2.6
Quality4.0
Difficulty22%
Would Retake383
Reviews22%
Would Retake
383
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
383 total ratings5
79
4
55
3
52
2
55
1
142
What Students Say
“The course and her are both useless”
1E03 - 2.0 rating“literally avoid at all costs”
COM1E03 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
75%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.57 avg changeRatings by Course
COMM03
5.0
(1)MRKT2MA3
5.0
(2)COM2MA3
5.0
(2)COMMC01
5.0
(1)COMMERCE103
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
COMMERCE2MA3
5.0
2MA2
5.0
COM1BA3
5.0
COMMERCE1
5.0
MARKETING
5.0
Reviews (296)
No Comments
I love rita!!
No Comments
follow the outlines for reports and u will be fine. students who poorly are those who do not listen to what she wants and expects. midterms can be a bit hard but always easy on her final.
You won't like her during class, but after getting out into the real world, you'll appreciate that you had her as a teacher.
Miss a period- minus 5 percent!
wonderful prof, the best i've had at Mac
This course is about chicago style citing not marketing
The reports were insane and took far too much work and time.
Cossa makes me have suicidal thoughts. She is one of the most degrading and discouraging profs out there, and should be fired.
I agree with the comment that she can be degrading at times... Perhaps she thinks that sort of disposition is a necessary evil considering the often 'dog eat dog' nature of the business world, especially in terms of competition?
No Comments
No Comments
a Tough teacher that probably won't liked by all, but probably the best prof ever. Implementing the dog eat dog theory of the real business world and scrutinizes your work as it will in the real world.
Business is always adapting....her guidelines are not. The inconsistency in the way the proposal and the report are ridiculous. She's very strict and expects perfection. The course is interesting but she does not have professor qualities in the social area.
The actual reports and the way they are marked is insane! Be prepared to put in a lot of work into the reports and end up with a low mark. However, her exams are pretty easy.Overall she is a nice prof since she will sit down with you if you need help and responds to all her e-mails.Watch the report!
Cossa is terrible. She rewards people for QUANTITY over QUALITY.. very degrading and condescending person as well. If you want a good mark, make everything up, seriously. They dont even mark you on content.. She also just reads things right off of her slides, anyone can do that haha.
Her expectations are RIDICULOUS and have nothing to do with the actual subject that is being taught...and those sweaters are painful. Make up everything in the reports and just make sure it is formatted properly and you will do great.
No Comments
No Comments
Sure expectations are high (and I've been burned too for format). But for those that can't hack it, Mohawk is just down the street. Your ****ing won't get you far when you're out of here. Of course, I hear Future Shop is a laid back place to work.
No Comments
No Comments
Yah the reports are hard, but get used to it Commerce is all about group work. The tests and exam are easy if you go to class and do the reading, it's really simple stuff and she makes it really clear in class. Cossa is so nice if you actually talk to her, she'll take all the time it needs helping her students and takes suggestions on how to improv
I liked the course and prof. cossa. She spends a lot of time with students and she is interesting to listen to. You need to get to tutorials on time. Too bad there are students that don't pull their own weight in the report.
Terrible prof. Does not understand even the simplest economic theories, teaching them wrong. Exams rediculously easy, and have nothing to do with course (anyone with common sense could pass) I am now dumber for taking this course.
shes a nice teacher but when she is marking the reports she is looking for the smallest mistakes and will deduct an enormous amount of marks if u continue. lost 30 marks on the table of contents of the report..like come on?? shes digging for pins out of a haystack. her tests are somewhat hard especially her application questions. classmate beware!
hardest marking teacher at mac, her goal is to fail the students in her class and she has accomplished it a long time ago. every report that our group has handed in we have gotten below a 50%, she has no sympathy for students who have worked weeks and nights on these projects and just forgetting a couple periods will make you fail.avoid this cours
No Comments
Despite doing well in her course, I think Cossa is absolutely horrible. She is a marking nazi. I will fight anybody who likes Rita Cossa. Nobody cares about your stupid little stories about your daughter or husband, either. Go back to Sarnia if you hate Hamilton so much.
this "prof" could potentially be the worst human being on the face of the planet. perhaps if she took her head out of matéas @$$ for one second she would realize that she is incredibly unfair and that i am right.
worst, meanest, unfairest lamest, most boring prof in the entire universe!!! yukk hate her a lot...
Horrible prof, focuses more on formatting papers than content. skip the text book, learn the chicago manual of style and youll be fine.
Liked the course. She brought lots of examples to class and tried to help with the Reports. Too bad some group members waited until the night before to put it all together. We should have taken it more seriously. Reviewing the comments, there are some bitter students out there. Not everyone should be in this program...
Focuses on formatting and disregards content. Basically you fail on formatting before she gets to read what you actually wrote.
No Comments
No Comments
Her marking system is way off. You're supposed to give marks for doing a good job, not take all of them away for one mistake.
Very limited. Cossa encourages work, but not understanding or initiative. Course in general not really very good. Many innacurate, misleading, or just plain useless points/aspects of the course. The textbook she co-wrote for it is also mediocre - far too much filler in it.
tests as you useless questions, useless questions and useless facts. Who cares about statistics....Rita Cossa thats who...should give marks for doing good and not taking away if not attain expectations (sometimes too high)
Arrr!!! A very frusterating class indeed. You work your ass of for formatting and it still doesn't matter because you'll get a zero on it anyway. Might as well make report all in Times New Roman size 36 and underlined with single spacing. Other than that the class wasn't terrible.
great prof. u actully learn from her class. and can see urself apply it in the real job field. her instruction n expectations are clear. who ever doesnt do well in her class obviously doenst pay attention. she is very kind and helpful.
