2.9
Quality3.9
Difficulty48%
Would Retake88
Reviews48%
Would Retake
88
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
23
4
13
3
11
2
23
1
18
What Students Say
“However, he is AWFUL at teaching”
ECON360 - 2.0 rating“Tests are very poorly written and cover trivial details”
ECON443 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
98%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.05 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON642
5.0
(2)FFFECO6
5.0
(1)ECON450
5.0
(1)360
4.5
(2)ECON443
4.0
(13)Difficulty by Course
ECON360B
4.5
ECON360
4.1
360
4.0
ECON360A
4.0
MICROTHEORY
4.0
Reviews (88)
best econ elective this school has to offer. Professor Polachek will show you what an econ class should be like.
Best Professor ever, extremely intelligent and friendly, very interesting and well-organized lectures, really funny guy also, tests are extremely fair... Definitely take any class with him... by far the best professor in the econ department!
Great teacher, very funny, makes labor economics interesting. To do well on the tests, review all the homeworks and quizzes, thats it. Lectures and readings are also a must.
bad man. i was so confused
just rambles on and on ...notes are very bad and so is handwriting. very vague.
goes over the time limit every single time...and then critizes you for failing if you don't stay for the next 5 minutes overtime. ****
Great professor. Very helpful when you have questions. Very knowledgeable about economics and just everything in general. Incredibly intelligent guy but his jokes are a little strange. He tends to bash on english and art history majors during class. Overall, one of the most interesting classes i've ever taken.
Vague, bad hand writing, notes are just terrible. repeats same things over and over again
Funny guy who generally keeps me interested during class. Effective teacher, very easy to learn from. Although the concepts in this class are fairly easy, his tests can be challenging. Daily HWs, not a class you can frequently skip. Recommended.
highly intelligent, can be funny at times, knows subject very well. his tests can be challenging, but if study your notes/textbook/homeworks, you will be fine. if you study, his tests are actually quite fair. he is probably the best professor i've had at this school. i only got a B, but i felt like i've learned a great deal from his class.
Pol gave indepth graded HW on material he would teach in following class which was kind of odd. He gives grades based off of class average and when asked what grade he would assign the mean test each time, he stated "around C+ to B-". Dunno what class prior rater took, but the material was NOT EASY. This is to be expected by econ majors tho.
Extremely helpful and approachable. Rather nice person. Returns e-mails really fast. Class is very difficult, not something to slack off in. If you want to do well, start by going to every class, doing every homework and going to discussions, but that still didn't get me a good grade. However, you will learn a lot. Highly recommended.
This professor is certainly intelligent and knows his stuff. The problem is that he is awful at teaching. He assigns homework before the material is taught so very rarely does one do well on the homework and the tests are fairly tricky. Study the homeworks and you should get at least half the problems right.
Nerd. Definately smart and knows what hes doing. Approachable, with daily hws assigned to make sure ur keeping up with the reading. Tests sometimes contain tricks but for the most part questions straight from the hws or in the case of the final, prior tests.
He's got a really weird sense of humor, but he's still pretty entertaining. He is very intelligent and he has a great deal of knowledge about his subject, and sometimes he assumes that his students know more then they do. His tests can be somewhat difficult, however they are taken directly out of the textbook. Overall it was a pretty good class.
pretty brilliant, but awful at teaching. apparently he has tenure so he doesn't really care. cracks corny jokes and is careless (he once gave a test and on top it said Spring 2006 when it was Fall 2011).
i like him best
Really intelligent professor. However, he assigns graded hw before he teaches it so you read the book prior to class which can be difficult by yourself. He takes questions from the hw to put on the tests. The material isn't the easiest so do your homework, keep up with lecture, go to discussion and you'll do fine.
He is a nice guy. His homework is reasonable but does involve reading about information prior to learning it in class. Tests were fair. Very informative and wants participation from his students.
Very difficult material, he can be hard to follow in class, the tests are ridiculously difficult and based on a lot of material, so you dont know what to expect. He can be very disorganized, and makes plenty of mistakes on tests which commonly go uncorrected
the professor make the class interesting. Homework is assigned before the class. which is required student to read in order to finish the homework. In order to understand all the material that he covers , you really need to work hard and attend any Lecture discuss classes in order to do well for exam.
He is a really intelligent scholar I have learned a lot from his class not only the labor economics knowledge and also econometric He also looks pretty cute
Profess Polachek's class is very useful in the real business world and social life aspect. He is very humurous during the class . It is really fun to attend his class.
dont do it to yourself
Definitely important to go to class, he says that himself--Iclicker is used in every class. Also homeworks are graded (he doesn't specify how much they're worth). obviously a hard class so don't expect to put in minimum work. Overall he doesn't go over the really difficult technical stuff in class, but clarifies the general theory.
