3.1
Quality3.6
Difficulty70%
Would Retake130
Reviews70%
Would Retake
130
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
28
4
29
3
31
2
28
1
14
What Students Say
“He runs through huge concepts and honestly makes no sense”
BIO172 - 2.0 rating“Clark's good during lecture”
BIO172 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
80%
Textbook Required
30%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.66 avg changeRatings by Course
MCDB428
5.0
(1)BI0192
4.7
(3)BIO192
4.3
(11)BIOLOGY305
3.5
(2)BIOLOGY172
3.4
(7)Difficulty by Course
GEN
5.0
BIO105
5.0
BIOLOGY305
4.0
BIO305
3.8
BIOLOGY172
3.7
Reviews (130)
Clark teaches intro to genetics. The exams are structured very poorly, and you HAVE to go to lecture, else you will fail. The readings do not help with the exams.
I learn the information, but the tests are impossible and are not an accurate representation of showing what you know. Some days he is very helpful, other days deadly boring. A decent class, but again, the exams are very bad and the curve poorly set.
really difficult. really.
No Comments
I thought he was an excellent lecturer, who explained the material very clearly, and was very helpful if you went to his office hours. The class is NOT as hard as people say, I promise - just learn from the notes and you'll do fine!
Very clear at explaining things, exams aren't to bad as long as you're good at multiple choice.
He uses a projector with transparencies, instead of power point presentations, which I found helpful, because it was easier to keep up with his notes in class.
Professor Clark tries to be a good professor but there are a couple of problems related to his inability to communicate. The result? A coursepack of questions that make little sense, test questions worded so that they could be asking two different questions, and lectures that often don't make sense.
While Clark is fine at lecturing and giving out notes on his projector, there is simply a gap between him and the students. As the other comments say, the result is unclear tests and unsolved questions which only seek to harm the achievement of students in genetics.
Professor Clark does a great job teaching - his lectures are clear, accurate and precise. Study for the exams and learn to enjoy genetics and you'll do fine. Eat a kilogram of salt if you don't like it!
he was clear in lecture, and a good teacher, but his exams are very hard.
definitely do the course pack problems and the exam will be much easier, but don't wait 'til the last minute - - you'll never getthem all done...
Clark knows nothing about what he is trying to teach, molecular genetics. He doesn't even know the difference between a ester and a ether.
This professor made it obvious that he did not want to be in class and did not care to help the students in any way. Tests do not accurately represent your knowledge of the material.
My only comment is this: Multiple choice A thru J
Does not seem to want to be in the class. Does not know what he is talking about a lot (tried to draw the nitrogen bases that comprise DNA and failed miserably). Misspeaks too often to discount it, has terrible handwriting but insists on using overheads and not powerpoint. Exams were written to confuse not to test knowledge...there's more...
He is a terrible teacher, and his exams don't reflect what he teaches in class, but instead they show his arrogance. You could be doing very well in the first half of the course, but then cut your grade in half the moment he starts teaching.
If you know the coursepack problems, you probably can understand 65% of the test questions. Otherwise , it seems that he chooses obscure items from lectures, which he never explained well in the first place. Still, he wasn't as condescending as the other prof.
He comes off as pompous and arrogant. He uses overheads instead of powerpoint and can be very confusing. His text book selection is unhelpful for the material he covers, but he seems to expect you to learn a great deal of the information outside of class. He is also not helpful for personal requests and his email responses are often slow at best.
He refused to answer ANY emails, you could only see him during specific office hours, and he wasn't very easy to understand.
let's just say this is a great "intro to bio" course if you somehow already have an extensive biology background...or a remarkable ability to memorize huge amounts of information. i went to the lectures to fill in the blanks on the lecture notes, then headed home to spead hours picking through the text.
Clark is the worst professor I've ever had. He shows no excitement at all in regards to the material he teaches which makes the already boring material impossible to digest. He has too many slides per lecture and NEVER gets through them all and tries to rush through the final slides in time for class to end. Get out while you still can!!!
