3.4
Quality3.0
Difficulty39%
Would Retake95
Reviews39%
Would Retake
95
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
33
4
22
3
15
2
12
1
13
What Students Say
“Fantastic presenter seeing as that's what she's teaching but if you ever go to her for help you'll get turned down quickly”
GCOM121 - 2.0 rating“Probably the worst teacher I have ever come in contact with”
SCOM240241 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
88%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.18 avg changeRatings by Course
SCOM449
5.0
(1)SCOM241
5.0
(1)SCOM
4.3
(7)GCOM123
4.1
(14)GCOM120D
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
SCOM240241
5.0
SCOM449
4.0
SCOM241
4.0
SCOM123
3.6
SCOM350
3.5
Reviews (95)
sh e is funny
No Comments
she's funny and a pretty easy class if you listen
This class is not as easy as you think. She is a tough grader, and intimidating
Ok but tough grader
hard grader, pop quizzes, intimidating
No Comments
Lot's of quizes, but I failed them all and still got an A.
Toni always has a fun lesson plan and her work is really not all that hard
She's sarcastic but funny. A great teacher, made going to class easier.
Funny, easy class. A really good teacher and good class.
Great Teacher, Funny, go to class and get an A
Really moody teacher but easy grader...just go to class
Careful, she's moody! The class is boring, but she makes it interesting.
very good professor...explains everything well...hate the speeches
Very intimidating and moody
good teacher but major mood swings, bring everything to class always
Doesn't teach, groups teach the class. 2 tests, 2 movie analysis, 1 group presentation, and several reading quizes. pretty easy class
does NOT teach...expects a lot from you even though she doesn't do much..all in all nice person though
One of my best experiences at JMU was with Prof Whitfield. She made the subject interesting, and I actually walked away from class feeling like I wanted to go learn more. Take her if you can, she's awesome.
i love dr. t, shes definately one of my favorite teachers, she always gives study guides and if you dont know the answer she'll tell you it so you can study it. definately a great class
quite possibly my obsession! she was my inspiration for becoming an SCOM major, she's willing to stop everything to help you and is always looking out for her kids, i've had her 2x-in gcom she fixed us lasagna when we finished our speeches...enough said
i love this professor!! take her and you wont regret it. easy class if you do your projects and come to class!
Dr. Whitfield is excellent. she's extremely helpful and funny. can see why shes a teaches communications. just go to class and read. all quizzes you can use your notes (though theyre easy)
Dr. Whitfield is a great lady. Really wants to help you and is very energetic. Class isn't boring and you do fun activities. She only has one gcom class, but if you can, take her.
Very emotional teacher who takes her personal problems out on her students. Picks favorites and seems to only like a few students out of the class. Is very critical on the presentations and changed our final exam day 3 days before the exam! she's crazy
Very energetic and enthusiastic. She even dropped the f-bomb once haha. Projects are a pain, but there are only 2 of them. Tests are easy. Didn't study for final and got a B on it. She criticizes, but with good intentions.
lame class, evil witch teaches it, dont take it
:) just kidding Toni, you know we love you! BEST PROFESSOR EVER
One of the most amazing professors here at JMU. She cares a lot about her students and wants all of them to get the most out of what they are learning and she always makes it fun. I highly recommend taking any of her classes! You will love her!!
GREAT teacher! very funny and understanding, you will work hard but have a lot of fun doing it, DEFINATELY take her
A great professor--wants you to learn and have a good time doing it. Cares alot about students!
I LOVE HER CLASS!
She is unclear, picks favorites, and takes out her bad days on the class. She can be pretty rude and disrespectful. I enjoyed the class otherwise, except I never knew what was due, when. Always changing dates and being unclear.
Dr. Whitfield is absolutely one of the best professors here at JMU. I have never met someone who cares so much about what she is teaching and her students. She will go out of her way to help and teaches about real topics. I wish every teacher had the compassion and care that Toni does! Take her!
She is a wonderful teacher. She will go out of her way to help you. She definitely knows what she's talking about and tries her best to make it interesting. She grades fairly, but you do have to work! Awesome teacher - take her!!
She's tough but fair, and she genuinely wants everybody to learn and do their best. The class is definitely hard, but she doesn't assign busy work and all assignments are really helpful. I'd take her again!
