3.1
Quality3.2
Difficulty44%
Would Retake99
Reviews44%
Would Retake
99
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
31
4
9
3
22
2
14
1
23
What Students Say
“Awful professor, do not ever challenge her you will fail”
SCI112 - 1.0 rating“I wish i hadn't taken this class”
SCI112 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
87%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.66 avg changeRatings by Course
NAT107
5.0
(1)NSCNSC
5.0
(1)NSC17
5.0
(1)ENV108
4.2
(10)NSC107
3.7
(14)Difficulty by Course
NSCNSC
5.0
ENV01
4.0
LEC0
4.0
SCI112
3.4
NSC17
3.0
Reviews (99)
I enjoyed her class. She tried her best to engage her students. She is sweet and have a bit of a sense of humor that slips out every now and then. I would recommend her. She is a bit slow in returning stuff though...A...very professional
What a great class! I honestly enjoyed my time in Prof. Swenson's class. She is funny at times and her class in purely simple. There is no way you can fail. However, I do suggest you drink plenty of coffee or caffeine prior to entering the class because she can be boring at times. Nevertheless, you will definitely have the time of your life!
i truly believe this is one of the greatest professors from the school.ms swenson is willing to explain the material after class,now how many other teachers do that?other people think shes tough, but if you do your studying everyday and dedicate yourself to cracking the book youll be fine. p.s. buy the book youll increase your grade dramatically.
Boring Class, Good & Fair Grader Though.. Take My Advice *DO THE PRACTICE QUIZZES IN THE TEXTBOOK BEFORE THE TESTS*.. Easy A
She is indeed boring. However she is not difficult at all. She gives all theses little extra credit assignments to help boost ur grades. Study the quizzes read the chapters, you will get an A. I did. Three exams.
She is very sweet, little jokes now and then, you have to do case studies (mercury epidemiology +jamaica bay), pretty easy, some videos, few quizzes, and exams.Gives you 3 packets to read (how can u fail when she gives u the info), take her, and sit in the front, if u sit in the back, ur not gonna learn anything.
Doesn't allow students to ask questions in class. Packs too much info into her lectues. You can do well on tests as long as you do the vision learning. Doesn't have time after class to speak to students. Very dismisive. Hasn't figured out a way to connect with students or how to handle them. Lab class teaches you better/more.
Professor Swenson is an excellent professor, very clear and enthusiastic. She is very passionate and extremely helpful. As long as you do the vision learning reading and the practices and extracredit you will be fine. She is always available if you need help, she is very nice and very smart. I really love her class. DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED. SHE IS T
dont buy the book, free lab sheets on blackboard & the book isnt required at all
Awful. She doesn't explain things and teaches the wrong lessons...and if you try to correct her, you'll always be wrong, even if you're right. So be prepared to learn things the wrong way.
I think Professor Swenson is extremely clear.She is very clear and allows students to ask questions during and after class.Another important thing is that reaching her is fast and easy since she always responds her email.When it comes to lecturing she is very organized she even sends you email letting you know what will be discussed in class.
Professor Swenson was wonderful! As a senior, I needed to finish my lab class for gen-ed and I was very hesitant at first. After getting into the Labs and Lecture the material is extremely interesting and it is overall a fun class. Professor Swenson is enjoyable, understanding and helpful. DO NOT let these bad rating change your mind! She's Great!!
the test are extremely easy if you read her handout.multiple choice. but she is very boring so it's hard to pay attention. As long as you can read and understand on ur own and do all her assignments its an easy A. She also gives extra credit so i"ll recommend her
She's a good professor, but like some of the other comments said, she is very boring. Labs for the most part were easy, but there were times when she would modify instructions for the labs halfway through the session which led to confusion. She gives extra credit to help you raise your grade.
She is Great!!!
She knows her stuff, that's for sure. She gives extremely many assignments during the semester, but they are easy. Boring class though.
This class was the most boring class that ive had at JJay! If I had to sit through another lecture about the Big Bang I would have died. She knows a lot about the topics that she's covering though. And she's very enthusiastic about teaching. If you like science a lot, take her! There will be endless discussions!! I did not enjoy the class though.
