1.7
Quality3.0
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake129
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
129
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
129 total ratings5
10
4
2
3
14
2
37
1
66
What Students Say
“He just reads it almost verbatim in mass lecture anyway”
COM101 - 1.0 rating“Davidson is nice and very helpfully-great class”
COM101 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
54963
5.0
(1)COM252
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5.0
(1)C0M271
4.0
(1)COMM273
2.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
101273
5.0
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5.0
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5.0
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5.0
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Reviews (128)
Don't buy the text for this class,if you can find someone that will let you photocopy the forms out of the back of the book.He just reads it almost verbatim in mass lecture anyway.It's a messy jumble of other peoples ideas passed off as his own.
No Comments
Okay, I don't know what the big deal about this class is. Everyone tells you not to buy the book, but it is included in your tuition, so there is no way that you are not going to buy it. Dr. Davidson is nice and very helpfully-great class.
This class is a waste of time for non-comm majors, but everyone is required to take it. He is really "taken" with himself. I had to buy the book he claims is necessary for the class and is updated every year. It just makes him $, & is full of ol
terrible
hard, but you learn a lot. Study a lot!
What a self righteous jerk. You must buy my book, its costs tons. Its not in your tuition. O jee, let me have more money. How pompous can we be.
No Comments
As pompus as any human on earth, and rich as hell from his "non-royalty" book. DON'T BUY THE BOOK! Get an old one from somebody; the info stays the same, the speeches change (woo-hoo....)
the book is not included in tuition...you have to purchase a book that you'll never use again...and come on, he is a communications teacher and he is soooo boring...his voice never varies and he always put me to sleep...a man who is very full of himself
Greediest teacher ever. Edits a new version of his book just about every year that is full of mindless dribble to make it more fat and expensive. 3/4 of this book could be posted online and it would save 1000's of pages of paper. Poorly edited as well
The most useless class I have ever taken. This man has issues and really should be brought up on extorting from poor college students. The book is as useless as this guy.
No Comments
Did not establish clear guidlines in his test. Required to recall minor insignificant facts in his tests.
No Comments
Hmm how can I say this... while his assistants teach for him, he still manages to jack every student in the mouth- the book is a huge ripoff- you are buying a powerpoint printout and bad poetry, that and the lectures do nothing to prep you for a your exam
No Comments
No Comments
The book is a ripoff, he does little to really teach, but the instructors are some of the best.
He is a rip off however he has awesome teaching assistants that make the class worth while!
why he is even a professor is a mystery
I hope he reads this and realizes just how much the students dislike him. He reads the poetry incorrectly, the presentations are awful, and the book is a complete waste of appox. $70! For future students...please just let them take their own notes.
spends FAR too much time talking about himself.. his website reads "william davidson: the best in creativity and expression." PLEASE. writes crappy poetry.
Horrible! All he does is show endless Powerpoints and leaves all the work to his assitants! He's an arrogant (without good reason) guy who likes to rip off the students every year with his piece o' crap book! And he's required! Oh, cruel fate!
Online class was great. Selections of texts was great, too. Learned a great deal.... a little to easy on grading.
This class is so not what everyone makes it out to be. Yes, you have to buy a book. Think of it this way: at other universities, people buy all their own books! Count yourself luck! As a grad student, this class really helped me with public speaking.
Seriously... we have a midterm... and he REFUSES TO ALLOW us to have a study guide. ON A MID TERM. And the test is filled with obscure references that you would NEVER expect on a test. I mean, I'm a really good student, and I still did crappy. Guess the average students score on that midterm? 22/50
The Midterm was rediculously hard. He is stuck on himself a little too much. Very hard to sit through a 50 min. lecture with him.
Look this guy is a Comm professor, and really he barely ever spoke for the class. But, this was a good thing because he had issues with speaking anyway.
This guy is proof that you don't have to be a good teacher or even smart to get a PhD.(all you have to do is work hard). I wonder if he ever heard of "setting the example", because the guy can't even speak himself.