Dr. T is cool; she's very helpful & nice; it's hard cuz it's once a week u have a lot of reading to do for each class, that's the hardest part; & I feel that she grades a little harsgly, but u'll learn alot of info that is very beneficial; take her & this class, u'll be thankful
Dr. Whitfield sent off mixed signals the whole semester. While she is very clear with what she wants, she is not very approachable or helpful like her 'peanut gallery' is saying. She is very biased and opinionated too. She does care about students and makes class enjoyable, but beware.
I think she rubs some people the wrong way because she expects a lot, has a strong opinion on everything, and isn't a pushover...but she is usually really nice and fun too. Her SCOM 358 class is probably the most useful class I've taken at JMU, I think it should be required for every student because it really prepares you for starting your career.
What is everyone's problem! Whitfield is a great teacher with a VERY clear syllabus. Her expectations are high but very spelled out--anyone who doesn't see that is either lazy or a whiner. She cares about students and I learned more about the future than I have ever learned in a class! Take this class! Read the syllabus!
Tough, but tells you want she wants. Always willing to help. Very funny. Likes to get to know students but you have to make an effort..def go to office hours and take notes on the readings for the reading quizzes.
Dr T is tough but kind. She wants us to learn and she will go out of her way to help---but you have to try. She cares a great deal about students but she also believes in teaching us life lessons--so be prepared to hear "no" but she is reasonable and wonderful
A great class with a great professor. Sure she expects a lot, but if she sees that you worked for it, she'll give you the grade. Always willing to help students and talk to you on a real level. She really cares about her students. Take her.
Dr. T is hands-down the best teacher I have ever had at JMU. Unbelievably helpful and loves her job. She is so willing to help you, down-to-earth, and laid back. If you can take her, absolutely do so. She isn't easy, but never gives busywork (like pointless homeworks), and really wants to help/connect with students. Yeah DR. T ROCKS!
SO RUDE easily one of the worst teachers I have ever had, the class was useless and she made her students feel inferior, maybe should consider another job.
For the most part, an easy class. Didn't like to have to make speeches on chapters in the book as opposed to more interesting topics (like other gcom classes). A little unreasonable when it comes to the amount of time given to prepare for speeches but overall she's nice and wants everyone to do well.
By far my favorite thus far at JMU. She is intimidating at first, but so laid-back and easy to talk to once you get to know her. Her class is very demanding compared to other GCOM classes, but it is well worth the effort and work you put into it. I've learned so much from her class. She genuinely wants her students to learn and do well. LOVE HER :)
Probably the worst teacher I have ever come in contact with. So inconsiderate and makes you feel like you're stupid. I dropped the major because of her. AVOID!
She's Okay. I understand that many people don't like her because of her attitude but at the same time, I kind of enjoy her wit and quickness. If you really enjoy the major/minor/topic of communications then you'll probably do fine. In my case, I discovered I wasn't as into it as I though and so I dropped this major.
She tries to make her lectures interesting and really enjoys class participation, even though the class is pretty big. Would recommend!
She is absolutely hilarious. She made a class at the end of the day bearable. The lectures don't help you too much with the exams, but they're definitely worth going to just because she'll be leading them. Use the study guides for the exams. Put a consistent amount of moderate effort in this class and you'll get an A. Don't slack off at the end!
Dr. T is really chill during lecture but is not understanding AT ALL if you have a reason to miss class. My class had teacher's assistants that taught the Friday class. I took all of my quizzes and presentations for my ta, so I think that is why I got such a good grade in the class. Reading the textbook is beneficial for tests.
Dr. Whitfield was a funny and she cares about the material she teaches, but she doesn't actually teach a whole lot. We watched a lot of videos in class, which was nice sometimes, but after a while I just wanted to be taught the material. The powerpoints are very minimal. You have to read the textbook to do well. She only goes over the easier stuff.
Dr. Whitfield is a nice person, and she will make you laugh, but the class doesn't help you in life at the end. Grades are not easy, but not hard. The teacher assistant is a bigger deal, although that's just 13 of the week. She only does lectures, so pick a good TA if possible.
She's a good teacher, but the tests SUCK and your speeches count for A LOT of your grade. Only choose if you are good at public speaking.
