2.8
Quality3.2
Difficulty33%
Would Retake130
Reviews33%
Would Retake
130
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
15
4
29
3
36
2
27
1
23
What Students Say
“I understand that he really loves science, but he really is not prepared to teach this course”
NRM140 - 1.0 rating“what he teaches in lecture, does not line up with the exams at all”
NRM140 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
45%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.91 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO107
5.0
(1)HNR242
5.0
(1)BIO338
4.0
(3)BIO121
3.7
(3)BIO105
3.5
(12)Difficulty by Course
BIO103LE
5.0
BI122
5.0
BIO121903
4.0
BIO111
3.8
120LAB
3.6
Reviews (130)
DULL-gimme-caffeine lectures. Easy-going, sort of nerdy, lots of extra credit.
A bit of a geek but otherwise a good instructor
Boring!!! Look into switching sections!!!!!
So boring and unclear. Knowledgable. Should be teaching higher levels
He is so boring and tries to be cool but he's a dork. I fall asleep every time.
He rambles on and on and I cant not pay attention...THINKS he is funny too!
poor lecture, tests tough-very specific but gives ex.cred. opportunities
his tests cover the little things and are impossible
Impossible class, DO NOT TAKE, boring prof., tests are on the littlest things
Know his stuff, boring lecture, but what isn't Not a bad prof. Opport. to up grd
excruciatingly boring, extremely hard tests, avoid at all costs
Reminds me of that stapler guy from Office Space... way boring too.
very boring
RUN!! Do NOT take his class...if you can read you can deliver his lectures.
Learned alot. Easy A. Tests are cake. He is a dork, but major push over!
Lecture all the time, most boring class I've ever taken, reviews for exams don't
The exams are SO hard!!!
really boring,exams are hard.good thing i sit by people that keep me entertained
Don't take him...don't know what he wants when taking his exams
Lectures are long, not much work, study the outline hard='s A
Easiest class I've ever taken
nice and cheerful
Tests are harder than the lectures illude to
Every hard, thinks he is funny and easy, but he is neither
Easy to follow, clear outlines, interesting examples, easy A.
bring a pillow, hard exams, i learned very little.
GET OUT NOW-His lectures are VERY unclear. Doesn't cover needed material.
he loses you in his lectures but the tests and quizes aren't so bad
Class is boring!!! Tests are a little tricky, use study guide
THe funniest prof i have. his jokes are the worst.
lectures are boring, print of notes from BB and exams are easy
BORING!!!!! He will put you to sleep. He think's he's funny, but he's NOT!
Very, very unclear about things.Loses you in lecture worse than any prof ive had
exams are harder than hell...STUDY, study guides are not helpful
He is so happy to share what he knows with all who are interested;can be unclear
exams suck, very hard, lectures are boring so bring a pillow....lots of E.C.
Good Prof. very smart guy but sometimes he doesn't know how to say things
He thinks he knows what hes talking about, but just can't seem to prove it
knows his stuff, Long lectures but EASY test and Quiz...go to class = A!
He's not bad, kind of funny, class is not too hard.
Nice guy, kinda quirky, but nice. Pay attention in lectures, and go over study guides for exams.
he was my dawg. Very helpful but a little off the rocker... GREAT JOKES!!! Oh man, they're soo bad but they keep ya laughing. Easy if you stay on top o' your game.
The exams are hard, you have to know every detail about everything, but he is nice and strangely funny; very intelligant
awful. does not provide a study guide, wont print off PPTS, extremely picky tests- and few of them (way to much on each test). many other bio 103 profs provide the exact opposite- and for that reason i recommend them instead.
Does it really not make any sense to him WHY his former classes quit attending??? Will invite questions; then will treat you as if your interrupting class. Invites you to request that he slow down in lecture; then tells you "too damn bad! Write faster!" Will not post PPs or study guides as punishment for his former classes' attitudes toward them.
He knows alot. He can talk about a single slide for about 20 minutes. The guys grows on you, the first time I walked into class i thought i was going to hate this class, but now I enjoy going to his lectures. No homework just based on tests and papers.
He definitely knows what he is talking about. Every class is a lecture. Your grade is based off of papers and tests. At first, I thought that I wouldn't like him, but he definitely grew on me. His tests aren't that bad if you study and he grades the papers rather easily.
