3.0
Quality3.8
Difficulty54%
Would Retake84
Reviews54%
Would Retake
84
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
84 total ratings5
18
4
17
3
16
2
16
1
17
What Students Say
“Comes across as very intimidating the first few lectures but a great professor who WANTS YOU TO DO WELL & makes himself available to students”
BSAD040 - 5.0 rating“He is very articulate and organized”
BIZAD040A - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
32%
Textbook Required
41%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.11 avg changeRatings by Course
BSAD60
5.0
(1)BIZAD040A
5.0
(2)BSAS040
4.0
(1)BUS40
4.0
(1)BSAD2792
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BSAD40D
5.0
BSAD040B
5.0
BSAD030
5.0
BSAD2792
5.0
BASAD040
4.3
Reviews (83)
Really smart, can be kinda funny, but can easily be a hard-ass.
Gets VERY pissed when you are doing something not class-related on your laptop (AIM, email, games). Like angrily tell you to leave pissed. It can be awkward. But he tolerates hippies sleeping in the front row pretty well. Go figure.
I worked my butt off in this class and only got a B....very tough tests (hr and 1/2 of straight essay writing)...not an interesting guy and is so busy out of school he never helps much...didn;t like him
not good
No Comments
If you love to suck up and work arbitrarily hard on every assignment, take his class. His lectures are kinda confusing and he has so many different assignments due at once it's hard to keep track. Not a good class for a slacker.
Weird accent, listen to when he says day and cookie, he puts extra kick in those words. He is tough and there were a lot if webct quizzes but just use your book/notes for those but the exams are challenging. You can bring up his accent and what not with other kids in his classes later on and have a good time laughing.
Hard class, sometimes interesting, and the really annoying thing is when he responds to your email, he forwards it to everyone. I know we al got Q, but we want privacy too!!!
Catsy knew what he was talking about, but i just couldn't take his accent anymore...
He definitely knew what he was talking about and he had a lot of experience. He is a little intimidating, but overall I learned A LOT from him and now I know how to make a wee page and use excel proficiently. Just make sure you do all the work he assigns. Tests can be hard
No Comments
He is a very intellegent teacher with a lot of knowledge about business and its parts. He demands a lot from students in the form of many WebCTs, other HW, and quizzes. Pop quizzes are hard, but just wait for his tests. His tests are very hard (9 on 1-10) and require more time than is alloted for class. But he curves generously. BOCKS!!
Dr. Cats-Baril is probably one of the smartest people I've ever met, but this class was rediculously hard to do well in. He oes not accept late work, and tests are about twice as long as the time alotted. Active participation and WebCT are an easy way to boost grade if you make the effort. Excuses for work, even if legitamite, are rarely accepted.
CB is the man. Take his classes if you want to learn from a seriously smart guy and are willing to put some effort in. He hates slackers but loves students who make a genuine effort to learn.
i like this teacher
i can tell that hes a smart guy but he is also cold, intimidating and unapproachable. he flirts with the girls in the class all the time. his tests are hard and he often assigns a lot of add-on work via e-mail which is a pain. his accent is weird, but lectures can sometimes be interesting.
Doesnt respond to emails. very smart but not helpful what so ever. your on your OWN! cant wait to finish this semester
Prof Cats-Baril is very smart, but he is not clear and expects a lot from students. At times it is boarder line unfair. He is not concerned about students, and you will not get e-mails back from him. Over all he is a smart guy, but he is intimidating and a bad teacher, I have worked extremely hard for this class and barely got a C.
CB is extremely smart. Great at getting his points across. You actually learn something. However his tests are extremely short of time. He NEVER responds to emails. The class avg. prolly D+.