I agree with all of the comments before mine. Clark is a terrible lecturer who teaches an intro class as though it was part of a masters program. He contradcits himself and riddles tests with trick questions. If you want to pass i wouldn't suggest taking Intro Bio with Clark until you've already obtained a degree in Biology through other profs.
I disagree with most of these ratings. He wasn't the most helpful or interesting professor I've ever had, but he got the information across. If you attend lecture and read the book the tests aren't bad at all. Don't expect him to spoon-feed you all the information, but this is a college course... and not a very difficult one.
kind of monotone and boring, but he gets to the point. he reads directly from the notes he posts online, which have blanks. says the info on the exam is only based on lectures, but if you want to do really good on exams you need to read the book. not the best at answering questions in class, sometimes seems he is just rewording the lecture notes
He made it impossible to acheive anything other than an "average" score. Practice tests were a joke, and review was 2 minutes at the end of lecture, when people were leaving and inturrupting. When people had questions during lecture, he would point to the same bullet over and over on a slide. We know how to read, we want you to explain!!
Clear lecture notes, straightforward exams, enthusiastic about subject matter.
Boring lecturer. The only reason to continue coming to lecture is that his lecture notes are "fill in the blanks". His exams (the first two) are somewhat easy, though.
I'm not sure what made him so bad, but he was. just didn't appeal to my learning style. also his in class notes were often very unclear and occasionally incorrect. Very annoying.
He drones rather than lectures. I could barely keep awake. Read the book, honestly ..even if you do put yourself throught the boredom of lecture, just read it.
the worst class ever. he just reads off the lecture slides which are basically copied from the book. exams are really hard and very specific. class is not curved. plus my GSI's quizzes were really hard.
clark is very precise, and crystal clear. his lectures are MANDATORY. his exams are often difficult and require lecture attendance. pay attention, go to lecture, you will get an A.
Great Lecturer. Very engaging to his students. Answers any questions asked during lecture. Extremely willing to help outside of class.
Professor Clark is very well spoken. His exams are based off of his lectures and quizdom questions during lectures document your attendance - so go! Expect to do a lot of memorizing, just like any other LSA class. Biology in general isn't easy unless you have some prior knowledge about the subject so make sure you skim the book before lectures.
Clark is easy to understand and his lecture slides are easy to follow and include fill ins to keep your attention. Lecture is mandatory because he takes all test Q's directly from the slides. Reading the book is not necessary but worked very well for me (I had no previous Bio experience). Take his class its really not bad if you attend lecture.
A ok professor. If you study his slides and read the book, you'll be fine. I would recommend going to the class because he uses quizdom...otherwise the lectures are pretty boring.
Dr. Clark was an alright professor. His exams were fair. The course required a lot of studying in order to do well, but that's expected. He tried to make everything clear and was very helpful. Go to lecture because of the notes were fill in the blanks and he uses quizdom.
Clark is very boring, especially in the morning. He forces lecture attendance with iClicker, which was super annoying. Also, he does not make concepts very clear and appears not to be very interested in what he teaches.
Attendance is mandatory, nothing spectacular, but is a fine professor. His exams weren't too hard, pretty easy class.
Not crystal clear but his exams were pretty simple and fair. Go to lecture, take notes, and study. Not too bad at all
He knows his stuff, but his lectures were super boring. Fell asleep in all of them I think. Exams were pretty difficult for me.
I would recommend not taking this class with Clark. His lectures are super boring, he has an annoying voice, and he gives off an arrogant, hard to ask questions to vibe.
His lectures have blanks, which is kind of annoying, because sometimes even if you are present and paying attention you miss one and have to figure it out later. His exams are not nearly as difficult as you might expect, though, as long as you study a ton.