Comm 101 is a great class...very useful. The problem is, Dr. Davidson gets credit for teaching this course, but the instructors are the only teachers. He shouldn't even be recognized. He is very bland, and doesn't related to students. Good luck on that midterm! Study hard, stay awake.
Blah Blah Blah. This man is not a teacher. His Educational Assistants do the real teaching. Mass Lecture is the biggest waste of time. I hate William Davidson! He should get his teaching liscence revoked!
The worst teacher on the planet. He doesn't even teach the classes. All he does is slap together some generic book with last years speeches in it and makes the students pay $50 (might be more) for it! He has found the loophole in the system and is cashing out on other peoples work.
Overcharges student for a required text book that he writes.
Yeah the book is expensive, but did you guys know that the student government is to blame for that? Davidson makes no money on it at all, it used to be available as a $35 class fee but government said it was unfair since it is a required course. Now we all have to dish out more cash. Thanks.
It doesn't even pay to study for the ridiculous midterm. I studied what I was told would be on the test, and it was for nothing. He doesn't teach the class. Although, one time he read this poem that had something in it about birds crapping on grandma's couch. My TA, however, was a great teacher.
How can a man who doesn't speak well in public expect to teach us how to speak in public. He's boring and terrible. The only good part of this class is if you have a good TA.
He never has enough time for his regular students. Loves teachers pets!!
he doesn't really have his own ideas. likes to quote other people and use their work. he has a text book that he makes every student buy for $80 that has nothing in it but quotes and references to other authors.
No Comments
William Davidson actually gets paid? He has no original ideas when he's ACTUALLY teaching, most times he just lets his TAs teach. Most of the TAs are really good (esp. Carolyn Campbell) so the discussion classes are fun but the mass lectures REALLY suck -- especially if Davidson decides to get off his ass and speak that day. HIS QUIZZES are JOKES and his EXAMS are the biggest piles of**** ever. His $50 book is a joke too! Too bad WD's**** class is required for ALL SP students! Davidson can kiss my ass!
The ONLY thing the lectures are good for are naps.....but that's 'bout it. 'n' it's not even like it's a GOOD nap...but it's still sleep, so whatever. This dude sucks at lecturing....how can someone who can't speak, lecture to a Comm class?? I don't get it.
B-O-R-I-N-G
worst professor ever, charges evryone 80 bucks for a stupid book hr rewrote
At Mass lectures he doesn't even talk much the assistants do and he gives quiz questions at the end which can be very hard because he picks the smallest detail to ask. I think the TA's are better than him! Very boring lectures!!
Really boring.
he's an arrogent **** who is in the job for the money
He is a souless humanoid.
worst prof I've ever had, didnt even teach most of the classes, quizzes were really hard, test very hard (uses bell shaped curve), since its a class everyone has to take it should be a lot easier. NOT FAIR AT ALL.
Great class, horrible professor- the assistants definitely get all of the credit for this class, as they teach 95% of it. He's quite arrogant and really doesn't teach all that much, just talks about pointless things when he is actually lecturing instead of one of his assistants. Tests are hard, but your grade will be fine if you do OK on speeches
Well, by what everybody else said, I'm guessing it's maybe good that I've never met him... and I'm 6 weeks into the course. And the grading sucks, which I talked to my TA and she said that's how WD wants them to grade.
No Comments
Awful. Snobby. Horrid. Avoid at all costs. Worst professor ever had.
This class is required for everyone. For that, Linda Bunnell owes her entire student body at UWSP an apology. Bill Davidson is horrid. Carolyn Campbell was that class' only saving grace! Huzzah for the T.As!
He seemed very arrogant..and makes us poor college students buy his $45 book and then changes it every year so we can't borrow a friend's
Pompous jerk. If you want a good laugh go to his homepage and check out his "poetry", it's hilarious.
sucks balls
Lectures are horrible and required. If you get a good TA, discussions aren't bad. The midterm is impossible but has a huge curve. You have to buy the book written by Davidson for like $45 and it's full of information you'll never usea again.