DR SWENSON IS AN INVALUABLE ASSET TO JJ. SHE GENUINELY CARES ABOUT HER STUDENTS AND MAKES HERSELF READILY AVAILABLE TO ASSIST. GIVES EXTRA CREDIT IN CASE YOU DIDN'T DO AS WELL AS YOU'D HAVE LIKED ON THE MT. SCIENCE IS INHERENTLY BORING, SO JUST STAY FOCUSED THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER AND YOU'LL DO FINE.
Great Professor to learn about the Environment.She is engaging and kind.Goes out of her way to make you understand.We all learned a great deal!!!
Dr. Swenson tries to make her class more tedious than it really is, but good thing Mark (our lab professor) was interesting. Her finals are straight forward and she does review frequently with the clickers but she gives a ton of more work towards the end of the semester which could freak you out and the extra credit is a must!!! I got a C+
Swenson is brilliant and inspiring. She makes a somewhat difficult subject interesting and relatable. She wants her students to learn and understand the material. The textbook isn't necessary. I got an A in the class and never opened the book at all. Take that advice and save your $. Instead just sit in the front row, take notes and ask ?'s.
DR. SWENSON IS AN OUTSTANDING PROFESSOR, AND A SUPER NICE LADY. IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO DO WELL IN THE CLASS, MAKE SURE YOU GET FULL CREDIT ON ALL OF THE ASSIGNMENTS. FROM THERE, YOU HAVE A MT AND A FINAL. SHE GIVES EXTRA CREDIT IN CASE YOU DIDN'T DO AS GOOD AS YOU'D LIKE ON THE EXAMS. I'D HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING NSC 107 OR ENV 108 WITH HER!
Very sweet woman but the class was extra boring.
She is so BORING. However the work is so straight forward its impossible to fail. It is tedious though. Read the notes on the bottom of her power point slides because she goes off on tangents. Her reviews are good because they tell you exactly what is on the exam. I should mention again that she is boring
I received an A- but to be perfectly honest I hated this lady. Grades heavily based on classwork which was fine but she seemed content with talking about what she felt like talking about rather than actually teaching what would be on the exam. Was also extremely condescending and treated the class like middle schoolers. Glad that's over with.
I took Professor Swenson's ENV108 class last semester and I have to say that her class was absolutely amazing. She is a very organized, smart, and helpful. I was not very motivated when I signed up for the class, but she changed my mind. Throughout the semester professor Swenson made outstanding effort to help us understand science.
She is a professor who is very interested in her subject. She is very knowledgeable and she shows a lot of videos. She allow students to do extra credit assignments. She gives a review before tests and midterms, which is very helpful. She takes questions straight from the review (so always be present at reviews). Overall easy professor and class.
Where do I begin ?? The first few weeks of class she seemed very nice but then all of a sudden she turned into a very nasty woman. If you email her she's no help. She doesn't explain Her slides clearly at all and she says " you should know this from other grades blah blah " when refering to topics which do not interest her . Oh yeah very boring !
Very fair grader, just show up on time and pay attention to the slides. The grade is heavily based on simple classwork, other than that lab was worth 30%, One quiz, one research paper and a Final, pretty simple class as long as you pay attention to what she's saying.
She is very helpful, if you have any questions she is happy to answer them and will meet with you if need be. If you show up on-time and participate somewhat you shouldn't have any issues. She is very clear about everything that she talks about whether it's assignments, tests or lab. You always know exactly what she is expecting and how to do it.
This class wasn't enjoyable for me and many of my classmates. For the first couple of weeks the class is fine and then you see how Swenson really is. She rushes through the slides as if nobody was copying them, she confused many people with her lecture project and our lab project and her lectures can be pretty boring.
The previous review hit it right over the head. Although, I personally liked her, she rushed through the material; so basically, you need to teach yourself for this class. Since I had an interest in the class itself, it was an easy A, but for a majority of the people, it was the complete opposite.
Her tests were difficult for me, I did not find the review sheet to be all that useful. She rushes through the info on her slides. But the plus is that she offers many extra credit opportunities. She doesn't give much homework. Also I recommend completing the review questions after every chapter to help you. Also, she takes attendance with clickers
I had her for lecture. Her class is so long. She speeds through the slides. Make sure you get the clicker that is your participation. Her exams are tough make sure to study and read your notes . Doesn't give much hw. If you need help you have to ask her right when class finishes. Overall an alright professor .
She will go over 4 chapters in one day so she speeds through the slides and doesn't stop to let you take notes. The review guides for the test were not helpful at all and because it's a big class she will loses track of students.
