2.1
Quality3.5
Difficulty8%
Would Retake104
Reviews8%
Would Retake
104
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
11
4
9
3
12
2
26
1
46
What Students Say
“Does not respond to emails”
SOC1100 - 2.0 rating“I learned so much being in her class”
AFRICANAMERICA - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
62%
Textbook Required
30%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.45 avg changeRatings by Course
GAH
5.0
(1)INTERVIEWS
5.0
(1)MINORMAJORREL
5.0
(1)SOCIALSCIENCE
5.0
(1)SOCSEM
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
SOCL101
5.0
SOCIALSCIENCE
5.0
AFAMSEM
5.0
SOCY101N
5.0
SENSEM
5.0
Reviews (104)
Definitely not the class for white males. She is constantly mentioning how the "affluent white male has constantly appressed african americans." I am a white male...struggling with the course. Thankful I designated it as a pass/fail instead o
Great teacher. Very nice!
I never had Shawn as a teacher, however, I had to interview her for a few hours to find out about her culture. Shawn is a very smart and wonderful woman who opened my eyes to many different aspects of African-American culture. Thanks Dr. Shawn Donaldson!
nice, understanding woman- will help you out if you need it. Speaks honestly and openly- little bit tough
RATHER NOT TAKE SOCIOLOGY THAN TAKE HER....BORING
great teacher who is actually concerned with her students education. She is a bit tough but its tough love.
class was good, i learned some stuff...you have to study for the tests but they arent too hard, she's a nice teacher but can be a bit boring at times...overall not a bad class
shes really nice and a fair grader. her class can be a little dull at times but it can also be exciting. you watch a few movies too which is nice.
didn't like the class, didn't like the content.... just didn't like it period
this professor was a mess throughout the semester. content is pretty easy but she is impossible to get in touch with. IMPOSSIBLE.
definitely a good distance learning teacher. very clear on what you will need to know for the classes you have to come to and the tests. overall enjoyed the class.
Took several classes with Dr. Donaldson, she is very tough, but you will learn tons of information in any class she teaches.
She is understanding if you are straight with her. Nice lady but do the readings. Tests are alittle tough just study.
don't take summer classes with her.. she doesn't show up or answer phone calls or email
Distance learning: Took a month the get grades back and never responds to emails or calls. The most irresponsible proffesor that i have ever had. Tests are very har because the information on them is names and experiments that a barely mentioned in the book or videos. Save yourself the headache and take something else.
I LOVE SHAWN. VERY smart woman, I would take every class she had to offer! Ummm very hard grader on papers, but if you follow her lead by the last paper you will get an "A". I love you SHAWN!!!!!lol
There's 5 chapters on each test, don't let that fool you,the ?'s are very detailed...so study hard.(It's not an easy A).All multiple chocie tests, no long papers to write.She is a nice woman.I've had better classes, I've had worse, but it falls somewhere in the middle, just OK.
eeeeeehhhhhhhhhh, total scatterbrain. lectures feel like shes just rambles on and on. thought intro to soc. would be an easy A. she's all over the place. dont like the way she tests. very random. but as long as you read, you'll do decent with her.
So unorganized. Hands out tons of papers and doesnt even go over them. I have to constantly listen to her complain about the President. I am in a class full of Libs! She is the biggest one! This class is such a waste! I will never never ever take her again! I just need the credits and thats all! Worst teacher ever!
I admit that I struggled with the class in the begining, but I also admit to never fully reading the book. There's not too many assignments and they're usually really easy, just read the book and do well on the tests and you'll be set.
Very intelligent professor! Very interesting material. Makes you think outside of the box. Impressive!
worst class i ever took at stockton hated all of it
INTRO TO SOCY. Good class b/c you only had to meet 5 times! BUT lots of work that shouldn't be procrastinated! It would keep me up til 4am. DEFINITELY watch the videos and do the practice tests (there were always questions on the test from both). Gives the option to drop lowest grade. OVERALL: a good class to get credits quick.
she is all over the place, nothing she says makes sense, she goes from one topic to the next and leaves the students wondering if we even bought the right book...she hands out useless paper all the time and never goes over them...quizes ALL the time...never follows the syllabus....never take a class with her!!!
