Not very helpful!She seems to favor certain students that she accepts and if you are not one of these students she is very rude and inconsiderate. She does not help students who are involed in support services and gives only essay tests.

She is potentially the worst professor I have encountered in earning three degrees. Taking her online class is a waste of time and money. Class requirements are unclear, grading is fully subjective, and more than anything, she is unbelievably lazy. No feedback or guidance is provided for five weeks at a time. Collects a paycheck but doesn't teach

This woman will make unsuspecting online-class takers have to write an essay-length paper every week, with 3 sources cited. And that's for the discussion board alone. Even worse, she doesn't give them the respect of reading them. Her assignment feedback is vague. She gives no examples--just a subjective grade. Just terrible. Waste of time.

Worst teacher ever. Incomprehensible assignments. And she seems to have a political agenda too. No feedback. I doubt she reads the discussion board. Her comments are all the same: "citation of some post" lets kick this idea around. I like history and find this class absolutely disgusting.

Do not take her class online. I am a 4.0 student and almost lost it due to her lack of instructions and expectations. She is not clear but expects perfect work even though the requirements have not been communicated properly. Don't question her or ask for help as she is impossible to work with.

I had her online as well. TERRIBLE. RUDE. She says to email her with questions, but then when you do she rudely tells you to read the syllabus (like I hadn't already done that) and makes you feel stupid for asking. You have to write a "paper" with 3 sources every single week, on top of the Disc Board. I ended up dropping her class before I failed.

This teacher is terrible. She's rude and isn't willing to help her students. She demands way to much for a "101" class. Don't even bother emailing her for help she'll just send a snippy response back. Do not take any of her online course.

Rude. Had an online class with her and will never do online again due to her lack of teaching. Was zero help when you asked her a question so do not even bother!

Very specific detailed syllabus designed to protect her from challenges. She has perfected the syllabus for her protections. Do not question of challenge. Will refer you to the syllabus.Has the final grade submission, will not explain, can not be challenged. Rude treats students inferior. Drop the course, run, save your grade point average.

I've been to three different colleges/universities, I'm always on the Dean's list, and this is the first class I've ever had to drop. She's rude, takes offense when you get confused or ask questions, and if you actually do ask a question she doesn't answer it. I've never had such a miserable teacher. My advice: RUN FAR AWAY!!

Professor is very rude responding to emails first of all don't ask a question because she'll not answer them. Never gives feedback to discussion questions then will grade them and tear you apart. Not consistent with grading. She expects way too much work for a 100 level online class drop the class now it was a waste of time and money

Online class students read only online class comments. I am returning home from university to take Gen Eds because they're cheaper here. This class is suicide. More work than my 300 level accounting class at University by a large margin. She is unclear in what she expects, extremely rude. The average grade is 61%. Get out while you still can.

RUN. I took this class for 1 week and decided to drop. This is an intro level course but she treats it as if you will all be History majors. So many restrictions when writing weekly discussion boards. I thought I would be able to handle this course as I have made the Dean's List at Pitt every semester. Do not take this prof. You've been warned

Sprankle is the worst that I have had. Do not ever ask for help! When I told her of my confusion she did not care and told be it is outlined in the syllabus. She was extremely rude. She gets upset when you are confused and very annoyed. Worst ever! Dropping class! I am on the Deans List and have been for years and she treated me like I was an idiot

It's an anomaly. But I am not suggesting you engage her, don't! The disappointment is she is not as interested in history as she is semantics. Don't mind research and correct submissions but she takes these to the nth degree. It leads to a very frustrating fourteen online weeks. Like a previous post, "run"!

I wish I had more than 350 words to tell you how awful prof. Sprankle was/is. I've never encountered a more rude, unprofessional and careless teacher like the one she is. When I asked her for help via email she responded "that's not my responsibility", her grading made no sense and she had no explanation for any of it. DO NOT TAKE LAURIE SPRANKLE!!

This class is awful and can't stand her. I had to take this class, but I also thought it may be interesting, but I regret it just a few weeks in. Based on the discussion board I can tell half the class has dropped out. Her assignments are pretty vague. No idea what my grade is or if I'm doing anything wrong. Worst online class ever.

HORRIBLE! I DROPPED HER CLASS ON THE FIRST DAY!