Not the most exciting guy. Didn't seem very eager to help. I learned mostly from the book and my GSI. The information is actually interesting... it shouldn't be as painful as he makes it. Possibly the worst professor I've had at Michigan.
Devastatingly awful. I cannot find anyone worse than him. What he talks about is inconsistance and doesn't make any sense. He tried to put a variety of materials, but he cannot illustrate any one clear. There's no reason we should go to his class since we can only depend on GSI and the textbook. However, he forces student to use iclicker.
Dr. Clark is helpful in office hours, but he speaks quickly during his lectures. He teaches very quickly and can be hard to follow. If you can manage to pay attention, you should do fine. However, the class was very boring.
Stephen Clark is an interesting lecturer, he does a good job at varying tone and asking if anyone needs clarification. He does tend to go over complicated ideas very quickly. I found his exams difficult because many/most of the points come from multiple choice so no partial credit is given for those portions.
Unlike Amy Chang, you actually have to pay attention in class. He may be a good teacher, but for those days when you are super tired and want to sleep, he is a pain in the ass. SO ACTUALLY for the lazy ppl, which are all of us, he is worse than Amy Chang. Great guy but too good for his own good.
He is an EXTREMELY boring lecturer, to the point where it's almost painful to watch. Also, he is rude at office hours, and responds rudely to emails and Piazza questions. You are obviously on his time. He seems nice when he's in front of the class. Expect tricky exam questions, especially short answer questions, that barely coincide with lecture.
Dr. Clark wasn't the worst professor I've ever had, but he was a bit confusing at times. He treated the material on genes as though the class already had a grasp on the subject, which as intro bio students many did not. Other than the exam on genes, exam 3, I didn't think this class was too difficult. Read the book and you'll be fine.
Reads directly off the lecture slides. Expects you to come to class having already learned the vocabulary. VERY unclear when differentiating between pathways and processes; powerpoints have no structure. Learned everything from the book and my GSI.
Steve literally draws all over the slides; he underlines every single word and circles random things. I hate going to this lecture because his scribbling drives me insane. He is not clear and his exams are hard too.
He is not a good professor. He rushes over important slides and asks questions during lectures that nobody knows the answer to. I studied a lot for it and still didn't get the grade I deserved because his exams are meant to test your ability to pick up on the trick he makes up instead of the actual knowledge of the material.
Overall, he's a hard professor, but a good teacher. He takes time in every lecture to answer students' questions. He also tries to explain things in a way that everyone will understand. The only problem with this is that sometimes it's hard to follow all the examples and different wording he uses. He seems to truly care about students' though.
He's a very smart guy who really does care about helping his students learn. He's very friendly and helpful; however, his lecture slides are very confusing and can seem to complicate a simple concept. If you can clarify the lecture slides in your own time, you'll d well in the class. His tests surprisingly weren't too difficult.
He's not that bad. Go over all the slides carefully and you'll be fine.
Class and exams were manageable if you actually study the lectures and really pay attention to detail. Some questions will be based off of one slide so it was kind of dumb. Clark is pretty rude on Piaaza, on email, and sometimes in person. He expects more out of the students before lecture and goes very fast during lecture. Boo
Extremely vague and boring lecturer. Goes deep into irrelevant examples, so much so that you cannot learn any of the basic fundamentals from his lectures. Avoid if you can.
Dr. Clark does move though the material rather quickly but if you pay attention in class and write down what he says it will make sense later. He does a great job of answering difficult questions on piazza too!
Professor Clark's lectures are slightly confusing and he tends to over-explain to the point of it being confusing. He gives extra credit questions on exams, however, and he's available for help if needed. If you work hard, it should be fine.
Bio 172 is a hard class and you just have to study for the weeder. Dr. Clark is really smart and sometimes is hard to follow, but he keeps lectures engaging by asking questions. He pulls a lot from the lectures for his exams, so BlueReview and go over his slides. He's a really nice guy if you go to his office hours or meet with him individually.