Nice goofy guy. He makes lectures interesting. Tests are not very straight-forward. He is concerned about students progress and will come up with ways to get extra credit. No study guides, very few homework assignments, moves fast from slide to slide so take condensed notes. Go to lecture, topics mentioned in class but not in book will be on tes
Lectures are boring but he goes through slides fast. Tests are extremely easy, all you have to do is read the notes you take in class, I barely read the book at all!
At first I thought he was a total tool. He kind of grew on my towards the end. He doesn't use the book, so you could probably get way without buying it. His tests are hard. He goes through the power point very fast, so take quick notes.
Meh, if you can get out of taking a class from him, I'd recommend it
pretty much a big dork. he definitely know his stuff and will throw random facts at you that make you wonder whether or not he's making them up. don't even bother reading the book. really hard exams.
Thought he was goofy at first; actually I stil think hes goofy but at least hes a good teacher that makes things easy to understand. Tests are fair (T/F, MC, & matching). Had some pretty awesome sweaters as well.
Professor is somewhat interesting...it's biology, can't expect much. Difficult subject matter and exams are very hard/tricky. I would recommend buying the book..he follows it pretty closely and reading the chapters before exams helped clear many things up for me. He will give out extra credit if you are one of few who show up to class.
Thogerson demands close attention to notes and the book material. His exams are T/F, MC, and Matching. He challenges you. He is really nerdy...but he knows his stuff.
Lectures aren't that interesting and he certainly is nerd, but overall the class is pretty easy.
Thogerson does not have a voice that carries well. I moved up to the first few rows and still continued to fall asleep for the entire duration of the class. Quizzes and exams are over notes he provides on blackboard. He also has a tendency to carry annoying behavior such as laughing hard at his own jokes...
Avoid this professor like the plague. He is not speak loudly, so you have to sit in one of the very first rows. You learn nothing in lecture, I had to take my laptop just so I wouldn't fall asleep during class. He is rather creepy. His exams are impossible, and his quizzes you learn to study correctly for after failing the first two. Overall bad.
Teaches 100 level courses like masters level. Would not give test study guide and tested on material not in the text book. Smart guy but not a good entry level teacher. Gets flustered when questioned about bad test questions.
Looks like Milton from "Office Space". Talks like him too. Bored me to tears- or sleep. Don't take the class if you are one that falls asleep easily. Likes to make bad sexual innuendo jokes. Test questions are at random. STUDY for this class with his notes and the book!
Extemelyyy boring but the class is reallly easy, offers extra credit every once in a while if you are in class
Extremely smart prof. and easy class. Quizzes/tests from lecture, book is only a reference. Great prof, but lectures from PP (can be boring). Very easy exams/quizzes if you take good notes. Take good notes, then re-type the notes to get them into your head. No surpises on exams/quizzes. Take Thogerson, he is easy, smart, and fun for 8am! Hated lab.
Knows what he is talking about, but doesn't convey it well at all. Lectures are terribly boring and very confusing. He tries to explain complicated topics without explaining basic things, and goes way more in depth than necessary for an introductory course. Quizzes are difficult, tests aren't terrible, but I still would not recommend him.
He uses really high vocabulary on his exams so it makes the true/false and multiple question difficult when you do not understand what the question is asking.
Pretty easy teacher. Go to class and you will likely do well. Class averages on tests were in the 80s all the time. He sometimes can be boring in lecture but still he is a solid teacher, I would recommend him to anyone
The worst teacher I have ever had. He is terribly confusing, and is never in his office hours. He goes off on tangents that don't have anything to do with what he's putting on the exams/quizzes. He does NOT average 80s like someone said below...at least for my class. Only 2 people got A's on the first exam, most were Cs and a fair amount got Ds
Really guys, not as bad as people say. Pay attention in class, and you should sit in the first two rows. Laughs at his own jokes a lot, but honestly not a bad prof. I was worried taking this class because of his horrible reviews, but if you pay attention, and study your notes, you will do fine. TAKE HIM!!
Extremely hard prof!
Makes a lot of corny jokes, but he knows what he's talking about. His class is easy if you take good notes and study. You hardly need to read out of the book. Be sure to sit in the first few rows because he's kind of hard to hear. Occasionally goes off on tangents. Make sure to go to class because sometime he'll offer ec for being there.
He's really easy. You don't need the text book. He's goofy but he knows what he's talking about. He laughs at himself and his awful jokes, that's entertaining in itself. Go to class and attention and you'll do fine.
