2.7
Quality4.5
Difficulty19%
Would Retake101
Reviews19%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
25
4
12
3
19
2
9
1
36
What Students Say
“He is seriously one of the meanest people ive ever come across in life”
BIO1 - 1.0 rating“He's my favorite teacher on the planet”
MULTIPLE - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
54%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.05 avg changeRatings by Course
BI162
5.0
(1)GENBIOII
5.0
(1)NS120
5.0
(1)WILDLIFE
5.0
(1)DDDSECT
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BI162
5.0
DRAGOSECT
5.0
BIO199
5.0
BI980
5.0
BIB
5.0
Reviews (101)
No Comments
No Comments
The biology department here has a wonderful group of faculty professors, and one of them is Dr. Steven Oliver. He is very knowledgeable about many other areas besides biology. You will be privileged just to be one of his students. He is superb!
Very nice guy. And actually a very interesting class, coming from a person who hates science, i'd say that's pretty good! You have quizzes every week and a big paper due, but still a good class overall.
A very hard class with very high expectations, both of the students and of the prof. He'll work as hard as you do, especially if you go see him for help (but don't whine... it won't work). No extra-credit, so you have to be on the ball from the start.
I resisted doing the work in this class all along because I hate science and "can't do it". He wouldn't let me get away with that and by the end I kinda got it and even liked it
Hated it
No Comments
Dr.Oliver I have found to be, although demanding, fair and willing to work with you in your efforts to not only pass his class, but make you think for yourself. Anyone who takes a course with Dr. Oliver should make it a point to pick his brain and get as much out of him as possible because he is very willing to share. Great Prof. and a good guy
He's easy as long as you do the work and ask questions. You leave his class having had learned something. He's very intelligent and knows his animals!
No Comments
This guy is way too gung ho. His tests are way too complex and very thick.....Badically, he teaches ecology at a grad school level...I should know I am one....
He's a smart and interesting teacher who rewards those who face his challenges fairly.
No Comments
Overall good teacher. I took him as a freshman for my freshman seminar class: Dinosaurs, Dragons, & DNA. Interesting class. As long as you do the work and study for the tests you'll do fine. Gives weekly online quizzes. You must also watch a movie every two weeks and take a quiz on it. As long as you pay attention and take notes you'll do good!!!
Great teacher for Bio II, he is very interesting, and keeps the class very fun. BUT, if you take him for Principles of ecology, be prepared for the worst time of your life. You will put your life into this class and fail. It is still a very interesting, but you will have sleepless nights of endless studying, and get shot down with any Q's you ask.
Great professor- definitely not an easy A course- he makes you work. however, he is very fair, and always willing to help. tests are all-essay, but he gives hints beforehand. also gives extra credit in the form of watching videos and taking quizzes online afterwards (they are open-note). overall, a very intelligent and interesting professor.
No Comments
he is the worst teacher I have ever encountered
He is amazing. He has been voted one of the best professors at the school. He rewards hard work and actually cares about students. He gives his students life skills, like knowing how to make a proper agruement or thinking for oneself. I wish I could take all his classes, and I am not even a bio major.
worst teacher I have ever had. He is full of himself, thinks he knows all, and makes you feel like an idiot. Pretty much impossible to pass his class.
Really did not like him. He was very rude and full of himself. Grades really hard on papers, but is pretty easy to do well in the class. Just really obnoxious guy.
Hard class, good teacher, smart guy, funny
Worst professor i've ever had, almost made me leave worcester state my freshman year. started class off with "if your grandfather dies i expect you here." full of himself, may be intelligent as far as subject matter but is ignorant as far as i am concerned
Hard class, but ok if you study
very smart. Has VERY high expectations of students and the workload is VERY stressful. Exams are all essay questions and you better know every last detail. Dont plan on takin any other diffult courses at the same time.
VERY GOOD TEACHER BUT...I dont feel that there is enough guidence as far as what is expected of you. I would have enjoyed the class more if there was some direction. I spent so much time trying to learn everything which made me learn less.
Scary.