She is the cutest, sweetest person I have ever met. She cares a lot about what she teaches and she makes everything very relatable. Also, she is really funny. You never get homework and her tests are really a representation of the final therefore it will def help you in the end. I was in a lecture hall therefore the tests were online. LOVE HER
Fantastic presenter seeing as that's what she's teaching but if you ever go to her for help you'll get turned down quickly. Hope the GA you get is good or you're screwed. Attendance is crazy is you miss more than 1 class you'll lose 5% and God forbid you miss a speech day that's 10% no excuses. Tests aren't even close to class material either
She was kind of funny, but kind of offensive. Lectures are kind of long and then separate class with just your group is really easy if you have an easy GA. tests are incredibly difficult and even if you studied a lot, you still wouldn't necessarily well. Overall, not too bad. only 2 presentations throughout the semester, one individual, one group.
Very straight forward, but funny. Overall good teacher. Need to read to do well on quizzes, but not very challenging. Tests are similar to quizzes. Only have two presentations the whole semester.
Dr. T is a great teacher to knock out your SCOM requirement with. Her class isn't very difficult, you have three tests (including the final) and two group presentations. I never got the textbook due to chegg messing up but I was still able to pass the daily chapter quizzes by reading the outlines online. You only get 2 absences so just don't skip
Felt very threatened every time I tried to have a conversation with her. It also seemed like it bothered her and made her angry when I tried to ask questions. Her way or the highway. No help at all. Randomly inputs grades for a few assignments to have the grades layout well ratio wise (in A, B, C range). Never ever again
Whitfield was a great professor who wants her class to succeed. I would definitely utilize her office hours because she great feedback and every time I made her corrections I received at least an A. Make sure to participate and not wait till the last minute to complete her assignments.
The class is perfect. Shes amazing and thoughtful. Cares about us. Very knowledgeable. BEst class Ive ever taken.
Talks about her dogs and learns everybody's names. Tries to really relate to you and definitely keeps the class fun. She can be unorganized on Canvas but will respond quickly to email and answer any questions. Take this class, you'll enjoy working in groups and this really helps with future presentations
At first, I wasn't too excited about taking another required speech class, but this quickly became my favorite class! Dr. Whitfield really knows her stuff and truly went out of her way to connect with each of us. I felt so comfortable in her class. She's very funny, realistic, and always tells you what you really need to hear. Best choice by far!
Dr. T means well but expects so much from her students and grades very harshly/unreasonably. Speeches must be PERFECT under her standards in order to get an A, very subjective grading. Overall not a terrible class, but not the best teacher for it.
Makes the class WAY harder than it needs to be. Tests are confusing and grading is terrible, whats worse are the reading quizzes which you can take with your group but still super hard and confusing, she often puts trick questions in there. Readings are usually super long and attendance is mandatory.
Awful professor +communicator! I hope everyone drags her in our course eval cuz she really did not teach this class well. She didn't go over our final project in class at all, so now our group is left scrambling with extra things that she never mentioned. Readings are like 50 pages every time and she sometimes changes them last minute.
Toni Whitfield is the most unorganized professor on the face of the earth. If i had a nickel for every time she sent an announcement on canvas about changing something up and confusing us, I would be a millionaire. She is an unfair grader and has no idea what she is doing.
Easy classwork, semi-difficult speeches. You work with a GA instead of the professor, but she has a lecture every Monday.
For a communications class, absolute worst communication from the teacher ever. Everyone I know in my class including myself are constantly confused on every assignment because she doesnt communicate the purpose and expectations clearly at all. Quizzes are so hard and not on the material. Hate this class and teacher so much and Im outgoing.
Everything felt so unorganized even tho it was like she barely did anything bc everything in this class is graded by GA's & she makes it clear to not email her & only email your GA. She said this class is the most important one you'll ever take, trust me it's not. And it's unnecessarily hard especially on the reading quizzes. Wouldn't take again
SOOO unorganized. Every single reading quiz or test we had I had to email my GA to get points back bc some correct answers were always marked incorrectly. Like how hard is it to do your damn job and make correct tests?? She has one lecture a week and it seems like that's all she does. How well you do really depends on if you have a good GA or not.
This professor only has lectures once a week and made them entertaining and easy to understand, participating in class can get you a lot of extra credit points. For this class, you are mostly working with the GA, they do most of the grading, meetings, and answering questions. The setup of this class was kind of strange but was a manageable A.
She was intimidating at first but I grew to love her. She really knows her stuff. Try to participate when you can! There is a lot of reading but it's all pretty interesting, you have a small quiz after every reading.