Horrible professor! Uses examples that don't relate to material. He thinks he's hilarious but he's not. Tests are hard...study a lot. If you study and read every chapter assigned in the book you might be ok. Try and avoid him...if you can take BIO 120 with another professor.
Super boring even though he makes corny jokes and laughs at himself. His test are really hard and don't go with what you learn in class. Stay away if you can.
this was a boring class but it wasn't to hard
Definitely not the best professor to take for 121, never clear on what was to be on the tests and some of his information was questionable. Talked about irrelevant material and thought the class got out a week later than it actually did, and therefore crammed 4 lectures into 2 right before the final.
He made this class fairly easy. All the material was in the notes and he provided review outlines. It was really boring, though: Mark presented all the material on Powerpoints, and didn't really add anything to the lecture, just came in and read the powerpoints. Attendance wasn't mandatory, but he gave extra credit for showing up a few times.
His enthusiasm is contagious and even though I could not care less about plants, his enthusiasm made class much more enjoyable. He also makes terrible jokes which are funny.Thogerson is one of the nicest people in the world and has loads of patience. He even remained courteous to the super dumb girl in our class who asked idiotic questions
I had no interest in the class and it really stayed that way. He's hard to hear him but a really easy class. Take it if you need a gen ed and don't really care about a C or B.
Professor Thogerson seems like one of the kindest, most well-meaning people I have ever met. Unfortunately, he is not a very good professor. The tests are impossible. Perhaps if this were your major, you'd do well, but if you are just taking this class as a gen ed, PLEASE take a different class. Nice guy, awful prof.
I understand that he really loves science, but he really is not prepared to teach this course. Being a general education credit, I expected a way different grade. However, his tests are inconsistent with his confusing teaching habits. I would advise not taking this course with him.
He loves this class and teaching it, you can tell by his peppy attitude. He knows the subject very well, but has a hard time explaining it for those of us who don't. Projects done in class are very easy and make lab enjoyable! Don't be fooled though, exams are impossible to pass and are a night and day difference between in class work!
Had him for lab and I hated it. His online quizzes had nothing to do with what he said in class or the lab manual.
what he teaches in lecture, does not line up with the exams at all
At times Thogerson can be quite unclear. I had him for my Biology Lab. He was a very tough grader and sometimes I didn't understand concepts. Good thing we always worked in groups and I had people to help me out! It wasn't easy, you HAVE to do the lab book assignments!! They are the key to your grade!!
Although he could be a little unclear at times, if you think you should have gotten a better grade on something or if you didn't take one of his EASY online quizzes, then he will be willing to discuss ways to boost your grade.
He made Bio 120 more confusing and harder than it already was. He would spend an hour lecturing, and he never had the lab set up. We rarely finished the labs. When questions were asked he avoided them and did not ever help. I would avoid this professor if possible!
Should have been an easy class, but his instructions were unclear, he seemed panicked when asked a question, had an unclear grading scale, would say he was going to change what the grades were out of and never did(When everyone fails the online quizzes because he forgot to teach the content), non-responsive to emails, ect. Shouldn't be a professor.
This was definitely a class that you needed to be present in to pass. Attendance wasn't taken but exams are based 100% on the lecture. Take thorough notes. Exams are really specific and you need to know exact numbers for statistics. He tries to help as much as he can and gives extra credit. Not impossible, but you definitely need to study to pass.
Lectures are pretty long and stale. He is very nice and reopened online homework for me when I was struggling. If you email him or talk to him before/after class he is very willing to help you. Doesn't take attendance, you could probably skip but will miss a lot from the lectures (powerpoint usually aren't posted).
Great teacher, easy, clear cut, and nice, loves what he teaches... but his lectures are SO LONG. He has a a boring voice- not his fault but its true. GO TO CLASS. He randomly assigns extra credit for attendance! Also, tests are very easy- pulls right from lecture so go to lecture and get an A on the test with no reading.
He was all over the place. He is such a sweet guy and doesn't mean any harm but the tests are impossible and based off of the book and barely the lectures. He goes on and on about stuff we don't need to know and it's always confusing when he does. He is very nice and it's sad he isn't a good professor because he loves his job so much.
This prof moves pretty fast in lectures. They aren't mandatory, but he gives out a lot of extra points for showing up randomly. You can do the homework multiple times to get full credit. Tests are pretty tough, but you'll do alright if you pay attention in lecture and study the book. Grading is based all on exams and homework.