This class is REALLY stressfull. there is a heavy workload with two tests each weekend, a research project, and lab tests each week as well as 3 lecture exams. The extra credit is in the form of 'smart points' which are helpfull and easy to get if you read the text. he is helpfull if you go to him and is a good guy with a hard class to teach.
This professor is horrible. He expects way too much and is completely disorganized. I did not know if I passed until final grades were posted, and even then they were calculated wrong. Wouldn't answer questions and insulted students openly.Being a teacher myself I was fully aware he has no formal training in teaching.
Great professor... Loved him.
This professor expects you to know information that a biologist with 4-10 years of education would know. He needs to realize this is an Intro class. Also, he has said "i expect you to get 20 out of 75 on tests" he expects people to do poorly because he knows the tests & class are too hard. Class Not recommended.
this should be your only class, so much work so little time and the scoring is fair but don't count on working hard in any of your other classes
WORST PROFESSOR EVER. SO rude, way too much work, and extremely unprofessional.
This class was very hard, however I feel I learned alot. He is a busy guy but is always at his office hours (Use those) Overall the class was hard and will frustrate you but if you try hard your grade will pay off in the end
He is THE worst professor. Extremely pompus, and doesn't respect people. He makes his course EXTREMELY difficult and impossible and finds pleasure in it. He likes to see people struggle. Course isn't recommended if you want to pass.
Worst professor i have ever had in my 8 years of college. Doesn't help you at all, way too much work especially for an introductory course. If you are going to make your course challenging, atleast offer help without being so rude.
Dr. Olivers classes may be some of the hardest to get straight A's in, and the workload needs to be constantly kept up with, but he genuinely wants every student to succeed. His humor makes class more enjoyable and he's always available to talk. If you do the work, ask questions, and especially show interest in the material, you cannot fail.
Awesome professor. Really helps you understand the material. Great mentor and advisor. Hard class but totally worth every ounce of effort you put in. Really shows you the meaning of Biology. I would love to take every class with him.
One of the most in depth and concept heavy teachers in the department. Knows what he is talking about and not afraid to put you in your place. Do not expect an easy grade, heavy workload and strict rubric. He will work with you and make sure you understand all concepts and material, but the effort must be put in.
he's the worst teacher ever, mean rude and always try to make people feel and look very stupid. i extremely disliked him. i don't recommend him for any students who wants to pass the class for the semester.
WORST PROFESSOR EVER! I am JR & have maintained at least 3.7 GPA. I killed myself w/ 12+ hrs/wk in course, and barely passed. Will have to take again. He is RUDE, refuses to answer Q's by putting his hand in your face and has said multiple times he wants to weed people out to change their bio major. TERRIBLE! DO NOT TAKE! YOU WILL REGRET! LISTEN!
An amazing professor. He is very articulate, knows his material well, and therefore demands your best effort as well. He is very kind and approachable and makes every effort to make you do well in the class as long as you take the first step.
He is the worst professor in the world. Very arrogant, does not take the time to listen to students concerns, has the worst office hours and does not take you in a minute after they end. Has favorites in the class and makes students who do not live up to his expectations feel stupid.
Work load is a lot, helpful if you dont have 4 other classes that require same amount of time and effort; Did not learn a thing all semester because I was more anxious and nervous about failing and not being able to study all of the material(even preparing for the exam weeks before). One thing I learned, if you aren't a genius going in, goodluck.
He know's what he is teaching and deliveries it well but he is a huge jerk. The work load is unreasonable and he belittles you when questions are asked. He plays favorites and is very arrogant
Worst teacher ever!! I worked so hard and still new that i was going to end the semester with a C average. Tests are extremely unfair and no matter how much you study, your still going to do bad unless your one of his favorites. He is extremely arrogant and belittles people. I do not recommend him!
He is a difficult professor and he expects alot but if you do the work and study you will do well. I've taken him from multiple clases so ignore the section code.
Dr. Oliver?s class is designed to weed out the weak links of the Science majors. He expects a lot out of his students! I took his class twice. The first time I was working FT and couldn?t keep up and pretty much gave up. The second time I was focused and in school FT. I also talked to him and went to his office hours and got to know him. He knew I
I believe Steven Oliver only teaches because being a Marine Biologist typically doesn't pay the mortgage. He is not genuinely interested in teaching and is not a Professional. He thrives on bullying people in his class because as he says, "I'm the one with the power" Disappointing at best.