I dreaded every class.He's probably a real smart guy but he couldn't care less about teaching. You never use the txtbook that you spent $140 on and all his test questions so from his head so they're impossible to study for. The course for all sections is a lot of work but his is one where you can work your butt off but you'll get a C
Expectations are VERY vague, you kind of just have to guess. Bought a $100+ textbook that we never used. DOESN'T RESPOND TO EMAILS. If you have a problem he seems to avoid dealing with it like the plague. Also, expected us to teach ourselves excel. Very smart guy, but could offer more guidance.
DONT DO IT! Worked my butt off and pulled a C. dont spend $140 on the book, you dont use it once. Have fun teaching YOURSELF excel, a huge part of the course. STAY AWAY!
AVOID IF POSSIBLE! The man demonstrates all the qualities that you DON'T want to have in the business world. He DOESNT respond to individual email, his tests are RIDICULOUS(most of the class fails), he is ALWAYS late in giving back work, and he often grades incorrectly. Oh, and you will be tested on excel, but not actually be taught it!
doesn't respond to emails, don't find out your grade until the end. doesn't make changes to grade if he made a mistake. not very helpful
Great teacher. Lots of real world experience. Breaks you into the business school quick. If you can't handle his class you probably shouldn't be in the business school. Really competitive and intriguing. Not so great at helping you, but if you pay attention you won't need help. I paid attention, somewhat studied and did all the hw, got an A-.
Great teacher. He won't hold your hand and spoon-feed you a good grade, he makes your work for it. Perfect professor for breaking you into college.
challenging
This man is incredibly interesting. He has the ability to keep an entire room quiet for the entire class just by being there. His class is demanding. Think it over before you make the decision. If business isn't really your thing, take this class with Chittenden if you must. Without a doubt, a very frustrating class.
Intimidating and demanding but a good guy. Notes can be downloaded, cheat sheets allowed for tests. Chittenden guest lectures and teaches the excel really well. Learned a lot, and a good introduction to the way college courses work. Responded to my emails.
I don't know why people write such negative things about him. He is a great professor and is always available as long as you put a genuine effort. I worked hard for my A- and I don't hate him for it.
Although the class is pretty tough, Professor Cats-Baril explains the material really well. He has an elegant, business-like lecture style that is easy to follow. I messed up on one of the assignments, but because I participated a lot, I still got an A. I recommend Professor Cats-Baril without hesitation.
My fav professor at UVM!
Catsy is a funny guy. He expects a lot from students because he actually cares about us learning the material. I don't agree with other comments saying that he is intimidating... he has high expectations yet that doesn't make him a bad unfair instructor. I highly recommend him.
Loves to write comments about himself but one lecture with him and everyone can tell he is full of himself and students are not among his priorities.
Cats-Baril has no sense of organization or structure. Ignores emails and later claims he didn't receive them (yeah, right). On his bad days, he is purposefully brash. The course was a big disappointment.
Never went over textbooks, never demonstrated how to do the exams in class, and instead gave his personal rant during each class, and never referred to the textbook
I was nervous when I got him, but he's a pretty good teacher and you learn a lot about business. His tests and quizzes are a lot of writing but really not that tough and you get cheat sheets. Curves grades all the time too. If you want to actually learn about business take his class, if you wanna learn excel (which you really dont) take Chittenden.
Pretty terrible teacher, doesn't really add anything not in the coursepack or explain anything. Gives assignments, but waits until the week before finals to give feedback on them so you never get a chance to fix your approach. A stickler for format over content.
Hard to learn with such an aggressive professor
This professor is tough. He expects a lot from his students and doesn't take pity on those who don't try. Despite being aggressive in class, he's friendly and is willing to help you after class if you go to him. His exams are hard but not impossible so STUDY FOR THEM and take advantage of the TAs. Do NOT mess around online during class!!
Very good professor, but also very tough. Show up to class everyday, and be prepared to learn. The class is not even slightly easy, but you will learn a lot. At first I hated the class, but by the end of the semester it ended up being one of my favorites. HIGHLY recommend him!
Not clear at all in what he's saying. Oftentimes goes on tangents and repeats himself constantly. Never responds to emails. With this said BSAD 345 was not that bad since we had very little graded content. Participate!