Lectures are okay, but marking is horrible. Focuses 10% on quality of work, and 90% on the formatting. You can write a excellent paper, but if you use commas instead of periods in your citation you fail. This nit-picking marking made the class incredibly frustrating and time consuming. Her expectations are clear, but foolish.
She's a killer....
Wow, cossa almost won prof of the year...did h e ll freeze over
The thing that most people complain about is the lethal formatting which is decisively killer. Honestly though, if you studied hard for the tests and are able to apply the knowledge, then you should do fine, regardless of your report mark with the formatting marking scheme from the abyss. The lectures made sense and the tests were doable.
She is the most difficult and irritating professor I have ever had, and I'm in engineering! Her obsessiveness when it comes to formatting in assignments is insane (Be prepared to receive a NEGATIVE percentage). While her course is supposed to be just a 2nd-year intro to marketing, she mixes too many upper-year requirements. AVOID HER AT ALL COSTS.
I had her about five years ago. Her expectations are legitimate, just not in a first year course. She needs to give students an adjustment period. Her style should be saved for a fourth year or graduate course when the maturity level has improved. I hope she reads this and takes note.
hard as hell. want to fail business students. late to tutorial automoatic - 1.5 % from entire course. wrong bibliography usage? -20 pts off a 100 pt assignment . make the same mistake twice? -40 points. not very leniant or helpful in getting first years accustomed to the business faculty ...
Excellent prof!
Strict but fair.
very very unhelpful, and deliberately unclear
LEARN TO DESIGN A COURSE !!!!!!!!!!! For one report, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I AM SELLING...does "clothing"=men suedes, prom dresses, bikinis? and NO IDEA WHO I AM SELLING IT TO. And this report brings what value????
very nice, straight forward, available
Extremely clear about her expectations. Don't listen to people who cry about how "tough" she is. Cossa is willing to go out of her ways to help you if you ask. Excellent prof, learned a lot in her course.
There is little you will learn from taking a class with Cossa. Final exam is simply common sense re-worded, and/or useless facts (no theory whatsoever). Arrogant prof.
she is funny
Was a terrible prof. Was condescending and confrontational when disagreed. Would deliberately humiliate students. Her reports would ridiculous in the expectations. Just a terrible prof to have, she's scarred me for life. Her exams were reasonable however.
she is a horrible prof. she likes to eat the confidence of first year students for breakfast. she expects too much. her project is graded on the stupid 'you start with 100 and lose grades for every mistake scale' and its dumb
HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, horrible prof. by far the stupidest woman i have ever met. seriously she's dumb. I dare anyone to actually take her class and be able to say she isn't. makes me appreciate my high school profs more.
her project is a killer
Disorganized and unreasonable. Also laughs at students. Very unprofessional.
There's a special place reserved in hell.
at least 24 hours working on a project to get a negative mark..... her grading scheme is terrible and her tests are basically trivia from the textbook and 0 on application.
get a life!!! sits in her office, trying to kick as my people out of commerce as possible but spending at least 2 hours on every report, to see if its sentences matched with any from previous years...GET A LIFE and leave people alone!!!!
im pretty sure she doesn't have a phd and is still teaching as a normal prof...someone should book her for plagiarizing the text
all the good comments stated about her was probably from her!
Her exams questions for the most part lack clarity. She has an aloof marking scheme for the report, and ambiguous expectations for its contents as seemingly fitting research results in a zero mark. And, she punishes those who do not attend class by not including 90% of video lectures to those who miss a class, and the slides are riddled with blanks
brutal teacher
She's a crazy ass teacher who is very strict! Even though i got a high mark from her first proposal, she's really tough! Have fun first year students next year
Challenging, but very helpful
The course is challenging, namely the report/proposal, but as long as you study hard, you will still end up with a 10/11/12. Doing badly in the course means that a) you had a horrible group for the report/proposal or b) you're just not the greatest at business, which means you get an early wake-up call to study harder.
She's on a major power trip. She needs to stop over using her authority, and demeaning students by making them feel worthless with her pointless nitpicking on minor formatting errors.
hard professor, especially the first year report where people get negative numbers below zero on it. tests are fair though if you study, its straight from the textbook
Everytime i tell someone about this prof/class they think her class and expectations are ridiculous. These are people who have been through university themselves too! There are some nice, and useful parts. Work hard, and you'll still do fine, it just won't be very much fun.
one of my worst experiences in first year. Her tests are fair if you study but the report is what really screws you over! i personally think this course was a bit hard to be a first year course all thanks to proffessor COSA so good luck all first years!
The assignments got better than first year/ but the group assignments can still cause a bad mark if you get stuck with idiots in your group. Go to class/listen to lectures/review material/ READ THE TEXT. Lots of qu's are taken from textbook and she knows it by heart cause she wrote it.
Took her course 2 years ago, and hated every minute of it. But seriously, go into her class with an open mind and don't listen to all the negative comments. Sure, her reports are killer, but when you get to 3rd/4th year you realize that they her reports are VERY valuable and wish more profs gave such clear guidelines. SHE'S GREAT!
a word of advice for a A+: MEMORIZE THE ENTIRE TEXTBOOK!! even if you fail the report/proposal because of bad partners, being more familiar than her with the textbook will save your grade
prof will take off points for the spelling/formate error and you could ended up getting zero for the major project/assignment
She is very clear with what she wants. She teachs everything thoroughly. Sure she uses the textbook a lot, and marks pretty hard.. but come on, she askss you exactly what she wants... so what do you expect. its freaking university not college. :P
Cossa is amazing, don't listen to anyone that tells you otherwise. No other prof spells out EXACTLY what she wants for full grades. Memorize the textbook, and you will ace the exams. Find a good group, and you will ace the reports. It worked in 1E03, and it works again here. McMcaster needs more profs like her. A 12 in her course is very possible.