By far one of the worst teachers ever. Do yourself a favor and find someone else. She is not very clear, speeds past slides because "You don't need to know that anyway", tons of tiny assignments that you won't get back until much later, and tests that you will not be ready for because of her awful lecturing style.
We pay so many tuition dollars, all to be told, "You don't need to know this now for class, you can do all this reading on Blackboard on your own free time." Seriously, we just come to class to have her skip through all of the slides. A lot of mini assignments that won't get graded, a midterm, a final, group assignments. Beware, she's horrible.
She's just a mess!! I've waited so long for this semester to be over!! This was seriously the only class I've been stressing about this semester.
Half of the material on the review sheet wasn't even on the final
I wish i hadn't taken this class. If you're reading this rating.... FIND YOURSELF ANOTHER PROFESSOR.
She's not the best professor but she also isn't the worst. Ive never been one to ask for help so I guess thats why it didn't bother me that she didn't really help anyone. Tests are not that hard this is basics taught in high school. If you read her syllabus and check on the Blackboard page you'll be fine.
She assigns a lot of assignments and does not give them back in a timely manner. I dislike group assignments and we had 2. I didn't pass the first 2 exams but passed the final. Make sure you have a lab group that actually wants to pass, if not, just suck it up and do the work on your own. I got an A I'm still wondering how.
There's something off with this one. Even though she wrote the lab manual, she takes half the lab class to read the instructions to figure out the lab. I think there's just a lack of common sense. The way she uses Blackboard is extremely confusing, and she gives little to no feedback. 10/10 would NOT recommend.
She gives so much work, for both the lab and class. She is very annoying and rushes through every single slide. No help whatsoever. She also overwhelms people with all of her blackboard assignments. It is just to much overall.
It's kinda easier if you go over the material by yourself and had an understanding of biology chemistry and physics in high school. She's nice to you one class and next class she will be mad at you for no reason. The lectures are really a joke and the surveys in class are what you really have to pay attention to.
Very discouraging. Doesn't encourage students to continue with the science major if they have a couple of low grades. Isn't punctual when it comes to planned meeting with student.
She is a tough grader! SKIP HER !
Awful professor, do not ever challenge her you will fail. She will also write you up as if you are in middle school. And when you ask for justification she will be unclear and not answer you and come up with bs reasoning that are not remotely justified. If you do not have to take her then don't because she is a rude and disrespectful
DO NOT TAKE HER!! SHE IS AWFUL !!!!! JUST DON'T. You will work very hard to get a good grade. She is not a good professor. Very strict and tough grader!
Professor Swenson is extremely kind hearted and wants her students to do well. She is very passionate about teaching. She walked me trough one of the major assignments just so I can do well. She is willing to work with everyone and is willing to meet with students just so they can do well. This class just isn't for lazy people. She's great !
Professor Swenson is a an extremely caring professor. She values effort and hard work. I honestly can't believe these negative comments it looks like someone was really angry. It was definitely a privilege to be one of her students. she is very encouraging and respectful to all her students . Also, she is always willing to help you improve!
She is the best. I wish I could take her again. She is always innovating her lectures to make them interesting even for non science students. Her work load is fairly manageable and she has office hours upon request. I like the fact that she cares and is always willing to help out her students. She also gives interesting extracredit. Love her class
Terrible professor! So rude and strict. She acts like a middle school teacher. She hates being interrupted. Don't ever disagree with her.
The lectures were beyond confusing and it was really difficult to gauge what she wanted. I somehow ended up with a B with this class. If you get on her good side, she's less rude to you but god, it was hard to follow her throughout the course. I'm still not sure what I learned from this class..
If you want to fail this course, I encourage you to take this course in order to make your year longer.
Teaches like a high school class, especially in big lectures. Doesn't like "cooked food" in class and constantly stops class for various reasons. Gives in-class assignments every now and then, and takes a while to grade and get back. She does, however, give multiple extra credit options.
Professor Swenson does not really teach well to my personal opinion. There is alot of work to be done plus a lab so it was like taking two classes. But at the end I did receive an A.
Professor Swenson is beyond excellent. She teaches in a effective and productive way. She is very innovative and extremely helpful. Regardless of your level of English or your background she will find the best teaching strategy to help you learn and succeed in her class. A tough grader? maybe...i mean life is not easy so we should start somewhere
Swenson lectures for the entire class period and complains about laptops and "cooked" food.
