250 word essay and you'll be fine! She also records her lectures!
Most discombobulated professor ever in the history of undergrad. Run!!! Don't do it to yourself. Long-winded, self-made test has the most errors and is so confusing, does not provide timely feedback for correction, and no compassion whatsoever!!
Assignments unrelated to material (like researching Obamacare and Global Warming). Many 1-2 page papers each worth just 10 pts. Many videos to watch (some you have to pay for). Many articles to read (some from 2016 and earlier). Must use discussion board every few days or lose points. Overall, terrible class. Do not take. But she is knowledgeable.
I took this class in the winter semester of 2021 + everything was online. We had no mandatory classes we just had a lot of assignments to complete. This is somewhat hard for me to describe considering this was my first ever winter class. However I would mention that many of the assignments are fairly easy & common sense, they just take lots of time
Avoid this lady at all costs!! Talks about her self all class and does not cover course material. Does not answer emails. Constantly changing due dates and assignments. Super vauge discriptions when you ask questions. I learned absolutely nothing from this class.
Professor was completely unorganized and didnt explain her assignments throughly. Was rarely accessible outside of class and didnt really answer her emails. Always had some excuse to why she was always late to do things but expected us to be on point. Lectures didnt help at all. Basically taught myself. Honestly didnt know what she was doing.
She is literally the worst. There are so many discussion posts and content activities that you have to work so hard on only to receive 5 pts... not to mention the exams are nothing compared to what is covered in class. She is a story teller/talker and will talk about her situations non-stop, stick to one topic rather than what we need to cover.
I really dont understand why professor Doneker has such a low rating. She was an AMAZING and caring professor. She always kept her lectures so interesting and provided her own insight. You do need to read the textbook and complete weekly discussion boards but they are so simple and mostly opinion based. I wouldn't listen to these and id take her!!!
Professor Doneker is so nice Im not sure why her rating is so low. She really cares about her students and is passionate about her job. She tells lots of real life stories that make it easy to understand what shes talking about.
Dr. D is very caring for her students, she wants everyone to succeed and understand what is she really teaching. Sometimes she is not always available via email, but she always is available via text message so don't be afraid to text if it's urgent. She wants you to succeed.
Granted, this was a winter course so I should have known what I was getting myself into. Even so, she really crunched 15 weeks of work into 3. I stayed up every night, all night to just finish her assignments on time. LISTEN! If you are like me from the past and are debating whether to take this winter course for FMST 201, DO NOT!!!!
I have taken 4 other classes by Dr. Doneker. I know a lot of students need hands on support, but she is not like that. Attendance isn't mandatory, she posts the PowerPoints online so don't worry about the textbook, and there are no major assignments, but lots of little ones. She's not that accessible outside of class, but her activities are easy.
She talks so much. She goes on tangents and is just so hard to follow, so hard to tell what is relevant and what is not. She'd spend twenty minutes talking about something and then say "but we aren't talking about that" after we just took so many notes on it. the one good thing is that if 50% of the class get's a question wrong she won't count it.
She does go on tangents sometimes when explaining the material but it all usually makes sense if you give the PowerPoints a good read. I do like that she will grade exam questions on a curve if half the class gets a question wrong. If you keep up with the chapter material via PowerPoints (at minimum) and attend class, you'll be fine.
The class is enjoyable because she uses a lot of examples. Make sure to take notes though if she mentions facts that relate to the topics. Exams are online and a bit difficult but if you have the book and your notes pulled up (and google in case) you should be fine. She gets rid of questions if majority gets them wrong. Not a tough grader. V nice.
Even though she would talk a whole lot during class, Professor Doneker is a good professor. She technically requires textbooks but in my opinion, you don't need to spend money on them. I bought might and didn't use it once.
She is very nice but seems to be almost TOO passionate on this subject because she goes on long rants and never uses power points so she expects us to write notes on what she is saying but it is too much at times so it is hard to stay focused on everything. She is very flexible and cares about the class opinion on classwork which is nice.
She's just an OK professor. She passes an attendance sheet which everyone has to sign. She gives very few homeworks and you will get through the class without having to open the book she wants you to get once. But she talks about herself the entire class. Im a single mom this my house burned down last year blah blah blah. Be prepared
I took this class over the summer semester because I thought it would be easier. It was not. She did not respond to emails multiple times, there were times when she either would not upload the module for the week or she would upload it late so we had less time to work on it, and she regularly gave assignments for articles locked behind paywalls.
This professor is great. She gives simple 5 point essays (4 total) and lots of extra credit opportunities. She also curves exams. Just go to class and do the work and you'll be fine.
Very great professor if you're looking for an easy core class, barely any assignments along with lots of extra credit opportunities. Make sure you take notes and all exams you're allowed a sheet of paper, I will say exams are pretty confusing so make sure you read the book and refer to notes! She is very caring and helpful towards her students
Prof has a very bubbly personality and talks a LOT! She likes to talk about herself and all of her powerpoints are copied from the textbook. The class is easy and the only assignments are short 1-2 page essays and exams. The exams are online so you don't need to study - everything is googleable. I watch Netflix all class and currently have a 98%.