Pretty laid back. He references many of the documents he's published during lectures (also asks you questions about them during exams) and uses the textbook, but what I found most helpful were the lectures. I HIGHLY recommend attending class and lastly, try jot down what he mentions often because more than likely, it'll be on the exam.
Hands down my favorite econ professor at Binghamton! This definitely is not an easy class- you have at least a problem set per week, there is a lot of reading, and his tests were difficult. Overall, class was a pleasure to attend and you will want to listen to what he says. He's also hilarious. You may not get an A but this is worth taking.
Is a very intelligent, nice guy... Is funny and keeps your attention. However, he is AWFUL at teaching. Lectures go over broad concepts, but when he tries to explain the harder, detailed equations he just skips over explanations. Has everything pre-written out, and often finds mistakes when he tries to briefly explain the random formulas he wrote.
WORST Econ professor I've had so far at this school. Concepts that you learn about in the course have the potential to be so interesting, but he takes all the joy out of Economics. Lecture is useless, he spends the whole time literally going over nothing until the last two minutes. One good thing was that his tests are easy, if you teach yourself.
He's a nice guy and really smart. He assigns homework before it was covered to force us to read ahead. His lectures are pretty clear, but he teaches in a way such that the lectures are meant to supplement the textbook, but his notes are horrible. Tests aren't hard but they're tricky. Get a good ta and you should be fine.
Econ 360 is known for being one of the hardest classes here, but when hearing stories from other students he's by far the easiest 360 professor. Anyway, make sure to pay attention in class and draw the graphs he writes in lecture. He's also the king of dad jokes
Fair tests, but you have to truly understand each concept. He takes attendance through the I-clicker and wakes you up if you sleep in his class. There is usually hw due, but nothing too difficult. Lecture notes, discussion and textbook have all been beneficial. In the dull lectures, I had to write everything he said down just to pay attention.
Very tough grader, lectures are mandatory and pointless, very self obsessed and makes bad jokes throughout the semester that make you cringe. Would not recommend
Polachek made the class somewhat more enjoyable. I liked his sarcasm. The class is not easy and you need to put effort in regardless of the teacher, but his tests are fair and if you put the effort in youll do good.
though tests were difficult, in lecture (he takes attendance using iclickers) he was happy to help re-explain what he was talking about. unlike other profs who just repeat themselves, he went into more detail and was specific. pretty difficult, and makes you work for grade. i just got great TA; make sure to use all resources like study sessions
Great professor, knows his stuff, but the material is really difficult. The TA really makes or breaks the class
Polachek is a great teacher. He makes what hes saying interesting and hes funny. His tests are fair. If you know your stuff youll do fine. For the final if you just review his old tests youll do great. I have learned so much about economics because of him which is good because that means he adds real value to your college experience.
Polacheck is a good professor, explains things clearly. Grade is based on 3 tests and a final. Must read the articles and attend lectures and youll do fine.
Fair tests but his lectures are quite boring.
It is not a particularly difficult course. The lectures are mandatory and they are not very helpful. The instructor is self obsessed. All in all, not the best, not the worst.
Here's my advice if you're someone like me who is used to going to class, listening to lectures, and doing great on tests: READ THE BOOK. I nearly failed the class because I was so used to professors assigning readings they didn't even touch on in classes. Reading the assigned chapters is ESSENTIAL for homework and even the lectures. 2 HWs a week.
can get the problem set answers off of chegg. curves the class so don't worry if you fail the first exam; he curved his fall 2018 course by 17 points. such a sweet guy and is approachable! Go to his office hours and go to discussion. tests are hard though so you will need to study hard. go to class, has clicker question to add points your grade
He is very knowledgeable. Hard tests for sure but they are curved at the end. Clicker question to add points your grade. Not the best or most engaging lectures.
Tests are very poorly written and cover trivial details. You must absolutely read the textbook and assigned articles because questions on the tests will be based on them. Take this class with someone else if at all possible.
Approachable but gives boring lectures, especially when it's early. I>clicker questions for attendance, and he does not post class lectures online. The required text was often either obtusely or confusingly written, use of outside material recommended. Class grades are curved at the end of the semester.
There arent a lot of options for 360 so I took this one. I think he was a decent lecturer although not the most engaging. I think you will end up learning a lot about relevant research in areas that he knows a lot about. His jokes sometimes were pretty bad and inappropriate. Overall, I though the class was ok.
Great professor! He's really funny and good at engaging the class. Readings are very useful but they aren't too long. Would definitely recommend:)
Solid course for a 400-level elective. It is very lecture heavy but the readings and textbook assignments are interesting. The lectures can be boring at times. The jokes can be pretty odd.