I do not recommend anyone take a class with this teacher. I have never met her in person but most times I email her with a question the response is short and does not answer a specific question. Does not appear interested in students or willing to help.

Requires 3 DB posts every week, which are basically full papers. I had an A in this class until we were past the date when you could drop, then she drastically reduced my grades even though I was working just as hard as before. She gives no feedback so you can try to improve, and was very rude when I e-mailed her for clarification on assignments.

Do not take here. This is an interesting class if you take her out of the equation. But find a different professor if you want to take this class. Not gonna repeat what everyone has already said here, but she is probably the worst professor I've had at CCAC .(that's saying a lot)

She turned what should have been a straightforward course into a nightmare with her rotten attitude, inconsistent grading and poor communication. She provides no feedback and demands perfection even though she communicates her standards very poorly. Her db questions are actually full essays that are impossible to answer in under 300 words. AVOID.

If you're different kind of learner, or don't have time to fit endless amounts of study for this one class, and like your G.P.A, BAIL OUT! Working hard for this class most likely won't get you anywhere, random chance will.If you want a question answered, you won't get that from her. There are far better professors at CCAC, she is not one of them.

I took this online and dropped it after the 1st week. The instructions are not clear and the requirements are ridiculous. Out of 30 students only 1 knew that there was an assignment the first week. DO NOT TAKE

This more of a Masters English Research class. It is supposed to be a geography class. We are not l;earning Geography - we are learning how to find scholarly resources and to write proper APA citations; what does this have to do with Geography ? DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR !

Worst online class I've ever taken. I think with a different professor this could have been a very interesting class, unfortunately her methods just didn't make sense. It's not a matter of students being "lazy", just her requirements in the class are completely unnecessary

I expected this to be a more traditional history class, not a writing class. If I would have known that I had to write an essay every week, I would never have signed up for it. The grading was very subjective. Waste of time and credits. The focus is on writing and citations, not the History of Pittsburgh at all.

Wish I saw this website before I took her class. She is the worst teacher. There is nothing you can do to please her. She is very condescending when you ask questions. Nothing but hours of 'scholarly' research only to find nothing is scholarly to her. She is an honors research teacher, syntax and paragraphs are more important than the subject

Out of a class of 21 students only 5 passed. I was in the passing 5 and I can say this class was run by the worse teacher at CCAC. The expectations are ludicrous and her explanations are obtuse or non-existent . If one asks her a question she will either not respond at all or reply very rudely. For your GPA's sake drop her class.

Most disrespectful professor I have ever had. Scolded me indirectly in front of the class for asking about an online component to a book. Her syllabus was 13 pages long and was riddled with impossible run-on sentences that made it impossible to understand essential assignment criteria. Cited sources were needed for EVERYTHING. STAY FAR AWAY.

Sprankle was the worst professor I've ever had. I took this class while I was on summer break from a larger, more accredited university. She's a really tough grader and takes points off for reasons you didn't even know could exist. Her feedback is terrible and leaves you wondering if it was in a different language. Harder than it needs to be. AVOID

I took this online class during the summer along with two other courses and found this class to be extremely difficult and the teacher to be extremely disrespectful. She belittles her students and makes you feel stupid. I asked for help a multitude of times and she just told me to refer to the syllabus which was not helpful at all.

I am a Dean's List student who took her class. She was the worst teacher I've had. She refused to answer questions, would not speak to me on the phone & was not timely in her email responses. The only comment she would make was to refer to the syllabus. I made a formal complaint to CCAC who sided with her. I guess teaching is not a priority.

I've been in College for 3 years now. She is by far my least favorite professor. She has insane requirements. You'll learn very little history. All she is worried about is if you can find sources and that you know what kind of sources she requires. The class is called "history", but she's teaching a research and writing class. DO NOT TAKE HER

Worst professor I've ever had. She is disrespectful, arrogant and demeaning. I learned nothing about the subject of the class as she is only interested in proper referencing. She's a pitiful excuse for an educator. Student beware. Very time consuming only to be constantly reprimanded for improper references.

Honestly, she is the worst professor I've ever had. If you ask her to further clarify on something in the syllabus or blackboard, she is no help at all. I'v learned nothing about history and it's more of a writing class than anything. Her emphasis on citation and referencing is over-the-top and unnecessary. Do not take her.