Hands down the worst professor ever, talks way to much and she wants you to fail. DO NOT TAKE
I would not take this professor ever again, I dont even know how she has 2 stars, she should have negative 500 million, the worst professor ever. She goes on and on about her personal life, blah, blah, blah. No one cares about your perosnal life.
horrible prof do not take
Worst professor ever
Worst professor ever wouldnt even give her a zero stars, would give negative 500 million if possible. Never responds to emails even if you email her like 4 times. Not helpful in class either, I had to argue with her because she wasnt going to give me my acccomidations that I have for my classes. ( extra time on exams that was). DO NOT TAKE
If you want to keep your sanity, don't take this class. This woman is inaccessible outside of class and doesn't give ANY feedback. Instead of teaching, she talks about her life all lecture. She reads off slides instead of teaching anything and seriously has issues with wanting to teach 3-6 minutes once the class is over. STAY AWAY!!
Worst prof ever, does not respond to emails at all, even when communicating about missed classes.
I would highly not recommend this class. Instead of teaching, the instructor spent 30+ minutes of class time discussing personal family problems. If she says that you're gonna leave class early expect either to leave on time or a minute or two after.
Very unpleasant and confusing, whole class was explained poorly and exams were written very odd. I ended up with a 85 and 90 on both so far respectively but mostly on my own accord. I don't believe she is a good teacher and in fact makes this boring topic more boring many of my peers dropped out of my class and the class average grade is a 70%.
This teacher was absolutely awful and insufferable. The amount of work she would assign was INSANE. IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF PLEASE RUN. I believe my grade will still be good, but that was with a lot of brain work. The amount of work she would assign knowing we had a huge project to do in her class was annoying. Extremely disorganized. Don't take it.
I found the class more difficult than it needed to be. Lectures were almost 2 hours, twice a week and I would leave with the same amount of information I came in with (close to none). The lectures were a waste of time and did not help with exams or projects at all. Ridiculous amount of work given during finals week, on top of a large final project.
Slide presentations were way too wordy and confusing, making it impossible to know what to study. Does not grade in a timely manner (though she did offer 4 points extra credit on 1 assignment if you turned it in on time for late feedback). DO NOT take this class if you need to fulfill a core. (at least not with this professor) VERY DIFFICULT.
Dr. Doneker is a nice person, but a horrible professor. She does not respond to emails at all. The lectures have nothing to do with the exams and she goes off on rants about her issues or completely unrelated subjects. She is also a tough grader yet provides little feedback. Would not recommend taking any of her classes.
Prof. Doneker gave four-hour lectures that were impossible for ADHD, is a harsh grader, sent out work without saying, and piled up work during finals. I don't leave reviews much, but I gave my all for every assignment and almost always received a hypercritical grade. The final was my last straw. After more than five all-nighters; I got a C.
If you value your sanity, do NOT take any of her courses. So much homework. Very unorganized. Unclear instructions. Just avoid her courses at all costs.
I cannot follow her lectures at all, she averages 3 slides a class and rambles about topics completely unrelated to the course. She uploaded the syllabus with the wrong dates and decided it was not important enough to fix. She sends out no notifications or announcements and isn't concerned with her students' grades. Good luck.
The class 490 is already a lot but if you take it with Doneker then you are really going to be stressed. She doesn't put in grades until last second at the end of the semester. Her feedback on assignements weren't helpful at all. She rambles in her lectures that stirs off the topic that we need to be focused on. Final was optional though good thing
Professor Doneker-Mancini seems nice, but the class was stressful and unorganized. She often posted discussions late, didn't respond to emails, and didn't follow the syllabus. Participation was demanding, and the final had 110 MC and 5 essays. If possible, take this class with another professor.
VERY unrealistic expectations. Truly shoved 16 weeks of work into 3 weeks. Unresponsive to emails, posted things late when we are already on a tight schedule. If you work or have a lot of classes do not take with this professor. Also makes things political when they should not and do not have to be. Avoid taking with her as the prof. if you can.
I've always heard about the "Karen" stereotype and thought it was a funny joke. It all makes sense now. Different professor please. Most other reviews are accurate.
If you love not being frustrated DO NOT TAKE HER. She is not a good teacher. When she lectures she skips over half of the slides she makes and then quizzes you on things she has never taught. She doesn't read her emails at all and she can't work blackboard to save her life. If you take her be ready to sit here and teach yourself everything.
Not good- always got off topic during lectures and never explained any assignments so it was hard to understand what was expected on assignments. Always let class out late. Never responds to emails. Has a lot of assignments that need to be written up for only 5 points each. Tests are hard.
You have to buy things like videos that aren't in the syllabus for assignments. She starts her lectures early and ends them late. Big yapper. She's kind of monotone and has a lot of empty talk. Sometimes she argues with students and spreads misinformation, but the class itself is easy. She's not the worst, but not the best.
Professor Mancini is a nice teacher, although she tends to talk too much and show off things that will basically make you laugh. But the content isn't bad, the essays and everything are good. However, the exams are very lengthy. Nevertheless, she takes criticism and learns over time, so it's not as lengthy.
Just avoid taking her. She is very unorganized and all over the place. The lectures are long and she rambles on and on constantly. The slides themselves are so dense and filled with such useless information that you will lose motivation with taking notes very quickly. The exams are not very related to the in class content and are confusing.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
63%
Textbook Required
7%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.38 avg changeRatings by Course
FMST485
5.0
(2)FMST110
3.0
(1)FMST302
2.8
(12)FMST101
2.6
(18)FMST490
2.5
(6)Difficulty by Course
FMST490
4.3
FMST201
4.3
FMST302
4.0
FMST301
3.9
FMST303
3.8