Bio 173 with Clark was okay. This class is tough. The exams are hard and the lectures are sometimes confusing because he gives more information than you really need to know. Keep up with the lecture/learning objective questions and you should do okay. He knows his stuff and is always there to help.
He taught the course for the second half, and I really think 90% of the people in the class have no recollection of what he taught. He runs through huge concepts and honestly makes no sense. The average on his exam was a 68! A 68! Unheard of in an intro class. Just to top it all off, he didn't get an ovation on the last day of class. Avoid. AVOID.
Clark is awful. His lectures are confusing and the average on exam 3 was a 68%! That does not happen in this class. SLC study group leaders for this class say they never have seen an exam score this low in their three years of being a study group leader. AVOID!!!!!
Don't let this class intimidate you, and don't freak when you read the negative reviews. My boy Steve will constantly preach about how you have to focus more on applying concepts rather than memorizing stuff. Just memorize all of the stuffs. Everything is from lecture slides and discussion. Know it all and enjoy your A.
Beware when taking his class. He goes over the notes very quickly and will add a lot of supplementary information while lecturing.
I don't understand why he has such low ratings. In my opinion, Clark is a great teacher who does a great job of explaining difficult concepts clearly. Yeah the average on exam 3 was a 68 but apparently the high population of freshman and greeks in this class makes students unable to understand what a curve means.
Was not clear about hard topics. Was not approachable and rude to students. Could have explained topics much better. Goes too fast just to get through material. Not a good lecturer and cannot keep students attention. Did not enjoy this class when he taught it.
Don't understand the hatred. Not a super easy class but possible to get somewhere in A range, especially with curve. Go to lecture and discussion for easy points. Rewatch the lectures the day of and continually go over lecture notes and eventually you'll get the concepts and won't need to look over older Powerpoints anymore. Join an SLC group.
I cut Dr. Clark some slack: he has to teach very conceptually challenging concepts. With that being said, Dr. Clark struggles to provide the basic framework to understand these difficult concepts. He's obviously very knowledgable but he goes way too quickly through lectures without reinforcing much of the material.
Clark was not a very good professor, very monotone and doesnt explain stuff in a way that is easy to understand. His exams contain information not in the lecture notes so it can be hard to do well.
Clark's good during lecture! He's much less monotone than people claim. It's outside of lecture where I have a problem. He's very rude to students asking concept questions on piazza. He'll answer with things like "that's a good question" and "rewatch the last three lectures." He's very unapproachable during office hours. And, his exams are harder.
Prof. Clark is very smart, and he really knows his stuff, however, he goes over huge topics too quickly and unless you pay very close attention or re-watch the lectures you will not be prepared for his exam questions. He asks extremely detailed questions and tries to trick you on most of the questions so make sure you know EVERYTHING.
Clark isn't the best, but how you do in this class isn't dependent on the professors. Memorize every word of the notes and you are golden. Do not read the book, it is a waste of time. Show up to the necessary amount of lectures to get full points, take a few notes (not 100% necessary), then cram in the 48 hours before the exam.
Steven is a really good professor. He's on point about everything. Cut clear in lecture, nice to talk to out of lectures. I think he really cares about being a good teacher.
Clark goes extremely fast during lecture. He goes over important, big concepts very quickly and expects you to pick up on it. You have to rewatch the lectures and memorize legit every slide in order to do well, but getting a B is doable
Professor Clark is decent. The class itself is hell and would not recommend it to a single person. Clark goes through lecture extremely fast and sometimes adds extra, non-essential information to slides that adds to my confusion. However, he seems very passionate about his job, but the exams are brutal and cramming is definitely not effective.
Clark moves very quickly, and I cried when he talked about putting mice in a blender, but truthfully if you rewatch all the lectures before the exam, you can get 100%. It is a large time commitment, but he explains everything clearly and the exams are specific to material from lecture so do not get carried away with the textbook, it won't help.