Mid-term test was pointless. He tests you more on if you read his aweful book than if you actually learned from the lectures or from what you read. It is a required class for graduation; I am sorry for those of you who still have to take this class!!!
For the midterm, he pretty much asks what is the first letter on the second line of the fifth paragraph on the 247th page. It's ridiculous! His book is very hard to read because it is riddled with grammar and spelling errors. The final is an easy essay on three policy speeches.
Bleh...what more can I say that hasn't already been said...
Bill Davidson honestly seems to be the most morally non existent individual i have ever met. he blatantly profits off a required class, by requiring every student to buy his horrible book for 50 dollars, that he updates yearly so that it is always outdated. The book has little work put into it, and consists mostly of quotes. Im out of room.
I agree that mass lecture is a waste of time (I had it Monday, 8AM). TA's do most of the teaching. Try to get a good TA for discussion (Gini Jones was awsome, but unfortunately has moved on from UWSP). His textbook is a waste. Cost about $65 when I had this class in Spring 2005; I think it's less now.
The mass lectures were horribly boring when he spoke, and YES, he charges you $60 for a stupid book that you'll just burn at the end of the year anyway. (I never once looked at that book and I still got an A!) Discussions were fun though, and if you do well on speeches you'll do alright. Info on Midterm and Final is irrelevent and pointless.
Never met the guy but if he's anything like that $40 worthless textbook my opinion isn't very high. But maybe I'm wrong
Lectures are somewhat boring to go to, as long as you pay attention you should get 100% on all the lecture quizzes. The book is a joke, and the midterm is a joke as well. Good thing everyone fails it and the curve is large! Just worry about your speeches and you'll do fine!!
I did not like listening to him talk. After about a sentence I was drifting off... he had no sense of humor and he just was not interesting at all.
Awful class, in fact I decided that I would rather lose the points for not going then actually go. I did go to the majority of them though and that class is so boring. Comm department needs to get rid of this scam lecture. Stop making students pay 70 bucks for a stupid book. Biggest waste of time and money EVER!
As everyone else stated in here. This guy is awful! Makes you spend 60 dollars on his book and expects you to memorize every sentence. This class was the biggest waste of my time ever and needs to be stopped. Just let the TA's teach you in the regular Comm class. I feel sorry for everyone that has to take this class.
Horrible professor. He can't deliver speeches yet expects us to. Mass lecture was always terribly boring, the TAs saved the class for me. Mine was amazing and could actually teach (unlike Davidson). The mid-term was a joke, I did well on it because I used my common-sense and what I learned from a psych class.
I could see him maybe being a good professor... 20 years ago. His public speaking skills are horrid, and he is teaching this class? His book is one of the most poorly written textbooks I've ever seen too. Thank goodness there are excellent TAs this year, who as mentioned before do the ACTUAL teaching. He really needs to retire!
No Comments
Lectures are extremely boring but he quizzes you every week at the end of lecture and its always 1 question that pertains to what he just got done lecturing about. So bring coffee or something to keep you awake. He doesn't teach actual Comm stuff but rather his own views of it. The TA's are your main teachers and most of them are really good.
A horrible professor. Its kinda funny though, cause he teaches communication but hes the worst speaker I've heard yet. gives these quizzes every week based on the readings. Everyone fails the final, just accept it. theres a humungous curve though, so the whole exam is kinda pointless.
Brilliant in a James Bond villain sort of way. He teaches a class that is mandatory for every undergrad to take and creates a consumable textbook that gets updated every semester making the previous one good for kindling. Take a class with a Hot TA, it will make it bearable.
This was by far the worst class I have ever taken. Davidson is a terrible speaker and a worse teacher. He name drops all the time and picks out the smallest details to test on while leaving out the important info that you might use later. He was rude to the class and unhelpfull if you wanted to ask questions. Aviod him if at all possible.
