3.1
Quality3.4
Difficulty53%
Would Retake169
Reviews53%
Would Retake
169
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
45
4
37
3
27
2
27
1
33
What Students Say
“Goes on tangents about a random person/event”
ECN1500 - 2.0 rating“Teach yourself or avoid this professor”
ECN1500 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
15%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.35 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON1010
5.0
(1)ECON100
5.0
(1)MATH1210
5.0
(2)ECONSEVERAL
4.0
(1)SOC1050
4.0
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ECONOMICS
4.5
1500
4.0
ECONOMICS1500
4.0
ECON3400
4.0
MICROECONOMICS
3.7
Reviews (169)
he was funny and a good teacher i would sign up again to take a class from him
He's always making jokes and keeping the class interesting.
No Comments
He makes things more confusing and he also is doing a research project this year where he is researching weither it is beneficial to be in class or on the internet. He gives no help what-so-ever for preparation for tests.
His lectures do not cover the information that is required for the tests. All of his tests come from completely random generated test banks - and he is not allowed to see the question son his own tests until after students are done with them. This is a very poor class.
Helped me in study sessions, but I still thought the tests had different information.
i liked the teacher a lot, he was very funny. but the class wasnt stellar.
No Comments
He is a great teacher, and willing to help
He is a great teacher, and willing to help
No Comments
Was great for Econ 1500 2 years ago, loved that class.. but Econ 3400, not so much.. seems like he's quit giving a sh*t since then...
No Comments
Funny and engaging. Learned a lot!
He is so boring and thinks he is funny. Will not work with you. Is an ass!
No Comments
No Comments
This class is easy if you put forth the effort. He is pretty entertaining, but sometimes hard to follow.
I have taken Econ 1500, 3400, and 4020 online from Professor Bowles. While I don't have lecture from him, he's always been helpful. The tests are easy as long as you study--he doesn't try to trick you or test you on things that haven't been emphasized in the homework. Good courses, some of the best I've had.
Mr. Bowles goes over and above what needs to be provided for his internet class. The program is exceptional. He is disorganized in his lectures and seems confused sometimes. He does NOT respond to email questions well, which is a disservice to internet student. Overall, I thought the class was well-presented and easy to pass if you did the work.
I liked him and his class. I thought he was easy to understand and willing to help with any questions. He's pretty funny too, which made class better.
I have taken several on line classes and Tyler Bowles has got to be the most bumbling professor I have had to date. His lectures are clear but he jumps from slide to slide, saying he is on one slide when he is on another. He answers the phone, door, and does what ever he wants to do right in the middle of the lecture. Unprofessional.
His lectures are not helpful at all and irrelevant to the material you are tested on. Take the course online and finish it in a day, thats all you would need. In fact, you will probably do better on the tests without his lectures. He often would get confused and didn't seem to know what he was talking about asking our S.I. instructor for clarity.
I liked him, but I took an in-person class rather than online. I thought he was funny, and the subject matter was related to real life. I have had ECON classes that were all math and graphs, and I have never USED the info. I have used the info I have learned from his class. He does NOT try to trick you on tests. Pay attention, you will do well
Great Professor, very willing to help out, his "Inspirational Moments" are classic.
His tests are really wordy and he trys to trick you with the questions that he asks. All around he is not a good teacher!
I was at first excited for this class but it really let me down. Professor Bowles is very entergenic and is excited about the subject but is very off the wall. His tests are way hardcore and very obscure. He is a good guy but I wouldn't recomend taking any classes from him.
His voice was annoying and sort of made it hard to pay attention. The weekly quizzes help a ton...but you don't really learn the quiz information in class...you have to study that in the book by yourself. The subject was boring and the class is hard and Tyler wasn't the easiest teacher to understand.
I did not get any benefit from attending the class. you have to study and understand everything by your self.
He was awesome! hes rather funny and he makes it easier to sit through class. There is a fair amount of work involved in the class, but if you do it all you'll get a good grade.
Very witty and funny teacher! He takes the information presented in the chapters and makes it very clear and easy to understand in class. He will tell you what's on the test so it's up to you if you study it or not. VERY IMPORTANT: Whatever you do, do NOT get the e-textbook! It is butt slow and drove me insane! Otherwise great class/info.
