2.8
Quality4.1
Difficulty30%
Would Retake83
Reviews30%
Would Retake
83
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
30
4
4
3
8
2
16
1
25
What Students Say
“Zwissler was an amazing prof, super passionate + educated on the subject”
REL175 - 5.0 rating“NEVER TAKE THIS CLASS”
REL101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
96%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
207
5.0
(1)WST207
5.0
(2)REL175
5.0
(1)REL370
5.0
(1)WSTREL207
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
REL302
4.4
REL101
4.2
REL303
4.1
REL370
4.0
REL501
4.0
Reviews (83)
No guidance or direction at all for any class period or for exams. Speaks at the class with a poor teaching style. The exams are all essay based and very subjective in grading. If this was a 300 level class I would not be complaining, but as a senior, I've never worked harder for a C in my life. Very passionate and smart, just not a good professor.
Great professor! Was not interested in the subject matter before I took the class, and now I am very interested. Very helpful if you stop by office hours. You'll have to work hard, but the work is very intellectually stimulating.
Dr. Zwissler was passionate about her subject matter, and willing to help students outside of class time. She validated students' opinions respectfully. Attendance was a must, since lectures were central to the exams more than readings. I would recommend this class to anyone interested in expanding their prior beliefs and their worldview.
One of the hardest classes I have taken here. I am a senior looking for an elective and looking for something interesting. This was not it. Should have been a 300-400 level class. Essay based exams and no structure whatsoever. She runs the class however she wants and is not concerned with students.
Don't take this class as a UP!! She doesn't allow and sort of electronics in her class. Most of the information you're tested on is stuff she says, yet she says so much it's difficult to jot it all down. She seems nice at first but she expects wayyy to much from a 101 class and actually went as far as to call the entire class ignorant. AVOID HER
She is a very smart lady and is willing to help as much as she can but she treated REL 101 like it was a 300 level class. She grades VERY hard. DO NOT take her if you think it'll be an easy blow off class.
Zwissler is an impossible professor! She treats her students as if they should know religion inside and out before actually taking a course. Her exams are all essay in which the topics are very hard. She has a poor teaching style. I have never struggled so much with a class here before as this one. WORST CLASS!
This class is not easy, but not anywhere near impossible. Dr. Zwissler is very passionate about teaching this subject. If you put in the effort, she will notice. Dr. Zwissler knows what she is talking about and has an effective teaching style. If you are willing to be open minded, you will love Dr. Zwissler and this class.
Dr. Zwissler is a very nice teacher, but she is difficult! Her exams are all essay. Attendance, while not recorded, is a must. She is not very good at keeping her opinions of other religions to herself. However, she is very helpful if you go visit during her office hours. Not recommended if taking this class for an easy A!
If you are up for a challenge take one of her classes. She is a really nice teacher and is really engaged in her teaching. Her tests and essays are difficult but she is available to help at your convenience. Overall great teacher!
This teacher is impossible. I am a straight A student, and this class is a struggle. She thinks everyone is majoring in Religion, and grades extremely hard. Once in a paper I quoted Nye from the religion book, and she did not know what I was talking about..
Honestly, this is the hardest class that I am in right now. You would think it would be easy because it's a 100 level class but it's not. She grades hard and the exams are all essay. I have attended every class, taken all of the notes and even met with her for help and I still struggled. I would not recommend taking this class with her.
Unless you're a religion major or a genius do not take her. This was easily the hardest class of my freshman year. She expects too much on exams, writing assignments and readings- way too much material. She's very nice and will discuss your grade with you but by the last day of the drop period half the class is gone.
Horrible, exams are extremely hard and way to much is expected out of the writing assignments. It is a hit or miss class. She is nice and tries to help you but it is a very hard class and she is an aggravating teacher.
Doctor Zwissler is a very interesting woman and she teaches the class in a very unique manner, but it's not for everybody though. This is NOT a blow off class, you will NOT receive an easy A. This course is challenging but informative and worth it if you're intelligent and not ignorant or intolerant of other religions.
Doctor Zwissler is extremely nice and caring towards her students however AVOID REL101 AT ALL COSTS! She teaches the class like a philosphy class, the readings take minimum of 3-4 hours to read, and and the tests are nearly impossible. Not an easy A at all. I spent hours studying for this class and still ended up with a bad grade. save your gpa!
Loved her as a professor, her excitement about it is really contagious. Very Very helpful, only one seven page paper due the whole semester. DONT TAKE IF YOU ARENT INTERESTED IN THE SUBJECTS AND DONT LIKE TO READING ACADEMIC ESSAYS! You'll hate the class and be bored.