While I do agree that Professor Clark moved a bit quickly at times, I think this is a very doable class. If you answer all the course concepts at the end of the packets, you'll be fine. I studied for like 3 days before all of the exams. Clark is also super accessible outside of class and always adds extra office hour times if you need it.
Clark talked way too fast during lecture... nothing can be understood while he tries to explain in class. Rewatching lectures are helpful, yes, but his tests are way too difficult for an intro bio class. Studied a week in advance and basically memorized the slides but he would still ask questions about one tiny box on one slide.
Since it's class meant to weed people out of biology it does just that. The exams are quite hard, especially the multiple choice, and since they are the majority of the grade in the class if you don't figure out how to do well on them you won't get a good grade. Also, he talks really fast during lecture.
Professor Clark was a great professor for my BIO192 course. Although exams were difficult at times if you rewatch his lectures online you will do fine on them. Also, attend discussion for this course and study group meetings as they are extremely beneficial.
Although 172 is a hard class no matter who you take it with, Clark does a good job of being accessible in office hours to explain anything you need. He comes off a little intimidating at first, but if you go to his office hours he's willing to help you with even the most basic concepts. Exams were hard but fair.
Like many said, he goes way too fast over the material in lec and expects you to comprehend his complex thinking/explanations the first time he says it and then apply it to the very next side. Not only does he speak fast but does not explain well and his only method of explaining, if he does, is giving complex examples that will confuse you more
Bio 172 is no doubt one of the hardest classes at this university. Lectures are extremely compacted, however Clark does a good job of explaining through things and even pauses to check if students have questions. Definitely rewatch all the lectures to solidify your knowledge.
Bio 172 is an awful class to begin with, but if you can, avoid taking it with Clark at all costs. Simmons taught the first half of the course, and while i didn't do great, once clark started teaching my exam grades dropped over 30%. He's lazy, and SO unhelpful when you reach out to tell him you're struggling. 0/5 would NOT recommend
This class is AWFUL. Clark himself isn't actually awful but he goes fast and you almost never know what is actually going to be on the test. If you can avoid this class, do it. The tests are extremely hard and the discussions are completely useless.
Dr. Clark is a pretty decent guy. We went through material pretty quickly but he was very open to helping people outside of class. Some of his exam questions are a bit questionable but hes a nice enough professor and clearly cares about the lecture material.
Prof. Clark cares deeply about students' success. He's VERY helpful during office hours, and he's very accessible outside class. His PowerPoints have all the info you need to know. Exam questions are sometimes a bit confusing, you really need to understand concepts, but very doable. Great professor. Petra, the GSI, extremely helpful. Great class.
I got a good grade, so my you can be sure my rating is irrespective of my performance. Clark is a bad lecturer. He moves very fast during lecture and does not do a thorough job of explaining the material. There is a reason why his ratings are lower than other bio 172 professors. Professors don't get low ratings for no reason - think about it.
Clark is friendly and really knows his stuff. He does talk pretty fast so it helps a lot to rewatch the lectures online after class. He's a pretty approachable guy and encourages students to come to office hours. I think the course content is pretty tough overall regardless of who teaches it.
Professor Clark was very enthusiastic. He explained everything but it will be necessary to review afterwards because he goes fast. He is not boring so it is easy to pay attention in class.
little clarity in what is to be expected from him contentwise. I never knew what my grade was because every week Id get a new email about how to recalculate the grade because the last method wasn't accurate. Was told that we'd get some kind of boost because of corona but I'm not sure if we ever did. Idk what my final % was. Gives confusing answers.
Clark was a great lecturer! He breaks down content really well and his exam questions were straightforward if you studied. Make sure you keep up with lectures because it's easy to fall behind seeing as they're 3 times a week. Also, practice a lot with problem roulette.
Dr. Clark was great for intro bio for transfers. His lectures have a lot of material, so it can be really beneficial to go through the slides again. He explains topics very clearly and checks to make sure students understand the concepts being taught.