He tests on a level of difficulty way above a 1500 class
I will never take a class from him again, nor will I recommend him as a professor to anyone.
He is super funny and smart!
He's funny, and that definitely helps the learning environment. BE SURE TO BE IN CLASS! He goes through things pretty fast, and while it's easy to understand, you'll be screwed come test day if you never showed up.
Professor Bowles is one of the most enjoyable lecturers I have had at USU. He is funny and his lectures are relevant to the course and current day economics. Definitely study the text. Tests are hard and worded tricky, taking weekly on-line quizzes and exam reviews make this class much easier. I think he is a great professor.
Best professor on campus!!!
Best professor at Utah State University. Very easy to understand and explains everything very well. Great examples and course load is easily manageable. Take him for ECON and you will not regret it.
he had multiple choice Q and essay questions in his firs major and there was no enough time at all. I took the same class with other professor next semester and I got A-
I could not stand his class. He teaches economics from a strictly conservative view and does not allow the voicing of other opinions. He is rude when students make comments in class that he disagrees with and he constantly interrupts. As far as helpfulness, I emailed him some questions (his preferred communication) and waited 2 weeks for any reply.
He had recorded lectures that went with each chapter which were very helpful. Also, we were able to email him any and all questions relating to the assignments. He would respond quickly and to everyone--which meant that things became even more clear. He tests exactly on what he quizzes=no surprises on the tests!
Very clear in concepts and entertaining at the same time.
The class was set up so that I could make my own schedule, there were only four due dates throughout the entire semester. I would recommend this course to anybody with a busy schedule.
Interesting combination of video and book learning for online course. Brought current events into practical application, which helped make the subject more interesting and understandable.
Watch his lectures, read the book, study the quizzes, participate in current event discussions...easy A:)
I took his online course, and it was extremely difficult. The book we were required to use was absolutely horrible. Tests are tough, quizzes are somewhat confusing. Would not take another class from him.
Questions on test and quizzes were confusing.
I took this class as an online class and it was a little frustrating to have to read the text, then sort through his lectures for the one quiz answer that was only in the lecture. Other than that, the professor had great resources and was very responsive to questions.
I don't know why some people have given this professor bad ratings but I guess everyone's experience is different. I personally think he is the best professor I've taken a course from at USU. I've taken 2 of his courses and wish I could take more. He made the material so easy to understand and actually made the course enjoyable. Made me love econ!
Great class from a great proffessor
specificity is too complexity
He is SWEET!
I was less than impressed with Dr. Bowles. His lectures were confusing because you never know when he's on a tangent or actually instructing. He does reviews for the test, but he just goes through the homework answers. If you want to succeed in Dr. Bowles' class do the readings. They aren't too bad you just have to be diligent with them.
Tyler Bowles is hilarious and wears great vests. However, he took an 8 year break from teaching the course and it shows. He has no structure to his class or his notes. It was so hard to know what was going on. Tests are very hard and he isn't very helpful when you ask for help.
Dr. Bowles can be hilarious at times, but his jokes hardly pertain to economics. His lectures were confusing, with little structure to them. The book was online and more helpful than the lectures were. Only take this class if you like a challenge.
Tyler is the professor that inspired me to change my major over to economics. Clear lectures, always timely in his responses, and a fair grader. If you put in the work, your grade will reflect that!
Prof. Bowels is a great professor. His lectures are really good for the subjects. His tests he rearranges the way the questions are worded to make sure you understand the subject. Make sure you watch the lectures and read the book.
He gets side-tracked a lot and wastes half of each class talking about nothing important or even related to the class. To make up for lost time, it feels like he speeds through the material. He's kind of funny, so that helps stay engaged, but you mostly laugh at him and not with. Show up to class for review days and he gives answers to quizs and HW
Professor Bowles makes great jokes, however I felt that his lectures were unorganized and confusing. He has terrible handwriting and it was very hard to follow his whiteboard notes. His tests and quizzes were hard, he words things to aim to confuse. Grades were only based on test and quiz scores.
Tyler is very funny and if you can follow him you can learn a lot. However he doesn't define many of the key terms he uses and his handwriting is so bad its laughable. I still think he is one of the best econ professors at USU. Some of the other require multiple papers. Econ is one of those classes where you ace it or fail it, no middle ground.