The whole class is based off of keynotes and he doesn't put them online. His tests are impossible and gives study guides but a lot of the material isn't even on the exam. The notes you take from the keynotes in class aren't on the exam most of the time either. Nice guy, but his class is ridiculous.
He is a nice guy but such a bad teacher. He uses all the class time to lecture us on the information that we had already been lectured on in class and doesn't tell us anything on how to the the lab. He contradicts himself a lot so you never understand what his expectations are for you. It was so bad, my worst class for sure.
He has a good attitude and is definitely not a "bad" professor, and you can tell he's passionate about climate change but he just isn't very good at explaining things clearly and dumbing it down for us who don't know anything about it. Basically all you do is take notes and hope for the best.
terrible! wouldn't answer questions and if he did, rolled his eyes and was rude but still never fully answered
Highly suggest paying attention during lecture but also taking the time to teach yourself the information from the book. He relies on both sources of information and sometimes the book is more informative.
He means well, that's one thing I'll say. He's passionate about what he teaches, and it sucks that he's a little absentminded at times. He's not great at explaining what he wants out of projects (for example: 'make a climograph' when we'd never learned about climographs). Sometimes allows for exam corrections. Not a bad guy, just be wary.
Agree with the other students that say he means well... unfortunately that's just about all he does well. Don't take this class, just don't.
I had Mark for lab and you could tell he was really passionate about teaching and wanted his students to do well. It took him awhile to explain things and he is a little disorganized but is always willing to help and answer whatever questions a student has. I really enjoyed having him as my professor and makes the class very easy to get an A in.
He talks way too much before each lab on content with no relation to the work he has you do. This professor also grades very specifically and is not fair/equal on his grading.
IMO he's a great prof and extremely knowledgeable. It's easy to arrange time to speak with him outside of class and I found the tests pretty easy. If you take notes and read the chapters you'll pass. He does seem disorganized at times but it's not like it affects your grade or his ability to cover topics -- definitely would take his class again.
He is very boring. Very passionate but very boring. Class is really easy, he goes over all of the readings in class The labs are all really easy and it basically only takes participation to pass.
Great guy and loves his job, wants his students to do well. The lecture is really boring and if you go to the lab it gives you an easy grade boost. The exams are kind of difficult, but if you read the book it isn't bad.
Disorganized. The material is actually decently easy but he does a terrible job of explaining it in class and has no real structure to the material, just loosely associated facts about climate. He knows what he's talking about and is passionate about it, but has no ability to properly teach it. Labs are easy tho so you only rlly worry about tests.
He was a little bit disorganized but he was willing to help if you are polite. A lot of time the instructions are unclear but if you ask for help he will most definitely help you. The work outside of class was not too bad and he is not a very difficult grader, as long as you put effort into your work.
Professor Thogerson is really nice, and I think he genuinely cares about making sure we learn. This class as a whole is a little boring in my opinion, but it was pretty interesting during some of the time, especially during the lab. The exams were kind of difficult, but he gives a lot of assignments that I was grateful for to cushion my grade.
This class includes a lab, so you should definitely go to the lab. Personally, I don't think going to the lectures is necessary at all. If you take thorough notes on his online textbook and from his posted presentation, you should be set with studying for the exams. Nice guy but his lectures are extremely boring, so just read his online book.
Its midterms and there is one lab grade in. Rambles during lab and confuses himself.
He is not thorough with explaining his labs, it is difficult to reach him outside of class, and he is overall not a good professor. Take someone else if you can.
Some students didn't like the class but I personally loved it. I thought that Thogerson was a really good professor and an even better person. He's a very interesting man with lots of good stories to tell. He's clear with the assignments and has a well planned rubric. The class actually got easier as time progressed, and the workload was very fair.
This professor makes asking questions an embarrassing and frustrating experience. Whenever a student asks a question, he acts like they are stupid. He isn't helpful and he isn't interesting in lecture. He rambles on about unimportant information. He is a really nice guy, but his class is one I dislike.
Professor Thogerson is not the perfect professor, he replies to emails late, slow on grading your work. But the dude is the most layback professor ever, he is very chill on the due date and actually gives good feedback on your work. No sweat easy A, notes are useful for the mini exams (short essay questions)
Makes you buy a $90book that is hardly used throughout class yet is expected of you to read. Textbook also didn't have have references or facts sited other than images or youtube links he used in it. He rambles in lectures and makes tests hard to understand. Doesn't understand the concept "learn from your mistakes." Pros: class wasn't much work
Great guy, but this class is NOT something he wants to teach and he will make that clear. He takes forever getting grades in, doesn't give the best feedback when you have questions, and was unorganized but he makes it clear what he wants to see from you on your work and tries to give you as many points as possible.
