2.2
Quality3.4
Difficulty26%
Would Retake90
Reviews26%
Would Retake
90
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
8
4
7
3
16
2
19
1
40
What Students Say
“Professor Feely is probably the worst professor that I have ever had”
0005 - 1.0 rating“Professor Feely is a true yapper”
EC0005 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
17%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
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Improving
+0.62 avg changeRatings by Course
EC0005
2.2
(66)0005
2.1
(24)Difficulty by Course
0005
3.6
EC0005
3.3
Reviews (90)
- stories are incredible, lectures can be a little bit boring - READ THE TEXT BOOK, his lectures won't always cover the concepts needed for the hw - see him in office hours and participate in class (at least look like you're taking notes)
Professor Feely is very approachable and accessible. It is evident that he wants his students to succeed. He has great stories and is a good teacher. The only thing I will say, is that sometimes he goes off on tangents so we don't cover as much material in class, but he is very clear about what will be on the tests and quizzes.
The lectures and readings were ok but there was very little help outside of that. Recitations did little, if anything, to enforce what was learned in class. Additionally, the final grade is made up of only a handful of assignments with no curve, giving students few opportunities to improve their standing.
A funny, but disorganized class. Little curving for a dept with lots of curving. Promised to be in lockstep with the TAs, but there were badly written homework questions written by TAs and little foresight by TAs for what would be on quizzes and exams. Just a confused mess all around, which is a shame since he is nice and clearly knows the material
Boring lectures....
Professor Feely is a funny and helpful professor, but you're not taking the class for fun are you? We are usually behind on the textbooks and he often goes off on a tangent with his anecdotes leaving no time for the actual lecture. For our final, he decided to create half the test on something he rushed through teaching during our final lecture.
A professor who cares about helping his students learn, likes to illustrate the content with personal stories or examples. However, he often forgot to incorporate the actual content into his stories. Overqualified for an intro class, pretty disorganized, out of touch with the TAs. Most of the relevant knowledge I got was from recitation.
Half of the final consisted of not that relevant material that was hastily covered in one class. While Feely is kind, caring, and intelligent he goes on irrelevant tangents and is out of sync with TAs.
I hope you took AP Econ bc Feely will not be teaching you! Feely spends the majority of his lectures talking to hear his own voice, so don't expect to take anything away from the lectures.disregards students w accommodations and makes it clear that he disapproves of student accommodations. the class was pretty easy but no thanks to Feely's teaching
Good professor. Very knowledgeable and is passionate about Econ. Lectures can sometimes be off topic but he also reinforces what you learn in textbook. Very old school. Econ 5 is a must for anyone at Tufts tho. Hard grader so make sure you know your material. Use recitation. Listen during lectures even if they're off topic sometimes.
I would not recommend Professor Feely. Not a very good lecturer and goes off on irrelevant tangents in class. Even worse, he's very difficult to communicate with outside the classroom. Doesn't respond to emails and doesn't have a very friendly attitude towards students who approach him during office hours.
Took ec5 because I wanted to be an econ bro instead of doing compsci, but after this course I decided that compsci is more manageable.
Does not care about his students, a harsh grader, once he even asked us to come back to his office for 'extra credit' as his grading was too harsh in comparison to his TA's. I think that says it all. Never take him.
Has a huge ego and loves to hear himself talk. Likes to tell stories in class, but not very good at actually teaching the material. Not a nice person, very arrogant, and completely disorganized and doesn't communicate with TAs.
I took Feely's class Fall 2022. His lectures were engaging, however he would sometimes go off topic. He prioritizes conveying info that's useful for life in general rather than having you memorize information for test-taking. This class is best if you're genuinely interested in economic markets rather than if you're only taking it to fulfill a req.