I loved this class! It was my favorite class of the whole semester. His lectures we hilarious. He makes you think and work though problems. We only had four homework assignments which are called problem sets. Do the Problem sets they are what prepare you most for the test and read the text book. He also drops your lowest test score which is nice.
I would rather drop out of college and work fast food than take another class from him. The lectures are confusing and rarely covers the material on the tests and quizzes. He intentionally tries to trip you up on the tests. Absolutely terrible in all regards. Avoid if you can. If you can't then good luck. You will need it.
He is quite funny, keeps lectures entertaining and relevant to the material and his exams. Quizzes are well-designed and make for great study material for the exams. The exams reflect 95% of what he teaches in class so if you pay attention and read the material you will have no problems with this class! Fair grading and interesting material!
He tries too hard to be funny and can be hard to understand at times. If you learn what he writes on the board that'll be most of what's in the tests. Focus on studying the quiz an problem set before the exam and you'll do fine. Don't pay for textbook! I stopped using it after 2 weeks, nothing in it was beings tested on it taught, save $100.
I have had Professor Bowles for two classes now and I love the way his class is set up. Go to the lectures, take good notes, take a quiz before the test as a study guide, and take the exam and repeat. It is quite simple. He is a good teacher in my opinion. I haven't had to open the book once and I received an A in his class. I would recommend.
I love economics and the book was actually really interesting, his quizzes and tests however were very confusing. You do about 1 quiz at home a week and 4 tests at testing center. You get one chance to complete the quiz and I never got 100% on a single one. He also pushes his conservative, intolerant, political views on you through his quizzes.
He's a very like-him-or-hate-him kind of guy. I personally like his lectures, they're entertaining and pretty engaging. His tests can be tricky for sure but if you study the material in his lectures and especially on the weekly quizzes you'll do fine on the tests. I don't recommend buying the book, almost no test questions come from there.
I took this class online, the workload was light and pretty easy. He has lecture videos and reading and it is a bit all over the place. The exams weren't bad but some of the wording was really confusing.
He is hilarious and a great teacher. If you go to class and do a little studying this class will be easy to pass. Class is fun to go to even if you dont like Econ. The four tests make up the majority of the grade.
Looking at the other reviews, I guess he is a love him or hate him kind of guy. I took this class online, so it might be different in person. Not a huge workload but prepare to teach yourself the majority of the material. His lectures are spent on one question. TAs are the ones who help, I'm not really sure what he does besides posts discussions.
Tyler is probably the easiest ECON1500 class you can take. You don't need the textbook as long as you show up. His exams will only pull from the problem sets and quizzes anyway, so study those. What I love about Tyler is that you can tell he's passionate about this subject which makes his lecture-heavy classes are a lot more bearable.
As far as I can tell, he is a love him or hate him type teacher, but I love him. The tests and quizzes are relatively easy as long as you pay attention during the lectures, which isn't hard to do because Professor Bowles has a funny personality and will definitely make you laugh.
Amazing teacher with lots of real life examples. He is easy to follow and although his class was hard, I would say he is the best economics teacher at USU. He goes through questions and problems before the tests very helpful!
He talks fast and has lots of random a witty comments. Sometimes its hard to follow exactly what he's trying to teach but as long as you attend 90% and take notes of definitions you should be good. You have plenty of time to complete homework assignments and they make up a good part of your grade so you don't have to worry about acing every test.
Professor Bowles is funny but his class was kind of hard. He grades off of 4 tests and quizzes, and then a couple discussion questions. All were super easy if you went to class and payed attention.
He is a very weird guy, tries to give helpful examples but in reality they make no sense. He spends the whole class making jokes in order to boost his ego. Tests are not too bad, just go to class and pay attention to pass.
Dr. Bowles suffers from many of the near-inherent shortfalls of large classes: limited opportunities for student contribution, failure to return assignments, and the persistent use of abstractions that demand memorization of terms rather than understanding of fundamental principles. He does crack the occasional joke, and tests are predictable.
Great professor! Really funny and knows what he is talking about. He is unorganized though and isn't clear with some assignments.