Swenson would not be my choice. she grades like her life depends on it and gives answer choices A,B,C,D,E,F on her tests. Tons of assignments, confusion and long lectures. save yourself.
Her class may seem easy but trust me it takes a lot to get a good grade. Shes sweet but wants everything perfect. The tests are hard so study for them. The whole entire class did pretty bad cus the test are just that hard. Really disappointed with my grade, I felt like I did good.
Class was kind of useless and boring but you have to show up because there are clicker questions that are used for participation grades. There are several extra credit opportunities but only if you did over 85% of the other work. Nice woman.
Great class, I learned a lot and got a good great!
Professor Swenson is great! she is passionate about the subject so she makes it very interesting, would definitely recommend her class.
Nice lady, quite smart and passionate about science. Participation matters, make sure you stay on top of the game and you will be golden. Highly recommended.
Professor Swenson is a good teacher, you work, you learn you move on. I dont understand why the negative comments I would sign up for any of her classes. Oh well, if you dont want to learn or study this might not be the class you are looking for.
You don't really need the book. She's great in the sense that you don't have to hard core memorize anything, she is very passionate&she wants you to know the essential ideas. 2 tests, the ePortfolio is very annoying but it's not very hard. She offers a lot of extra credit, DO IT! She's nice enough but she isn't great.
she gave us a lot of homework but it is do-able and if you work hard you will get a good grade and she gives a lot of extra credit
I dont know why she has bad reviews. As someone who was bad at science, I passed with an easy A. Textbook was never used so dont bother getting it. As long as you pay attention & take notes, youll be fine. The course is common sense tbh.
Her lectures are heavy, she furthers the explanation from the text book. She gives in class assignments and uses clicker questions for participation so she knows if youre absent. It was annoying how she would stop the whole lecture if people were talking.
I was in her SCI 112 lecture class and although the material was not that difficult, she is a very tough grader. You need to be organized and prioritize her class because it is not easy to get a passing grade.
She is very knowledgable about the topic. Gave way too many assignments considering there's also a lab connected to this class. Would walk around during quizzes & disrupt people by asking them to see if they were using headphones. Said the textbook was optional but had graphs directly from it on exams that were not in PPTS. She did help when asked.
LITERALLY THE WORST PROFESSOR I'VE TAKEN AT JOHN JAY. Ever since we moved to online classes, she's given us so much unnecessary work! And after doing every assignment and spending hours on them, I got a B-. If classes are going to be online in the fall, save your money and your sanity and DON'T TAKE HER.
I was iffy about the class because of the ratings but she's actually a very nice professor. Sometimes the assignments are hard to follow but she is very quick and thorough with responding to any e-mailed questions. She is a very fair grader as well.
Professor Swenson understands the topic in which she teaches but she does not know how to teach it to her students. She literally talks and go off topic all the time, and I still have no clue as to what I learned throughout the semester. I recommend you to take her only if she is your last choice.
The professor was very nice but she was SO BORING I can't stress it enough. Her assignments were not fun and often hard. Eportfolio was easy. I got a B but I should've gotten a lower grade so I won't complain.
Final is SINGLE-SPACED 6-8pg paper with eportfolio presentation. She won't allow quiz/test retakes (even if half the class also missed it bc she didn't remind us beforehand; test is taken online on asynchronous day). Lectures are boring. Provides extra credit. She doesn't know how to teach lab--constantly asks the TA about methods day-of
She is a nice and caring professor. Although her work is hard and she can be strict about her policies. If you do your work, youll be okay. She is always willing to help but her lectures are EXTREMELY BORING. There about 4 quests (tests) and the final paper was 6-8 pages single spaced. So not easy but doable.
Level 100 science class got me writing more than my English classes...
The class is interesting, but she is really boring. She uploaded lectures online so late and the quests (tests) were hard. For finals, there was a final exam, final paper (6-8 pgs single spaced), final eportfolio and presentation. She is nice and willing to help, but you definitely have to work hard for an A.
Professor Swenson is smart and nice. Science is not an easy subject but it is also very interesting you just have to do your part and you will learn and get the credit you need to graduate! I would definitely recommend her!
I loved Professor Swenson's class. I learned a lot of new concepts and interesting stuff. I would recommend that you do what you got to do and ask for clarification if you need to, the amount of work is manageable (but remember it is science it is not yoga lol nothing against yoga btw) but yeah study and you will be golden.
