1.5
Quality4.1
Difficulty6%
Would Retake101
Reviews6%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
6
4
2
3
6
2
9
1
78
What Students Say
“Not only a bad TA, but a bad person as well”
CHEM101 - 1.0 rating“Do anything in your power to find another instructor”
CHEM101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
93%
Textbook Required
23%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM101102
2.5
(4)CHEM101L
2.0
(1)CHEM102
1.9
(16)CHEM101
1.4
(49)CHEM101LAB
1.3
(16)Difficulty by Course
CHEM101L
5.0
CHEM102
4.6
CHEM101LAB
4.3
CHEM091
4.3
CHEM101
4.0
Reviews (101)
Rude, mean and rough. Need to learn how to behave and be nice.
Ms. Reimer is very inconsistent. She has favorites in the lab, and she does not take critism well at all. She knows very little about chemistry and she made my first experience in Chem 101 a horrible one.
she was made chem101 labs not fun at all. she is a hard teacher, and very unaproachable. i was scared that she was going to bite my head off every time i had a question, and your lab mark does not justify your effort whatsoever.
Had her almost five years ago as a lab TA and still have nightmares. She actually fired a TA for "going over her head" by approving a lab rescheduling without her approval. Not a nice woman or a considerate TA.
I had to go see her to make up a missed lab, and she was very rude towards me. That's when I started believing all fo the horror stories other students have told me. Very condescending, abrasive, unhelpful, and I had never been so scared to approach a prof (or lab co-ordiantor)!
Had her several years ago, and my hatred towards her is still fresh. Very sour and abrasive, avoid at all cost!
beleive the rumors-there all true. She is a horrible horrible woman- who knows little about chemistry and tries to hide it by being anal retentive. I can only wonder what is so miserable in her life that she feels the right to treat people like she does.
Monica is a great TA. She gave a thorough introduction before beginning each lab and contrary to many of the postings, she is not scary at all. I had a great experience with her as both my Chem 101 and 102 lab TA.
Evil Incarnate.. I have never hated someone so passionately. I can't wait until I have graduated and make 4 times as much as her.
No Comments
Prepare to get annihilated. She will make you look like an idiot whenever she can. Tough marker, but not unfair, and she explained the labs reasonably well, I guess. Still, she made Chem labs an absolute nightmare, and she will destroy you when you make a mistake. Not helpful with questions, and absolutely brutal.
Very nasty, condescending TA. Everyone in my class feared her. Tough about dumb mistakes - handed in a report a half-hour late one time by accident and got zero. Also kind of flaky - bad short term memory or something. AVOID AT ALL COST
Some people are bad teachers, but still manage to be good people. This woman is cold-hearted and uncompassionate. You family could have died in a train-wreck and she wouldn't let you make up a lab. She does not deserve to be in the position she is. Avoid at all costs.
Terrible instructor. Worst help you could ever find. Completely unwilling to bend or help beyond what the book says. Won't even tell you which questions you get wrong on tests to help yourself.
I really feel sorry for Monica that many students do not like her.The reason she is strict as she wants us to work hard&be active. I have learned so much from her in a short period of time.I dropped the course as I want to complete Chem12 first. "If you would like to be a scientist, you should prove what a person is from your own experience, not fr
She do not deserve her job.
Believe the rumors. This TA is merciless. the amount of grades she takes off for silly mistakes is ridiculous.Could have easily ended the course 2 letter grades higher with another teacher.
This woman has single-handedly brought my mark down by at least 10 percent in both Chem 101 and Chem 102. She has the stupidest rules, and enforces them without mercy. She leaves no room for error and will take any opportunity to kick you while you're down. Too bad she is unavoidable in first year chemistry, really makes the school look bad.
the worst TA I've ever seen. i liked lab but i hate it because of her. she's not helpful at all. when we ask her question she says "what do you think ?" if you say "i don't know..!!" then she says get back to the lab manual and the lab manual can not answer all your questions and not clear enough. AVOID her as you can.
Upon entering the class there's an assumption that you know how to write a university level chem lab. If you have mistakes, she marks them wrong and gives no advice. She offers no helpful criticism and is completely unapproachable, as she makes fun of people for their questions. Taking this through Camosun instead of dealing with her more.
She is not only very strict, but also incapable of understanding someone else. She talks to and treats student like her subjects and berates them severely and harshly when someone cannot get the point.
Is a great TA. Is extremely meticulous in her grading scheme, but if you learn from your mistakes you will achieve high marks. She is grooming you to write good papers, wrong papers must be marked accordingly. She is very helpful, but you must attend office hours and appointments, which most students don't do. Their marks refect this.
