3.2
Quality3.7
Difficulty23%
Would Retake122
Reviews23%
Would Retake
122
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
45
4
17
3
16
2
16
1
28
What Students Say
“I HAVENT LEARNED ANYTHING”
ORG3020 - 1.0 rating“took this course twice like half of the class”
CHEM2020 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
36%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.36 avg changeRatings by Course
ORGO
5.0
(1)ORGANA
5.0
(1)HIST2020
5.0
(1)CHEM2020
3.5
(67)CHEM2021
3.3
(7)Difficulty by Course
2020
5.0
ORGCHM
5.0
ORG3020
5.0
ORGANIC
5.0
CHEM2000
4.5
Reviews (122)
He doesn't care about the course, only about making molecule animations ; )
Organic Chem.. what else can I say? yawn
He puts a lot of effort into making organic chemistry fun (not an easy task).
hard to understand, boring to listen to
Rude, arrogant. Often wrong, but doesn't admit it. Good luck.
very rude and disrespectfull. Looks friendly but when dealth individualy; he act
A good prof, hard tests, but nothing is ever easy.
No Comments
goes out of way 2 help students-can't believe these comments r about same guy
Hello Everyone!! His name is Pierre Potvin not F. Potvin! Great teacher.
Explains everything in good detail,and provides lots of resources for extra help. Much better than Leznoff!
The best prof ever!!! Genuinely nice, very approachable, thorough and helpful. Tests & exam are hard, but hey guess what?! You're in University, so deal with it!
The class is pretty hard, but the prof is very organised and he knows his material really well. I enjoyed this half of orgo alot more then the first half.
No Comments
P. Potvin's an excellent professor. He writes very hard tests but he is by far the best chemistry professor I've ever had.
Just becasue one knows his material, doesnt make him a good proffesor.Very unapproachble,thinks students are beneath him,doesnt realize we pay his salary.
extremely rude and unhelpful prof. seems to expend a lot of energy trying to constantly come up with ways to insult students who approach him.
Knows his stuff. His first mid term was rather simple this year. Unlike other profs, he clearly states that he will not majorly trick you on the tests. As far as my experience goes, he is quite approachable. Lastly, he looks like Pacino, which automatically makes him the man.
he isnt a bad prof at all but he could teach a little bit slower in class its not about the quantity its about the quality!
he's a pretty good professor and gives u the notes for the semester unlike leznoff. He will help u if u ask him for help and his tests were fair. The reason that it might be hard for some ppl is because the course material is hard, not the prof.
This professor is rude and ill-mannered. He is not approachable, and thinks too highly of himself.
he gives you the notes b4 class, but they are useless because it's too much to memorize! he tells you to do all of the sections in the chapters, and the tests are okay, but with the amount of homework you have, he should be more specific in what is on the test.
Potvin is actually a good and helpful prof. He mite seem rude at times becasue students keep on asking the same exact questions over and over again. He is fair on the tests and if you do all the hwk on time like your supposed to, this class is not hard at all.
Great professor, very resourceful, one of the few people who actually knows what he's talking about. He's also an incredible lecturer and very comfortable with the course material. As far as being rude, Ive never seen him insult anyone! If you take his course, attend all the classes and study alittle bit everyday from day one,else too much material
this prof might look as though he's approachable, but he's not. He is rude, heartless! His lecture is not bad, but he's not a nice person at all
Funny, good stories. Sometimes goes on for wayyy too long about irrelevant details but a good prof. Gives so many helpful resources and very approachable, especially for students who want to do well.
He belittles the students and yells at them. I was a witness of this rude behaviour in his lectures and in the Emails he sent to the entire class. Oh, and he smokes outside before he starts a lecture. What a good role model! The only good thing I can say about this guy is that his midterm is a piece of cake if you have a copy of his last year's.
Most ignorant, unhelpful, rude, arrogant, self-righteous, unsympathetic, self-absorbed human being on the planet. Tries to appear approachable, and then belittles you when you go to him. Sends very rude emails to class and goes out of his way to make students lives HELL!! Take this course during a session where he isn't teaching!
professor potvin is reasonably good professor..he is arrogant no doubt and gets irritated easily when u ask too many questions persoanlly. the couse material isnt easy either so keep up with the class.
stay away from him .....if u want to do well in this course , take it in summer .or walk his dog!!
he is not that bad if u keep up with the class. make sure u understand the nucleophilic reactions..they are the key for the midterm exam
its not the professor but the course material itself is so hard...so do as many problems from the text as u can ...professor isnt that bad just pay close attention to what he says important that might hsow up on the exam
He is an excellent prof. His tests are very fair. He explains things very well. You need to stay updated in the course or else u will fail. I got an A+ since i worked very hard and did all questions. He repeats questions on tests. He is an excellent prof and very fair. He explains stuff very well.