I wasn't going to take Professor Swenson based on some comments in here however I chose to give her a shot and I am so glad I did! She does give quite some material but I organized myself and did my best, Professor Swenson was always available when I had questions and I learn super interesting stuff. I recommend her.
I am not a Science major and frankly I was a bit intimidated by Science but Professor Swenson made it interesting and provide it the necessary material needed to pass and learn. She is also very nice and accessible outside class. I would definitely recommend her! P.S Reach out if you don't get something she will be happy to help.
Just don't. She gives an overload of work. Have to take lab quiz every Monday (day before class). She gives a final presentation, a final 5 page essay, and a final exam. Just don't. This isn't even half of it. Not to mention, she is extremely rude and arragont. TONS OF WORK.
I am telling you this now, I LOVE a challenge but this professor does not challenge you, more like she tortures you. SO much work for unnecessary work. If your taking her class she is tolerable. But her labs, NEVER EVER take her, she makes you do a post lab, a before 10 min quiz lab and then the lab.
First off we got a quiz every Monday the day before lab to make sure we reviewed what we needed to do for lab. They were easy just read the ppt and lab. The work was easy everyone saying she gave a lot, but they forget we had work for regular class and lab which the credit requires it. This class was easy, but she could explain things more simple.
3 test. Everyone complaining about the post lab every science class has a post lab after a lab. I took a similar science class as Sci 112 in HS and the teacher gave more work than Prof.Swenson. Don't wait till the last minute to do the work, the work is fairly easy as long as you read the articles & videos she assign. Command F will be good for ppt
They forget that in order to earn credit for a science class you need to have lab work and complete labs \it gives you a chance to work with your classmates. You also get work for regular lecture class, it's usually a video or article and you have to answer some questions or a summary. Work is easy. It's not HS so the workload is just right.
Forgot to add: the deadlines for the work are good. Post labs you have until the following lab week. Regular classwork either Sunday or the next day you meet with her. 11:59 deadlines. For the final project you have 1-2 weeks to turn in each part depending on the schedule for break don't wait till last minute though. For test: gives schedule time.
I don't agree with some comments here about her because she is a good person and a nice professor. Its just that its not an easy 100Level class. The labs are group work, just need to do the post labs and some tests. At the end she wants a final paper, exam, presentation which is kind of a lot but its manageable. She's a nice person.
I dont even know what to say about her. She messed up my gpa so so so bad.. She gives too many assignments for a 100 level class, expects too much and is rude at times. I don't recommend her at all, especially if you want to keep your gpa high.
all over the place, doesn't give clear answers, ignores emails, very rude, too many things due the day of and on days we don't have class, she does not take your health into consideration if you miss class, doesn't know who is who in classroom, you have to teach yourself because she doesn't teach, and i got an A but the stress was not worth it.
I don't even know what to say. She's all over the place. If you email her she is most likely going to forget and NOT ANSWER. Her assistant explains better than her. A quiz is given every Wednesday and MULTIPLE other assignments. You also need to teach yourself the material because she will absolutely not. She gives PowerPoint slides for that.
This professor is ok I will say. She could be nice but at times she is rude. She definitely gives too many as
She is extremely caring and very lenient with grading. Attendance is MANDATORY - very strict about this. You only have 3 passes but you need a doctors proof of missing class. Her labs are very easy as she guides you through them. Just need to read the lab manual and be ontop of her labs. Theres one quiz and one pre-lab and post-lab every week.
She will misplace work that you turn in, she's rude too.
Professor Swenson's class has a heavy workload, but with some effort, it's manageable. The labs and assignments can be challenging, but unstuck AI helped me prepare effectively. Overall, a decent class if you're willing to put in the work.
lecture heavy and has a lot of assignments. she thinks her course is the only course you're taking. for lab there were post and per lab assignments due every week! lecture and lab this is a 3 hour class, she is willing to accept late work. There were a couple of assignments, like 2-3 tests, digication portfolio and a research paper.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
87%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.66 avg changeRatings by Course
NAT107
5.0
(1)NSCNSC
5.0
(1)NSC17
5.0
(1)ENV108
4.2
(10)NSC107
3.7
(14)Difficulty by Course
NSCNSC
5.0
ENV01
4.0
LEC0
4.0
SCI112
3.4
NSC17
3.0