2.5
Quality4.3
Difficulty8%
Would Retake98
Reviews8%
Would Retake
98
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
13
3
11
2
24
1
33
What Students Say
“Never take him (or geography in general if you're not into it, they take it seriously)”
GEO102 - 2.0 rating“he is an Awful professor”
GEO102 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
90%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.77 avg changeRatings by Course
GEO315
3.3
(4)GEO100
2.9
(53)GEOGRAPHY
2.6
(5)GEO
2.5
(2)GEO101
2.2
(5)Difficulty by Course
102
5.0
GEOGRAPHY100
5.0
GEO
5.0
BIO101
5.0
GEO344
5.0
Reviews (98)
This man is very boring... BRING A PILLOW! His quizzes and tests are hard... The man talks about one subject for classes and than the test is about everything he forgot to mention...everyone sleeps through the class...
Professor Yacher is a brillant professor. His awazing knowledge and passion for his subject matter shines through in his teaching. His tests are tough, but his course is one of the best I took during my college career.
No Comments
He is very smart, and has traveled the world. Very easy going, but his exams are extremely difficult. Still one of my favorite Professors. I learned so much from him.
Off the wall
fantastic. this was one of the best classes i have ever taken. would take any course he offered. he is so intellegent and aware. he expects students to be adults and think, which makes some think he is a difficult teacher. he is always willing to help.
No Comments
he makes you memorize where EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD IS!!!!! not to mention all the rivers, lakes, oceans, streams, mountains, plains, etc. are... and it is up to you to find everything...he gives you blank maps...it was very time consuming.
He's very good professor, but teaching style is not so good. It's very tought to pass his exams. Make sure to take notes in his class, even when you think he's just telling u a story. GOOD LUCK !
very difficult
Sure he's tough. But hey, are you there to learn or just pass time? If you're there to learn, then Yacher is the professor for you. You'll learn alot. If you're there to just pass time...you should look elsewhere.
He can be tough, but I like the class and I learned a few things that I did not know before. I like when he makes jokes about cell phones going off in class. You would think those jokes were funny if you saw them.
Class was a piece of cake but a complete waste of time. No value added by Yacher.
Yacher is awesome and a really nice guy. Knows his geography. Sure you have to know maps, but this is GEOGRAPHY after all!! I would highly recommend him.
He's been to almost every country in the world, and all of his classes are basically slideshows of all the pictures he took around the world, and stories of what he encountered there. He fits the technical stuff in between. He keeps it very interesting and relevant with his personal experiences.
I hated this class with passion. He puts you to sleep every class, although he tries to have a sense of humor tests seem to come from thin air even when you study! Not one to boost the gpa that's for sure.
He loves what he does, but teaching stle sucks.He goes off on tangents and pulls your tests out of thin air.Half the time lectures are basically slide shows and not helpful for the exams.He doesn't give a review.His idea of a review is you ask questions and he answers them.Don't take him if you want
He really loves what he does but is so boring. I don't even attend lectures because I learn more from the reading the book. Test are very difficult. Don't take class unless neccessary.
This class was the worst. I was interested in Geography until his class, now I hate it with a passion. He was unclear with his style of teaching, he also tells horrible jokes. Half the students never came to class, only when it was time to take a test. Dont take this class !!!!!!!!!!!!
Bottom line. Nice guy. Hard tests. You have to memorize the entire map for 2 quizzes and remember the countries etc. DO NOT TAKE AS A REQUIREMENT. Take as elective using pass/fail option because he never fails anyone he says. And he curves at the end. Also the book is actually more helpful than the
Hate Geo now.The tests were completely pulled out of nowhere and had nothing to do with anything.Teacher was prety nice sometimes.All I learned was that he is from Peru,it's hard to understand him, he hates pizza and ice cream.Most people in our class hated it and left early or didn't come at all.