Really nice man, very intelligent and he knows it, though he may sometimes come off as arrogant, very easy midterm which was very similar to last year's
The course material is a lot to take, so DONT FALL BEHIND. Do all problems, attend all classes, and use old exams/tests to study for Potvins tests. His tests are fair. Overall, Potvin is one of the nicest profs Ive had. He will give you the time of day, and give you advice on your academic success. Smart man, nice guy! orgo chem? Not sonice,workhar
ok this guy really sucks... i wouldnt be surprised if he gets some fake votes here...with all his online and "web developer wanna be" activities. im currently a medical student at UofT and graduated with honors from york. and this prof is the worst of all. his ego is way where it shouldnt be. no serioes care or respect for students he teachers.
very good professor. he knows his stuff and MOST IMPORTANTLY he can deliver it with great success. i love organic chemistry and he is truly inspiring, yea? he always says "yea?", yea? the course itself is a tough one, but the tests are fair.
Fantastic :D
Easy-- boring lectures though... test simple---easy
Really helpful. Tests and exams are fair. Makes organic chemistry fun.
This Dude is the man, he knows his stuff and he makes life for us so much ez'er dont do organic without this dude.
Great
Excellent Prof. teaches with passion, test are fair (make sure you review old tests). Marks are bellcurved especially in Chem 3020.
Brilliant.
He's good and fair.
Great Professor. I Love Organic Chemistry.
Dr.Potvin is the best prof ever! Organic chem is really hard...so you've got to stay up to date and do your work but this prof makes it so interesting and fun! He really helps you understand things and he really wants students to do well! Simply the best chem prof ever!!!
Dr. Potvin is fair. However, his "help" is useless, when asking for help he explains to us using terms and things that he expects us to know but only a 4th year student would probably be familiar with. SO basically, his explanations are useless and don't help at all. He is also one of the least compassionate and rude people I know. But since you wi
He is very smart and knows how to get the material across. That is the most important aspect of teaching. Great class. I learned so much!
Organic Chemistry is hard, no doubt about that, and while Potvin CLEARLY knows what he's talking about, he doesn't explain it in easy terms/expects you to understand his vagueness. 'Help sessions' are...well, they help, sort of...but he can be belittling when answering. Get ahold of previous midterms AND PRACTICE/REDO questions.
This prof knows his material very well but 3020 is a very hard course since he doesnt exaplain it clearly and there is no book and the course kit is useless...depend on yourself and whoever passes this course should be thankful!!!
I love organic chem and it's all because of this man.
he can sound very boring in lectures even though organic is not and it may be difficult to stay awake. He is generally a good professor but he is not good when it comes to helping you. He is also very sarcastic which in most cases is very off putting.
This professor's sarcasm was the only thing that kept me awake. He should be more sympathetic with students math capabilities. Also dun make stuff up on your tests. He know his chem well...he's pretty old...though he looks like he's in his 40s. LOL. He should offer free candy to students so they show up to class...if they dun come, they should fail
hes awsome, i did good in organic because of this man, BRUTAL TESTS tho, and when i say brutal i mean NGPHGPWIRHGWPGHW$POGH$(##$h, but they are doable, funny guy, very approachable, talked to him about his research outside of class, york needs more proffs that teach like him. hes logicla systymatic and crystal clear lol awsome class
AWESOMELY AWESOME! GREAT PROF! EXPLAINS VERY WELL!! TEST ARE FAIR AS LONG AS YOU DO ALL TEXTBOOKS QUESTIONS AND UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING IN THE TEXTBOOK. DO NOT SKIP TINY PARAGRAPHS IN THE TEXTBOOK BECAUSE HIS QUESTIONS WOULD COVER THEM. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING AND YOU WILL DO GREAT! GREAT PROF!
Awesome prof, provides massive help to the students with his study guide and advice. This is a course that will challenge you and require you to learn to actually think, and he knows how to teach it. It's what university should be all about.
one of the most helpful profs ive ever met, hes very understanding and patient. AWESOME PROF =D
He's a really prof in terms of explaining stuff, but as a person I found him a less than pleasant individual. As long as you do your work though, you'll be fine in the class.