Her reports are hard, but if you study the textbook, you'll do fine. She's one of my favourite professors. I wish all professors were that clear in what they expected.
such an annoying professor!!! She is needs to get off her high horse! She is one of the worst business profs I've ever had!
She is a great teacher!
i dunno
most arrogant proff. thinks the world revolves around her, lucky the students who dont have her next year!!
I never asked Cossa for help because she gives clear notes, instructions and expectations. She gives interesting lectures and once in a while, she'll make you laugh. Her tests are easy as long as you study from the text and her notes. Reports are really easy compared to previous years (no negative marks, small emphasis on format).
Memorize the textbook and her lectures and you will do fine in the course. Also, most of her questions appear to be on iStudy, so use that to study as well. She is a hard marker in the reports, but it helps you in the end when you go into 3rd/4th year.
Fall08: Classes were sort of interesting. Reports: tough to pass if u don't have a hard working group. Expects you to memorize the textbook and powerpoints. MCQ based exams + limited time = low grade.
She tells you her unrealistic expectations from day 1 so there are no surprises later. Her midterms and exam are not that bad but you really have to study for them and memorize a lot. The report is killer.
She's a little bit on the stern side, but teaches clearly and efficiently. Expectations from the class are ludicrously high, though.
Rita thinks she knows the real world despite teaching the last 10. She is a good proff in the sense she will help you with the expectations necessary for writing reports in commerce. Study from the iStudy questions some a repeated all tests are straight from the textbook.
You know what she wants from you. It's your job to do it.
One of the better profs in the business program
Her teaching style is great! You don't HAVE to show up but you really should. When it comes to the report in first year, spend minimal time on it, even if you pour your heart and soul into it, you WILL fail. But do well on the presentation. Study hard for the mid terms and exam, that's where the marks come from!
I heard a bunch of bad stuff about her. In the end, I came to the conclusion that she is a VERY fair prof. Just do what she asks for the report and you will get a decent mark, even though a lot of people failed (most likely b/c the did it the day before). Her mid-term tests and exams were very fair and overall she is a good teacher.
Not bad but talks a bit quick.
aah! She has some seriously unrealistic expectations. The report-no matter how hard you try, you WILL do horrible (POSSIBLY FAIL IT). Midterms were okay, and the exam was VERY FAIR.. that's where you're going to get your marks from (also, the presentation). memorize the textbook and her notes, and stay on top of ur work! COSSA MAKES LIFE MISERABLE!
one of the best profs in business.. yeah the reports are hard to do well in ..but not impossible... the tests are fair i love her testss.. none of the ALL OF THE ABOVE/NONE OF THE ABOVE CRAP!
Not a fan
She can be very helpful but is extremely strict and authoritative.
second year report easier than first, lectures kinda useless if someone can give you the blanks unless you're watching a video or etc. Reports are hard if you can't follow instructions to the letter. Midterms and finals are easy if you memorize notes. Not as bad as everyone makes her seem. An overall helpful and fair prof.
Made me want to continue in Commerce. She is the only one that teaches because she like to and not one of those programmed dull profs that just want the day to end fast
I've never had a teacher, instructor or professor that I disliked as much as this professor.
I am disappointed that so many students feel so negatively about Cossa. She is one of the most influential profs a Commerce student will ever be taught by. Sure the reports are hard but they teach one thing that is critical in life "detail". Her lectures are spot on and even interesting to watch. If you find her intimidating, toughen up.
Horrible Proff made me dislike, a subject i really liked and was interested in. Avoid her if at all possible.
Loved her class, very interesting.
Very unrealistic expectations for group projects, you are guaranteed a low mark no matter how well you do it. Her tests are fair but her lectures are very boring and she can be quite pretentious. Midterms and exam is heavily definition based.
Not a good professor. I know she is trying to teach a lesson but when students are trying their hardest and still failing her reports for pointless reasons there is an obvious problem. Then in 4th year you can clearly see when every other proffs cores are full and hers arent. poor people stuck with her. luckily i escaped
she teaches stuff that is not even relevant to the course, her midterms were tough, the group report was brutal! i advice you to arrange meetings with her. she is so over herself. worse prof at mac! shes not one bit considerate or one bit understanding.i dropped her class after studying for her midterm for 5 days and failed. soo good luck!
Cossa was my favourtie first year professor. People are scared of her because she is to the point and makes you work hard. Read the textbook, go to class and work hard on your report and there is no reason you should get a bad mark. If you read the textbook and go to class, you shouldn't have a problem getting a good mark on her midterms.
With preparation it's NOT hard to do well in this class.MEET with Cossa before you hand in your reports i guarantee she will be more than willing to help clarify things that will help you do better.I got a 57 on team contract and 63 on report but still managed to get 10 in the course. You study and memorize in detail the textbook. ATTEND LECTURE
Was expecting it would be brutal, but Cossa was easier than expected. Anyone who can't do OK in this course should probably consider another line of work.
Worst professor at Mcmaster. Unrealistic expectations of groups, especially when she makes a lot of mistakes herself.
Rita Cossa tries to teach 1st year students who are straight of high school a lesson; that you cannot skim by in this program and you'll have to work to get those As you got in high school. Reports and tests are hard but she is more than willing to help struggling students. People tend to dislike the business class, not her.