Zwissler has great intentions, but she does not have a good teaching style. There is a LARGE amount of reading-nearly impossible. Tests and essays are very difficult. I got the sense that Zwissler expected the class to know a lot about religion coming into the course. This is NOT an easy A. I would not suggest it unless it is required for you!
Dr. Zwissler was an amazing prof, super passionate + educated on the subject. ended up being my favorite course I took at CMU. she always encouraged taking advantage of her office hours and wasn't a real stickler about due dates. she expects you to show up though, and has a strict rule on cell phone usage during class- this isn't a blow off course
INCREDIBLY old-fashioned in her teaching style, but a wonderful professor overall. You have to do the reading and the assignments or else you're screwed, and she takes attendance. Super willing to work with students (she gave me an extension on a paper without me even asking) and incredibly knowledgable. Hard, but worth it.
DO NOT TAKE HER!!! She seems nice but the class is boring. So many notes. Also, I am a straight A student and her grading is IMPOSSIBLE. I am convinced she does not give A's.. her grading is very harsh. PLEASE do NOT take this class you will regret it.
Expects WAY too much out of her students, loads on tons of work and readings! Grades very very harsh! STAY AWAY FROM ZWISSLER!
Professor Zwissler expects a lot out of her students. This is not an easy class at all! The tests are made up mostly of essay questions and she grades very harshly. I don't recommend taking her at all.
She is a tough grader and she gives a ton of homework and readings out, attendance is mandatory and she always uses the word "anxieties" and she never matches/has no fashion sense.
Class taught like a High School class. Lectures were boring and you are unable to use any electronics. Lots of reading with questions for every chapter every week. Several papers and exams are majority short answer/essay. Avoid class at all costs. Way to high of expectations for 101 UP class
Dr. Zwissler was an amazing teacher, and by far one of the best that I have had at CMU. She cares for her students and goes the extra mile to help you with anything. Her passion for the subject is great and she makes the class fun. If you get the chance, take any class you can with her!
Grades pretty hard but there are only 2 tests and a few papers to write. She offers a lot of extra credit and there's weekly questions on readings that are easy points. As long as you actually show up and do the work it's fairly easy to get a good grade. Her lectures are pretty interesting because she's really into the things she talks about.
It is to make connections with Prof Z. Lectures: black and white. Syllabus: purple and black. Tests: GREEN and black??????? Confusing. I've tried looking her in the eye and she won't look back. Visual learning is hard, when professors wave their hands often. If motions, tones, and colors matter choose another religions prof.
Always does her very best to make things clear. There were a few papers and tests but if you put in a little effort, it's easy to get an A on them. Reading questions every week, most requiring the book.
NEVER TAKE THIS CLASS. There is no chance of receiving an A in this class and is an extreme struggle to even receive a passing grade. Extremely hard grader and expects everybody to be experts on every subject and she reminds me of a witch. I was well aware and comfortable with the material but that is not good enough to do well on examsassignments
Dr. Zwissler is one of my favorite profs. She is an extremely nice person, knowledgeable, easy to talk to and enjoys getting to know students. If you want a class where you do not want to show up or take a lot of notes, however, this is not for you. You have to work and try for your grade; DO NOT PROCRASTINATE.
For a 101 level class, this was one of the hardest ones I've ever taken. I had no idea how to study and she was no help. All assignments and test are written. I felt as if i was in a writing intensive class when that is not what it was suppose to be. Also, she does not utilize e-mail . All i have to say is good luck.
I loved every second of this class. She was so so helpful and engaging with the subject. Some of the material was tough, but if you show you're willing to work to understand it, she's really patient and explains thoroughly.
Make sure to attend class, as she doesn't post the notes anywhere. That being said, the notes are essential to studying for the exams. Zwissler herself is very friendly and engages with the class. I really enjoyed her as a professor.
This isn't high school. Take good notes, write a college level paper, and do the short readings. Zwissler is helpful and willing to work with you- use her office hours. Her goal is for everyone to pass, there is no reason you shouldn't get at least a B. The tech free class is not a big deal, you are paying for the course whether you pass or not.
I expected Religion 101 to be a pretty simple class since it is a 100 level class and it wasn't a writing intensive. But I was very wrong, she is one of the hardest graders of a teacher I have ever had and we had to write six essays for this class. Overall this class was not beneficial to me and I should have dropped it in the very beginning.
Dr. Zwissler is very passionate and knowledgeable about the topic, which made me interested as well. She does grade toughly, and there were pop quizzes over the readings; READING IS MANDATORY or you will not do well. Only one paper for the whole class. She is very helpful during her office hours, and encouraged class discussion. Would take again.