I'm taking intro to sociology now - shes scatter-brained sometimes and I'm convinced she may have dropped acid a few times but she's got a great personality and makes me enjoy the class a lot. tests and quizzes are tricky - READ THE BOOK definetly. good class though and definetly recommend it.
id rather kill myself then take another class with this insane women. she never makes sense, she goes from one topic to the next and explains nothing. tests are hard as hell. she was definetly hitting a blunt before each class...DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH HER EVER!
Loved Dr. Donaldson. Aside from her vagueness, very intelligent woman full of valuable advice. Talk to her whenever you can. She is a great person who is esp. passionate about saving ppl from poverty.
Wasted my money. She never once returned an email. Never opened the book. boring topics, absurd long readings, paid 1300 for absolutely nothing. If you don't pay for you own schooling--take it its an easy A. Doesn't expect much from the writing.
This was the worst experience of my college education. Not only did she never answer you back or help you in any way, but she was an entirely unfair grader. I worked extremely hard just to find that she would still not be happy, even for the smallest things. It's beyond too much reading. she doesnt give you time for anything, even assignments.
She is a terrible teacher. So much reading I wanted to die. And it's boring reading. She gave us writing assignments, which were graded completely unfairly. Her exams suck more than anything I've ever experienced. I would almost be able to tolerate the class if she 1...was a fair grader, and 2...didn't favor certain students over others. NOOO good.
I loved this woman and I think she is very intelligent. people think she's a tough grader but only because she expects college level work! Thought provoking class that I truly enjoyed! Be ready to write!
She is a very intellegent person who knows what she is talking about. She is very interesting and wants you to learn.She is not terribly hard but you must put time and effort into your assignments. I was the only fresh in the class and earned the highest grade B+.
I took this as a summer hybrid course, and the amount of reading was insane, so you have to stick to it. She never answers any emails, and she doesn't teach you anything, its all your own learning. Only take this if you have a lot of time on your hands.
Most annoying class ive ever taken. Does not respond to emails, her office is a disaster, and makes you do pointless assignments. Take your time going to class because she is always late.
There was a lot of reading but I really enjoyed the class. She is pretty fair in grading. I worked hard and it paid off. I got a B+ in her class and I am nto even a fan of a lot of reading. Enjoyed this class.
I have this woman for online sociology right now, & it will be my first B of college. The amount of reading is extremely heavy & tests are very confusing. Takes at least a week for her to respond to an email. IDK how this woman is a Dr. I sent her the same email 3 times and every time she's responded, she's said something irrelevant. DONT TAKE HER.
The worse, she is a very hard grader I studied my behind off and she cut my grade down tremendous because I lack detail as she said, then contradict herself saying the essay was awesome, don't answer emails, I'm on pins and needles with this professor and she's a Doctor, don't take her class run for the hills
Prof. Donaldson is really not a good professor. She is very unorganized, misses classes, and is ALWAYS late for class. If you like an easy C or D she is definitely your professor.
Easy doing her work you can save it tip the last minute. Tests are hard though. Yu need to watch the videos and take notes about what the people are doing.
I took this because I needed Intro to Soc and I knew it would lighten my schedule up a bit. At the orientation, she tells you EVERYTHING, which is great. I had no questions left unanswered. BUT she is SO slow to respond to emails, if she does respond at all. She also doesn't post things on time, so annoying. She is not made for online teaching.
Definitely not worth taking. She gives a ridiculous amount of work that you must keep up with and the tests were so hard even if you studied. It was a completely online class and she literally takes forever to respond to a single email and made SO many blackboard mistakes.
This class is simple if you follow directions well, and the work is difficult but it isn't unachievable. My problem was that she NEVER responded to emails and our grades were NEVER up to date. She does not communicate with her students at all, she sort of expects them to figure everything out on their own.
This class was rough. It is an online class and she DOES NOT UPLOAD GRADES so you have no idea what your grade is. She led me to believe I had a B+ and I looked at my final grade and it was a C. I will never take this class or any other class taught by her again.
I'm so glad I didn't read reviews before I tool her class she is definitely in my top five favorite professors at Stockton. If your expecting A without working for it then this is not a class for you. However if you life being challenged academically please take her. I learned so much being in her class. I worked my butt off and got an A-
I think I would have had a better experience if I took this class on campus instead of online. I read the chapters & watched the videos like a crazy person & still did not do great on the exams. This course was very time consuming. The good and bad news is there is a lot of required additional work (discussions & papers) to help your average.