Why is it that the head of the department tends to suck? Don't take this course, it's awful! He's a nice guy, but a terribler TERRIBLE teacher. The books are so expensive and not even that useful. His lectures are very unclear. His test suck. And he makes you buy News Week too! Avoid this one
I would never take anoher class with this teacher and I will never take another geography class period.
Yacher was always had an open door policy to assist any student. Take advantage of it because his classes can be tough, but he is also a very fair guy. His other classes are pretty good too, since he's been to almost every country on the planet!
I hated this class! He just blabbled about nothing in class then on the test most of the info he never goes over.I was luckly to just barely pass the class.
This guy needs to go take a class on teaching..His test has nothing to do with his lectures...Just read the book and maybe you can get a d+ in this course......
I guess the way to success in this class is to take the advise of the rater below.Only problem is everyone is not young an attractive and some of us have to actually work for our grades and not flirt with the Professor.
Ughhh! The first time I went to his class, I literally fell asleep, which is so unlike me, seeing as how I am anal about my grades! I never go to his class because he makes no sense and has no idea what he is talking about. I actually recommend him though bc he doesnt take attendance, so all you have to do is read the book to pass the class.
Dr Yacher is a very intelligent and very experienced in Geo. Yes his class was hard but he was always there to help.All you have to do is ask.He loves what he does and it shows.He really is a regular guy so give him a chance.He is interesting and funny and very human.He has been every where in the world I lived through his eyes.
Dr. Yacher is a very experienced teacher, and knows his stuff. He seems to go off on ramdom tangents about what seems to be nothing, but really relates to the subject. Need to pay attention and you will do fine.
I could not understand anything this man said because of his accent...and the funny thing was one time in class someone asked him to slow down and speak more clearly..he then spoke perfectly clear...then he went right back to talking fast and in his accent..kind of like he loves his own accent..this class was extremely hard and his tests r impossib
Intelligent and he knows his stuff. Can be boring at times. Map quizzes and tests are easy as long as you study for them. It's cool how he offers you the option to re-take a quiz or a test you did bad on.
The single worst professor I have ever had. An arrogant, self-motivated individual, he used class time to preach his personal ideology rather than teach geography. Loving to hear himself speak, only about 1/5 of class time was spent teaching and then it was as incoherent as the terribly written exams. This man should not be a teacher.
He's awesome!!! Yeah..I'm kinda borderline failing but he's a very good professor. You'd need to just learn to read the book. =]
Professor Yacher is very knowledgeable. His class is difficult but I loved his accent and his blue eyes. I would take a class with him again just to look at him.
Oh my God! is it possible to do well in this class?? What were we supposed to do? Memorize the entire book??? I would study and do outlines and go to every class and i still ended up with a C-. The way he words questions on the test make it impossible for you to understand. Class was a waste of time. Read the chapters well and maybe you'll pass.
In his tests he expects you to memorize an unreasonable amount of locations,thats basically impossible to do. This guy will fail students,even when he is aware a student has perfect attendance and put a lot of effort into the class!
This class was painful to sit through. He knows his stuff, but it's DULL. The exams/quizzes are completely unreasonable. Even if you read the book and go to class (and can actually stay awake through it) there's no guarantee that you'll pass the tests. A lot of people cheated (not me), and STILL failed. He's very helpful if you ask for it, though.
This was the worst class ever! He never wen tover anything in class then expected us to know everything for the test. I only passed this class becaause of the extra credit paper. Don't take this teacher!!!
Rough classs, has semi interesting lectures at times but its incredibly long. Material is hard and boring as well as the tests and quizzes. Have a GEO 100 book willing to sell just to get it out of my hands to anyone who is taking his class next semester. contact [email protected]
very cool and handsome prof. class was ok, he is great! lots of extra help if you want it.
This was the best Teacher that I have had at southern. He was one of my favorites
Prof. Yacher is interesting and nice however he covers so much information that you are not sure what will be on the exams. His exams are hard and tricky. The maps he uses for tests are disorganized and it was hard to determine what he was pointing to..he is nice but I would not recommend the class.