His lectures are long and didn't seem to help me understand the material that well. I learned the most material from the SI instructor and ACDC Econ on YouTube. I started using the textbook at the end of the course and doing so helped me score higher on the final test. Did well overall, but need to do a little more effort to get desired grade.
I took ECN 1500 from Prof. Bowle's. Easy A if you attend lectures and pay attention. Before each exam a problem set and quiz are due, but he gives a day of review for each. He doesn't use canvas very well, but there aren't that many assignments so it doesn't really matter. Bowle's is a lot easier than other professors who teach ECN 1500.
Tyler is a great professor. I enjoyed the class and thought he did a great job of teaching an intro class.
Professor Bowles was awesome! My class was tons of fun and he interacted with the students in a really entertaining way. The workload isn't too heavy, and all of the assignments done are geared toward preparing you for the exams. He also dropped the lowest exam for my class. Overall a nice guy and a fun class!
Fantastic teacher with a lot of great experience in his field. Quite the Trump supporter with numbers and facts in regards to his economic decisions.
I didnt really know what to expect with Professor Bowles. I would not say he is a bad professor at all. It is very important that you thoroughly understand the material for exams. I totally flunked my midterm but ended up doing okay on my final which barely saved me. If I could do it again I would pay more attention to lectures!
I love going to his lectures. He writes on the board with us and makes his lectures very easy to understand. Interacts with the class, uses funny examples to help us remember concepts. HIGHLY recommend.
Tyler Bowles is a great ECN professor. He is hilarious and makes his lectures entertaining. One this though, it's sometimes a little hard to take notes.
If you go to the lectures you'll do fine and won't even have to open the textbook. The exams are just a study guide and quiz re-written (which we go over before the test so you basically get all the answers). Very little homework. SIs are available if you do miss. Lowest exam score gets dropped.
Bowles is a nice, personable guy that gives hard exams and has high expectations. This wasn't the easiest class but I learned a lot from him. I'll be taking his class again for ECON2010 but online this time, I look forward to it.
Bowles is a brilliant instructor. His lectures keep you awake and involved. He's loud, proud and hilarious, and his expectations are realistic and understandable. He'll give you credit for questions he failed to word correctly on tests, he will work with you, admit he's wrong, and he'll make you an active part of class. The workload is just right.
Best teacher ever! Keeps the class very engaged which is useful for knowledge retention. Very caring and understanding, Helpful in office hours, and builds his tests based off of his test reviews. Some questions are almost the same!
Best professor for an introductory course! Just go in, listen to his lectures, write down all he does on the white board and you will pass. He is so down to earth, funny, and teaches you till you understand!
Tyler actually cares whether you learn in his class instead of just lecturing and watching you fail like some math professors do. He provides excellent class notes with example problems to work through as a class during the lecture, and he provided lots of time in class to do homework with classmates and ask him questions.
Great professor who cares about his students.
Ive taken about 10 online classes at USU, and this was by far the worst one. The lectures are super long and not interesting or helpful. The textbook isnt very helpful either. Tyler doesnt prepare you for what is on the weekly quizzes. I worked hard on this class and got an A, but had to switch it to pass/fail.I do not recommend online from him.
The material is not bad, it's the way it's presented. Extremely unorganized and his lectures always left me feeling more confused than educated. I ended up teaching myself almost everything about Economics, which can be a very interesting subject. To me it seemed like Tyler teaches online because it's a lot less work, he doesn't seem to care.
He is so funny during lectures!! You really need to pay attention during lectures or you won't pass, so putting jokes in every once in a while spices up class. You can get away with not reading the material as long as you take good notes and study them. Grading criteria is very straightforward, and isn't a very harsh grader.
Professor Bowles cares about his students and knows a lot about Economics, although his lectures are very confusing and he talks kind of fast. Only grades are exams, quizzes, problem sets and a short discussion question: four of each overall. Difficult class but Bowles was a good teacher for it.
As a person, I love Tyler, but personally, I had a really hsrd time following him. I felt that he would sometimes try to make an analogy or something and it just wasnt working and a lot of the time I couldn't figure out how what he was saying related to the class. His train of thought was hard for me to keep up with and follow.
Funny and a good lecturer. Light work load and if you do it, you'll get the A. Drops one of four exam scores. He gives out the quiz and homework answers which he uses to make the exam, but it's not enough and you must study to get a good score on tests.