She hardly ever returns emails unless it's convenient for her. Over the previous semester she actually screwed up due dates on multiple projects causing the group of us in the class to struggle to get ahold of her. I would never take her again, I hope she managed to get her act together.
She is an awesome professor! Definitely helps you understand the content you are reading (many times I didn't). She stays after if you have questions. I really enjoyed this class- I would take it again!
Does not respond to emails. The tests are very tough, and you do not have a lot of time. It may have been better if this class was not online.
Tests are a nightmare and she doesn't respond to emails! Gives no feedback and is an absolute horrible professor.
Tons of reading but i made it without reading a single page. Tests will destroy you. Super difficult. Drops the lowest test out of 4 total. But, sociology is common sense so if you're normal, you'll get it. About 4 or 5 extra credit opportunities. Answers emails within a week. Overall, easy subject but clear grading criteria.
Class can be drawn out because her tone is low and slow, but perhaps thats a good thing because the material was intense. She did the material justice. Will have to work for your A. Learned a lot from her about analyzing text.
Complete waste of money never answers emails never is in office during office hours seems too personal not professional doest let students have own thought wants students to follow her thought process or its wrong
Absolutely terrible professor. Took her for an online class that was all videos, so she didn't have much she actually had to do, just answer emails and grade papers. She didn't answer any emails, and sent an indignant mass email when a couple people asked about their grades. Completely incompetent professor. One test with answers not in the course.
Professor Donaldson was not organized at all. There was no way to get in contact with her seeing as she doesn't use her email (she has other faculty email for her). We had to do a ton of reading assignments, but rarely discussed the material we read in class! The lectures were pointless.
A lot of work for an online class and she doesn't give much feedback. She's also not responsive to emails if you try to contact her. Not a hard class if you can organize yourself but there isn't much in the way of learning for this class and she doesn't encourage or foster learning.
Echoing a few sentiments below, it is clear she has her way of doing things and cannot be bothered by any other thoughts that aren't her own. Very unresponsive.
answered me a month late of a grade I received, grading of test or papers take forever, which one cant decided on either dropping the course or keeping it on time. Absolutely no communication
Horrible! Doesnt give feedback! Doesnt anwser emails, takes a month to anwser if so! Self taught class waste of money and time
worst teacher ever never responds to email or phone calls, this is an online class I took worst experience ever no communication and self-taught, a waste of money on a class one teaches themselves and 0 communication
Run the other way - fast! This prof does not care about her students. She does not respond to emails or calls. Records that you didn't turn in work when you did. Doesn't show to office hours. Worst experience ever! Very unprofessional. Do not waste your time or money. Nothing but aggravation. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE
This entire semester was a Gong Show. The professor was out of her depth completely. It's a wonder she was even given charge of a classroom in the first place.
Her exams are not fair. 75 minute timed exam and we must write a 5 page paragraphs, 5 terms, and write a paragraph for two short ended questions. Too much reading material and most are not on the test. Would not take again.
Professor Donaldson is honestly the worst professor I have ever had to date. She is so unclear about grading criteria and if you have accommodations she is not very willing to actually implement them. She is also incredibly difficult to get in contact with and when she does she seems like she does not want to talk and be helpful. 0/10
Did not provide any additional material whatsoever so the only way to learn the content was by reading the textbook. Repeatedly reminded students to check grammar and spelling but her emails and even the syllabus had errors. Was slow to respond to emails and often with one word answers.
Prof. Donaldson seemed nice at first, but niceness isn't everything. She says in her class that she needs you to contact her via Blackboard messenger only, not email, but she doesn't answer either in a timely fashion. Maybe its because her classes are asynchronous, but she is confusing, hard to get ahold of, and doesn't respond well.
Prof. Donaldson was no my favorite--her work was irrelevant, she is extremely hard to get ahold of, and does not negotiate very well. She requests you email her on blackboard only, then doesnt respond. The class was completely asych, so the assignments felt tedious. I would not take her again.
Haas everything due on the same day for each module. Only had a zoom class with her once and she was really sweet! Usually about 3 papers per module and discussion posts too. The exams are impossible though because they're so confusing and are hard to connect to the book.