Very hard professor. So much work it is very overwhelming, and very hard to do good on tests and practicals. No matter how hard you study you will not get the grade you are hoping to get, unless you have a photographic memory. Other than that, he is a really nice guy and willing to help you. He is sarcastic and funny.
Dr. Oliver... Well personality wise, he has a very rude, sarcastic humor that I enjoyed. I found it funny. He does not like to answer questions, bu even if you would want to ask one, you find yourself too nervous to because he makes you feel dumb. I feel he is incredibly knowledgeable, but I do not think he can relay his knowledge. TONS of work
Oliver expects a lot out of his students. He knows his stuff and is very interesting in lecture however the work he expects out of his first year students is a little ridiculous. If you are willing to put in the work then you will do ok. Don't expect an A though, they are hard to come by.
Dr. Oliver will put you to the test and challenge your limits. Personally, I think he's hilarious and his sarcastic sense of humor makes the long class go by quickly. I went to office hours once and he showed me his college notebooks and gave me tons of tips and awesome advice. Don't go into his class with negative thoughts already.
He is a great guy. The class is NOT easy and you really do have to put the work in but you will learn so much form him. Don't take any other difficult classes while taking a class with him.
He is seriously one of the meanest people ive ever come across in life. i had him as an advisor and he would make you feel like you were worthless and going no where in life if you didn't have a perfect 4.0 GPA. He told me I need to quit my job to show i was serious about school well sorry guy but i dont have mommy and daddy paying for college
Very tough grader, and expects a lot out of his students. Weekly quizzes on class material, Weekly video quizzes, and essay tests. But I absolutely loved his class! One of the Most enjoyable Biology classes I have taken! He may be tough and I was scared to take his class at first but he has a great personality and makes class go by fast!
This was the hardest class I have taken. Dr. Oliver pushes your limits and this is not an easy class. He is very passionate about his work; work load is more than an entry level. Make sure you stay ahead of his assignments online movies & reading. Important take notes you can use them during final.need to show up for class,
Dr. Oliver is a great professor. He is one of the only people in the education system who actually cares if you learn or not. His class was rather difficult, but well worth the time I had to put into it. If you see him outside of class, he is very helpful. Great personality and sense of humor as well.
One of the worst teachers i have ever had. He has absolutely no structure regarding his online courses. He expected us do do half the workload, which was posted 2 weeks before the end of the course. DO NOT take this professor, warning you ahead of time.
Okay facts about Oliver easy no great educator absolutely. He is one of the best who actually cares what his student are learning. Let's not forget you are paying for your education so your getting your money's worth.He pushes his students because he believes in you. And take this into consideration if u need help ask him he will help!
Dr. Oliver is a very passionate teacher. Absolutely, he does not allow you to just skate by, but if you study correctly (i don't meant time-wise, i mean efficiently), you will pass very easily and will have learned more than any other course at worcester state. He is a wonderful advisor who helps with your path, and will be honest about your goals
He's my favorite teacher on the planet. Took him for Ecology (A-), Marine Bio (B) and Wildlife Bio (A). He's tough but you'll actually learn something.
i adore this professor. He is amazing and so passionate. DO ALL YOUR WORK and you will be fine. He doesn't do excuses and will tell you how it is. It makes his a great professor. I wish I could take him for every class I need. Amazing character and he is hilarious
Took for Research Methods and also have him as an advisor. He is extremely helpful, and wants to see you learn something. Lecture wasn't too structured, but was still very fun and beneficial. Very casual in class in terms of how he speaks to students. I personally found it difficult to ask questions in class for fear of seeming stupid.
Dr. Oliver is a very smart professor in what he teaches and has good sense of humor. I took him for Marine Biology but the stress that was put in this class was not worth it. I wish that he was correct with some requirements of emailing him. He does not get back on emails right away. Hard grader and very stressful class.