Amazing and wonderful professor. 10/10 would recommend, I learned so much in this class and the professor made it fun and entertaining while not too hard that it frustrated me. The professor is super funny and gives great lectures. One of the most respected professors at USU. Definitely take Econ from him and any other classes he teaches.
Tyler enjoys having fun in his class, which makes attending a large lecture hall much more enjoyable. He enjoys telling stories to explain different topics but he can get side tract at times. If you take notes and pay attention in class you will have no problem passing with a high grade.
He is an ok lecturer, but it is super clear what will be on the tests. He goes over the quizzes and problem sets in class and then uses the questions from them on the tests (with a few changes). Overall it was an easy class.
tbh I almost never went to lecture because I have taken calc before. I took all the CBEs on the last week possible and got a B. Don't do what I did
Fun guy
Not helpful when asking for help. Often too busy to reply.
He is really unorganized in my opinion. He gives you 4 different 20 question assignments, but doesn't grade the whole thing. Instead he just picks a few of the questions to grade. I did not like his class.
The class grade is mostly the 4 exams, but he drops the lowest exam which is nice. Lectures are entertaining. He makes it very clear what you need to know for the exams. The people who do bad just didnt bother to study. The exams ARE your grade, so study the things he says to and memorize everything he says to memorize (which isnt too much).
I think his class should come with a warning, "I push conservative ideas on you, through the guise of economics." Every discussion uses right-wing articles with no counterpoint to the conservative POV. Also, he is unorganized, and any issues with his canvas setup are not his fault. If you have a different option take it, he isn't the best prof.
Tyler Bowles is one of the least helpful teachers I have ever had. I had questions I needed help with and he never responded until it was past the due date of the assignments or quizzes. He incorrectly graded assignments that I had to ask him to fix HIS mistakes. His assignments he writes are full of typos. Overall irresponsible and unhelpful.
I have heard from other students that if you take this class in the class room it is manageable. I took it online and it was by far the hardest online class that I have ever taken. He makes you buy the book and says good luck. He is very tough when it comes to grading, a bad communicator, and his tests are ridiculous. Dont take him online.
Not easy to communicate with. Doesnt care about students mental health.
Professor Bowles is great. His lectures are funny and very informative. He is great at explaining concepts. As long as you put in some effort you will get a good grade. Hes is good at answering any questions that you have, and his TA is also very helpful if you reach out for assistance.
I took this class online. Professor Bowles, in my opinion was hard to understand in his lectures. It was difficult to get feedback on questions that were missed on quizzes or problem sets. He is unorganized and a poor communicator. The best interest of his students isn't a priority, appears he is going through the motions.
One of the worst professors I've ever had. I took his online class and it was near impossible to understand what he is talking about in his lectures. He gets his words mixed and his examples are difficult to follow. I usually get A's and B's in my classes and this class I did awful. Don't take this class online from Tyler.
One of my harder classes but I always looked forward to it. Gave interesting lectures that engaged students and made clear the content we would need to know for exams. No pointless homework and lowest exam score dropped. You need to pay attention and study of course but no more than any other course. Prof is funny and enthusiastic about subject.
Very clear and easy to understand.
Prof Bowles is funny, eccentric, and a good teacher. However, he cancels class a lot, has nearly all of your grade based on three big tests, and usually doesnt prep you well for the tests. Most people did not do well. Hes slow to respond and gets confused a lot, but overall is a great teacher that keeps the lectures and material interesting.
Professor Bowles is a nice and fun guy. Recorded lectures get boring and can be difficult to follow. The SI's are where I actually learned the material. The class has 4 exams, 4 quizzes, and 4 problem sets (written response pages). The exams are rewritten from the quiz and problem set and the answers to both are given out during class and SI.
Watch the lectures and pay close attention and you'll be fine.
This is my second class with Tyler. I love his classes because they are super straightforward. You read the chapter, watch the lecture, take the quiz. He makes sure to talk about the material that will be on the quiz. You can get away with not reading the textbook, but it helps. Overall a really good guy who is great at teaching
Tyler pretty much just grades on quizzes and exams. His lectures are good and easy to follow, and he's very clear about what will be on the test. He gives in-depth reviews on the quizzes and practice problems for each exam. As long as you pay attention to his lectures and watch his reviews, you'll do fine in the class.