Had him explain things to me multiple times, and he was still never clear. His exams are much much harder than anything he discusses in class. Very long exams as well.
Extremely difficult. His slides are not helpful at all. I had him explain things multiple times to me and I still didn't understand the stuff. His exams are much harder than anything he goes over. I learn better when the slides are more thorough, and he slides are completely useless in that sense.
I had great time in class
Really tough grader but is extremely interesting and helpful to business students.
TAKE BSAD40 WITH CB! Comes across as very intimidating the first few lectures but a great professor who WANTS YOU TO DO WELL & makes himself available to students. The 2 exams are easy(he lets you use a two-sided cheat sheet) and says everything you need to know in class so PAY ATTENTION and take good notes. There is a group project -- so no final!
Hated the class at first, but every time I went, I started liking him more and more. Although he is a hard grader, he cares about his students and wants everyone to do well.
He is very articulate and organized. He is very serious and this is not an easy class to pass, only for people that are really committed to the end goal.
Exams had a very low average score, but the project was fun
We don't really learn anything in this class. Prof CB is a smart and respected man, but the class is kind of pointless and he is a little harsh when it comes to presentations.
Professor Cats-Baril is an absolute gem of a professor. Every lecture is interesting and I feel like I walk out of class more knowledgeable everyday.
William is a smart, but his class is unbearably boring. Most of the time he rambles about the business sector and then uses the last like 10 minutes of class to talk about stuff for the exams, and STILL goes over the class time. His exams are TOUGH. I will tell you that you will NEVER be fully prepped for the exams. Bad feedback. Great projects!
My favorite UVM business professor. CB is incredibly caring about his students as well as what he's teaching. So smart and charismatic and it shows. Group project was fun and interesting but the exams were very hard. Be prepared to study a LOT for the exams to get a good grade in this class
Exams are hard. Projects are easy.
If this class isn't mandatory for you, don't take it. 90% of your grade is based on 1 exam and 1 group project, with participation making up the other 10%. The material is incredibly boring, and Cats-Baril is by far the worst professor I've had in the business school. Also, don't get caught on your phone or he'll stop class to make fun of you.
He's a cool guy. His lectures are interesting and very focused on the current stock market. You work with one group the whole year and have to write a good amount of long papers. His tests are really hard so make sure you study. Overall he's really interesting and well respected, would definitely take him again
WOW. What an intelligent professor. Most are genius in the Grossman School of Business but this professor has more knowledge than YOU ever will. To anyone who gave a bad review, you are probably dumb as bricks and failed out of UVM. Hoe is CCV going?
He is very smart and passionate about the subject he teaches. The class isn't easy, but it is worth it, and learning the material is beneficial for the real world. Great professor!
Cats-Baril was an awesome professor. He is an amazing business professional and well respected on campus. He is known for giving out tough exams and I can vouch for that. Group projects are a huge part of your grade. Make sure you hold your own weight. Go to class and participate because he notices those who skip out.
This dude is hands down the biggest joke of a teacher I have ever had. He is too lazy to do class during a normal time and instead finds a two hour time slot once a week that works for him. He doesn't teach you any concepts and assigns enormous homework sets. Worst teacher I've ever seen.
Definitely would not recommend him as a teacher. He is never clear about assignments, and hardly teaches you any concepts, yet expects you to complete huge homework sets. Hands down the worst teacher I've ever had.
Worst and least caring professor Ive ever had. Explains things one way and refuses to restate in a different way. Makes students feel bad for asking questions. Test material is not consistent with course material
Im convinced he works a job outside of being a professor. Theres no way he himself spends more than 2 hours a week on his course or students. A prime example of what differentiates a teacher from a professor.