She wasn't my TA, but she's extremely nice outside the laboratory. My TA mistakenly gave me 5 marks off my report (it reflected 2% of my lab mark), I went to Monica to talk about it and she was extremely chill and helpful in resolving the issue. She may be strict when it comes to marking, but she's extremely helpful.
Monica was excellent. She gets a bad reputation because she will not coddle students. She lays out what is expected of you (eg. pre-lab questions, flow chart) and expects you to be responsible for yourself. Come prepared(which you should anyway) and you'll do just fine.
Tough but means good
Avoid her if possible. The entire class stiffen when she enters, she is hostile towards questions and constantly asks questions to the class that no-one can answer but instead of explaining, she simply waits.
Difficult to talk to. RUDE.
Not only a bad TA, but a bad person as well. Most people are nice at heart even if they are bad teachers but not this woman. She assumes that, coming out of high school, we should be able to write university level papers. Refused to mark my report because it was not in a dutoang, 5% gone out of final grade. Might be jealous that she is the only person in the Chemistry department without a masters degree. Avoid her if possible
Had her once subbing my lab TA, never again. Extremely rude instructor, doesn't give instructions clearly. Both verbally and written (lab manual), i.e. doesn't write things clearly. Every time I ask a question, her response follows: What does it say in the lab manual? ... Follow what is in the lab manual."
Do anything in your power to find another instructor. Cruel.
Her lab manual was written more clearly than the biology manuals. I couldn't tell if she meant well and was preparing us for the future, or if she was just a rude person who does not like students. Either way she is kind of funny. She is a picky marker, but each report gets easier as you figure out what she wants from previously marked ones.
Monica is really friendly and extremely helpful. She has a chem lab manual that outlines her expectations, just do what is expected and you will succeed.
In her first class, she told students that all that all of us should have a Lab Notebooks, and student who has not Lab Notebooks, will loose 2-3 marks and it was not required for the course. just a little advice, if at all possible CHANGE YOUR INSTRUCTOR to not have her for your labs.
in all honestly I was scared of her.Very unapproachable and did not provide any help with my questions but instead would make you feel bad for asking. avoid her if possible.
MOnica Reimer has designed the worse laboratory program out of any university in North America. Lots of formal lab reports but really nothing learned. The labs have nothing at all to do with the lecture.
Unclear and is not willing to help at all. The labs do not coordinate with the course and she marks very hard.
She is terrifying... Smart woman but not a good prof
Sets you up to fail
Labs don't correlate with the lecture material.
Really terrifying. Make sure you study for your lab quizzes and be prepared for her to be really harsh.
Very rude. Is not empathetic at all, does she have human emotions? no one knows.
don't ever expect Monica to cut you any slack. because its guaranteed she wont
Because of her behaviors, I changed the major. She is very tough grader proferrsor, during my first year in the university I faced lots of probelms and these probelms because of her. I emailed her for asking the questions about lab, she told me that I need to study by myself and she was not a high school teacher. I was so dejected.
My first ever TA at university. She really goes hard on you, ESPECIALLY on safety, but it's because this is your first chemistry lab and if you don't get it down now, you'll get hurt later on and she does not want that AT ALL. Nice sometimes... sometimes not, really hit or miss. Switch if you can. Future labs will be better if you continue chem
I believe that the Chem labs at Uvic are designed too much as busy work and do not encourage the use of one's brain. The labs are laborious but nothing is learned.
Not a good program at all too much busy work
Too many formal papers not a good instituion. If you quailfy to attend UBC make sure you go there
I spend to much time doing the lab whcih is not co-related to the course and teaches you nothing. Lots and lots of formal write-ups at this school
She marks hard but consistent. When I asked for feedback on a grade I found harsh she willingly set up a meeting and explain where I lost points and how I could improve. My lab marks significantly increased following this meeting. I found her very helpful if questions were well thought out and relevant.
THe laboratory part of this course takes too much time in general. At other schools there are less full write ups which allows students to focus more on the lecture course
I would recommend considering applying to UBC instead of UVic,. Their courses are much more balanced than Uvic which is more technical .. like a trades program.
Doesn't give you enough time to do the write-up. I had only two days and I had to contend with a physics write-up as well. The labs take three hours and the lab itself three hours which is a little bit long.
I agree that there are too many formal lab papers give this is just the laboratory component of one five courses that any student is dealing with
Monica in person outside of class she can be nice. In class another story. She is very rude, unreasonable, and she gives you the run around like she can't be bothered. If you have to take chem I suggest you take it at Camosun and transfer the credits. I have had to go over her head many times for my lab to be graded again for a proper mark.