He is a very smart and is clearly knowledgable. He loves to tell stories about his life that has nothing to with the class. Going to lecture isn't super necessary. Recitations are very helpful. He's an okay teacher and usually very clear about what is going to be on the tests/quizzes. He is a bit intimidating and arrogant if you ask bad questions
He's exactly what you would imagine a 60 year old white man who was in the navy for half his life is. Uses a lot of class time telling irrelevant stories, but he does genuinely care about his students. Boring, but not terribly bad for intro to econ.
Run! He's new I'll give him that but there's no excuse to be so inflexible and nonchalant about students' circumstances. Never gives enough time on quizzes, and when you go to him for office hours he is often dismissive. Lectures often have nothing to do with the material but I do really enjoy his stories. Ha
Professor Feely is probably the worst professor that I have ever had. I felt that I had to teach myself Econ and did not learn anything in the class. He also grades the exams extremely harshly and is rude and condescending during office hours. Take anyone but him because he will make you hate economics.
Professor Feely makes it clear how to succeed in his class, which I appreciate. However, the lectures are very scattered, and a lot of the material is more confusing after he explains it. I am grateful for TA that teach material, the homework assignments, and the essay to help boost one's grade. His teaching is not great, though, so be warned.
Seriously the worst professor do not take his class
He is a very smart guy, but not good at teaching. Quiz and hw gradings are very harsh but I think it is graded by TAs. Recitations are very helpful but it also depends on which TAs you go to. Lectures aren't that helpful. I turned this class to pass/fail (strongly recommend) I feel bad for guys who didn't tehe
Professor Feely is a very challenging personality to deal with. He encourages office hours but is incredibly rude towards those same students who seek him out for help. He once rudely snapped at a student during class for calling him the wrong title (not Dr. Feely or Professor Feely). I personally would not take a class of his again.
Class is hard, he's strict, and he can be short-tempered and impatient with students. However, he provides clear expectations for the quizzes and homeworks and the challenging nature of his class kept me on my toes nonstop (which was not a fun experience, but I learned a lot). If you genuinely care about understanding economics, Feely's your guy.
The lectures weren't very helpful, but I found recitations very helpful. At the beginning he would tell you what was on the quizzes, but toward the end of the year he stopped. The TAs did most of the grading and they seemed a bit harsh. I went to one of Feely's office hours and it was pretty helpful which I was pleasantly surprised.
I only found the recitations helpful because those covered everything we needed to know for the exam. Feely is a great guy to talk to outside of class and was nice, and you can tell he's passionate about econ. He's just not the best at teaching the content that will be on the exam but rather goes on tangents (still relating to econ though-confusing
Recitations are SO important because his lectures can be hard to follow. Really nice guy just tough to follow sometimes.
Does not teach during class. Tells stories and does not prepare for tests
Professor Feely is one of the most atrocious professors I've ever heard about in my life, let alone had. He talks about the most random things and goes on tangents lasting over 20 minutes that are unengaging and then all of a sudden weaves in a topic and tells you this will be on the test. His slides are basically paragraphs and often have typos.
He is terrible. The first class starts off with him singing a song and ramping up to this song with stories about almost punching people on a train. Then for the last five minutes of class taught something is a convoluted way. This is the norm He doesn't tell you what's on the quizzes. If he is the prof for Econ, wait to take it with someone else.
Feely's lectures were just so bad to the point where I stopped going to class. Class is graded on 3 quizzes and homework, 1 paper, and 2 exams. He posts notes over the content you need to know, but if you can't learn from his notes (which are filled with typos and sloppy) then go to recitations. STAAR tutoring is helpful for this class I've heard.
Avoid like the plague. Class is graded on a bell curve. Absolutely pointless lectures and nonsensical tests. If you have to take this class, just do the readings and watch videos and self teach, and go to recitations (the TAs teach it better). Dropped the class, will never take a Feely class ever again.
Honestly not that bad. All the Quizzes were based off the Homework or PS, so if you literally remembered you could switch the numbers and get all of them right. Lectures are very boring, and he does have an abrasive personality. But, way better than what others are saying. Just do all HW & problem sets, and a little bit of reading.