Tyler Bowles teaches online, but does not explain how to work the "Connect" website. His lectures are long and boring. He gets distracted easily and isn't quick to respond. Your grade is based off of three major tests. These tests are extremely difficult and most students don't do well. He picks and chooses what to grade. I would not recommend.
Prof. Bowles is a good guy. He likes to mention how long he has taught Economics (30 years) but he has forgotten somewhat what it is like to learn this material for the 1st time. I relied a lot on his TA Jonas's S.I. sessions. >GO TO S.I. SESSIONS< I also relied heavily on Kahn Academy (online resource) for much needed clarification on everything.
Tyler Bowles had really boring lectures and doesnt prepare you for tests what so ever. He is slow to respond and doesnt give clear answers when responding he isnt much help either. I would not recommend taking this class if you can help it.
Most unenjoyable thing I've ever had to endure. I was not prepped at all for the tests and he has material on the quizzes/exams that he never covered. The lectures are long and boring. The textbook reading sucks. He never explained how to use the connect website so I didn't know how to find the lectures and he doesn't even respond well to messages
He's a funny guy but very ADD and all over the place. The textbook is super confusing and the lectures only make it worse. You only do like 3 assignments but then the tests are 60 questions long and he never prepares you for them. The test questions are always worded weird. I struggled really bad in this class and I don't think I learned anything
I thought Tyler was good at keeping his lectures and material simple and easy to understand for the tests. This class consisted of 4 units with about 3-4 open book quizzes per unit and a problem set with written answers for each unit. Each test covers 2 units. Just study the quizzes after you take them because the test is basical the same questions
This is the 2nd class I've taken from Tyler. His classes are straightforward and predictable. Watch the lecture then take the quiz. Then at the end of the unit, you do writte response questions. He always makes sure he has covered all the material that will be on the quiz during the lecture. I never read the textbook. Good teacher, clear grading.
Dr. Bowles is an awesome professor. His online curriculum is pretty straightforward. Read the chapter before lectures and get a good understanding of some concepts. Pay attention to his lectures because 9.5/10 he gives you the answers to the quiz in order for the most part. Use the SI every week to further clarify. Exam Quiz questions(inverse).
Second time having Dr. Bowles. Straightforward curriculum as in ECON1500. Read the book, listen to the lectures for quiz answers, easy discussions and problem sets require thought and little work. He keeps it all relatable and simplifies all concepts. Exams inverse or variation of quiz/problem set questions. Highly recommend this class.
Smart economist but a poor communicator. For an intro class, he seems to have no concept of how to introduce to sub to students. Quizzes are very heavy and lectures are unorganized and worded strange. Same with quiz questions. Lectures appear adlibbed, no lectures to help. Be prepared to spend a lot of extra time contacting TA's for clarification.
Like others said, he's funny, but that's about it. Not the best teacher. This is an intro class and he assumes we have background knowledge already. Rambles on in lectures and doesn't really explain things. I learned more from the TA. Quiz questions are worded weird. Nice guy, not the greatest teacher.
Dr. Bowles is a good professor, but I feel that the class is more difficult than a GEN-ED should be. There's a lot of reading and the lectures are quite long, but if you take good notes then the quizzes (open note) should be easy. Study the quizzes to prepare for the exams and watch the SI sessions with the TAs to review material and you'll do well
Bowles is fantastic! His lectures are hilarious and he covers the material very well. Quizzes are open note and on quizlet. Test questions are just the quizzes worded slightly different. Study those and even a monkey could get an A. You'll learn the material well and get an A. Easy easy online class, one lecture a week.
I really enjoyed Professor Bowles's course. He is very funny and engaging. If you study the quizzes and problem sets he gives you you will do well on the tests. The tests are part multiple choice and part free response.
As said before, if you can learn by listening, this course is perfect! He is an awesome guy, but its easy to get lost in his stories. If you attend class, study the quizzes, problem sets, and attend your student advisor sessions, youll be set. Dont be afraid to ask for more clarification on subjects. Bad not getting to review past tests.