Dr. Zwissler is a very good professor and is very knowledgeable about the course. She is very friendly and is always open to help out her students. We did have to do a lot of work for the class, but if you have basic knowledge of religion, it shouldn't be a big deal. There are quite a few papers, but they aren't super hard if you're good at writing
Dr. Zwissler is an enthusiastic, engaging professor who knows her stuff. If you show up, do most of the reading, put effort into papers and act like you care, she can be flexible and downright lovely. She tends to assign a lot of reading and she has high expectations. If you're not into learning or interested in knowing things, take another prof.
For a 100 level class she expected way too much and graded very tough. I would get papers and homework back with NO feedback or corrections and still would not recieve an A. GO TO OFFICE HOURS and go over every lecture and homework to make sure you got the key concepts for each quiz. The quizzes are tough and tricky, good luck.
Laurel is possibly the hardest grading professor I've ever encountered. Although this UP is not an easy A, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Zwissler. If you're into in-class group work, she's right up your ally.
Dr. Zwissler is a very tough grader and she doesn't give good feedback. She does not allow electronics in her classroom and you MUST attend class. After four missed sessions, she starts docking your grade. She assigns loads of reading, and there are quite a few assignments in her class (though it is a 300 level).
She doesn't give good feedback or allow electronics. She gives random pop quizzes all the time and has a terrible grading system. You have to read, and make time to visit her office hours. She's hard to impress and not specific about what she wants. Avoid taking her class.
Dr. Zwissler is a tough grader, and she doesn't seem to be open to any thoughts but her own. She tries to be more of a mother than a teacher. Her class is tech free, yet she teaches using notes on Word? She requires attendance and your grade is reduced significantly if you miss class.
I have to say, This teacher is full of surprises. She is not very specific on what she wants you to do so beware of that. I went to her office hours for the 6-10 pg research paper and barely recieved the feedback I needed. She always does random pop quizzes. I made the class with a C-. That was pure luck. don't take the course. I DON'T recommend.
Dr. Zwissler is definitely one of the better professors I've had at CMU. She wants you to pass, so as long as you do the work and pay attention you'll do fine. She doesn't allow electronics in class so that sucks, but otherwise the class is really fun even if you're not really into religion. I definitely recommend her.
Dr. Zwissler seems tough at first and doesn't allow electronics, but she literally gives the best lectures and makes them really interesting even if religion isn't your thing. She genuinely wants everyone to pass, and does a good job of giving the recourses to succeed. would definitely recommend.
Do not take this class if you hate reading! She requires a lot of reading and the tests are few and far between! Speaking of tests, they are cumulative and if you take the 207WI class, like me, very writing intensive! I did enjoy her upbeat attitude during lecture but would seriously recommend skipping this professor and taking it with someone else
She takes this class way too serious for an intro class. Classes are boring as hell and she only puts the minimal amount of notes on the board. Grades papers way too tough and there are pointless group meetings almost every class. She isn't understanding considering she wouldn't tell my class when our final was, and refused to round my grade .1%
She is great! She makes lectures interesting and really cares about what she talks about. The online reading quizzes were slightly difficult, but she only has to exams. I really enjoyed this class and definitely recommend.
Dr. Zwissler is amazing; best prof I've ever had! She's lecture heavy but she puts so much passion and life into them you will enjoy them even if you aren't a lecture person. Note taking is a must and not just the outline on the projector. The better your notes, the better you will do on exams. Papers are seriously important so put in real effort.
Dr. Zwissleer is one of the most amazing professors I've ever had in my life. She is always available to help and is willing to work with students to make sure they get the most out of the class. She is one of the smartest people I have ever met and goes above and beyond to help students. She's the best!
Dr Zwissler is so cool! Her Women in Religion class is so unique and interesting. She takes it seriously because she is so passionate! She is super understanding and cares about her students. She also offers extra credit. If you attend class and collab with her on your paper you'll get an A!
She's nice as a person but a tough grader when it comes to assignments. She makes you work hard for your grade. There are a lot of papers that are two pages. The last paper is 10 pages, though.
Zwissler is insanely nice and will bend over backwards to make sure that you succeed. She grades you better if she can see that you are putting in extra effort, so stay after class to ask questions, participate, and go to her office hours. Her exams are HARD and if you do not study will will not get a good grade.
I loved the class itself and the subject matter at hand. Never would I ever have taken this class had I known how it actually worked. There is writing upon writing, it never ends. If you don't write down and format your essays exactly how she wants it, it's wrong. The comments she leaves are condescending and passive aggressive. Don't do it.
Dr. Zwissler is one of the toughest graders I have ever seen, especially for a 300 Writing Intensive class that people outside of religion/gender studies take. While her lectures are very interesting and she will do everything she can to help you, the grading is incredibly demotivating.
She is the hardest teacher and no matter what you do she will grade you hard. She expects us to be grade A essay writers when some of us are not! DO NOT TAKE HER!