The rumors are true - she is a very difficult woman. But if you need chem for your degree, you can't avoid her, she is the senior lab instruction for 1st yr labs (and the 'prof' for 091 - though you have to teach yourself everything, its online). Be prepared, get your work in ON TIME and hope for the best, its not likely she'll have any grace :/
The lab portion of Chem 101 is ran by Monica, pray that you do not have her as your TA. She is unkind and very very intimidating, you can not mess up or make a mistake if she is anywhere near by. Chem labs are marked very unfairly, because not all the TA's mark the same. Chem labs are extremely time consuming and misleading. GO TO HELP HOURS!!!
Monica is by far the worst employee at UVic. She is rude, unclear, and makes these labs as hard as she possibly can. I get why, it's to "weed out" the weak students who shouldn't be furthering their degree in Chemistry, but she makes it miserable to want to pursue, even if a student is capable enough. I received an A in 101, and am taking 102.
I'm in my third year and Monica was the first instructor to ever make me cry
disrespectful, and refused to excuse a lab for me after I provided proper documentation due to having somebody terminally ill in my family. She replied to my email with "your letter from interior health lacks a letterhead, this is not enough and I will accept a death certificate". It did have a letterhead monica, maybe you should of looked at it
Unprofessional and rude, watch out.
Got a doctors note to excuse me from a lab due to being ill, emailed me and told me she couldnt accept it because it was a physical copy and requested I come in and get it. Went in to go and get it and the first question she asked me was, are you contagious? instead of how I am feeling and questioned if I was even sick to begin with.
After reading many negative reviews about Monica, I felt like I had only a fool's hope for getting a lab that I had missed for an interview exempted. After showing up at her office to discuss my situation she quite easily excused my absence after I provided her with just an email as confirmation that I was at an interview. Respectable interaction.
Not flexible nor understanding at all
Monica is the most unreasonable, rude staff member Ive interacted with since I arrived at this school. I missed the lab deadline by ONE MINUTE because CourseSpaces crashed on me, and she told me to contact the computer help desk and refused to give me the credit. I failed the lab. Monica will treat you like a robot, zero empathy for anything.
Monica Reimer is the lab instructor for chem 101, going into this class everyone told me that Monica was super scary and mean. TBH, she is a fierce woman that should be respected but overall she just wants her students to be safe. Also throughout all the labs she spoke to me once, so even if you don't like her, you dont have to see her often.
just nope
Not a teacher that you want to have at all.
terrible professor and an even worse person. she seriously sucks. avoid her if you can
If you have to take CHEM101 chances are you're going to be stuck with her for the lab section. Unaccomadating, rude, strict, and generally not at all at the same standard as the rest of the chemistry department. She's awful.
Even during COVID, Monica still seems to be apathetic to her students. I had an admin issue with handing in my lab report, causing me to miss the deadline so I emailed her quickly. She responded 5 days later with a passive-aggressive response offering no options whatsoever. The main takeway: finish your assignments perfectly and on time. No mercy.
Probably one of the most unsympathetic profs I've ever had especially in a pandemic. Labs didn't match up with what we were learning in the lecture and the TAs were always very confused about what we did and didn't already know. Don't expect any sympathy for handing things in late.
Monica was the most apathetic prof I've ever met. My wifi crashed, and I missed the due date by an hour, so I emailed her, and she provided no solutions and was unwilling even to give partial marks. Her responses were passive and rude. The labs did not line up with the course material, and we were NEVER taught any of the material on the reports.
Steer very clear. Gave probably half of my chem 101 class 0/7 on multiple labs as they were submitted as doc.x not pdf.... not like theres a pandemic going on or anything and online is new to us all lol. Absolutely no mercy for students - regardless of the situation and very rude. Not an ounce of sympathy!
I am in 3rd year and still think about the day my moms best friend died and I was on the phone consoling her. I missed the deadline to submit a lab by 1 min, and immediately forwarded the complete lab to Monica 1 minute after the deadline and it was not accepted. Takes advantage of naive 1st yr students. Extremely rude. Not a warm welcome to uvic
On the day a friend of mine committed suicide, I managed to complete my lab and then accidentally submitted it as a docx instead of a pdf. Emailed her, explained the situation, and asked to resubmit the exact same work as a pdf file. She replied with one sentence and told me I could not resubmit. One of the worst profs at Uvic hands down.
Worst prof/TA/university staff I have ever not met. She made online class hell and was not helpful at all.
I emailed her one time with a question in the 3rd week of class and she was so rude I never emailed her again. I didn't understand the wording of a question and she basically said i I didn't understand basic chemistry I should brush up on high school stuff. It turned out she was right by I failed but she didn't have to be so mean about it
Monica is blunt, but never condescending. We had a CLEAR outline for labs and how to submit things. If you fail to read about what is expected of you thats your own fault. I missed handing in a lab assignment due to family member passing and she helped me right away and I got my marks. I've done Chem 101x2 and 102 and her labs were fun in person.