Yapper of the century
Feely's lectures are often diluted and confusing and do not always contain relevant information. Lectures are just long paragraphs he projects on board, yet some of the step-by-step are useful. Homeworks sometimes contain stuff that has no relation or we have not covered in class. tests are easy if you study and do the problem sets.
Showing up is pointless - all of the material covered on tests/quizzes is posted on his Canvas notes that are absurdly convoluted but I guess easy enough to follow. Econ should be based on going through problems in class, not just talking about them. He has a short temper and raises his voice at students for ridiculous reasons.
Easy class if you've taken econ before. Otherwise, you are on your own.
Material is better taught to yourself. Lectures are long and generally unrelated. Exams were mostly to long for one class period. Also one of the TA's just didn't even speak english.
Get ready to read your textbook alone. Feely's lectures are so inconsistent and he jumps all over the textbook without really making a straightforward point. I would never take his class ever if I knew how bad he was.
Every assignment had to be printed out on paper which was really annoying sometimes. He points off my homework once because my notebook paper wasn't exactly 8" by 11" and was really difficult to talk to about fixing grades. He told some interesting stories that were unrelated to economics though.
If you are thinking about taking this class as a HASS elective... just don't. There are definitely better options. If you need to take this class, make sure to study the textbook. Also, go to lecture to absorb what you can about "market talk" because he will put confusing questions about it on quizzes.
AVOID HIM AT ALL COSTS!!! Terrible at teaching and very mad at explaining stuff. DO NOT TAKE IT HE DOES NOT TEACH ANYTHING DURING CLASSES
DO NOT TAKE EC-5 WITH FEELY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!! IF YOU WANT TO TAKE EC-5 AND HE'S TEACHING, EITHER WAIT UNTIL NEXT SEMESTER OR YOU WILL SUFFER MORE THAN YOU HAVE TO!!!!
doesnt teach material
Be prepared for long lectures about almost nothing to do with Economics. Try to rely on recitations and canvas notes to follow course. Not good to go to for individual feedback. Difficult tests with many topics that were not covered in class. Not consistent grading.
One thing about feely is he can talk a lot. Whether it relates to economics is a different question. Spends 50% of class going on about irrelevant stories, 50% teaching in the worst way possible. For Ec 5, material is easy, so it's possible to teach yourself all of it with the textbook/canvas notes even if you didn't take an econ class in hs.
Genuinely bad. Do not take it, at least not with Feely. Or just don't come to Tufts for economics. If you've taken Econ courses before, do not go to lectures or he will confuse you. His way of explaining concepts does not make sense. Slightly racist (personal experience) against international kids. You'll regret it
Most reviews here will have you thinking that Feely is a terrible teacher but really he's a good guy who is passionate about Econ and has good intentions. Only negatives are he can have an obtuse way of teaching which means that for some topics, doing your own studying/learning can be necessary or helpful, and randomly nitpicky grading.
Honestly, he is a pretty decent professor. If one does the assigned reading outside of class and does the problem sets they will be just fine in his class. Sure his lectures don't always relate to the material, but they are funny and enjoyable to attend. He is also a nice, interesting, and caring guy.
Professor Feely is a true yapper. A waffler, if I may. His lectures are an amalgamation of economics ramblings and tangential rants and a promulgation of confusing explanations. If you read the textbook, study his Canvas notes, and give him goodnight kisses, you will get an A. He goes from funny to passive-aggressive in minutes. Very volatile.
His lectures consist of random tangents about his time in the Navy and very little actual economics. Went to his office hours for help bc I was very confused and he called me dumb and mocked my learning disability so I avoided office hours after that (ended up having to pass/fail the class bc he was so unhelpful and bad at his job).
Be ready to be degraded if you assist his office hours. I attended his office hours once. Never again. He said phrases such as "do you guys even read?? It's a sad state of affairs if you're a college student and write like this" Bro wants to be an English professor so bad he has his own grammar style guide. He's just peak "entitled white man."