This was my second course with her. Unfortunately for me no other prof was available. One thing is for sure and it doesn't matter how hard you work on projects, she will always find some stupid reason to cut marks. Extremely demotivating!
1. purchase the textbook. 2. If you go to class and read the textbook you will easily do well on the exams, they are very fair. 3. The group report and company overview are hard to do well on with the little details but they arent worth much and they teach you a lot. 4. Rita is the greatest prof you will ever have and I luv her <3
Was my first year, first term and she made me terrified for rest of university...she is very particular and the reports and assignments are hard.. with a bad group you can tank them like I did until doing all work myself, exam was easier if you studied hard for midterms, she was OKAY at best felt she had unreal expectations from first year students
not good at all. Making me hate this course.
Boring videos, too much expectation, fail to build connection with students by playing random and noisy music at the beginning of the class which makes the class horrible from the start. ;(
she scares me
Ridiculously picky marker. Her multiple choice tests questions were confusing. The class average for our first group project was 34%. Do not recommend this prof.
Many people do not like her because she is very demanding and expects a lot from her students. I thought she was a very good professor. The class requires a lot of effort and work, but she is very clear of her expectations and you must put in the work to succeed. Reading textbook is a must,she wrote it. Id take one of her classes again in future.
As a first year, I found this class to be extremely demanding and time consuming in comparison with my other courses. At times, she can be demotivating and condescending during lecture therefore leading to my lack of interest in attending class. Reports are graded harshly and only focus on formatting which is the least important component
A lot of people get scared of Cossa because of this class. First of all, she is a super nice person. With relation to the class, if you do your work, read the textbook, and attend the class, you will succeed with a good mark. Yes, she demands a lot, but this is University.
Professor Cossa was easily one of my favorite professors in my 1st year at McMaster. She is both passionate about the course material and genuinely wants to see her students succeed. Also, her tests are quite fair. The difficult parts of this course involved the group projects (but they are worth little overall). Hint: read the textbook!
Good class. Bunk prof
Rita is very passionate about her job . She preps you very well for her exams as well. Pick a good group for your group project! Overall, she is probably one of the most helpful profs at Mac. She really wants her students to succeed and is there for help when needed! The content is not hard, there is just a lot of it. She also writes the textbook
Rita is a very organized professor who's extremely passionate about her job. At the same time, her test questions are often overly detailed which make them difficult to answer. Definitely read the textbook as she write her MC midterms exam based on key terms and concepts in the book. The group report is a killer, make sure to edit it well.
If you're taking this course as an elective: GET OUT If you're taking this course because it's required: JUST PULL THROUGH I pray for you
READ READ READ! basically 34 of what she tests you on is from the textbook. her powerpoint is vague and her lectures are such a bore. she takes 1 mark off for every mistake you make in the report (which is funny because the textbook has spelling mistakes too; -1 mark cossa). Her midtermsexams are tough but is willing to go over it with you.
She knows what she's talking about. Not horribly boring, you can tell she really loves her job. If you're thinking about passing the course without the textbook- good luck! She likes to pick specific, unimportant bits from the text to be tested on. Honestly, textbook lecture slides.
Rita's expectations are completely realistic for a university course. She is by no means a difficult prof to have but you need to be putting in a good amount of effort to do well. You won't be able to slack off in her class but it's university after all! Rita is really good with helping students with the transition into university level courses.
Proof read your work just as long as it takes to do the work. You can fail assignments by losing a mark for every little detail out of place.
make sure you pick a good group to do good
Sorry but this professor was one of the hardest graders I've ever had. Be ready to study your butt off in order to achieve a B... A's are extremely rare on her assignments.
Great prof very realistic
she aight
The group report is a killer, tests are based on memorization and easy to get a good mark in if you read and study the textbook.
you are better or just reading the text book all year as she tests on nothing from her lectures. she also expects you to memorize all details of the textbook and test on thing like which of these is most correct
I took this class in the Fall of 2013. It is true that she is the devil, but I am very grateful to have endured this class. Formatting a paper properly is what this class is essentially all about, which is where stupid marks can be lost in future classes. Although you hate your life while in the course, you secretly thank Cossa in future courses.
Not rocket science, if not the most exciting course.
Hardest Marker ever. Expect no greater than 70 on the first group assignments
Not a easy marker, don't expect easy tests/quiz/exams neither, lectures are just reading her ppt, need to read your textbook. However she is really helpful when you encountered with problems, she would more than happy to help you. Overall, not too bad
Not bad. Do your work, read the textbook, and the tests aren't too bad.
Still don't know what the course is really about
I had Rita Cossa in first year for 1E03, the content is boring but midterm/final exam were fair. However, her assignments focuses mainly on formatting rather than content. As a lecturer she is rude, I was using my laptop and transitioning from another courses notes to her notes through the university website and she asked me to get off my laptop.
Tough grader, focuses on little details on assignment so watch out. Has a very unlikeable personality and atmosphere to her. Makes people uneasy in lectures when they have laptops by hovering around them like she's some sort of distraction vigilante. I really disliked her.
She does not care about her students. She says she is there for you but i could have a long debate about that. Not inspirational or motivating what so ever, and is frankly not likeable.
- Tutorials are useless but mandatory - "Power points" are terrible. ( not in point form) - Make sure you get a good group - Projects are not well explained - Too much emphasis on citation
Not as hard as some suggest - pretty accommodating if you get into a jam
She is an amazing professor, her class is very hard, but hey, we come to university to learn - not to mess around. I really respect her as an educator because she makes you learn your stuff, and thats what professors should do.