Dr. Oliver is a very well educated person. He relates the information that he is teaching to common things you already know about or have heard about. Sarcastic and quick wit, and very engaging in lecture. That being said, this was one of the toughest classes I have ever taken. He grades fairly, but certainly makes you work for it.
Dr. Oliver is a nice person. You can have a conversation with him easily. However, as a teacher, he drove me up the wall. Everything we did felt impossible to do correctly. Nobody got above an 80 on his practicals and there were so many quizzes and video quizzes that were painstakingly scrupulous. In the end, I got an A, but not easily.
I graduated in 2015. Dr. Oliver was my advisor and my professor. I took as many courses as I could with him. He is an amazing professor/lecturer. His classes were the hardest things I ever did, but I feel it was worth it. Tears were shed, but he was there to help me through. He doesn't want you to fail! I learned more from him than any other class!
Plus: You'll learn a lot from this class. He presents material in a very entertaining way, which for a non science major, is very helpful. Con: He won't help you for an online class easily. His syllabus states that he will get back to you in 24-hours. He has gotten back to me with my e-mails perhaps 15% of the time. He ignores the rest. Unhelpful.
Just no
Extremely rude. Not willing to help. Tells all of us we dont make sense in our emails.
Heaviest workload I have ever had. I did not learn anything because I was so focused on the 3 weekly tests. The texts were comic books, his lectures were too long, the videos were WAY too long. I have no idea what this class was supposed to teach me. Would not suggest him to anyone.
Stay away.
Im more stressed in this class than and major requirement. I would never wish this class upon anyone. Im a student who works hard but this class is absolutely ridiculous
Dr. Oliver is a good professor, but the amount of work he gives is a crazy amount. If you don't put your full attention to work in his class, you won't do great. Toughest class I have ever taken.
he makes expectations clear in the beginning of the class. If he is in a good mood he will laugh with the class, help with any question you have and be sure you know the material. If he is in a bad mood he will treat u like u are the dumbest thing he's ever seen. he's a nice guy, wants the best for the class, but assigns a TON of work.
This class is ridiculously hard. Weekly video quizzes that are an hour long. Weekly reading quizzes and weekly lecture quizzes from the lectures in class. Everything is open note but the notes barely help on the quizzes. Asks random questions from the random jokes he says in class. Avoid at all costs
Don't listen to the 5 star reviews on here! Not only the worst teacher I've ever had, the worst human being I've ever met. Will bully you in front of the class. Constantly condescending and sarcastic. He clearly enjoys abusing his position of authority. EXTREMELY crazy heavy workload. I'm a good student and was in tears alot. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Dr. Oliver is an amazing professor who does give a lot of work. You have to be organized and you have to go to class. There is a lot homework and online quizzes. He gives amazing lectures, where I learned so many things. He is funny and cares about his students. Dr. Oliver seems hard and cold at first, but he really is a great professor.
I'm a straight A student and Dr. Oliver's class was the biggest joke of my college career. He is unorganized, rude, and refuses to be wrong. He is unclear in what he wants you to know and rambles excessively; but expects you to remember everything he says. To put it simply, if you have a chance to take him as a professor - run. You've been warned.
Dr. Oliver is the worst professor I've had in my whole college career, with this being year 4 for me. I have always done well in all of my classes, yet this one seems to be the worst. Dr. Oliver is disorganized, rude, and condescending. He literally posted the rubrics for the bio seminar class 1 week before everything was due. Very unclear. RUN!
Dr. Oliver is indeed a difficult professor but underneath he does NOT want to fail anyone. His lectures are amazing and he's a very knowledgable professor with so much experience. He can seem harsh but I always took it as tough love. You can skip class, but i dont recommend it at all.