Sure he has office hours but he's incredibly rude and derogatory during them. If there's one thing I regret, is not listening to the reviews on here. RUN from this instructor. If you stay, don't expect to have academic support from him. You will basically have to be self-taught on the subject. Recitations are a must. Our TAs carried.
Awful professor, did not learn a single thing from him. You have to teach yourself everything especially if you don't have any previous experience with economics. Don't take EC5 with Feely if you love yourself. Remember mental health comes first!
does not teach and overall very poor professor. didn't learn a single thing. notes confusing, long, and filled with typos. good guy just a horrible professor all around. you are better off not going to class and trying to teach the stuff to yourself. didn't teach any problems in class just told pointless stories. don't take class unless you need to
If you are a freshman like me and are interested in trying economics, stay FAR away from this course. The material is objectively understandable but every lecture is a convoluted word vomit full of irrelevant tangents. He is an intelligent economist but too overqualified to teach an intro course. He does not know how to teach to beginners.
Lectures are very convoluted and the actual economic content only makes up 10% of the class time. Students are better off reading his lecture notes along with the textbook. Even within these lecture notes he uses unnecessarily verbose language. He is clearly knowledgeable but is simply not good at delivering information clearly. Read the textbook.
Feely is a typical college lecturer. He teaches to a class of 200 so his lectures are often less than engaging. I do believe he is a gifted economist and shouldn't be teaching such a large entry level class. Exams not difficult if you just study. Only true negative is that he has the absolute worst method in the world for passing out papers.
Professor Feely's lecture style is a bit erratic but I found his lectures were interesting and often had tidbits about what would be important in exams. Exams required thorough studying and often times it was confusing what they were on exactly. Office hours are helpful. Also there is a bell curve which can help or hurt.
Professor Feely suffers from an inability to effectively organize his lectures to suit the needs of students new to economics. The content is not difficult, and his quizzes heavily reference his notes and problem sets. However, he is unable to stay on track during lectures, causing confusion and tedium for students.
Honestly not an awful professor. While lectures are sometimes filled with off-topic rambling and various tangents, there are clear notes highlighting the most important points posted on Canvas and problem sets are helpful. Graded almost entirely on quizzes and a few homework assignments, neither of which are too terribly difficult.
legend. great guy.
Great guy. If you just go see him during office hours, you will get a good grade. Don't listen to the bad reviews.
He makes really straightforward notes that give a good basic understanding of the course material. If you put time in to study you will do just fine. Extremely reasonable assessments, homeworks, and writing assignment. Easy and useful class, and Feely wants to help you out. A little bit of effort goes such a long way in this course
Clear about test material & posted all necessary information. That's all the good I can say; I taught myself at least 90% of the class material on my own time. He goes on long tangents in class. Unengaging & bad at explaining. Unpredictable, intimidating, & at times inappropriate to students. Made multiple cry. Grading on essay = confusing/harsh.
Bro said nothing of substance in class I stopped showing up to his lectures altogether like the first 5 classes and still got a B. Although he's a bad professor, he's a chill guy ppl need to stop riding this guy so hard.
Feely's an extremely kind man that being said he should not be teaching a giant lecture. However, every time I went to office hours he would explain things in a really clear way, for some reason he just can't seem to do it in a large group. He is super fair about the essay and the quizzes and tests look just like the psets. He has great stories too
the goat
I took this class having never taken an economics course in my life. Week 2 I realized that I was better off simply teaching myself all of the material myself. Feely is simply unable to present in a way that people new to Economics are able to understand. I frequented his office hours. One on one, he can be intimidating. Ppl new to Econ, stay away.
Tells irrelevant stories in class, but otherwise, he explains course material well. Seems to try his best (he knows EC5 has a bad rep). Feely wants you to have an applicable understanding of economics. Course material is not difficult. Do the work and you'll do well.
Feely gets a bad rap. His lectures are easy to understand if the chapter readings are done before class. Tests and homework are straightforward and nothing on there is material that hasn't been seen before. Don't be scared of his ratings, if you want to take EC5.