The course and her are both useless. All this course teaches is stuff us commerce students already knew from taking other business courses except its 100 times more broad. They should have just called this class, how to write a report and fail due to citation errors.
Tough - no surprises there but was a big help when it mattered most!
I personally love her teaching style. Even if she is strict, she still cares about her students and you can clearly see that when you ask for her help. The only reason this class can be considered "hard" is if you do not do the required textbook (and PowerPoint) readings or hate group work. If you work hard, you are bound to get good grades. ^^
My favourite teacher so far. Midterms (mc) are extremely fair, the material is all from lecture content. Obvious she cares about her students and their success in university.
Great prof, very easy to talk to and she gives great explanations and examples during lectures.
Rita is very personable and you can see that she genuinely cares about students and their performance. She gives everyone enough opportunities to earn maximum marks and marks very fairly. She is very knowledgable, therefore her lectures are very well structured and easy to follow along.
"1% deduction"
To be fair, Cossa does have really well structured lectures but she is incredibly nit-picky about things. Most of the tutorial work is worth nothing but if you don't do it, you get deductions. If you don't wear the proper attire for presentations (even if just 1 article is off), deductions. Still not really sure what the course is about. Good luck.
I dont get how people are saying her lectures are "well structured" when she spends half the class talking about student feedback, why shes choosing to ignore it, and then reads directly off the slides for rest. She claims that she cares but she never accepts feedback. Guys dont get fooled. Needless to say, loads of work on useless material.
One of the worst teachers and courses I have taken in my academic career. I have learned nothing from her. The course should be called how to write citations and not Business Environment. It has done nothing for me accept add stress and useless assignments to my already heavy workload.
I love her. I have so much respect for her as a person and as a professional. I was scared to take the course with her because of my experience in 1E03, but I now realize that what she does in that course teaches attention to detail and following instructions.
The course content itself is light, a lot of it is common sense (i.e. Business terms and concepts) but you my friend, you're in Rita Cossa's class! The 10% report is absolutely brutal and unnecessarily toughly graded. She started the semester off by praising herself and her abilities in school, if the annoying teacher's pet became a prof, its her.
Rita Cossa managed to take a rather simple course (content wise) and made it impossible to master. The group assignment for example is a nightmare not for the content but format error prone it is. "Deduction" is a word you will here alot as you don't gave marks but only loose them in assignments. The midterm and exam are fair outwise
Follow the instructions and attend class, it's pretty easy stuff, if not all that exciting
reads off the powerpoint and cannot effectively teach a class, constantly takes marks off for not attending tutorials and expects us to use MSAFs for tutorials we cannot attend. THIS LADY IS WILLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDD.
Wants to see her students do poorly. Interrupted every lecture i attended just to call someone out and make them look bad in front of the class. Tests are so vague that you could know the topics and still get them wrong. The 1E03 report is an excuse to lower your mark in the class.
Dry mat but what you'd expect from intro course. Cossa is picky but exams are easy compared to other courses.
literally tells you exactly what to do in order to get an A in this course... people who rate her badly have obviously not put in the work. Although I will say that the report is terrible- should count for less of your mark.
She has no belief in students knowledge and abilities, some people might actually know something. However, she treats everybody as if they are elementary students and she loves to indicate a lot of her personal stories during the lectures which are very useless and makes u feel stupid about yourself. The harder you try the lower your marks will be
This course was OK, prof was OK, tests were OK, it was all just OK
This professors courses set up like you only need to learn her course in university.
the prof everyone tells you to avoid
talks about herself all lecture and what she does with our money
you will dread tutorial, no phones and insane project that you can receive a negative grade on. a group failed cause they left out a comma in a citation
sets you up for failure avoid at all costs
1% deduction on OVERALL grade if: come to tutorial one minute late, pull out your phone, leave early, do not put name tag on desk and if you forget a comma or period in a citation.
She will give the test as hard as she can make.
Bad professor ever ever
Lots of textbook reading, but the information is useful in the real world so it is interesting. Two group projects make up 10% of your grade, which isn't too bad. Tests were easy if you just read the textbook beforehand. Overall, enjoyable class with a good professor; albeit a little strict.
1% grade deduction for everything even breathing the wrong way at this point. treats everyone like kids. literally avoid at all costs
meh, she was very organized and the course was very smoothly coordinated and well run so ill give her that. she makes u come to lecture to find the missing words from her online lecture slides.. pls stop its a pain having to go to class for an hour just to fill in 1 or 2 words..
tutorial is mandatory, but is meaningless actually, just sit for 50 minutes on doing meaningless works. Get ready to read and read and read, tests and exam are not really easy.
Very particular in what she asks for when doing assignments for her. Pay attention to detail. If you study for her midterms and exams looking at everything in the textbook they aren't that hard. if you put in the work you will get good results.
She can seem a little scary and intense but she really cares about her students and she really wants her students to do well. I wouldn't mind taking another one of her classes.
Overall she's an alright professor. She's very organized and encourages you to come to class. The lectures and course itself are pretty straightforward but what was asked of us in tutorial was so particular such as losing a mark for not having your assignment stapled. Little things like this made it hard to get good marks in tutorial.
You will lose 1% total grade when you come late more than 5 minutes in tut. And there is no basic attendence grade.
She is very strict but she knows what shes talking about and the textbook is useful. The class structure is very organized and by the book. Lectures are useless as the slides are posted
Rita's lectures are boring but some of the exam questions come from her lectures so you would probably want to attend them. The group projects are graded strictly. To do well in the exams you definitely want to read the textbook well.