Prof Clark is great his office hours are very helpful, attend them as often as possible. The lectures themselves, despite being pre-recorded, weren't painful/boring to watch (relative to other lectures obviously this is no Oscar winning movie). I'm sure they'd be even better in person. And he was understanding of the difficulties of online learning
Clark is very knowledgeable on his teaching subjects. His office hours are very helpful and no one shows up so you can ask him whatever you want. His tests are HARD though, do as many practice problems as possible. Lectures can be a drag but barely any homework and gave us so much extra credit. Also, the class is curved at the end.
Prof Clark definitely knows his material, it makes his lectures easy to follow (but 192 is acceled, so it's still a lot). Exams are difficult but not impossible. Readings are optional but helpful. Explains concepts very well 95% of the time. Definitely ask questions, he'll be able to answer them. Good prof but makes you work for your grade.
Straightforward biology instructor that bases exams on material covered in lecture and discussion. Dr. Clark is clear and emphasizes important points during lecture. There are countless opportunities to get help and feedback from him. Dr. Clark is an exemplary example of a knowledgable and helpful professor. He is invested in his student's success.
Fellow transfer students, be ready for the hardest class you will ever take at UM. This is an ACCELERATED class which means the lectures will be going really really fast. Memorizing things will not save you but concept and mechanism will. On the first day, he told us that more than 40% of students get C in his class. SO good luck!
Super great lecturer, however his tests are very challenging. Always available for office hours. Don't expect any curve on the final grade.
He talks so fast during lectures! He was asked to slow down numerous times but continued to talk fast. Not great at explaining things. Hard to keep up in his lectures. Good luck.
Lectures are easy to understand. Exams are majority of the grade, but not too hard to study for. If you studied the lectures, problem roulette and the practice exams, then the real exams are not very hard. Also had a little bit of extra credit.
Clark was great. He was very clear during lectures about what information to expect and not expect on exams(makes studying a lot easier). The actual exams were wayy better than the Simmons exams and if you study the lectures and concepts, you can finish them in half the allotted exam time. He also had superrr helpful office hours, always available.
Very doable exams if you know the material. They are very straightforward. Great office hours. Overall very great professor. Do problem roulette and watch the lectures twice and you can pass easily.
He's very passionate about biology and his job, and it shows. Always happy to set up new office hours, all you have to do is ask. Exam questions can be worded weirdly, but as long as you interact with the content enough, you should be fine.
Dr. Clark is one of my favorite professors at Umich. He is so passionate, caring, and interactive in his lectures. He does a great job of teaching tough concepts. If you love biology, he is the professor for you. The class can be tough, but if you pay attention, review slides, and attend lecture, he will give you everything you need for exams
I always enjoy attending Steven Clark's lectures. He is passionate about what he is talking about, always takes questions and is respectful to students, and will go out of his way to help students understand the material. His office hours are very helpful and he often records and posts videos on canvas to clear up anything students are confused on.
Prof. Clark held many office hours outside of class which is super helpful. He also records them too and posts them on Canvas. Super helpful and accommodating.
Amazing professor. For a tough course, his exams were pretty easy. He's passionate about what he teaches and is more than happy to help students understand a concept. Tells you exactly what to study and what not to study, no surprises on the exam, which saves us a lot of time during studying.
Dunno how you'd fail his class cause he serves you everything on a silver platter. The course itself is pretty dense, but he provides so many resources to practice the concepts and he's always available at office hours to ask questions. If you even try a little, you'll be fine :)
Hones
While better than Clowney's, Clark's lectures were often somewhat difficult to follow. This course needs to be drastically reorganized to be more cohesive. I spoke with him a few times and felt that he had no respect for me as a student and often responded aggressively when I spoke to him about very trivial things.