This guy hands our F's like candy.
Best Professor I have ever had. He has been everywhere in the world and tells tons of stories throughout class. It was very interesting and I reccommend this class to anyone!
I had the class at 9:35 in the morning & he put me to sleep the majority of classes. It was a lecture hall so he didn't notice I did other work. He has an accent, but understandable. He just doesnt teach the material & spends too much time preaching about taking care of the earth. He is a nice guy and is willing to help- just not interesting!
The guy has a terrible accent and really could care less if you pass or fail his class...DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS OR ANY CLASS HE TEACHES!!!
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!
The map quizzes are easy (as long as you study), but the tests are a little difficult.
too much info. for an introduction class
Wow. This class was insane. There is so much info to learn and it is just an intro class. I dropped it after the first map quiz.
You need the notes from every class. Attendance is not taken or part of your grade, but I highly reccomend you attend every lecture. Studying is a must for this class.
Stay far away from this professor and class. He is the worst professor at this university. If you are doing poorly in this class you can do a 10 page term paper at the end fo the semester and he grades it as if it was a normal paper. the highest grade in the class on that was a D+. Also there are 140 kids in my class and 100 are failing. STAY AWAY!
Wow. What can I say? Completely awful. He has you memorize maps of 3 different countries for 1 quiz. He completely overloads with information and it's extremely flustering. He also doesn't seem to understand that we're not majors and he seems like he's trying to convince us to change majors. Really, really awful
This class is awful. not because it is not interesting but he is just incompetent, dyslexic and disorganized. He is also in and out of the country for other work....I highly recommend staying away from him. as i and currently getting a C and I'm usually an A, B student.
Awful professor, I have never felt so frusterated when dealing with a professor. We don't use the textbook that was on the list of textbooks to buy, but the one he wants to use. In and out of the country all semester. He claims the best surprise is so surprise, and does try to be helpful. But rarely stays on topic.
Prof. Yacher is a very nice guy. He is very patient and helpful. WIth that being said, the exams are EXTREMELY difficult and book specific. The lectures have little to nothing to do with the exams given. Buy the book and carefully study and read the chapters to pass. The map quizzes are your saving grace and easy if you study hard. Good luck
DO NOT take this professor! His syllabus outlines areas completely irrelevant to class, he ignores emails if he feels they are not relevant or just involve a question he chooses not to answer, he's OCD to the point of failing your papers if it is not to his standards, even if you followed the proper formatting. Overall, take a different professor!!
Extremely knowledgeable professor. Expects highest level of professionalism from students. MUST read required materials for success in this course. Late submissions are NOT tolerated. Highly organized, clear and concise expectations. (NOTE: If you don't want to read the textbook and engage in assignments,re-think your decision to go to college.)
Excellent professor. He has high standards, which seems to rub some people the wrong way, but if you go to class, take notes, and do the assigned reading you will do fine.
AWFUL teacher. Will return papers with low grades and no corrections or suggestions for how to do better. Does not respond to emails in a timely fashion (especially important since I took his online class). He expects the students to put in 150% while he barely puts in 50%
I'm not lying when I said 30 out of the 40 people in my class had below a 70%. The class wasn't bad and Leon's a nice guy but the clicker questions will kill your grade. Make sure you have good attendance because you can't make clickers up. Also, he curved everyone's grade so everyone passed. And take this class with friends- you'll need them.
Never take him (or geography in general if you're not into it, they take it seriously). Didn't answer emails. Grading was incredibly rough and gave no feedback. We had two essays every week and 4 100 question tests.
Worst class I've ever taken. Worst professor I've ever had. Wrote about 10 papers. Never received one back so I had NO idea what I was doing wrong on each one and would continually hand them in and get bad grades. Absolute rudest, most condescending professor ever. It pains him to give good grades. Horrible!!