She barely teaches anything in class. Classes are slow-paced. She gives students 24-hour group assignments on holidays when everyone else could take a break except you.
She does not teach enough in lecture in my opinion. You go to read the textbook well to do good in her class. That being said she does give hints on what she will test you on in her test in lecture. Her course is a lot of studying as long as you do what she says you will do fine.
Professor Cossa is a good professor. She cares about her students and if you attend lectures it is easy to do good in her class. tests are very fair while the presentations can be marked pretty hard, all you need to do it follow the exact guidelines that she gives you and u will do good. Most learning comes from the textbook so get ready to read
Rita is a bit petty as a professor I won't lie. Our presentation went from a 4.5/5 to a 2.5/5 just because of citations. Instead of making you loose marks she deducts them which is really annoying. Otherwise as long as you follow what she says she isn't HORRIBLE. She makes you work for your grades which is probably just a shock for first year.
I really believe e03 could have been a pivotal class to many commerce students but cossa did such a terrible job making her class interesting. Her lessons were made up of useless statistics when she could have done a better job explaining the different components to the business world. Also why do we even have tutorials for this class, what a waste
Honestly, when I read these reviews I was scared of her. Even her first few lectures I thought the course would be hard. What I learned from completing this course however is that as long as you do your homework, and follow the advice she gives, an A+ is not difficult to obtain. She gives you all the steps to succeed, and it is up to you to follow.
This course itself is HARD, lots of cases, discussions, capsim, reports... but Cossa is great. My group members and I got fairly good grades on participation. She is very patient and nice to students.
I would like to say Rita is a nice professor although the course is not easy generally. You should be aware of the situation that your group project mark for presentation is probably to be very low but you still have opportunities to get A+ or A in this course with the help of midterm, final and every participation marks. Also, Rita is very CARING.
nice prof although the course itself is hard.
literally good.
Useless class, just a waste of time.
Worst prof ever, too much work and so useless
shes not a nice person!!!!!!
Questions are all "Which answer is the most correct", so all the options are correct you just have to choose which one she thinks is the best.
This isn't the easiest course; you will have to read the textbook thoroughly in a timely manner, and the exams are difficult, but that doesn't make her a bad teacher. She cares about her students, she is a good level of stricked, and she is very clear on how to succeed. The exams might be hard, but the content is easy and you'll do fine if you try
She was chill. I swear to God I thought I was 3rd wheeling with her and her TA.
So professor Cossa has been so kind to us during this pandemic. she designed the course with our best interests in mind. made it so towards the end of the semester we wouldn't be bombarded with work. her bussy def speaks English spanish and french. one of the only lectures that didn't give me a 13th reason why.
Very unaccommodating and not caring. I was registered with SAS while at Mac, and I met with her during her office hours to discuss my accommodations and an upcoming assignment that I required an accommodation for. Her response was that I should just do it and that business is probably not the profession that I should be in due to my disabilities.
For the people that say they don't like her, I honestly don't understand why. She's probably one of the most memorable profs I've had at Mac so far. Yes, she's a tough marker and the course is super content-heavy, but if you're prepared to put in the work, it's a breeze. I went to her office hours many times throughout the semester, and it helped!
Rita is an amazing professor, so knowledgeable and truly cares about your learning experience. 4PA3 is probably the hardest commerce course but she kept the class organized and helped everyone to stay on track. She constantly tried to encourage people to participate and was fair in marking. Great person overall!
Great Professor. Responds quickly and precisely to emails. Provides many opportunities for students to achieve a decent mark. She does not really teach during lectures. Content is straight forward, so there really isn't anything to be taught. Textbook is all that is needed to get a good grade. 42-question exams. Beautiful.
She's a tough teacher, but her lectures were very engaging. She was very quick at responding to emails and always made everything we needed to do very clear so there was no ambiguity. If you go to all the lectures and read the textbook you can probably get an A.
I can say that I appreciate her effort in trying make the class engaged, especially now that it's online, but her a bit offputting to the point where it feels like I'm a 5 year old in her kindergarten class. What makes class this MANDATORY attendance class the WORST is tHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT THE COURSE OUTLINE IN THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY. FOR WHAT
She made attendance mandatory but never actually taught course content. The only class discussions we ever had were in breakout rooms with other students. She also made her exams very difficult, and assigned a semester long group assignment worth 15% of the grade. This was hard to work around during a pandemic with kids in other time zones.
Some course materials and assignments can be tedious but it is very easy to score well on them. She's super organized and clear about her expectations so as long as you follow what she says, it shouldn't be hard to get an A at all.
This class started off content heavy but near the end it was really light. The midterm and exam was basically memorization but it wasnt too crazy. The group project was pretty fun and the prof herself is really nice
Tells you EXACTLY what you need to do to succeed in her class. Watch her "how to succeed in this course" video and do what she says. Read the textbook, take notes, watch her recorded podcast video. Replies to emails quick and genuinely wants her students to do well. Adapted her course structure to fit the pandemic learning style. Just do the work.
Exam content coverage is too detailed and extensive. Heavy homework load.
Her lecture is unuseful and boring. Read-only course
Tough grader, workload for this course was extremely heavy.
She does not teach well whatsoever. Gives us no time on exams and expects us to know literally everything off the top of our heads. Worst prof i have ever had in my life.
Terrible prof. Wastes class time for no reason. Instead of teaching she posts crappy podcasts to watch on her own time while she has lectures booked either via zoom or in-person.