Dr. Whitfield is not a great SCOM123 professor. She rarely taught the class and left it up to the GA's. Now, my GA was great. However, Dr. Whitfield was so unorganized and picks and chooses her favorites and it's obvious. Also, she was rude. I really do not recommend taking SCOM123 with her. Seriosuly.
The class is one giant group project and she graded it so hard. Attendance isn't graded but kept for "record-keeping" There is so much busy work and group collaboration on irrelevant assignments. She can have a major attitude, too.
Class consists of a semester long group project. She would grade assignments, then regrade them and give you a lower grade sometimes. It was difficult to receive a 100 on assignments in that class. Attendance was not mandatory but they gave you QR codes to scan every time to make sure you were actually there.
She was really knowledgable as a professor, yet extremely harsh and mean with her feedback on class assignments. I would advise against taking her if you can. She bullies her students.
She leans very left If you do not, you get bad grade Simple
If you're looking for a Communications professor who knows how to communicate with her students, you're in the wrong place. Complete lack of direction on every single assignment - gives you the bare minimum and then expects you to fill in the gaps like you can read her mind. She does not care and has a weird attitude toward students.
Dr. T really couldn't communicate expectations well and would repeatedly be disrespectful to students. While I learned a lot from her class, it was pretty much all from the textbook. She was constantly exemplifying ways in how NOT to communicate throughout the semester.
Professor Whitfield is a good professor. She can come off as strict, but she's very caring and hilarious as well. She gives a lot of extra points/extra credit and is very fair and reasonable. Definitely recommend
Dr. T is awesome. This was one of the most challenging courses I've taken at JMU and it was only in a 7-week block. The assignments, weekly quizzes, and exams were all very difficult, however, Dr. T's enthusiasm and care for her students made this class feel like home. I'm a class skipper, but I didn't skip her class once. Take her if you can!
I had this professor roughly seven years ago and something told me today to come back and write about how bad she was. Save yourself some time and save your parent's money by not taking her class
Dr. T is an amazing professor. She's hilarious, attentive, helpful, and cares for her students. You can go to her for anything, and you'll get an honest and direct answer, which is very valuable. Her classes are fun and have a great environment. I've had her twice and would highly recommend her.
Dr. T is extremely unclear with expectations in this course. She grades everything last minute and does not like when students question anything. Don't take this course with her if you want unclear expectations, wrong due dates on the Canvas page all semester, and a professor who can not communicate well with students.
I was worried about this class, but it ended up being one of my favorite classes. She is so caring and genuinely wants to get to know her students. It's a lot of work, but she checks in and will help where she can. You won't be disappointed taking her class.
Professor Whitfield runs a disorganized class, with much of the grading delegated to GAs. However, the material is interesting if you're willing to put in the work. unstuck study was a lifesaver for quiz prep.
Honestly just don't take this class. So much work and the content is boring. One big year long community service group project that instructions are very unclear on. Weekly quizzes that are on so many readings that are long. You have a presentation on one of the theories with your group. Tests aren't that hard
Not sure how people are able to grade Professor Whitfield negatively, she communicated very well and if we were confused always willing to help. class was one big group project that was not difficult just need to COMMUNICATE to get it done. tests were taken based directly off her notes. You have to try to not do well
Listen, Professor Whitfield isn't the best. She's a very hard grader for content that should be pretty self-explanatory, a fairly snarky individual, and at some points, rude. I took her for a summer class; her average grade for many assignments was a failing grade (meaning out of the 30 students in the class, many failed, A SUMMER COURSE)! Beware..
There was an assignment in this class regarding our "career plans." Mine had lofty goals that were shot rediculed by prof Toni as too ambitious. 3 years, later, I come to write that I have accomplished everything from my career goals in that assignment so far. Thank you school of JMU for launching my career and Toni you will not be missed
This professor had a lot of expectations while simultaneously being extremely unorganized. Every week I had to email her letting her know that part of the reading wasn't available or the quiz asked questions that was part of next week's modules. Her demands for your resume and cover letter are very strict.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
88%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.18 avg changeRatings by Course
SCOM449
5.0
(1)SCOM241
5.0
(1)SCOM
4.3
(7)GCOM123
4.1
(14)GCOM120D
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
SCOM240241
5.0
SCOM449
4.0
SCOM241
4.0
SCOM123
3.6
SCOM350
3.5