As much as I want to like Prof. Yacher, after this class I don't think I can. Prof. Yacher's tests are extremely hard, even with reading the assigned chapters and using the book during. Tough graders on papers too, very picky. Doesn't respond to email over the weekend which kind of sucked for an online class.
Be prepared to take map quizzes.
Yacher is one tough cookie, two map quizzes with awful looking maps to try and discern and then tests throughout the semester and an optional term paper for extra credit. During this semester he also sprung a mandatory paper on the class in the last couple of weeks claiming it to be mandated by the university. Seems like not many will do well here.
As much as i enjoy history, this was a seriously hard class! There were map quizzes that you studied the whole map never knew what was on it, then the top hat and black board you never knew what you would get and his attitude is terrible!
Really tough grader, especially on papers. Doesn't even accept, let alone grade, a paper if it doesn't exactly follow the long list of guidelines.
This professor is amazing! He is a scholar. Clever, inspirational, respectful, genius. He really knows what he is talking about and he can answer ANY question. He is willing to help then ones who help themselves. Go to office hours, ask questions, read the chapters twice, do all the EC, pay attention in lecture. This course is hard, but doable.
Study as much as you can or you won't pass! Show up for class! I hated his class, he was so boring, it was really confusing but honestly if you needed help he was there for you! He's a great guy. Students were so disrespectful though! Lectures were so long and boring! If you could avoid taking his class is suggest that but he's not awful
He's very smart, but not the best lecturer
I HATE THIS CLASS! My GPA DIED 1. His lectures are hard to follow - he thinks that you're already reading the chapters so he's talking to you like you did, but let's be real. 2. He gives you A LOT of information that makes it hard to study!! -so it's easy to study the wrong stuff 3. That being said, HIS TEST ARE HARD! -try to study in advance
The worst professor I have ever had at this school that hardest grader ever only take him if you want your GPA to burn in flames.
DO NOT TAKE HIM! This is literally the first class I have ever in may life failed. The material isn't hard he is just awful at teaching us and telling us whats going on. He won't give you any guidance on what the quizzes and tests were on! He is a nice guy but he's not good at teaching.
Taking this online course as a prerequisite for a certification was a HUGE MISTAKE! SCSU online doesn't interact correctly with with Word documents. Paper format more important than content. Feedback was initially VERY slow (submitted 4th paper before any feedback on 1st). Professor seems to take pride in being unapproachable and hard grader.
Heed the warnings! Taking Dr. Yacher will lower your GPA. BUT ... if you enjoy paying for self-guided learning, a professor with zero online presence, and obtaining a grade based off ten works cited pages (rather than the paper itself) in conjunction with three 100 question TF/MC exams - he's your man. I dropped his class after the 2nd week.
Terrible teacher, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
This professor has an extremely bad reputation, but honestly, if students just showed him some respect, they might learn a thing or two. He's been all over the world and has a huge knowledge base. At the same time, his exams are extremely difficult, even in GEO 100. Be prepared to study your ass off and read everything. I would not take him again.
The class size was extremely large and it felt as he was simply speaking to the masses. Requires purchase and use of tophat which you cannot go back and access when you want so you cannot use it for studying. If you are not interested in geography it will be extremely hard to stay focused and keep up.
The entire class is a lecture where you basically have to memorize the textbook at home and then sit in his lecture where he rants about who knows what and claims it relates back to the test. I do not recommend him. Don't expect to this class to be a GPA booster in any way.
I have no idea what he is like in class, but online he appears extrmely inflexible, and for a 100 level intro to geo class i am very disappionted. he is an Awful professor. he grades very harshely and is extrmely dislexic as well. He should not be teaching online. he is very unwilling to work with you.
Although Yacher is a hard grader and his tests are complicated, I really felt as though he wanted his students to pass. Every time I had a question, he answered it right away and if I still didn't understand, he would rephrase. I say give him a chance!
100 level class I needed to pass turned into a class I will repeat next semester, he is very strict. One word out of place or even label something wrong on accident you will receive a ZERO for the assignment. He is unreasonable and no flexibility. I expect to gain knowledge during a class not instead anxiety I believe cause me to do even worse.