Not accommodating at all and always very rude email responses for no reason.
Horrible prof can't answer questions properly and has an attitude.
I got rear ended on my way to my chem lab and I ended up getting there an hour late. My TA was super chill about it, and then he took me to see Monica for further instruction. She basically told me I was lying about being in a car accident and that I would receive a zero on the lab. Left her office bawling my eyes out. Harsh and rude.
She is has a disgustingly rude and apathetic attitude. Does not accommodate for learning disabilities despite being registered with CAL. Miss a lab for being in the hospital? Well that sucks youll get a 0 and no opportunity to makeup for it. If youre a few mins late you wont be allowed to write the prep quizzes and get a 0. She is pure evil
Literally so rude. The god complex on this woman is something I have never seen before, I don't know who hurt her but it must have been bad because she is miserable and doesn't care about anything, or her students. Worst instructor ever
Most awfully rude faculty member Ive ever met. I cant believe Uvic still allows her to be a senior lab instructor at their university. She is unforgiving and condescending. A first year course is supposed to aid students and prepare them for upper level courses, not make them scared to make mistakes and cause crippling anxiety every lab. Shame.
she needs to pick up a self-destructive hobby like the rest of us so maybe she would be less miserable. She is rude beyond words. Miss a lab for literally any reason, she will never let you make it up. forget about getting help from her. Grades a lab report with the same value as participation. Worst lab ever. It is beyond me how she got employed.
Wow. I have truly never met a person as rude as her. I was missing a page in my lab manual, it didn't come with it for some reason, and instead of just printing a new one she accused me of ripping it out and made a scene before I convinced her I didn't. Seriously always miserable.
Shockingly unprofessional and rude. The way she speaks to students is reprehensible, and it creates a toxic environment in the laboratory. I can honestly say she deserves to be fired. W O W. What is up with the UVic Chemistry department!?! A bunch of unhappy, miserable people. I feel sorry for the entire department.
I don't know how Monica is still teaching. Incredibly rude and arrogant. I suffered a physical injury that prevented me from walking unassisted. After reaching out to Monica she replied that I was not allowed in the lab unless I could walk unassisted.
As a TA, I have to say Monica is the worst person I have met at Uvic. Toxic talking environment, judging other people, making students crying. She is ridiculous and should retire ASAP.
Genuinely an awful person.
Monica doesn't run the labs but she supervises. Talk to your TA whenever possible. She was decently helpful in the 3 very brief times we interacted (hence the rating). Try your best to avoid having to contact her (I was fortunate that I did not need to), and if you do, be prepared. Lab rules are strict.
Chem labs with her were always traumatizing. It's like we weren't there to learn, just being tested on things we don't know. Once I deleted the instructions on the template before I turned it in and got 1/7 because of only that.
Astoundingly unreasonable and stubborn. She does not seem to be concerned or interested in students' success at all. Trying to discuss anything with her is like pulling teeth with her very "I can't be bothered" attitude.
Extremely unprofessional and rude. Caused me an huge amount of stress and gave terrible instructions. The TA's and students were scared of her and she treats the TAs very poorly.
Avoid contacting Monica if you can. I emailed her with a question about a lab and her reply was completely unrelated to my question and she said that I "probably didn't follow the instructions right" even though my question had nothing to do with lab instructions. She then "updated" my grade by taking 20% off, again unrelated to my question.
The online textbook she uses is terrible. Bad at explaining material and bad example problems. Due to this tests felt very difficult. She grades tests wrong half the time and when you email her about it she tells you to "look at the brightspace" or assumes what you are asking and answers the wrong question. She's generally rude
she kicked me out of the lab for not wearing the right shoes... my shoes were closed toed. My TA didn't care or notice my shoes. She literally does not want anybody to succeed.
Awful. The worst UVic staff member. Rude in emails. Tells you that "she already told you" when you ask questions. Will literally give you a 0 on the report because you "missed information in lab notes". Three hours of work down the drain. Does not care for the well being of students, she will treat you like dirt.
Not kind nor understanding.
Glad she is gone. Apparently not even qualified to teach what she was teaching.
I was a grad student TA teaching first year chemistry labs. I feel sorry for any student (or TA) who ever had to deal with Monica. She was more interested in warehousing students than teaching them. I wrote a letter complaining about her to the senior lab instructor. He was aware that she was horrible but did not have the power to fire her.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
93%
Textbook Required
23%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM101102
2.5
(4)CHEM101L
2.0
(1)CHEM102
1.9
(16)CHEM101
1.4
(49)CHEM101LAB
1.3
(16)Difficulty by Course
CHEM101L
5.0
CHEM102
4.6
CHEM101LAB
4.3
CHEM091
4.3
CHEM101
4.0