2.5
Quality3.9
Difficulty29%
Would Retake89
Reviews29%
Would Retake
89
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
18
4
10
3
11
2
17
1
33
What Students Say
“According to the Stephen F”
PHI153 - 2.0 rating“This is by far the hardest class I have taken so far”
PHILOSOPHY153 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
490
5.0
(1)PHI310
5.0
(1)PHI390
5.0
(2)LAT101
5.0
(1)GRK131
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
INTROPHILOSOPH
5.0
INTROTOLOGIC
5.0
PHI
5.0
PHIL111
5.0
PHI310
5.0
Reviews (89)
Hmm...we don't exist, and little blue men actually make ice. Wow. Take a tape recorder, cause once he starts, it's hard to keep up. I find it very hard not to fall asleep in class. Reminds me of Elton John.
took him over a summer session.....COMPLETELY BORING!!!!! According to him, we dont exist, and if you dont believe the same way he does, the class is hell for you. avoid him if you can
It is obvious from day one that Dr. Smith is very knowledgable and passionate about the subject of philosophy. However, he has a tendency to be a little abrupt if he feels the class does not follow his train of thought like he thinks they should. The course for me was like taking a foreign language.
This Mythology class is very interesting and fun. You learn a lot of the Greek culture. He is very enthused over this topic. His tests are easy but you must be in class everyday and take notes.
It took him 2 separate classes to go over his syllabus. The class is interesting and his really thorough there is just a lot of material. He does try and help if you ask for it. Have to attend class and take lots of notes
The class is hard, but he really trys to help you. He wants everyone to make a good grade. It is interesting and do-able. He reminds me of the master of disguise. lol
I thougth Mythology would be great but he made it horrible. At first he is good but when it comes to grading he is not consistant and he takes forever to return graded work. He is very snappy and rude when you ask questions too.
Very knowledgable. Kinda strange and jumpy. Tests aren't too hard but you have to study. What ever you do don't buy the book.
You don't need the book, just take good notes. He provides an outline, but be sure to note all his ramblings in between. Also, we did not receive test #2 or #3 grades until after the final. If this is a problem I suggest you dont take him. He is bad at grading. There is nothing you can do about it.
We don't exist, little blue men make ice, and our brains might be controlled by an EVIL Genius who hooked up electrodes to our brains! Material was interesting, but the professor is arrogant and doesn't return graded work promptly. As of the day before the final, I only knew 15% of my grade.
Took a good class and killed it. Never returned things anywhere near the date he said he would. Can be an extreme jerk if someone asks a question he thinks they should have known. Unlike other profs that look for ways to help students, he looks for ways to take away and hurt them or their grade.
this prof is HORRIBLE!!!!!!!makes excuses about everything!!still have not gotten the second test we took and final grades were due today!if you like to know your grades in classes before the next semester dont take him!!he is very unorganized and scatter brained!!
This class was the first class I failed! We didn't get our tests back till after our final and he was 3 weeks late with our final grades!
Dr.Smith is a step above most of our professors at SFA. If you ask me, he's Ivy league, yet he brings the study of Myth to a level that anyone with real interest in the subject will enjoy and understand. I learned a great deal and found Dr. Smith funny and entertaining.
Extremely boring, weird, and irresponsible. His class is not very very hard, but he has a billion excuses for never returning tests. We had 4 tests, but 3 of our tests didn't get graded until after finals. Everyone got a WH for a final grade because he didnt turn in grades on time.
I had Smith for PHI 490. What others have said about returning tests late is true! He didn't give us 2 of our test grades until 2 weeks after the deadline, and only after the Office of Student Affairs made a few phone calls. His class is boring and he is arrogant. I DON'T reccommend him!
Boy , Oh Boy. How many times do I remeber him saying "I'm sorry class, but you are on the lowest rung in my schedule. Icould care less if you see what little progress you are making in my boring class." Ok maybe that's what was in my head after every excuse to not grade our work. Horrible professor
Takes very interesting material and makes it the most boring thing in the world. His lectures don't make much sense, but the readings are interesting. The class would be much cooler, if you took a different teacher.
Don't ever expect to get your exams back on time. Fair, but Difficult
DO NOT TAKE! DO NOT TAKE! i HAD THIS GUY FOR INTRO TO LOGIC, THE FIRST TEST WAS OVER TWO WEEKS LATE IN GETTING BACK TO US AND AFTER DROP DATE! THE HIGHEST GRADE IN OUR CLASS IS AN 82! OVER HALF THE CLASS HAS A BELOW C AVERAGE.
This professor was the most boring prof. that I have ever taken. He went in circles while lecturing and never made sense. If you dont understand something he didnt help he just said the same thing over. And you were never right even if you are it doesnt matter. Also extreamely slow getting tests. I never got my last 3 or 4 exams.