Don't buy the textbook, not necessary at all! Watch lectures/read PPT's, do the work, you'll be fine. Graded by the ongoing semester project reports, easy HW, and quizzes/exams with some tricky wording. CB is a good guy but has a hard time understanding students' needs, the TA carried us this sem. Not very specific on expectations/rubrics, so ask!
I was worried about this class after reading the reviews but I love Professor Cats-Baril's lectures. He enjoys participation but it is not necessary to do well. The class is pretty boring if you have no interest in finance, but he makes it relevant to current events so it is pretty interesting!
Absolutely loved him he is a legend
Professor is very knowledgeable and smart but can be very difficult and expects a lot from students, especially on exams.
Cats-Baril is a exceptional lecturer who makes an effort to open his students up to the ideas he discusses in class. Though we had disagreements over the makeup of his tests, he still receives a great rating because I enjoyed his teaching style. I was disappointed however that we did not cover The Wolf of Wall Street and American Psycho in class.
Overall, Cats-Baril is a great professor and makes the content for this class really interesting. He can talk for a while but it's all relevant and interesting to hear. Lots of group papers which can be annoying if you have weak teammates. Tests were not too bad. Lots of easy math.
willy cat's lecture style is not interesting nor relevant to the class. he assigns projects without rubrics but has very specific expectations. you don't need the book, just do a lot of research into the stock project and it is not that hard. i did like his scarf.
The lectures were not too bad, and not mandatory (could find most information on slides that were uploaded). The tests have a heavy percentage in this class, so should attend to understand the content. Lots of TA's to help and were useful. TONS of group work, so be prepared. Don't need to buy/repurchase textbook!!!
Very average class and professor. You work in the same group on a semester-long project and there are two huge tests. I would recommend showing up to class and review sessions for all aspects of the class. His lectures were usually him talking at us. William himself is quite smart and I didn't mind him, but it was clear that he didn't care much.
Professor Cats-Baril was outstanding in every aspect of teaching our large lecture class. If you do not enjoy Business Enterprise 2 with Professor Cats-Baril, you should consider switching out of business.
More boring lecture you will ever sit through in your life.
Such a great teacher
He talks the entire time and he is often just rambling. There are no slides for class so it's truly impossible to follow along. If anyone has seen How I Met Your Mother, he tends to give the same vibe as Ted when he was teaching the wrong class: pretends to be inspiring, saying too much & not enough, I feel like I'm being taught the wrong thing...
Seemed to care very little during class time and the lectures. Multiple times during the year he would criticize people for using the provided templates that he gave. Also, there wouldn't be a rubric posted until afterwards once your grade has already came out.
He was just sorta mid
Prof. Cats-Baril teaches this class like you are a grad school student, but it's a freshman class. There are only two exams, both strictly proctored by TAs and extremely hard. Then, the only other grades you get are a semester long stock project with a randomly assigned group. If you don't get a good group you're screwed. Lectures extremely boring.
He seems like a chill guy, like I've talked to him one-on-one, and he was nice, but I was not interested in his class at all. He rambles on and on in class, and I'm pretty sure that he didn't grade a single assignment. It was all done by TAs who seemed like they were just handing out grades.
Lectures were very boring, was rude and difficult towards me when I asked to take the exam later since I was in the hospital. Gave me incorrect information multiple times and told me I "need to take responsibility for my own actions" for missing an exam due to severe illness. Very tough grader and exams were a majority if not all our grade was on
Great prof - knowledgable in his field about process improvement and excited to share it with others. He rambles on about his personal experiences or real life examples during lectures but they're interesting and usually follow along with the course. WARNING: TOUGH GRADER. Wants exact correct wording and graphs, however the exams are open note!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
32%
Textbook Required
41%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.11 avg changeRatings by Course
BSAD60
5.0
(1)BIZAD040A
5.0
(2)BSAS040
4.0
(1)BUS40
4.0
(1)BSAD2792
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BSAD40D
5.0
BSAD040B
5.0
BSAD030
5.0
BSAD2792
5.0
BASAD040
4.3