He is a university professor... I can't describe him any other way. Assigned questions are a must for this class! He is a fair marker, and gives his students every benefit to increase marks. Make sure to do the sample tests as they will be similar to the tests you will take. In tutorials he only takes up questions, so make sure to do the homework!
Not a pleasant professor. He's useless when you approach him for help. If you can, avoid this course.
He is a really good prof and knows the material very well. Go to tutorials (very helpful!) and fill in your course kit like theres no tomorrow! Also very approachable and will always try to help you out.
Potvin is an awesome proff! He is approachable and helpful! He cares about his students and through out the course he gives advise on how to do well in his course! I strongly recommend to attend the lectures and Tutorials ! Also it will be to your benefit to do all the tests and online assignment if you want a good grade !
extremely difficult course for such an easy school.
Listen up...Course is extremely hard, only take it if your like most of us, who want to go to Pharm/med/dent school. You will have to take this course seriously,but you all have the potential. Don't be scared to put in hard work. Potvin is an amazing prof in the sense that he knows how to teach. However, he is not some nice guy..you gotta holdurown
Awesome. I love organic chem and it's because of him. Cool French Dude.
Simply amazing. Definitely takes organic chemistry to a whole entire level. His humility and patience is an added bonus! Viva Potvin.
He is an amazing professor.. knows what hes talking about and is very helpful when you approach him. His tests are fair and are things he teaches in class. Hes probably the best professor ive had so far at york, hes extremely clear and tells you what he expects from you. Overall the tests for this course are easier than CHEM2020, 2nd year ochem.
Wish every professor at York is like him. He's very helpful, Clear, nice, and wont mind spending an hour after class explaining what you don't understand. I dono how he is in Organic Chem I, but I took organic ChemII with him and he was very helpful.
The guy has straight forward tests and his lectures are clearly understood, (unlike some other profs that teach the course). The practice tests are very similar to what you are going to get so as long as you study you should be fine.
As a prof, he's not outstanding but he really knows his material and his lectures flow smoothly. He tends to ramble about things you won't really have to know so don't freak out too much. I think he has mood swings though.
He is not a nice person. D and D+ averages are his thing with no bell curve. Very condescending to boot. Avoid him. He made me hate organic chemistry.
The course was fun... it's challenging alright, but that's why it's a 3rd year orgo. Tests are fair; it's just the material that's hard. Study real hard and you can get an A (maybe).
I don't like how he structures this course. They should make a separate course for spectroscopy/NMR and another course that specifically focuses on reaction mechanisms.
Worst course overall. Those who wanna get a good mark beware. Studying doesn't translate to good marks, you have to have supernatural abilities and 50 years of experience like him to get a good mark. That's why everyone in the course is retaking. Labs: terrible, they ask you to do what you don't know the theory. He is the course director, go figure
Attending the lectures make you think the tests are doable. Wait and see what happens at the end of the year. If you disregard those who are taking the course for 2nd and 3rd time, the class average should be around 20-25. You will receive no sense of sympathy in this course. I was offended by him for asking my question. I regret taking it at York.
His teaching, like other profs of this course is ineffective because organic chemistry is a 3D topic, and speaking about it does not help. Slides are not posted! tests are extremely hard and unfair. I suggest taking the course in any other school. He does not respect students and does all he can to make you doubt your logical capacity. AVOID
The first 3/4 of 2020 (everything up until and including spectroscopy) was interesting. Perhaps even fun. The final 1/4 was substantially more difficult, as we had to apply many theories and techniques. Midterms and labs were fair. But the final - GOD THE FINAL. I just met the 90% mark pre-exam..... I ended with a B+. That exam still haunts me.
My only C in 4 years. took this course twice like half of the class. I have thus attended 3 of the professors including Mr. Potvin. The classes aren't helpful. Tests/exam come from another universe. He is the course director and it all comes down to him so if you think you can do well, wait and see. I'm sorry to disappoint you + he will offend you.
I highly recommend avoiding this professor & organic chemistry at York all together. due to the fact that the course is not organized around teaching. The course is designated with the sole intention of reminding students how cruel and unfair professor can get. He shows no respect for students who pay him to survive. Tests are simply irrelevant.