DO NOT TAKE! Most boring prof I have ever had. He took the interesting material and twisted it to things you dont understand and then yells at you if you dont understand and says the same thing over and over. Never got tests back first test was after drop date even though he "promised". He contridicted himself everyday. Do not take from him.
I agree that it did take him ages to get work back to us, but that didn't make me fail his class. I made a really good grade in his class. He wasn't that boring. Acually, my clas got quite a few laughs and I don't even like philosophy. I recommend him. All you have to do is take good notes and you'll pass.
Dont make the same mistake I did.....take the other guy.....half the class droped. His tests are 10 essays!
If you're nerdy in the slightest way, you'll love Dr. Smith. He's got a way of thinking that is unique and interesting. If you're a closed minded person, take the other guy, but if you're into a higher level of thinking and a bit geeky, take him. He shows Star Trek episodes in his class....if you like sci-fi, he's the prof. for you.
Guy is ridicuolus....His wife graded my fist test and i made a 90 ...this nut graded my final and i recieved a 65. It's not that i didn't study..he just wants word for word answers! NEVER TAKE..he won't care if gives the whole class D's..needless to say i made an A, but that was only becasue of his wife
Dr. Smith is wonderful! He is a REAL scholar, so if u want to get an easy A and sleep during class, don't take him! I learned a LOT in his class! He is easy ONLY if u take the class seriously. I would recommend going to his office hours, he likes when students show interest. His tests are hard, but the evening before he tells u ALL the answers :)
I am warning you now...do not take this class!!! He is super hard! Granted, he will help you in office hours and is nice but if you want an easy A...this isn't the class. All essay tests.
He is such a good teacher...really knows what he's talking about and loves what he's doing.
Great professor. Very helpful and extremely knowledgable. This man is exactly what a college professor should be.
Dr. Owen seems to be getting a bad wrap. He can be somewhat dry, but he has a funny little sense of humor and he actually cares about his students. His classes will be hard for the unwilling, but rewarding to the student willing to put forth some effort and stay awake. Give the guy some credit--he loves what he does.
Dr. Smith is a good professor, He is passionate about his job, but he only likes students who care about his class. You won't make it if you are there to make an easy A. He does take longer to return assignments, but he grades fairly. It helps a lot if you go to office hours. He is an unusual person, but an interesting one.
He is a great teacher...everyone should take his greek classes
I took this class as my first class with Dr. O. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he is extremely clear with his in class presentations and provides great outlines. His tests consist of easy short essays and thought experiments. If you have a hard time with the subject, talk to him outside of class, he is very accommodating. Awesome Prof.
Dr. Smith is one of the best profs I've ever had in college. He's kind, smart, funny, helpful, and you will always learn something new every day. Not an easy A, but all of his classes are worth every minute.
He is the worst teacher I've taken so far. First of all, he's condescending towards his students. Granted, he knows his subjects. When he grades his tests, he'll take off points for spelling for for having more than one answer in the same area. He claims to be fair, but the majority of the class will tell you otherwise. Avoid this class if you can.
The most arrogant and condescending professor EVER! I went to his office to talk about a test and he threw a temper tantrum because he wanted me to come back the next day. Looks for the smallest mistakes to lower your grade in quizes/tests. If you are not 110% clear he will knock off 25pts! He twists interesting topics into confusion & nonsense.
Great Professor, need to STUDY your notes and be in class. Very helpful, go to the reviews. I think used the book twice.
He has a great sense of humor, and genuinely cares about the class.
He has no remorse for athletes and the busy schedules they lead. He will not excuse any person with or without an excused absence slip from a class unless it is a test date.According to the Stephen F. Austin hand book it is required by all professors to excuse their students for school sanctioned events if notified before hand.
Worst professor I've had in my college career. He wants his students to legitimately be interested in Philosophy, but it's difficult when he just stands at the front and writes on the board for hours at a time. This dude is awful, so glad I'm done with his nonsense of a class.
Do not take him for Latin. I struggled, he told me I would be fine, and then I ended up failing. For an intro Latin class, his tests are ridiculous. Take his wife instead.
I love his sarcastic remarks, If you have a twisted sense of humor, you will love this man.
I have this class once a week for 2.5 hours. He gives a five minute break in the middle of class. His notes are long, but detailed, study hard for his tests and you can pass. His tests are hand written short essays, and he normally gives extra credit questions on the exams! The hardest thing about this class is paying attention.
DO NOT TAKE HIM. I was interested in the class at first. He said how easy his class would be. I studied for 5 hours for the first test and failed due to the fact he said we could answer all of the questions and then after the test said he never said that. He is really smart but he thinks differently than students. Only take him if you're a nerd.