Interesting guy who has great insights on economics. He grades fairly. Pretty much all over the place and probably isn't the best for teaching intro.
WORST PROFESSOR I'VE EVER HAD. STAY AWAY IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN SANE AND HAPPY.
the worst professor i've ever had at tufts. he was a tough grader and you couldn't tell when he was lecturing or telling a story that had nothing to do with economics. definitely not the right professor for an entry-level class.
Take this class if you've taken AP Econ before. The test questions are specifically stated by him in class so pay attention. Skip the lectures. Read the textbooks. Do the practice problems. He's quite rude, volatile, and spends half the class rambling about irrelevant stories. Students who have never taken econ before stay FAR away.
Feely is a typical college lecturer. He teaches to a class of 200 so his lectures are often less than engaging. I do believe he is a gifted economist and shouldn't be teaching such a large entry level class. Exams not difficult if you just study. Only true negative is that he has the absolute worst method in the world for passing out papers.
lowkey iconic but he cant teach. material isnt hard and you can learn it yourself but is not worth it. once ranted (fangirled) about janet yellen for a good 40 minutes.
Literally the worst lecture ever, go to recitations instead. Lowkey makes up his own stuff with “market talk.” It will be fine if you took AP Econ in high school but if not, just know you will have to self teach. Class is not engaging at all. Quiz 2 was hard in terms of timing that people got single digits out of 20 so at least midterm was easier.
Do. Not. Take. No matter what. Lectures are useless, tough grader, downright rude and condescending in office hours. Will make you distressed and uncomfortable, and if you visually show at all how you feel he will give you a speech about how can't be uncomfortable because his life
Class started off manageable, but has gone downhill. His stories are interesting but have absolutely nothing to do with the class. He says recitation isn't mandatory but that's the only place where you will learn anything. LOVES to call kids out in class for no reason. Graded on a curve and takes points off of assignments for just about anything.
Professor Feely is the worst. Says he cares about students' success but doesn't. Posts hw at the end of the weekend for it to be due by Tuesday classtime, printed. Lectures are horrible. When actually teaching, he forgets what he is lecturing about and students have to remind him. Good guy, HORRIBLE prof; if you've never taken econ stay away.
Feely is a great guy, and a humble public servant. Can't say enough good things about him.
honestly, he's a great guy but does not know how to teach a large lecture. class was all over the place which made the material so much more difficult than it needed to be. TAs were great. Full of students cheating left and right tho and it's graded on a scale so really sucks if you dont have the right connections.
I took this class as a freshman, and while it was tough due to my English skills, I truly learned a lot—not just about Econ but life as well. His military background made him strict and exact, which was challenging but taught me responsibility. I appreciate his effort and wish him the best as he leaves this semester.
Terrible Professor, don't know how he still has a job.
class is medium difficulty esp if you took ap econ in high school, micro was a lot better than macro. lecturers were not helpful but you should still go to get an idea of what will be on the quizzes. it is not necessary to read the textbook, all the content is on the notes. my final grade ended up being the same as my raw grade.
PLEASE do not take EC5 with this professor if you can help it. He made a friend of mine in the class cry, lost one of my quizzes and blamed ME for it, and gave winding and convoluted lectures. This professor might be good for someone, but he certainly was not good for me.
I feel that Feely gets a bad rap. His lectures can be long and repetitive at times but he definitely knows what he is talking about. He is genuinely a super caring and wholesome professor who sprinkles in personal anecdotes/lessons into every one of his lectures (which I appreciate, although sometimes he can go off on tangents).
Not sure how he has a job, extremely incompetent as a lecturer with a bitter outlook on life.
"'In life its not who you know, but whom'- Osborn Elliot"- Professor Feely
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
17%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.62 avg changeRatings by Course
EC0005
2.2
(66)0005
2.1
(24)Difficulty by Course
0005
3.6
EC0005
3.3