Very HARD proffessor, take orgo in the summer with other professors.
potvin is an excellent lecturer. he's very clear and explains things well. he goes above and beyond to help you with any questions. he's fair, but tough. you will learn so much from him.
Love this guy. Passionate and smart. Make use of his office hours.
His teaching style is different than other professors. If you're willing to read the chapter beforehand & watch his online videos, then you'll gain the most benefit from attending his classes because they consist of solving extra problems. His very understanding, approachable, & encourages students to participate. Fair tests if you study well.
Ignore other comments if you're willing to study! Funny guy :D
His lectures weren't very clear. Unlike Jackson, Potvin didn't really introduce topics very well. He just jumps into the problem questions. If you do all of your readings before class and are able to understand the textbook material, you should be able to understand him. Otherwise AVOID HIM. Tests were fair But that's cause of Jackson.
I recommend participating in class ALOT. And asking questions.
none. Hard Course.
HE EXPECTS YOU TO BASICALLY WATCH HOURS OF COURSE CONTENT ON MOODLE ON YOUR OWN TIME AND BARELY TEACHES IN CLASS. IN CLASS, HE TALKS THE ENTIRE TIME NON STOP AND LECTURES ARE VERY UNENGAGING. I HAVENT LEARNED ANYTHING. I HAD TO GET A STUPID TUTOR JUST TO NOT FAIL. PS IVE GOTTEN As IN EARLIER ORGO COURSES. THIS COURSE AND THE PROF ARE COMPLETE BS.
While he looks like he could own a time traveling DeLorean and was generally friendly, his section of the exams were hard! Crammed lecture notes full of materials and synthesis pathways, extra 2 hours per week watching additional lecture online, hard exam, and hard marking. Midterm average around 53%. I liked him as a person, but not his lectures.
get ready to sesh on
When you first attend his classes, he strikes you has a well spoken, even tempered, knowledgable professor, with an impressive command of the course material. If you are doing well in the class, he treats you respectfully, but once you begin to struggle, he turns into a condescending bully. His tests are quite difficult.
A lot of these reviews are negative and deterring. Dr. Potvin is a great prof, he just teaches courses that have difficult content. If you're willing to put in the the work (and it is a lot of work), its very possible to do well in his classes. Also, attend office hours or send an email, he gets back quickly and this is how i found i learned most.
He mumbles for an hour and a half without really explaining the topics clearly. Expects everyone to already have a decent and through understanding of organic chemistry, in a class of introduction to organic chemistry. Teaches too fast and does not really pause in the middle to make sure that everyone understood. no one can hear him in the back
missed 0 lectures, did the first test got 40% but felt good knowing average was around there too, but i had to drop the course
Organic chemistry is a hard course, but I feel that this prof made it more understandable. He has a clear grading scheme and tell shows you exactly how to get a good grade. He is also quite accessible outside of class. I also think that his response to student during the COVID 19 shut down was really helpful. He tried to help as much as he can.
Not only is he a great professor and truly cares for his students, he is a great advisor in the chem dept. Prof. Potvin helped me out in many occasions where I was so close to dropping out but with his help not only did I finish my honors degree, I boosted my GPA a lot. Great support system matters a lot in STEM majors and hes your guy.
he's very useless in class and in his eclass videos he seems to have an excessive amount of saliva which is very distracting. he began the course with using clicker but after realizing ppl don't go to class cause he sucks at teaching he chose to do zoom polling instead. that's him FORCING ppl to come to class to get their participation grade.
Pierres teaching style takes some getting used to. Hes very knowledgeable but he can be confusing and disorganized at times, which doesnt help because orgo is already a difficult class. If you pay attention to everything he says, his tests are fair. Pretty low class average but thats expected because orgo is a difficult course. He bell curves
Honest experienced opinion: Respect his experience of 36 years but hasnt changed his style. Comes to class thinking the students know it all. Cannot teach, has own notes which are crap. Needs to teach other courses. Although chemistry is his field but cannot teach chemistry. Is head of chemistry only of experience. We need better people
Avoid taking this class with this professor. If its your first time doing orgo, then I would suggest to take this class on its own in the summer or with another proff. He Rambles most of the time and even after attending all of his lectures, tutorials, I learned absolutely nothing. save yourself the time and energy from such a stressful experience.
He needs to reconsider his tone engaging with students as he is impolite, egocentric and disrespectful in his communications towards students. I recommend to avoid interaction with him.