DO NO TAKE THIS CLASS! This is my first C in college because this teacher was so ridiculous. One of the most egotistical, tyrannical, arrogant people I have ever met. The class was completely disorganized and we were given no clear study material. The final was in Boston and we had to pay to get there where we were embarrassed and called out.
dude posts 1-2 hour long videos for each 15 min quiz that wants answers from the most nonrelevant parts of the video. Doesnt explain how to take notes about the movies that you gotta watch. I dont know nor care about who won the samurai battle. egotistical and his voice is annoying. dont take if u wanna enjoy your life or need time to eat and sleep
If you want to keep your GPA high, do not take Professor Oliver. Took him last semester and he was awful. I am an all A's student and this was the first ever B I got in college. He grades harshly and the class average for the exams were always around 45-50%. DO NOT TAKE HIM! He calls on you randomly and if you dont answer correctly he picks on you.
I will never take Professor Oliver again. Not only is he the worst professor, but he is not a good person either. He has made multiple of my classmates. I highly recommend to not take him because you will regret it throughout the semester. No one has anything good to say about how he teaches and I fully understand that now. You live and learn.
Do yourself a favor and take a class with any other professor
Dr. Oliver is one of those profs you'll either love or hate. His exams are HARD but everything else is rather easy. Labs are fun he does his best to have them in the field. Sometimes he can be condescending but at the end of the day he does care about his students.
Doesn't take anything seriously, requires you to watch 2+ hour long videos just to assign questions that have no correlation (Like how to destroy a cane toad with a car???). Assignments always have typos as well as having the same question 3-4 times in the SAME quiz. Do not take this class
Worst professor ever! He did not give valuable feedback for the assignments. We only had 4 assignments this entire semester! He was very rude and kept changing his opinions about the already approved topics. Never available during office hours and keeps canceling the classes. Learnt nothing at all from the class and it was unnecessarily stressful!
I am biased because I have a passion for dinosaurs myself, but his class was very fun. Don't get me wrong, this was the hardest class I have ever taken for a gen ed requirement and even a bit harder than some of my 300 level classes as well. Make sure you show up to class and stay ahead of the work. He is entertaining but a little unprofessional.
Very unorganized. You will feel very stupid especially when you are asked about things you literally have not even learned about. If you are taking his class it needs to be pass/fail because even with somewhat ok grades on the millions of quizzes you will get a badgrade no matter what.And every video is like 2 hours long and questions are random.
Awful awful awful. The majority of this professor's courses are online asynchronous using classes recorded years ago so he's got quite the hands-off approach to his position as a professor. This is an incredibly, incredibly work intensive class and it's loaded with unrelated concepts that stem from his own personal views. Bad professor, don't take
Horrible communication and overall lacks personality, is very awkward and was difficult to approach about anything without sarcasm.
Not gonna lie I seriously think this dude should reconsider his profession. I don't really understand why WSU even continue to hire him, he is an extremely bizarre and awkward person. I am a very personable and polite person and always try to give people the benefit of the doubt but, I don't know with this guy.
Steven is a completely unorganized professor who fails to upload assignments and feedback and is sure to give you anxiety for attending class as the lectures are just him singling out students and asking absurd questions, often times bullying you if you cannot answer. The work load is redundant, often unrelated and he refuses to be wrong.BEWARE
Great professor, clearly passionate for what he teaches and is great at getting the class involved.
Let me warn you. You're Set up to fail. I spent about 20 hours a week studying for this class and it was still hard. Does not prepare you. Lectures are about politics. Will embarrass you. Refuses to be wrong. Very unapproachable. Tries to be intimidating. Doesn't answer emails. Unprofessional. Made SURE to tell us his salary like we care? DONOTTAKE
You're set up to fail. Fail the final, you fail the class. I had a b all semester and missed the final by 1 point. Which had material not covered in class or was covered by a tangent he went on that doesn't have to do with the class. AVOID AT ALL COST.
I took Dr. Oliver for Biostats and Experimental Design BI942 and it was the worst class I have ever taken. He does not answer any emails whatsoever, even after sending him over 10 emails. He also does not grade anything throughout the semester, so you have no idea if you are passing or failing.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
54%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.05 avg changeRatings by Course
BI162
5.0
(1)GENBIOII
5.0
(1)NS120
5.0
(1)WILDLIFE
5.0
(1)DDDSECT
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BI162
5.0
DRAGOSECT
5.0
BIO199
5.0
BI980
5.0
BIB
5.0