Yacher can be a funny guy, but his lectures are brutal. totally off task at times and simply expects you to engrave the material at once for his big complex tests. Also, the system he uses for attendance and participation is pretty annoying, and can hurt your grade badly if you don't keep up. (beware you have to pay $ for this online system + book)
Honestyl, if you go to class you won't pass either. This guy is such a hard grader and he gets completely off topic. He doesn't even use the book and you have to pay for a tool just so he can take your attendance. .
Extremely tough grader and very picky! This was an online course, however, he was not very understanding and did not seem like he cared for his students' success in the course. Way too much work for an online course. Do not recommend for any course and would never take him again.
His reputation on here is not as true as it has been said. Although he is a very tough grader and the quizzes are difficult he makes very useful study guides for tests. There are only three tests(including final exam) and two ma quizzes which you can ace.
Online class was on autopilot. At least one paper due every week with very strict guidelines, but gave no feedback for the grade you received. Grades extremely tough. Exams were 100 questions, 80 minutes to complete. No study guide. If he doesn't curve, I'll be extremely surprised, as he made it impossible to get an A.
This class was the worst class I have taken at Southern. I took the online class which which was a huge mistake. Professor Yacher does not give feedback on nay assignments. I emailed him asking for feedback because I was failing the papers although I followed all the rules, and he didn't even respond. Does not communicate with students.
Prof Yacher was extremely difficult. The content was pretty straight forward, however he graded assignments too harshly. I averaged 50-70 on almost every assignment and average 85-95 on every quiz so it balanced my grade, barely. He is hardly accessible outside of the class. I wouldn't take a class with him again.
This class was miserable. Professor Yacher never graded me based on the geography content in my papers. He was obsessed with citations and getting them right. When you make a small mistake such as missing a period, he takes alot of points off. There was also no rubric given for his grading system, so points were taken off arbitrarily. Bad class.
Professor Leon's Geography class is by far the worst college course that I've taken. He does a horrible job at explaining the material, often goes off topic, we have map quizzes every few weeks that we are expected to study and prepare for on our own time(he does not mention them at all), and all we are graded on is exams. DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE
One of the worst classes I have ever taken. GEO 102 is a tier 2 entry level course and it is online, so you wouldn't expect it to be terrible. I am awesome at writing and am a junior so I know what I am doing but I will still receive 70's or less on all of my paper simply because the title of the paper is not "relevant enough"... so strict with MLA
One of the harshest graders I have ever had the dis-privilege of having as a Professor. Make sure you read the textbook THOROUGHLY, study, & research the topics in the textbook to prepare for a million 100 question TIMED tests & a bunch of ridiculous essays that he makes you format to the T. Avoid taking this professor. He makes an easy class hard.
If you have a short attention span, do not take this course. Also a tough grader and his tests are difficult. For quizzes they accumulate knowing the locations of almost all the countries in the world and even mountain ranges and bodies of water. The exams are hard b/c half of it is true or false. And position paper is TOUGHLY graded. Good Luck :)
No powerpoints, lectures and book readings to study. the tests were hard. Quizzes are easy if you really study for them. 18-22 page paper not including works cited etc. tough grader but he really makes you work for your grade, he really cares if you take the time to reach out to him and voice your concerns. Only professor that taught proper mla
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Unless you are an expert on how to form MLA essays in complete perfect format you will fail. If you take this course online with him goodluck. I went to the tutor for this class that he recommended and the tutor couldn't even help me! He will not help you if you are struggling at all. Don't take this course.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
90%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.77 avg changeRatings by Course
GEO315
3.3
(4)GEO100
2.9
(53)GEOGRAPHY
2.6
(5)GEO
2.5
(2)GEO101
2.2
(5)Difficulty by Course
102
5.0
GEOGRAPHY100
5.0
GEO
5.0
BIO101
5.0
GEO344
5.0