Hes just thinking of himself and some specific students, hes putting students lives at risk during covid. While other professors are putting courses online or providing online options. Hes saying NO to this, forcing people to come to campus and earn iClicker marks. How dare he is
Excepted for his pre-lecture videos which are somewhat useful, his lecture is useless.
He will do you a small favor (like answer a question) and then ask you to leave a review on rate my prof like you're ordering dinner from Uber or something. Tests are hard and he gives NEGATIVE MARKS. Yes you read that right He cares about appearing like a good prof but doesn't care so much about being a person who meets students at their level.
In all honesty, the course itself is complex, but manageable. It is a third year orgo course so dont expect to be baby fed the concepts. A deep and rich understanding of 2020/2021 is MANDATORY, in order to succeed in this course. With this in mind, attend his office hours and practice self-studying habits. Take notes and rewrite his slides.
This course was a waste of time, money, and GPA. I suggest to anyone thinking of taking this course to seriously reconsider if it is worth it.
For starters he only provides half of the lecture slides to you. Second he doesn't take the time to draw out reactions and rather just reads from the slides and does minimal work. He forced students to come into the live lectures or said that he would not provide lecture recordings, which is unfair as other classes did not have this restriction.
I took another content heavy course (BIOL2021), so this may have swayed my rating. You can tell he really knows his stuff, but he isn't informative enough for someone who isn't strong at chemistry. Most of the information comes from him speaking so if you are a visual learner, I would try to take another prof.
Lectures difficult to follow, left me overwhelmed. His slides are chock-full of reactions + mechanisms with little to no text on it. The lecture consists of him thinking out loud very quickly, which makes for very disorganized flow of what he's trying to teach. I think he'd be great if he just added more text to his slides than verbalizing it only.
F*ck this professor. This guy wants to prove to you that he is the worst professor you have, and is so narcissistic to the point that he acts offended when you exercise basic student rights like asking to reappraise your lab. Doesn't want you to get good marks. Unfortunately he's the course director for chem2020, which people need to take.
The worst professor ever and the least approachable one!!!! I would never ever take anything again with this prof. Not only his teaching is bad but his personality is worse (extremely unprofessional).
save yourself the time, money, and headache. please. thank me later.
His lectures are so boring and difficult. Expects you to remember a ton of chemical equations for the test, which is not possible. Test marking is extremely hard with low midterm averages. But at least he gave practice questions, some of which were in the test.
There's a lot of material in the class but as long as you keep up with the pre class recordings, come to class, and do the tutorial questions, you'll be more than prepared for the tests. The type of prof that appreciates students who ask questions and is patient when he explains so come a lot during office hours.
I am here, writing this again, because the truth was so bad that my previous rating was REMOVED. I will repeat, by far the worst professor I have had the unfortunate luck to have and literally HAVE to communicate with from time to time since he manages some email accounts. If you value your time, tuition, and brain cells, do not take this professor
I barely passed. I was doing so well with other chem professors. Sadly, I hear he asks students to give him a good review here sometimes when speaking 1 on 1. Truth is, he doesn't care if you learned or not. He goes through slides quickly and grades very harshly. I would not recommend him, and also, he rudely responds to emails. Unprofessional.
I cannot respect this man. I do not consider him, the way he speaks, teaches, responds to emails, grades, etc no way this man is a professor or "Dr." in any way or manner. Unclear to me so as how he has not been replaced yet. A walking and talking 'headache donator'; pharmaceuticals should use him to test new painkillers.
I am not a chem major so I did find this course challenging. However it is not impossible to get a good grade. You have to come to his lectures as there are lots of participation points/pop up quizzes throughout the semester. My advice - practice problems from the textbook are a life saver. If you take the course with him go to every tutorial!
horrible experience. never again, i'd rather fight a lion than take another one of this mans courses
I hope the me too movement catches up to this predator.
This course is no easy feat, but with dedication and the right study tools like unstuckstudy, it's manageable. Just stay on top of the material, engage in office hours, and you may just ace it. Not the most approachable prof, but worth the effort.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
36%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.36 avg changeRatings by Course
ORGO
5.0
(1)ORGANA
5.0
(1)HIST2020
5.0
(1)CHEM2020
3.5
(67)CHEM2021
3.3
(7)Difficulty by Course
2020
5.0
ORGCHM
5.0
ORG3020
5.0
ORGANIC
5.0
CHEM2000
4.5