Professor Donaldson's class is hard I would not recommend it. It is a mandatory requirement for Africana Studies amjors/minors. If you do not have to take the class with her choose other professors. Test are unorganized, and reviews do not help. Emailing does not help because she does not reply in a timely manner. Classwork does not help with test.
the worst professor i've ever had. she never answers messages and makes no exceptions for anything. her tests are extremely hard and for each assignment she is very specific with what she wants. never take her for sociology
Tests are impossible to pass, expect a 75 or less on exams. Professor makes you email via Blackboard however, does not respond to emails. She also has no intention of her students passing.
Worst Professor I ever had, never answers emails, grades horribly, rude and genuinely doesnt care about her students. I really worked hard for a C!! Ridiculous.
Very harsh grader I feel like I would have loved the class with a different professor. I would not recommend taking any classes with this professor! I did every assignment and worked very hard to get a good grade and because of the exams I did not pass. The exams have no correlation with what you have to basically teach yourself.
I feel as that I would have loved this class but with a different professor. She never answered any of our messages especially questions related to the assignments. She was harsh when grading assignments and would take points off without explaining what we did wrong. The exams did not match up with the assignments we did or the textbook.
Prof. Donaldson is not very helpful. She met with us once on the first day, and then left the rest up to the class to figure out. The assignments were not hard (journal entries and discussion posts, 3 essays). It was the midterm and final exams that were the most stressful. She posted a "pool" to let you know what could be on the exams.
this class was horrible. i kept getting low grades on things even though i literally did everything asked for with lots of detail too, but she never gives feedback on why she gives you such a bad grade. i suggest never taking this professor
She's really sweet. All of the work was on your own though and it's basically just reading the textbook to learn. She splits the semester into quarters and all your work is due at the end of the quarter. Don't procrastinate !!
Absolutely horrible!!! The first month we read a bunch of books didnt talk about them then had 2 quizzes every week on the books and then on the negro national antnem. If you missed one word the whole thing was wrong. Hated the class and will never recommend to anyone.
overall this class was awful. it was asynchronous so basically you have to teach yourself everything. if you have questions, she will not answer emails. her tests are very difficult with a short amoint of time given. the only good thing was an extra credit she assigned. just dont bother taking her.
She isn't a terrible person, but the previous reviews about her not discussing readings, being inaccessible, and having lots of tests (and "exam pools") is accurate. Not to her defense, but to be reasonable: the class never engaged in discussions and that may have tripped her up since lectures were more conversational. Overall, not the biggest fan.
A lot of people said this already but she does not answer emails and is not accessible, especially since my class was asynchronous. She is not a very understanding of the questions that people have. The questions on the homework have nothing to do with the tests and the tests are practically impossible.
The course is supposed to be an open conversation but I personally found myself scared to speak up. She literally laughed at us for getting questions wrong on quizzes. With the exception of the Negro National Anthem, all quizzes are true and false. I would transfer before taking this professor again. Dont expect to have emails answered.
Doesn't seem to care about students actually learning and harshly grades
I had her in an Online asynchronous course. She was alright, but reading the book is REQUIRED. You will not do well if you don't read, take notes and study.
RUN! Do not take her for sociology 1100. She was the only option left so I was stuck with her. I took her online course which made it even harder. She never, ever answers emails and never explains what you did wrong. God forbid you write less than a paragraph for a discussion board. She also publicly humiliates you under other peoples discussions.
Unless you are an Africana Studies major or minor, do not take this class with her. She reads her powerpoint slide notes word for word and barely knows what she is saying. When it comes to the midterm, you do not put everything that she expects you to put, be prepared to get the question -20 points. Good luck!
She takes forever to reply to emails, and doesn't grade in a timely manner. She also put in the wrong grade for my course grade on my transcript - currently trying to dispute it with the dean. Do not take her.
She is the worst professor I have had to deal with. She was constantly late to class, gave pointless assignments, and gave frequent pop quizzes on material we didn't cover. At least half of my class dropped or withdrew from the course. Shes impossible to reach via email. Only passed because she did an insane grade curve at the end of the semester.
Do not take this professor. Doesn't answer emails, enters grades incorrectly in the grade book, reads straight from powerpoint the entire class. At the end of the semester you have to do a group presentation and present it to the class. She reads the slides as you're presenting and points out everything incorrect and embarrasses you. DO NOT TAKE
I wouldn't recommend anyone take this class. She constantly puts grades in incorrectly and is impossible to reach via Blackboard which is the only form of contact she allows. I received a 0 for a quiz and asked her why and she couldn't tell me. She said she would look into it and never did and barely listened when I spoke. Stay away.