Wastes time. Does not teach in lectures. I have heard the course outline 10 times at this point. Would not recommend.
rita literally does not teach at all, makes you work for yourself, very content heavy and will take up a LOT of your time. harder than any level 1 math course
she seriously needs to calm down. aint even funny. got us out here doing 7 - 10 PM lectures jumping from 4 different websites (A2L, Capism, Tophat, McGraw, etc.) expecting us to know the specific a** percentages of Canadians employed in the Public Sector. What the hell? Open-book doesn't make it any better. Giving us 50 minutes for 42 QUESTIONS?LOL
SHE DOESN'T EVEN TEACH THE COURSE! HER LECTURES DON'T EVEN COVER COURSE CONTENT. HER PODCASTS ARE UTTERLY USELESS AND MAKE ME LOSE BRAIN CELLS. SHE WANTS YOU TO ONLY READ HER HORRIBLE TEXTBOOK WHICH NO ONE WILL READ. NEVER TAKE A RITA COSSA COURSE, SWITCH OUT IMMEDIATELY
'awsome'
that midterm was horrible
Choosing this professor will let your first year univesity become terrible, believe me, if you have other choice, just leave this professor away
only teach course outline, self learn course, subjective test questions, tough grader
I have no words to say about this professor
Rita does not effectively utilize class time. Instead of teaching us content she throws a few top hat questions at us and expects us to listen to podcasts instead which are for the most part useless. Her midterms are designed to confuse you as much as possible. From unclear wording to simply odd formatting, it is clear that she does not care.
EXAM IS INSANE. 50 min to complete 42 questions - which seems alright , but when actually completing the exams each question takes a minimum of 1-2min to READ and actually understand. There's a massive time crunch which is super unnecessary, and on top of this she teaches NOTHING in lectures and talks about the course overview the whole time.......
Doesn't explain anything
She doesn't teach in class, and the midterm is extremely difficult
this professor is absolutely horrendous, terrible teaching doesnt actually teach will watch a youtube video and think its educational. no its not its recycling bro relax we dont care about this teach us and actually go over content instead of flexing that you like to check when students FINALLY get a good grade which they DONT midterms ALL FAIL LLL
literally so bad
rita is so sorry bro, shordy only goes over the course outline every lecture didnt learn anything
-does not teach during class time -mocks students "we already have you money" -MUST purchase textbook ($80) and "capsim core" (35.99 USD) - money grab
1. don't teach courses in class, and keep talking about outline since the beginning of the semester 2. There is an attendance code before and after class so that students cannot arrange their learning time (for example, students are busy on that day, but if they are absent from class, they will not get any marks) 3. so many works to do
This class is worst than microeconomics..
Shows the course outline every class or a youtube video and calls it teaching. Why we paying thousands of dollars to not get taught a single thing from the people making the money, and instead have to teach ourselves from a textbook. Funny how she is still employed
bad bad
bad..
Worst Business Professsor at McMaster, wastes valuable class time displaying course outline and makes students unmute their mic and say "good morning" and "bye" in every class instead of teaching the mtrl. Mocks students saying "you already paid your tuition" and makes it that class is mandatory for participation marks even though it's useless.
Just read the other reviews, enough has been said
Class is easy Attendance is mandatory for a *possible round up* of marks so going isn't worth it imo I didn't I've been to 3 lectures for this class Besides the constant assignments (which are the type that tell you when you're wrong and let you redo) you don't need to spend more than 1 hr/wk studying max Studied 3 hrs night before midterm, got 76%
Wasted lectures for housekeeping and watching YouTube videos
She spends the majority of every lecture talking about housekeeping stuff and very little time on actual content. Her midterm questions are so unreasonable because of the limited time compared to the question difficulty.
I don't learn anything from this class. This is a waste of time ngl. She spent 4 classes going through the course outline and did not even teach anything. Not recommended.
doesn't teach anything, and the midterm was 42 questions for 50 MINUTES???
Worst prof ever. Can't even teach the material correctly. Midterm questions are formed by "choosing the best answer" and not enough time given. She made the TA check everyone's maccheck and wasted valuable course time. Avoid taking this prof.
Makes an essay class so hard, doesnt teach in class,
Doesnt lecture and forces students to come to class by taking attendance. But the podcasts she uploads DO NOT include everything we will be tested on. And still argues that this is for her students well being. No body knows the point of this course.
With all due respect, this is definitely my least favorite class in all of first year due to the professor. She does not lecture in lecture time, does not test fairly, gives useless work that does not even teach you something, and will not treat you like adults. Taking this class is a great idea unless it is with this professor.
If there are award for hardest commerce course-this course will be number one at mac commerce first year with conditions applied.
The lecture is so useless, read only courses, the entire lecture you cannot basiclly learn anything useful.
REALLY HEAVY reading!! Have to read two chapters 60 pages and 100+ Qs every week for only 3/100 each assignment! As long as you done, 80+ for tests. The tests timing are too short The group project is really interest to me, or to anyone loves simulation games. The grading depends on relative score to the highest group's score.
just avoid her
Midterms are 42 questions, 50 minutes and you’ll cry after seeing “choose the BEST/LEAST CORRECT answer” Despite it’s open book, 80% of the questions are rephrased and will trick you into gaslighting yourself
The course itself was fine but we didn't use the lecture time for lectures, it was used to reiterate the same points and such. Though I see the point, I didn't enjoy it as a student because we had to learn basically all the content ourselves.
Commerce 1E03 should be an enjoyable simple relatively easy class. The content is simple and for the most part really should be enjoyable. Rita's ego will not allow that. Answering questions on the midterm does not test your knowledge of the course but tests how well you're able to answer questions Rita writes as they are unnecessarily confusing.