Solid class that was pretty interesting. Doesn't take a ton time outside class other than attending discussions, and the tests fair, not too hard.
I would avoid this class and professor at all costs. He told us after our third exam that the class would be heavily curved but would never tell us what the curve would be and wouldn't even give an idea of it. He then basically took back the curve after we took our final and only adjusted the grading scale by 1%. Disrespectful and condescending.
I thought he explained the material well and was helpful when questions were asked!
Overall by the end of the course it wasn't a bad but the beginning was definitely difficult, try to memorize the slides early and THEN do problem roulette and the practice exams which was something I eventually got into the groove of doing. W24 curve for A-B range was 1%, C-D was 4%, nothing crazy but he said we had a lot of As already. Work hard!
One of the best STEM professors I have had at Umich. Dr. Clark makes himself available to meet with students in office hours, answer questions in + after class, and presents the material in a very digestible way. I wish he taught more upper level courses.
Professor Clark made this tough course manageable. His teaching style is clear, and he provides great study resources like practice exams. Definitely use unstuck ai alongside the textbook for effective prep.
Clark gave great lectures. Put in the work and you will receive a good grade. Readings are not a must to succeed. Multiple extra credit opportunities. Exams are multiple choice but the wording can be difficult at times. Overall, the class was pretty solid and not that hard. Material can build up across lectures and units so make sure to study.
I loved going to his lectures they were very interesting. There were times that I didn't understand certain concepts but when I went to office hours, he clarified things in a more comprehendible way. So long as you maintain solid study habits and persistently study, the exams should be relatively fair.
In Bio 172 we started off with Clowney, who read right off the slides that were inconsistent with exam material- so far Clarks' slides are much more informative yet still straight forward- and he provides helpful insight to go along with the info on the slides; so far much better than Clowney.
First half of 172 with Clowney is rough, but when Clark takes over it gets a bit more bearable. Recognizes weak areas within exams and addresses them in the following lectures to make sure everyone understands. Rushes a bit through his lectures but thats what you get in almost every intro-level bio class here 🤷.
Clark is 10x better than Clowney who teaches the first half of the semester. Clark actually explains things in a way that is understandable. He does tend to rush through lectures and squeezes a ton of material in. But he recognizes that the material is difficult and actually respects and helps students. The exams are still pretty hard
He's better compared to Clowney. I've never been to his office hours, but he always says he's willing to help students in every way he can.
prof clark is a very smart man who clearly cares about his students and biology. i liked his half of the semester the most by far.
This was my first real stem class at UofM, and Clark made it so much easier. He explained things pretty clearly and offered office hours over the weekend which was great. He also is incredibly dedicated to the students' success and not only taught us biology content, but how to succeed in a rigorous class.
Nice guy overall, but the class itself it tough. He was much better than the first half of the semester's lecturer (Dr. Clowney), and was much more enthusiastic. He also explained some of the concepts clearer, but the exams were still really hard and meant to trick you most of the time. Wish I had him the entire semester for bio172.
Genuinely one of my favorite professors. He explained content really well and was passionate. His exams were usually accurate to the lectures. I also liked the way discussion was structured to not be overwhelming. He also gave a good amount of extra credit. Overall, as long as you understand the content (not just memorize), you'll be all good.
If you're an AP/Transfer starting at UM-AA on the fence about taking this class: know Prof. Clark is patient, passionate, very accessible, and truly an expert; his smaller class size makes iClicker, Study Groups, and Discussions easy points just for showing up—also allows for a personal connection. I honestly dont know anyone who regrets taking it!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
80%
Textbook Required
30%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.66 avg changeRatings by Course
MCDB428
5.0
(1)BI0192
4.7
(3)BIO192
4.3
(11)BIOLOGY305
3.5
(2)BIOLOGY172
3.4
(7)Difficulty by Course
GEN
5.0
BIO105
5.0
BIOLOGY305
4.0
BIO305
3.8
BIOLOGY172
3.7