Polachek is a nice guy and I really want to like him. However, his classes are incredibly hard to follow. What he teaches and assigns for homework does not match the material he tests on.
One of the more solid choices for an econ teacher. Lectures are dull and he often repeats himself a lot but he explains the material very clearly. Easy to do well if you pay attention/take good notes. Class is curved.
Cold calls when you use your phone or don't pay attention. Lectures in a comprehensive way but doesn't post notes. When it comes to understanding the material you have to practice a lot on your own. Wish he gave more practice problems. Exams are pretty tough if you don't really understand econ. Can't just memorize to pass
Professor Polachek moves lecture so fast, and he requires to finish reading and homework before the lecture follow the content. So, students need certain level of understanding about content to attend class. Exam is hard and you need to well prepared for it. But he will curve to adjust your effort.
Professor Polachek is like an older dad that is trying to be funny but the jokes fall flat. He curved all of his exams a lot, which was nice. He's open to questions and always helps to explain. Will point out if you're on your phone or falling asleep. I wouldn't take him again, but he's not the worst.
Prof. Polachek is brilliant and world-renowned. His class is extremely difficult but very enjoyable. If you struggle with math and complex concepts I do not recommend taking this course. If you do not read the textbook and keep up with homework you will fail. Tests are extremely difficult and the questions are meant to trick you.
He is not a great professor. He is dull, makes awkward comments, and cold calls. However, he is probably one of the better econ360 options, but that is not saying anything. I got 40's on all the exams (even with a lot of studying, I just struggled tbh), and ended up passing with a C. Class was at 8:30, and his final was at 8 am on early exam date.
Professor Polachek is a name in his field and is a smart guy. But his personality is the older creepy uncle who tries to be funny but the jokes fall flat or make you cringe. He curves exams by a lot. He's open to questions and always helps to explain.
I genuinely do not understand how this man has a 3.4 rating,should be a 1.5. To say that this class was hard is an understatement. I had no clue what he was talking about at any point during lecture throughout the whole sem. He is so old and takes forever to get to the point because he has one foot in the grave. Avoid taking his class at all costs.
He is a great lecturer and will go over certain topics multiple times to help students out. The exams are relatively hard but if you pay attention during class and study then you should be good since he also curves at the end. If theres options for 360 definitely take it with polachek since you'll learn and get a decent grade :)
I wanted to like this guy, but I just couldn't. His course is extremely difficult and his lectures are often hard to follow. Jokes often fall flat and he calls you out if you're sleeping or on your phone in class. Tests are wicked hard and twisted concepts into new ways he hasn't shown to try to trick you. Good luck to anyone in Econ360
Content itself is not the hardest to follow, but he literally admits that he designs the exams to trick you. Short answer questions are always your friend, because the multiple choice section of every exam is brutal. However, he curves at the end of the semester very leniently, so at least there is a dim light at the end of the tunnel.
Favorite professor at Bing. His lectures are very good at simplifying the material and telling you what you really need to know, just do the readings beforehand. Notes all get posted online, and on the tests he will only ask questions about content covered in class. If you understand the homeworks then the tests should be pretty easy.
Great professor, teaches the material pretty well. Tests were manageable, make sure you understand the homeworks before taking the test. He teaches the material for the homework after you hand them in, in order to help you understand the material better. Makes it hard to do well on the homeworks, using chegg and the textbook helps a lot with this.
Great professor! Will call you out if you're on your phone or talking, so pay attention. Tests can be tricky, but the long answer questions are nearly identical to the homework and what's discussed in lecture. He gave sample MC tests, which are useful. DO THE TEXTBOOK READINGS, and the class will be so much easier. A valuable and interesting class.
If you're thinking about taking him in the future, note the following: - This is not an easy class, you're gonna need to read the book to succeed. Definitely for that first exam which is considered the hardest. - His homework's can be very plentiful at times but you should do them honestly. - Pay attention in class. Do these 3 and you're fine.
Avoid if possible. Tests are extremely difficult, homework is tedious but useful for the exams. Polachek is a smart and nice guy, nothing to demerit his person, but I could never recommend this class nor any class taught by him to a friend. Maybe as a fantasy football punishment.
Pray for a good TA, or go to tutoring as I didn't learn one thing in lecture. Tests are most of the grade and are very hard and long, reading the textbook is probably the best tool. Don't know how he's the highest paid professor I learned more from the discussion than lecture.
this was the most difficult class i have ever taken. I decided to take it pass/fail two months into the semester and it was extremely hard to pass the class even when i studied for days on end. the homeworks, iclicker, and discussion participation grades provided some buffer, but the tests were beyond challenging. i am a good student and it was bad
HW almost everyday but helps a lot with in class tests, in class tests were very hard but final was a combination of previous tests. he calls you out in class for drinking water, leaving to use bathroom, on phone, chewing gum, yawning, typing on laptop, etc. attendance is essentially mandatory b/c you hand hw in person and get it back at discussion
He's pretty strict with attendance and wants everyone to be there 24/7. Calls out people who go to the bathroom or on their phone. Lectures are kind of hard to follow so I highly recommend reading the textbook and taking good notes to prepare for exam. Definitely make sure you understand how to do the hws as they're usually on the exams.