Absolutely whatever you do DO NOT TAKE FROM PROFESSOR BOWELS. This man is the worst professor/teacher I have ever had in my life. Youre whole grade is based solely on the 4 tests you take. His class is boring, EXTREMELY CONFUSING, and quite literally hell. He sucks at teaching, rambles, and half of the material on tests is not taught in class.
Relatively easy class, don't need the book, quizzes on Quizlet & exams are very similar to the quizzes, study those & you're golden. Easy discussions but pointless problem sets each unit. Dont love the professor, he's really not that great at lecturing, almost makes some material more confusing then it needs to be. Easy enough
If you don't want to drive yourself completely insane do not take Econ 1500 from Tyler Bowels. This man does not know how to teach properly. I've done better watching videos of other people explaining economics than learning from Bowels. You're practically only graded off of how well you do on tests so good luck.
TA was difficult to work with for my semester and all questions go through them first. Tyler is fine, don't love his lecture style but quizzes are Quizlet and exam questions are very similar to quizzes. Problem sets are a waste of time, just do them but really no need to spend time studying them. Discussions are free points. Don't need the book.
Easy class if you go to lectures (attendance is very highly encouraged). He's very generous with giving answers to quizzes/problem sets, which heavily relate to tests. Textbook isn't helpful. I didn't jive with his flavor of humor and was often bored in class. Canvas setup is a nightmare. Biggest positive is coverage of current economic events.
Tyler's class is super straightforward and easy to work with, but he gives a lot of miscellaneous information and it is not always easy to know what to study. Exams are basically comprised of quiz questions, but you need to understand the concepts in the quiz questions, as he sometimes reverses the problem or changes the wording.
Lectures are long and hard to follow, examples are not always clear and its easy to get lost on how he intends to connect things. He will go from talking very slow then fast so it can be tedious, and he will go quiet then loud, so beware with headphones. The quizzes are open book and most on quizlet. Study quizzes for the tests.
Professor Bowles seemed like he knew his stuff throughout all the lectures he posted. The class is pretty straight forward with 14 lectures, 14 quizzes, 4 problem sets, and 4 discussions. Plus the midterm and final exam. I will say the lectures can be longer than needed since professor Bowles can ramble about something random for a bit.
I would recommend this class. His lectures are easy to follow, and he is more than willing to answer questions along the way. Only graded on a few things but has two days of review before the test, which is really helpful.
He's condescending. I talked to him & he interrupted me THREE times & I never got to ask my question. The lectures are non-linear and are hard to follow. Quizzes ask trivial questions unrelated to course concepts. I'm a 4.0 student and I withdrew from this class, not because I couldn't pass, but because I couldn't bear it any longer.
Generally, Economics can be a difficult subject and the teacher really matters. He offers no extensions or extra credit because he says that is would be "discriminatory". I had to learn everything from the book. He has lectures but doesn't explain things well. His lectures are on a digital whiteboard...and uses different words than the tests.
Lectures are UNORGANIZED and DIFFICULT to follow, like his Canvas. Goes on tangents about a random person/event. You must read the syllabus well before taking this class. There is NO extra credit offered and NO extensions. Extremely test heavy class with a very low amount of work turned in. Learn from the textbook, or fail. C is 65%. For a reason..
Bowles has taught a long time and has seemed to have forgotten to teach core parts of the class. His lectures often involve going on random tangents about random businesses or celebrities and you will learn to rely on the textbook. Attendance not required, probably due to the uselessness of his teaching. Teach yourself or avoid this professor.
I took this online which was my mistake. He does his best to make the online lectures entertaining but it can be hard to follow. If you don't read the textbook weekly don't expect to get an A. Exams are tough but he supplies resources to be well prepared.
Know that the lectures have no notes, visuals, powerpoints, etc. -- it's just Bowles talking for over an hour, which was hard for me to follow. He goes off on so many irrelevant tangents that he seems to pass right over the actual course material. The overall grade is based almost entirely on exams, so good luck.
Overworked for an entry level class. USU says 2 hours of class, and 3 hours per credit on homework. It took me about 15 hours per week, while cutting corners. He likes to pontificate. Has TA's grade. Has you answer 20 questions, each with many sub-questions (So between 50-70) but only grades you for 5, on top of 4-5 quizzes per module.