He is very chill to say the least, to the point where u can tell he doesn't care and is only here for the paycheck... I mean he teaches electives so I guess I am pretty ok with an easy A?
He is an okay person but his class is very boring and he only lectures. The lab is easy and you can easily pass if you show up.
A lot of my fellow classmates dislike Prof. Thogerson, but I really enjoyed him. He was so kind-hearted and never wanted any of his students to fail. He lets things slide, and takes the time and opportunity to help out people, if needed. His class is content heavy and his lectures are long, but I think that he will help you if you just ask.
Overall a great professor. Very caring, and helps you out if you fall behind, or don't understand material. Exams were pretty difficult, however he offered makeup's. Material is hard if you are not a science major. Meet with your lab every week do study different environments around campus. Lecture heavy, however not mandatory. Caring guy overall.
He is extremely lecture heavy and has lots of material so pay close attention at all times. The way to succeed is to know your terms and read the book. Tests are difficult, but he offers opportunities to get a better grade or gives extra credit. Overall, a very advanced teacher and he knows a lot. He is nice and loves answering questions.
Professor Thogerson was very unprepared for labs. He would post prelabs 2 days before it was due - also only when emailed by a student. His grades weren't put in until the week of finals. He never really knew what was going on in a project, if it was group or not, its due date, etc. He was nice but I do not recommend for lab.
MAKE SURE YOU READ TEXTBOOK. It's how I did good on every test and I think it helps a lot. His lectures were quite boring and you don't even need to attend to do well as he reads straight from the PowerPoint and he only takes attendance for extra credit about 4 times the whole semester. He is very nice and tries to help you pass the class.
Very very hard to follow. Lectures skip around and follow no educational structure. All lecture based with labs that do not pertain particularly to lessons. Slideshows were just the book repeated word for word, waste of money. Very disrespectful, condescending and dismissive. The worse experience in college. Do not take please.
Professor Thogerson's NRM140 class is content-heavy, but with the help of resources like unstuck study and the textbook, I was able to succeed. His lectures can be dense, but he's happy to answer questions and wants students to do well.
This class was the worst lab. He OFTEN had no clue what was going on when he would attempt to explain labs. Would never answer emails and often said "yes I saw it but I didn't respond". Was extremely hard to follow when talking. NEVER put anything into the grade book until the last week. He's a nice person just not teacher
DO NOT TAKE HIM FOR LAB. All the work we did throughout the semester didn't get graded until the final week. He wouldn't even know what he was talking about in class and had us do all these assignments without properly explaining how to do it. His class was so bad that I started to attend a different section.
DO NOT TAKE! very boring lectures and tests do not relate to lectures or slides at all. Makes you buy a 120 dollar book that he wrote that is the exact copy of the slides. Shows no mercy on your grade and is fine with his students failing.
There is a lot of info to take in for NRM 140. You need to use the slideshows he provides before class and read the textbook before class for the lectures to make sense. Lecture is a good time to ask questions, but you won't learn much. He's really nice, always happy to help in office hours, very knowledgeable, and funny! :)
Lectures are long and hard to follow because he rambles and forgets what he's saying. Nothing feels related, slides he uses and slides posted on BB don't match. He wrote textbook, so it's the same as the lecture but more terms. Tests are hard with too much information on one. Labs feel like filler work. Research paper but not much research.
He never puts grades in, and he fell asleep in class on the first day... He started out as good teacher but at the middle/ end he was horrible and never helps if you have a question he also doesn't know what he is teaching or what the lab is
He will help you in the lab and is fairly nice. He has posted the pre-labs the night before the lab or the day of. Mind you, these pre-lab assignments can take up to 2 hours; the only thing he does to compensate for it is making the due date a day after the lab, but you need the pre-lab content in lab. He hasn't graded anything in months, btw.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
45%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.91 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO107
5.0
(1)HNR242
5.0
(1)BIO338
4.0
(3)BIO121
3.7
(3)BIO105
3.5
(12)Difficulty by Course
BIO103LE
5.0
BI122
5.0
BIO121903
4.0
BIO111
3.8
120LAB
3.6