This was the hardest class I have ever taken, it was the first time I have ever received an F, EVER! DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT take this man.
Hardest class I have ever taken and it was only an intro class. NEVER EVER TAKE THIS MAN.
This is by far the hardest class I have taken so far. I would say I am a pretty bright student, but this man is ridiculous. He is the hardest grader and is not clear with any instructions. I strongly advise you not to take this class.
This was the worst class I have taken. It's usually not hard for me to make an A in a class, but I've struggled to make an A in anything in this class. I've been waiting for weeks to get my grades back, too.
This has to be the hardest class I have taken. His instructions are not clear whatsoever, he grades too hard, and he takes entirely too long to grade assignments. My semester has ended, and he still has not graded 3 essays of mine. Do not take this class if you care about your grades.
It is rare to find a person in any facet this broad and entertaining at the same time. Dr. O will challenge you. However, as long as you remain respectful, attend class, and stay off of your phone, he will go above and beyond to make sure you do well. You go in not knowing what to expect at first, and you leave knowing more than you expected.
Follow the syllabus and participate A LOT in the discussions. He takes forever to grade assignments.
You check your grades they are not there so no idea what you are making no way to adjust your study habits. Think you follow his instructions think again because they are confusing. If you don't check daily the news feed online will have a change in the instructions (or as he puts it clarification). A lower level class graded on masters level.
He doesn't give to much feedback on assignments. Just tells you what you miss from his requirements even though the require elements are there. Doesn't grade the assignments till grades are due s you will never know what you have in his class. Would not recommend taking him at all.
This was honestly one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. The course consists only of 3 exams and they aren't multiple choice. These tests you will have to study weeks ahead of time. He holds review sessions the day before the exam which help a lot but I wish the review was more than a day before the exam so we had more time to study.
I don't mind being given a challenge by a professor, we're supposed to be challenged and pushed to the best of our ability; however, I am not okay with being ignored multiple times when I asked for feedback on what I could do to improve my essays. Not once was I given ANY sort of feedback on my assignments, he did post ANY grades until late minute.
Not once was I given ant sort of feedback on my assignments too, he did post ANY grades until late minute and multiple times, he contradicted him self with different directions. Students don't have an idea of how their are doing in the class because of no feed back or grades, been giving back to the students. DON'T TAKE HIM!!!
Dr. Owen gets a lot of unwarranted flak. He does take a long time to grade. However, he gives a clear indication on what he wants. His discussions are easy if you participate. He gives a sample exam a week before class. Many, but not all, of the questions on the sample will be on the actual exam. If you work hard, an "A" is very obtainable.
Very un-involved with the class, overall. We received no feedback on any of the six essays until after the course had come to an end, despite being promised feedback and a chance to re-write essays multiple times. Never happened. Myself and other members of the online class were blatantly ignored after asking about feedback. Doubtfulhereadthematall
I did not like him or this class at all. He often starts shouting for no reason, he'll make things up to fill THREE minutes of class time because he can't stand the idea of letting out students early. His class just seemed like utter BS the whole time. I felt like I was being talked down to the entire time. Would NOT recommend him.
I took Dr. Smith for intro to philosophy. Dr. Smith is by far the rudest, most unapproachable, mean Lexcuse for a professor that I have ever had. He does not allow bathroom breaks. He ignores students with their hands raised because he does not like questions. Takes attendance like a maniac. Do not take him
I took him online so we didn't have any tests. There were four units throughout the semester and during each he assigned two online quizzes, an 800 word essay, and a discussion. It requires work but he gives good feedback and is very polite.
This professor is HORRIBLE, he is very rude and not helpful at all.
He really slacked this semester. He had some "family emergencies" but I don't see how that should affect my grade. I did not receive feedback from my first discussion posts until I already completed 3/4 discussion posts, meaning no time for improvement. Also, he gives a min length but tells you aren't writing enough, even though you met the length.
His lectures do not help at all, but the book is helpful for assignments and quizzes! He does not give feedback until last minute, so better hope you understand his expectations. Directions to assignments are disorganized, lengthy, and don't really make sense to me. I really hated this class, all around a disappointment.
He was a sub for my philosophy class and he is by far the rudest professor I have met on campus. I have not taken an actual class with him but I want to warn you about his attitude. He was my professor for one day but managed to upset. I'm not easily annoyed so that is saying a lot. If taking a class with this professor, good luck.
Dr Smith is ... well, worthless. Ive taken his class online. Hes contributed no feedback even though its almost finals week. He hasnt graded anything all semester, and wont really answer questions.