Even though I totally bombed this class, Tyler Bowles isn't that bad. His lectures are interesting, but they could be about half as long to teach the core concepts of the class. The issue is, he grades you on how well you remember the stories he tells in the lectures too. Also, there are like 4 exams in this class. DO NOT MISS A SINGLE ONE!
The lectures are unstructured and hard to follow - better to rely on the textbook. Exams are tough, but with resources like ChatGPT and Unstuck AI, you can prepare well. Overall, a challenging class, but manageable if you put in the work.
Tyler Bowles is a better teacher than people give him credit for. Go to class and take good notes. There are 4 units each with an easy discussion post, quiz, problem set and exam. If you understand the problem set and quiz you'll do fine on the exams. He drops your lowest exam score as well. Hilarious guy and lectures are very entertaining.
There's 2 exams in this class and it's VERY hard to do well on them, and they make up the majority of the grade. Hard to get in contact with Tyler. Didn't really learn anything, I felt like I was just being overwhelmed with information instead of learning.
Tyler Bowles is a funny guy, and a better teacher than many of these reviews give him credit for. Class structure is pretty straightforward, 4 units, each with a discussion question, problem set, and quiz. Just do the work, show up to class, ask questions, and you'll be totally fine. Hell, you might even like it.
Tyler was a good professor, just wish we didn't have outdated lectures (almost 2 yrs old) for a class like this. lots of reading, weekly quizzes, and lectures. could have done better but was super bored of the class. he isn't very lenient for late work so make sure you actually turn things in.
Prof Bowles was informative, but not a good course. He is outdated and your midterm and final can tank your grade. He was fine, I could tell he was knowledgable, but his lectures were long, he was kind of messy, lots of his language and real word knowledge was outdated. study incredibly hard for the tests, even if you know the content.
I wouldn't recommend anyone taking a class from this professor. He rants about random topics, never stays on track, forgets to finish problems that we are going through. Hard to get into contact with. The test questions are worded odd, so you can easily miss them on the test. most boring class and i didn't learn a thing.
Bowles seems like a nice guy, but his lectures are SO boring. No PP, just him and a digital whiteboard where he just writes random stuff, and its barely legible. Lectures are not structured at all; he just kinda talks about topics and uses random examples that you might need to remember. He helps with problem sets, but exams can tank your grade.
Long lectures and not easy to follow, and horrible handwriting,
Bro grades on "what does T Bowles think?" instead of actually teaching economics. He will rant about cows and BYUI more than he will teach anything. If you can take it with another professor do that. He is obsessed with markets and hates Taylor Swift and basically talked about those two things 85% of the time. Luckily, he drops worst test score.
He's a pretty nice and funny guy. But that's really it. He's hard to follow in his lectures and his handwriting is some of the worst I've ever seen (and nothing is digital, all he does is write on the whiteboard). Some of the quiz questions are literally on his own opinions rather than the material taught in class. Not the worst ever, but not good.
His clear political bias tarnishes much of what he teaches. Constant strawmanning of alternative views, borderline unhinged takes on politicians, and voting blocks he doesn't personally like were common in his course. A good professor ought not to let his personal bias sour his instruction, and unfortunately, I can't say that about him.
Like many others have said he rants constantly goes off topic. Quizzes you can't retake tests are 53% of your grade problem sets are very long and he pushes right-wing ideology using right-wing sources and the things he says and the discussions we do come off as xenophobic and honestly racist. He seems to think immigrants are harming our economy.
I personally would never take this class from him if you don't have to. Lectures are boring and it feels like he never gets to the point. There's 4 exams in the testing center worth 64% of your grade, and there are barley any assignments so if you bomb a test, you're cooked. He will drop your lowest score out of the 4 though. At least he's funny...
Tyler Bowles is very funny and is a gret teacher. His lectures feel very authentic and not like hes trying to hard which is good. But YOU need to read the textbook for this class or you will not make it. Very lecture heavy , and oral lectures, no powerpoints. It can be very hard to stay interested or awake. This class is very hard.
Like a lot of people have mentioned, this professor rants a lot in his lectures. I feel like his lectures could be cut in half as cars time goes if he were to stay on to
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Textbook Required
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