Absolutely the worst professor I have ever taken. I received my only "C" ever in her class because of two papers, both given a grade of "0". Both grades were because of my "article selections" that she felt "didn't meet criteria". Took my case to the board, but they were powerless despite seemingly everybody acknowledging the unfair subjectivity.

Save yourself, don't take her in the summer. This professor is incredibly picky. Being able to accurately research is important but if shes going to grade your TYPE OF FONT heavier than your argument or information then whats the point of emphasizing the importance of accurate citations? Help!, she's tough. Class is extremely time consuming.

Refused to explain what caused my answers to be incorrect; reminds me of something I heard in the military, "There is no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher." Class dropped!

A TOUGH GRADER does not mean a GOOD teacher. Had no lectures. Basically read on your own, writing intensive. Requirements: essays incorporating scholarly source info, which was very tough to find substantial evidence. I had bad grades because of article selection. I took the class to transfer to a university but earned a D. Now I have to retake.

I spent so much time in this class compared to my other classes and failed. Her overall attitude is condescending, slow response time, no feedback nor explanations. Education is valued from someone who teaches with passion but compassion as well. This course showed me how unforgiving not just a professor can be but a person. We pay for courses!

Though her syllabus is incredibly wordy and provides unorganized, lengthy lists of unclear requirements for assignments, she will still deduct points for borderline laughable reasons. The course is essentially a semester-long "trial and error" process, as you must sacrifice several grades to narrow down her expectations. 3.8 GPA at PSU and got a C

STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE!! There should be something us students can do to get the bad teachers out of school. Her assignments were fair, BUT, she knocks points off for incorrectly spelling a name, or how about this one. PUTTING YOUR NAME ON YOUR PAPER!! I went from having a 4.0 each semester to having to retake this class. Don't take her!!

I took her online class and she made us do ridiculous assignments but never set out clear expectations for us. I understood the material, but all she did was make us write paragraphs and it seemed that nobody could ever please her.

signed up for a history class, got graded on my MLA works sited skills. Dropped this class with a quickness. 0/10

STAY FAR AWAY FROM HER IF YOU CAN! She did not help me at all, and I struggled with her. She makes this class much harder than it has to be. Her grading is off, and she takes points off for stupid reasons. I have warned you.

This is the most ridiculous prof I've ever had. She is a history teacher. Not an English teacher. She keeps marking off points because I apparently am not using credible sources, even though they are government-run agency websites. If you want to be a stickler about English, go teach English, not history! Don't take her for the sake of your GPA!!!!

Do not take this course. Sprankle does not grade your work based on the quality of your work, but the quality of your citations and references. She will remove points against the rubric given in the syllabus, and is of no help in correcting mistakes once they are made. Ironically, she will not grade your work on time either.

Do not take this professor!!! There is no way you will get an A unless youre a historian as well as a professional writer. Was more like an English class rather than History. Based most grades off of citations and how well you can analyze things. Myself, Im not good at analyzing so I did not get great grades from her. Take someone else if you can

Strongly recommend NOT taking this class. I regret it so much and am not even halfway through the class. There are lots of assignments and it is more of a research class - you are graded on your citations more so than your content in the discussion boards/worksheets.

The online class she has designed is abysmal. Her syllabus is a cluttered mess and you could tell just from reading it she is a professor who likes making things unnecessarily difficult and stressful for her students. AVOID 100%

Highly do not recommend. Very specific for what she wants for absolutely every worksheet, discussion posts, and papers. No leeway about missing class for vacations. Very wordy, long, and very time consuming for minimal points just to be taken away for small mistakes. Again, highly do not recommend.

Online Class was absoulutely horrific. Unclear and confusing directions and your grade will be penalized as a result. Every assignment is like a mini-research paper, its exhausting. This online class had the least redeeming qualites out of any class I've ever taken in my entire academic career. I dreaded this class, and you will too if you take it.

This class is basically treated like an honors English course. She pretty much only grades on your ability to cite things properly and find sources that are scholarly. She will take a ton of points off if your citation isn't absolutely perfect or your source isn't good enough for her. The discussion boards are difficult and so are the worksheets.

I emailed her with questions on the essay and she emails me back saying that Im pretty much incompetent. Her verbal attacks on students are common so I wasnt surprised. Shes known for those.