Does not teach, just talks about the midterm in every single class. CapSim Course is useless and a waste of money.
We attended her classes in the morning, where nothing but the course outline was taught. From the first class to the last class, we were taught the course outline every day and at one point, I knew it by heart. In this course, I was the teacher and the student. I had to learn everything by myself. If this course is taught like this make it online.
Worst teacher at Mac by far. Doesn't teach a single thing in class and still expects you to go to lectures. And don't even think about asking her to round your grade, even if its a 76.85 :/
doesn't teach
All rating are true...
Rita's class was not enjoyable, and most of the content was stuff that was either unimportant or that we learned in more detail in other courses. CAPSIM is also a big commitment as it requires cooperation with 4 others. It reduced my grade. The smartbooks are a big pain however they are pretty good at forcing you to keep up and spread your studying
Contrary to what most seem to be writing, I didn't mind this professor's class. Yes, enforcing attendance in a class where minimal lecturing actually takes place is a bit of a drag, but she sets very clear expectations and shows you exactly how to succeed in her class. The material isn't very challenging and Capsim is an excellent learning tool!
Seems to have very little practical knowledge whatsoever, constantly makes mistakes when speaking about cases & then won't give you credit for your answer or allow you to dispute her. Generally all around just very annoying & a bit of a snob.
her tests are brutal and she's awful at lecturing
awful
She is a fantastic prof that I have not seen before.
Horrible for the test that 1min for one long reading question
Avoid cossa if you can. Her midterms are not like the practice. She doesnt test your knowledge but memorization. She rereads the course outline multiple times and reads off her slides. Her slides are crammed with too many words and she copy pastes charts from the textbook. The course forces you to get capsim which is a money grab.
Horrible
Her classes and the exams are not at the same level. Her class every two weeks are no lectures at all, and her classes are entirely useless compared to her exams.
Can anyone tell me why there is such a big difference in difficulty between what she teaches and what is on the test? Avoid this class as much as possible! Demon Difficulty
The slides that was taught had nothing to do with the exam
She knew we have the access to chatgpt but still make the test opening
Only for 2023 this year, I believe it is a relatively easy course for me. Although the assignment are a lot, but it could achieve a good work because the homework is just about fill the book content into. the professor is restrict but this also mean that she is responsible and always be ready to give you the right feedback.
I wanted to take the rate my prof scores with a grain of salt heading into this class, but they are spot on. All she teaches in class is her course outline, and then everything you have to do alone. She also has no remorse for the group work, she doesn't teach it and when you do bad there is nothing she will do about it, you just have to hug it.
Choose any other prof for this class! She makes her lectures mandatory and you attain 0 information. A complete waste of time.
The assignments and lectures have nothing to do with the exams or tests. Participation is required. Trust me, AVOID HER!!! RUN!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!
This Professor is on the tougher side, however, her tests and exams are fair. She could spend a more time during lectures talking about relevant topics at hand instead of "circling back" to the course outline daily. Overall, if you read the required chapters and participate in Capsim, you should be fine. (Hope that you have a competent team)
Rita's class was definitely one that you had to put in the work for, but by keeping up with the readings and taking notes it's an easy A. She drops a lot of helpful hints for the tests in her lectures and offers a lot of support through resources. She is very clear on her expectations but also understanding of circumstances.
You would think mandatory fourth year courses would be useful...This one is not. If I read a newspaper from a garbage can I would learn more than this course has taught me. By far the most useless course in my undergrad career. Professor Cossa is good.
It was really disappointing, & I've never seen grades so low. I didn't know anyone who enjoyed the course. It was a big course load with weekly quizzes & readings. If you have a course with her, make sure to spend an obscene amount of time on citations - it could tank your assignments singlehandedly. Even missed periods on citations lose marks.
Participation mark is hard to gain. She talks too much on unnecessary stuff and leave not much opportunity for people to participate. The things she yaps about is not relevant to capsim or the assignment. Please avoid at all cost.
You can't even avoid her, so not much to say there but she is genuinely the worst professor I have had in my three years at McMaster. She's not even a decent human to interact with as she seems pretty egotistical about her salary. She's so strict in rounded and even if you are 0.02 away you won't get the round up unless u attended every lecture. GL
shes rough. she claims shes generous cause she gives an easy 1% here or there but how does that make a difference when her exams are close to impossible?!?! just cause she wrote the textbook she assumes that we can all know it as well as she knows it. she is way too difficult for no reason, so excessive, avoid at all costs!!
avoid. avoid. avoid. she makes you PURCHASE many different things, uses evey platform possible. this girl is doing wayyyy too much like calm down. she brags too much about her personal life when literally no one asked or cares. she has a nice attitude but its extremely fake and everyone knows it. worst prof by far.
she looks like dory from finding dory. enough said.
Rita is just a terrible prof. She doesn't care about her students and pretends to be oblivious as to why many of us don't like her classes. Her expectations are too high and sympathy isn't exactly her strong suit. Avoid her if you can.
She isn't sympathetic to her students and sets the bar way too high. She boasts about herself too much and makes her students feel miserable. If you ever think about rebutting or debating with her about grades, it's either her way or the highway. I would avoid her if you're taking 1E03 if possible, she's awful.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
75%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.57 avg changeRatings by Course
COMM03
5.0
(1)MRKT2MA3
5.0
(2)COM2MA3
5.0
(2)COMMC01
5.0
(1)COMMERCE103
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
COMMERCE2MA3
5.0
2MA2
5.0
COM1BA3
5.0
COMMERCE1
5.0
MARKETING
5.0