Avoid at all costs. She does random reading quizzes that are super hard it is one question very specific that you have to write an essay about. Tests are difficult because it is mostly written that she grades harshly. She is also very condescending and rude. AVOID
The layout of the course was awful. We had a week to proofread and edit our draft after submission. Her comments on the drafts are demeaning and took away the joy of learning the subject at hand. However, she is definitely passionate about the subject. So that keeps lecture interesting.
Zwissler is a kind professor from my experience, but the weight of different assignments literally made me almost fail the class. My term paper was 11 pages long and I had done extensive research to receive a B+ on it, but what's worse is the completed rough draft we had to submit for it weeks before. Very upsetting to lose a WI over 1 assignment.
Graded way too hard, especially for an intro level class. Would give constructive criticism, but it was impossible to understand. Had to drop the class. Don't take this class if you care about your GPA.
Zwissler is passionate about the topic and accessible outside of class. However, be prepared to be in her office hours as she grades EXTREMELY difficult and there are little points in the class to succeed. Heavy reading each week, long handwritten tests worth few points, and no homework assignments to make up your grade. The course is set up awful.
There is no real way of checking your knowledge of the class before the first exam, and if you just don't understand something on the first exam the highest grade you could possibly get is a D. My roommate (who didn't drop it)took the class with me, and spent upwards of 40 hours on the paper and only got a C- with little to no explanation of why.
there are only like 4 assignments the whole year so by the time you figure out she's a super hard grader for a witchcraft elective but your also a failed exam in with no path to redemption. you'll hate the class unless you REALLY like witches.
Please do not take this course if you want a high GPA. She is a nice person but a VERY tough grader.
I love Dr. Zwissler and her class. Her lectures and content are phenomenal, and she manages to make a topic that is not particularly interesting very captivating. However, be prepared to write your heart out if you are taking the WI version. She is a very picky grader. But, as long as you are prepared to try, she is absolutely wonderful.
Dr. Zwissler has high expectations for her students, at least the ones in her 300-level classes. But as long as you actually do the online material, show up to class, actively engage in the material, and put good work into the paper for the class, you will pass. She really cares about her students and wants them to succeed!
Terrible professor. She is very biased in everything and tries to push agendas. I worked day and night on my final paper and still received a horrible grade. I have an A- to A in every class and they aren't cakewalks. Drop or withdraw and if you don't... GOOD LUCK.
Do NOT take a class with her if you're looking for a blowoff class. She is an extremely tough grader and will give little to no explanation on why you lost points. I felt that she was not very helpful in office hours. Exams are not easy to study for... she doesn't give study guides and tells you to use your notes, but her PPTs have like 5 words
Booooooooo. Terrible. Do not take any class with her.
This class had very few graded assignments and they were all graded low!The class as a whole was 100 points! I felt no matter how much I studied or how well I did on something, a point deduction automatically lowered my grade! Missed 3.5 points on the midterm and it made my midterm grade just below 80%!
I thought it would be an interesting easy class. wrong. She is nice but extremely tough and expects perfection. Around 40-80pgs of readings every week plus 3-4 online lectures. No tech allowed in class. This class was way too hard for what it was, I knew I would never pass no matter how hard I tried so I withdrew. Do not take this class
all assignments were graded out of 1 point, lectures were very heavy and never got something out of them, and grading instructions were unclear
isn't clear about instructions, grades a few assignments and they are only out of 1 point, heavy lectures that don't really make sense which makes it hard to understand.
The lectures are very heavy and don't make sense, tends to go off topic a little bit.
She is super nice but her lectures don't make too much sense. She grades everything out of 2 points so it's pretty hard to get a good grade in the class unless you do well on the tests and even the paper she gives you. If you take this class, get ready to read and write a lot.
Difficult grader, it is possible to get a good grade in this class but I thought that this would be easy and I had to work hard to get the grade that I did. I have had worse professors but definitely do not reccomend.
Very hard grader, took political biases. Writing intensive course.
Dr Zwissler is the coolest professor i've ever met. she keeps her lessons entertaining, as well as extremely educational. One thing that many students don't appreciate is her electronics policy, but i happened to enjoy it!
tends to talk for an hour straight and doesn't make sense, hard to understand what is going and work load is heavy
Got docked points on English stuff in a class that's got nothing to do with English as a discipline.
She was a great prof and gave amazing lectures. The class had a lot of outside reading since the course covered quite a few religions. The class was out of 100 points so every assignment matters! The lectures were very informative and necessary for exams so attendance is important. Class also focused on big picture ideas to draw concepts together
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
96%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
207
5.0
(1)WST207
5.0
(2)REL175
5.0
(1)REL370
5.0
(1)WSTREL207
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
REL302
4.4
REL101
4.2
REL303
4.1
REL370
4.0
REL501
4.0