Don't, by any means, take this class. If you'd like to learn about MLA or APA citation (without any instruction, btw) then go ahead but you will learn NOTHING about US History. What a waste of time and money. If you dared to email you were yelled at, not helped. This is not a teacher. You'd do better just reading a few history books on your own.

More of an English class than a History class. She teaches nothing. She offers a period in time and a prompt and you must do ALL of the research yourself. I don't know what she's getting paid for honestly. Very rude over email and her assignments are either research papers or busy work. Do not take please read the reviews and be smarter than me.

She's a tough grader and will take off points for grammar and citations but not tell you what you did incorrectly, which is made all the more frustrating because her assignments are littered with grammatical errors. She takes a long time to grade assignments so it's hard to gauge your grade in the class during the term. She is rude in emails too.

I signed up for a History course that was supposed to focus on W Civilization thru the 1500s - not an English or Research specific course. The first week of class/other assignments were not even about the supposed course content. The sheer arrogance of this woman shines brighter than a diamond. The class material provided was rigid, so was she.

Stay away. I asked to meet with her because all the tutors I'm seeing can't understand what she wants. She told me to go back to them instead of helping me. She doesn't offer any actual assistance.

I'm gonna be completely honest, I didn't even make it two weeks in this class. I read the syllabus and instantly knew what kind of class it was going to be. If this was Harvard or MIT I might understand her requirements. But having us search the internet for sources for EVERY single question is just insanity. Especially for a GEN ED class.

If you wish to pass, tell her what she wants to hear. She has no tolerance for critical thinking. Do not dare ask questions. Be also prepared for many rules. You will spend more time reading assignment instructions than actual course material. If you do or dare not watch your step, she will find ways to fail you. You have better options.

Don't even think about it. Directions are so convoluted. I didn't get an A, manifesting it though. Convinced I need to drop. Every assignment takes so long and her expectations are so hard to meet. I have no idea what she wants.

No.dont take

Knew I should have dropped this class. Incredibly difficult to do well. There are so many rules, and you will spend so much time on every assignment without learning anything. Still, grading is arbitrary. Even when you follow every rule, Professor Sprankle will find some reason to give a poor grade. Class was just a miserable experience.

this class felt like a police state. no learning, just all about authority.

Did not help students even when we asked for help. Always refer to other sources for assistance.

I usually like history. Not this time.

Enjoys power tripping students, has a hyper inflated ego. Avoid, avoid, avovid

It's hard to know what to even say. I'm in the Honors program and had a 4.0. I went above and beyond in this class, as I always do, spending hours on every assignment, and never earned anything above an 81%. I finished overall with a C. Incredibly frustrating. I'm confident in my work, and honestly just think she enjoys torturing students.

I tried, but didn't get good grades on my first few assignments. So, in week 3, I focused on nothing else but this class, spending so much time on the homework, making sure I corrected my mistakes and that everything was perfect. But she gave me a D. I dropped the class.

I sent an email about an assignment I did not understand. Professor was condescending and would not help me. I dropped the class before the drop deadline and I chose a different class.

Not very pleasant

She was terrible. I took this course for a gen ed requirement and wish I had taken any other class with any other professor. Anytime you ask her anything, she tells you to see the syllabus or consult the CCAC tech help desk, even if it's fully her fault or mistake. The material is not engaging, grades tough, some assignments due at 5pm, like why?

I found myself dropped from her class 4 days after attending a funeral for one of my better friends. I inquired why, and she claimed it was due to CCAC policy regarding student inactivity at the 20% mark. Informed her of my situation, she effectively told me it wasn't her problem. Told me she "hoped I learned from this". Yeah thanks Laurie.

I had this professor online, her course materials are so disorganized and it is very unclear of what is due. There is discussion boards which is easy to keep track of but, any other work is not clearly posted in the beginning of the blackboard, so its very easy to miss what is due.