Please do not take this class with Polachek. He has admitted to me he has not reviewed material in 10+ years. Unnecessarily mean to students. Extremely unprofessional in general; unclear lecture slides, confusing test questions. Test questions are sometimes fully incorrect - hand drawn graphs. Save yourself the stress.
Favorite class I've taken, he was great. Take as many classes with him as you can!
Boring lecture, read and write notes from textbook. Test are hard but fair, hw helps a lot for the test. My average for the clas was around 85 and got an A.
Worst prof I've had in my whole academic career. He has no idea what he's talking about, can never clarify. The only outside reading is some incredibly outdated article, he only uses it because it lists himself as a top economist. The TA's do all the work, after taking a different microtheory class, I know he was definitely the problem.
Lectures are terrible, a waste of time. He spends most of his time making too much eye contact with students, waiting to call someone out for anything. Attendance is taken from I clickers, and each lecture has 3 questions. Hope you have a good TA, because they do all the work
Bad at lecturing, 21 homeworks due almost every tuesday and thursday, discussion depends on TA theres no attendance, tests are overly diffuclt and diff from pratice ones, iclickers are simple. Heard he gives a decent curve. Oh and calls u out if ur eating, drinking, or talking.
Lecture is bad spends too much time complaining and calling students out for almost anything rather than just teaching. For this class you will practically have to learn everything on your own. Test are very difficult but passable. For future students review all the homework, iclicker questions, practice test, and textbook before a test to do well.
Teaches concepts poorly, doesn't explain enough equations, and expects prior knowledge. Slides are just unhelpful graphs. Often calls out students that talk, are late, or step out. Gives no practice for the short-response part of exams. Pushes you to learn everything from the book and the hw's. Calls and sets to make it the hardest class.
He's very slow with his lectures which don't help at all. However, the textbook he gives is very useful and everyone just resorts to teaching themselves the class. Practice tests have wrong answer keys which messes everyone up for the tests. Tests are poorly worded. Bad professor, hard class, TA's do everything. HW due every class.
Professor Polachek is a great economist, but not even close to a great professor. He is 80 years old, he jumps between slides so you don't have time to take the notes down, and you can barely understand what he is saying because of his old age. Grades came out today by the way, I had a 75 overall which was a B, a 55 got you a C.
Ignore the pick-mes and moles in the comments gassing this guy up. Genuinely the worst professor I've ever had. Lectures are incredibly boring, and if he catches you going to the bathroom or on your phone, prepare to be publicly shamed. Tests and assignments are so hard, and he actually enjoys seeing students do badly. Run for your life.
Awful teacher. I think he's a smart guy but has no idea how to lecture or teach. You will have to learn everything on your own. I failed the class, despite doing all my assignments and coming to every class, because I couldn't teach myself all of microtheory. Retook the class the next semester and realized its not the class, its the professor.
this was an insanely hard class to begin with, and polachek only made it worse. homeworks due almost every class and extremely boring lectures. will call you out on your phone or if you make eye contact with him. iclicker made attendance mandatory. he makes his tests to trick you- class average was always in the 40s. big curve at the end though
i felt like going to lecture made no sense i learned everything thru the textbooks and it was up to the TA which all had different styles mine didnt take late homework while others did.some discussion was mandatory somewere not. then some were based on completion for hw and some were based on grades like what the hell? why is it so inconsistent?
the class average for my class was a 65-75 so i really was not sure why it was that high but 70+ average was only a b. jjust read the textbook is all i can say
Very rude. Seems to have something against his students and the world. Marked things wrong on tests, practice tests, and more. Unfair grading for homeworks as some grade for completion and some for correctness. Hope he gets the help he needs.
only the strongest survive...only
Tests are crazy hard, lectures are very boring, but homework and I Clicker scores do boost the grade. If you want to succeed in this class, you have to put a lot of effort in. Read the textbook, try to do the homework's honestly, and before tests look at the lecture slides. He does not care about your feelings or you as a student. Good luck
Favorite professor! Take any class you can from him
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
98%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.05 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON642
5.0
(2)FFFECO6
5.0
(1)ECON450
5.0
(1)360
4.5
(2)ECON443
4.0
(13)Difficulty by Course
ECON360B
4.5
ECON360
4.1
360
4.0
ECON360A
4.0
MICROTHEORY
4.0