Dr. Smith is a knowledgeable individual, and is probably a cool dude to learn from. However, he has given me no feedback all semester. He also is difficult to reach.
Hes inaccessible and difficult to reach. I am taking his online class, and he has graded nothing so far except for one paper from the start of the semester. It is impossible to know if you are doing well in his classes. The grading criteria he provided are clear, so I at least can grant him that.
Never posted grades until the semester was over. So I only seen my grade letter and not the actual grades to my assignments. I've emailed and still haven't received a reply. I would suggest you take another professor and keep away from this one.
Love this guy wish I could take another class with him. Show up, listen and study your notes and you will pass. The class wasn't very difficult you just have to put in the effort.
Did not stick to promised test return dates. Answered some questions kind of degradingly.
sometimes hard to follow in lecture. cool dude really cares about the students. the tests are a hard essay type test
tough grader, that feels you should have the entire unit memorized for each test. Long essay tests, with little amount of daily grades.
Very hard class but he has a good heart and students best intention. very sweet man just wish he was a little easier class wise
The first half of the semester was in person and the second got moved to online because of COVID-19. He wasn't very accommodating when we went online and piled up work like crazy the last week of class. He was harder to get ahold during these times. He also did not consider the situation we were in and did not try to be reasonable with grading.
Dr. Smith's online class is horrendous. You are only graded by four discussions, and eight difficult quizzes, so if you mess up badly on one it's over. The worst part is the discussions. They are graded extremely hard, and contingent on whether or not your classmates post on time. Spoiler: they don't. He also is HORRIBLE at grading on time.
I never usually rate professors, this is my first rating because of how awful he was. He was pretty much MIA for the ENTIRE first and second half and the semester. No discussion boards, no quizzes, no essays, nothing. Then, TWO WEEKS before the end of the semester, BAM. Five quizzes, four discussion boards, a final exam. What a joke.
This class was the most horrendous experience I have ever had in this institution. He assigned 4 quizzes on the last day of finals with about 8 hours to complete them, and did not give extensions to people who had been checking for these quizzes to appear all week prior and had other things to do than sit around waiting for him to post them.
Dr. Smith is an excellent professor who is very knowledgeable in philosophy and religion. The Intro to religions course is not easy and requires critical thinking. The quizzes are hard, and require critical thinking, but you are given 2 chances, and are encouraged to meet w/ Dr. Smith about the first try. He is a very accommodating professor.
At first I thought Dr. Smith was going to suck, but over time it became clear that he knew what he was talking about and really wanted us to understand it. There are 7 quizzes, he drops your lowest one, and a final course discussion that you have to participate in to get full credit. Overall world religions was a great class and Dr Smith is amazing
I really enjoyed this class more than I thought I would. Professor Smith may seem intimidating at first, but he is really caring and means well. His lectures are very informative and taught me more than the assigned readings he gave us. This man really knows what he is talking about in any given situation! Attend class, pay attention, participate!
The professor did care about the students, and was easy to talk to outside of class to get help. This help didn't really help me though and I felt that no matter the effort I put in, I wouldn't be able to do well. The quizzes are incredibly difficult and the discussions are stressful and complicated. I wouldn't recommend this course.
Dr. Smith's lectures are very confusing and absolutely nobody knows what is going on. The tests are very difficult and you will need both attempts on each exam. PAPER NOTES ONLY. Absolutely no technology is allowed.
Dr. Owen's class was extremely hard. No technology in class, and he will literally take your phone up if he sees you on it. Quizzes are extremely hard and are super confusing. He tries to trick you if you do not read the questions carefully. Take note of everything he says; it's all on the quiz. If you miss class, YOU WILL FAIL.
Class ends in 2 days and there is only 1 grade inputted throughout the entire semester. The discussion boards have many rules and you have to follow every rule & if you dare to break one, you fail. There's 1 major discussion, 1 3-part Dropbox assignment, and a quiz all due last day of the class. He piled work and I don't even know what my grade is.
This class was challenging but very interesting. A flaw was that he posted three tests in the last two weeks of the semester, which was stressful. However, he is very helpful if you attend his office hours. Overall, great professor, challenging course. Tip: read the lecture material before taking the exams
Seems like this guy might be hard in person but his online class is great. one of the assignments is literally watching a star trek episode and then writing an opinion based paper on it. I will say he is bad at putting grades in but other than that, super chill online class.
Good professor very clear instructions for assignments. Lectures are long but he's funny overall definitely recommend
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
490
5.0
(1)PHI310
5.0
(1)PHI390
5.0
(2)LAT101
5.0
(1)GRK131
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
INTROPHILOSOPH
5.0
INTROTOLOGIC
5.0
PHI
5.0
PHIL111
5.0
PHI310
5.0