Just not a great experience at all

Course materials all over the place, terrible grading criteria, she will ask you to cite a scholarly or primary resource for just about every single piece of work she gives. Wouldn't surprise me if she makes students cite sources in emails to her. Save yourself the time, avoid her classes

This class gives me so much anxiety. I'm passing but I'm frustrated with my grade because I do not feel it represents the work I've done. Glad to see I'm not the only one. It is also funny to me that we must cite everything but she constantly uses "inspirational" quotes that are wrongly attributed to historical people. LOL. Her standards are fake.

after asking for help on an assignment i re emailed as i was confused. got told “this is not approved- our course is US history to 1865.” tried again, did a topic on Declaration of independence. Then got told after the 4th try, “though you indicated you are in us history, you are enrolled in World geography. Must have a topic related to geography.

She is very unfair. Teaching should allow students to learn not have a power trip over being right or wrong. Her discussion boards are irrelevant upon, "World Geography." Doesn't believe Global Geography is related to History. Rubric is awful. Pointed out mistakes and got punished for them. Didn't get a re-try on an assignment.

Rubric is off. Multiple students pointed out mistakes in the rubric, "(I should have checked but go by what students indicate)." No one got retires on any material.

DB are used to discuss the material and thoughts to connect your ideas as well as theirs. To construct a powerful conversation and analysis of the work. I got 27.5/50 on my assignment because I suggested to a student an MLA citation. "don't indicate to other peers that they lack proper identification, work to meet the requirements in your posts."

Her unreasonable-ness is unadmirable. Won't accept anything less than scholarship citations. Even when sharing citations within course work- gets told, "though required and you continue to use incorrect format and content for reference."

My assignment was late due to my misunderstanding of the assignment; I emailed her to attempt to resolve this issue- to gain my grade back. All in all, she told me it was my issue and to re-read the syllabus. Her syllabus is very misleading and confusing.

Gives very negative feedback. Doesn't tell you what you missed. You can't even go back into the assignment to see other peer's work.

Couldn't even last 3 weeks into this course. Upon reading the hour-long syllabus- reaching out multiple times and receiving contradictive feedback. I gave up. In all honesty she is so hard to please. This is a gen-ed class. Not a Harvard golden ticket class. I wanted to take a few classes to get some college credits. She ruined my transcript.

Super tough on students. Can be demeaning, and frequently talks like she has her nose in the air even in emails. Reeks of a superiority complex.

Not sure how she is considered a professional professor. She can't communicate to save her life. I would rather go to a different college then to continue EVER being her student. As someone with an academic and work life, her turn in expectations is very unreasonable. I work nights and every assignment must be due at 5pm.

The only way her behavior would ever be excusable is if she taught a course with actual difficulty. But instead, we have Miss Sprinkle at CCAC thinking she rivals Feynman. Needs to realize her place. Between assignments due daily at 5, unreliable communication, and general unnecessary attitude, steer clear of this course.

The instructions in the syllabus and assignments are simultaneously vague and incredibly strict. She doesn't give good feedback that helps you improve upon assignments that she is incredibly nitpicky about. You are wrong, she is right, 20 hours of research, your source is still not good enough. Also no individual feedback in discussion boards.

Do you hate yourself? Are you unworthy of respect? Do you like to be treated with contempt? If so, this is exactly the class for you.

If you want a professor who will treat you with no respect and give you expectations that are impossible to meet despite not being able to herself create a rubric or syllabus that is in literate english than go for it.

Ain't no logical explanation for how awful Professor Sprankle is. Most notorious professer at CCAC. Seriously mind blowing.

Ayeeeee dont do it, you gonna wish you took literally any other class

Treated me like dirt and I am really shaken up about it. Trying not to take it personally because I see all the other negative reviews. But just a very very spiteful and degrading person.

class is just a test to see how well you can follow her long list of ridiculous rules (which is impossible, because her rules contradict other other rules, her instructions contradict her rubrics, etc etc etc so you are always in violation of something). you are set up to fail.

must have tenure or sum

Lots of work for nothing. I gave up eventually. She is never pleased. C or D on every assignment for a different, vague, random reason each time. Instructions/syllabus are longwinded and confusing. Ask her for help or clarity and she refuses. Rude and short in emails. She teaches virtual classes, does bare minimum. No learning. Feels like a scam.

Disappointing college experience.

A worse teacher doesn't exist.

nobody pass

Ever been in a situation so bad that it just became funny? That's what class with Professor Sprankle is like. You'll try and try again, but at some point you just let go and laugh because you realize that nothing will ever be good enough. The funniest part is she loves to punish harshly for trivial mistakes but does not even meet her own standards.