Really rude! Super nitpicky with grading. I took the online async class because it was the last option I had. Forced to buy a $130 textbook TO TEACH MYSELF BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN THIS WAS AN ONLINE ASYNC CLASS. She can only be reached through Blackboard as well.
Ok so honestly i took her feminist activism class because she was the only one left. That class is not hard maybe for a male because some assignments are based on personal experience only a female can answer. But she does not answer emails. Her exams are 7 questions but you HAVE TO complete a 20 term & 20 question study guide in order to pass it
the ratings are pretty bad but honestly, the course was easy. as long as you keep within your minimum college-based comprehension and writing you're good, i honestly don't think they were asking for too much. They do come off as a little standoff-ish through the bb emails. an easy A online course IMO, don't slack off you'll do fine
She never gives feedback and never responds to blackboard emails (she told us that she only communicates on there yet hardly ever responds). The reading for this class is very long and often has NOTHING to do with the material on the test. I got stuck in this class but if you want to avoid stress and a picky professor, don't take this course.
the material she taught was important but she taught in a way that was so boring it was hard to stay focused/pay attention. She read her slides word for word (they had a lot of info too), but go fast too, doesn't respond to emails (BB only), people only took her class bc of all the credits the class had, made by in class tbh. would never recommend
DO NOT TAKE.. She expects a lot from her students, and is definitely picky when it comes to grading. She comes off rude most times, her pop quizzes every week are ridiculous, and her tests are almost impossible to pass. If you do not seem to know a lot about the books or there isn't a good class discussion she makes the class take a quiz.
Simple course work but feels menial. Lack of ability to clearly convey deadlines. Difficulty using technology and scheduling assignments. When these issues arise, little to no communication is available. I would recommend another professor for this course if it is online.
This professor is impossible to reach through BB even though she stated that is the only way she will answer emails. She would grade something poorly without explanation. She throws pop quizzes at you or gives you 2 days notice for an assignment. No empathy, no desire for understanding, no ability to work with a student with health complications.
A sorry excuse for an educator. Does not respond to emails. Her grades make no sense, as you never get feedback. The quizzes are pointless as you gain no knowledge from them, given they are true or false based. She is judgmental, making the class afraid to speak, as she will call you out and maybe laugh at you for not knowing an answer. DO NOT TAKE
I did this class asynchronously. It was bad. The exams are terrible and he doesn't even teach. We just read from the book, do 2 discussions on blackboard, write a paper, and have a 60 question exam that he leaves open for 24 hours. 12 pm to 12 pm the next day. Pretty friggin hard.
Because he doesn't teach I can't even really say whether he's a good professor or not, but the class itself was definitely hard. Theres a few modules that contain multiple chapters due ~once a month, but due to it being online it's easy to forget until last minute causing a huge pileup of work. Lots of reading, hard grading, and difficult exam.
She is the most unorganized, heartless educator I have ever come across. She NEVER gave me a grade for my final that was taken on time. She never graded it but added points to my final grade with no corresponding assignment, leaving my grade to drop drastically. She is impossible to reach. SHE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU! She needs to go. DO NOT TAKE!
THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST. AND I MEANT WORST. PROFESSOR AT STOCKTON. she grades SO SO harshly for the smallest thing ever shell take off 10-15 points. she made us do community service hours with a minimum requirement of 14 hours. never sounds like she knows was she's talking about. is not flexible with any grades or assignments. NEVER left her chair
Load of reading with books that were not accessible online so I had to buy used, paperbacks. Too many assignments at times, but as long as you do them correctly you will have a good grade. Hope that in your class there is one talkative person so that person can prevent pop quizzes from happening (got that and we had no pop quizzes).
I wouldn't recommend this class. The professor reads from slides and is unresponsive to emails. Attendance is mandatory, but the material is presented in a boring way. Unstuck AI helped me prepare for the frequent pop quizzes and group presentation. Overall, a frustrating experience.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
62%
Textbook Required
30%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.45 avg changeRatings by Course
GAH
5.0
(1)INTERVIEWS
5.0
(1)MINORMAJORREL
5.0
(1)SOCIALSCIENCE
5.0
(1)SOCSEM
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
SOCL101
5.0
SOCIALSCIENCE
5.0
AFAMSEM
5.0
SOCY101N
5.0
SENSEM
5.0