This class was overall pretty awful. I think it should be renamed to COM 471, because that is what it feels like. The reading material is way over anyone's heads and when we get tested on it, he chooses the most random details that no one studied. This is the most frustrating class I've ever taken.
WORTHLESS. A complete waste of time and money. And even if you have a friend taking the SAME CLASS in the SAME YEAR, you are not allowed to give them your book (which wouldn't have been updated yet, and is therefore still pertinent). The man squeezes as much money out of students as possible, and then proceeds to teach us nothing. GARBAGE!
Comm lectures are completely pointless, but you have to attend. Be sure to read the chapter before hand as there will be a quiz following lecture (its only one question, and isn't difficult). Also, read the supplemental readings before the mid-term, it will help you out a lot. If you can read and understand, you'll pass. Good luck staying awake!
AVOID IF POSSIBLE! He's very pompous. More interested in teaching about himself than about subject. Will talk about his friends, his poetry, etc. Bad temper. Waste of time and money. Hope for a good TA and/or that he retires soon.
dr. davidson is a teacher who has no respect for his students. AVOID if possible.he is not a great teacher to begin with and can say rude comments to you if talking with him one on one. his book is absolutley pointless. he does not care about his students. he only wants to make money and seem like he knows everything...which he doesn't
Do NOT take him. I learn everything for the tests from the book and just get confused when he starts talking about it in class. My advice-show up to get the attendance credit, but read the book the entire time. Interesting class but horrible teacher. He loses his place when talking and it is a joke. I would chose an online class over him.
The lectures were long, but some were at least semi-interesting. Many lectures were off-topic and seemingly random. He repeated and reused many things in this class that he used in 101 during the same week. As soon as you finish one book you're on to the next, but the only homework is a group essay per book. Exams are hard but highly curved.
this man is an arrogant prick. too bad everyone is required to take comm 101, just get a good section teacher. midterm is pointless. dont waste time studying for it, there is a huge curve. dont even bother to read the book, it doesnt help at all and is a waste of money
I have 3 classes with this guy right now (101, 171, and 273) and lets just say that my semester has sucked balls. He is the worst teacher I have ever had and hopefully he will retire soon so the future UWSP students will not have to suffer. Everything he talks about is pointless and boring, u are better off using his class as a study hour.
dumb prof. he makes you buy his stupid ass book that has no info about anything that matters in it...dont read the book at all it sucks ass...pointless
He is supposed to teach us about communication skills, but he has no idea what he's doing. He never caught my attention during any of his speeches. His speeches were boring and pointless. The midterm is impossible. There isn't any point in studying. (It is graded on a curve.) Small group sessions are great, however, since he doesn't teach them.
All of his lectures r boring as hell. He doesn't do much teaching; he just rambles on and on about meaningless crap that isn't relevant to the course.
I hate this man. He is an evil evil evil man. He is in love with himself because he thinks he's the greatest cuz he's a professor. His lectures are rambling nonsense that don't teach you anything, and he has to curve his tests so much to keep everybody from failing it's pointless. I have failed his tests and still received an A. That is pointless.
Boring classes. He grades on a point system and not on a percent. I got a 93.9% and only got an A-. His lectures are boring. Prepare the sleep and skip a lot. YOU WILL FAIL THE MIDTERM. It's graded on a curve of 30+%. Avoid him for all future COM courses.
I developed very bad mononucleosis mid-semester and he just about failed me because I didn't call -every- morning before 8am when I was going to miss. Semester from hell, may he go there for eternity. NOT RECOMMENDED.
First of all he is a pretentious old man that is arrogant enough to write his own book and force every student to purchase it requiring a reciept to recieve essential material for the class. Second of all his lectures are useless with no correlation. Most importantly what is the point of having a test where everyone fails and you curve it 30%
BORING CLASS! he pauses while taking after every other word..put me to sleep during the mass 9am lecture. really easy matterial..the test is majorly curved because everyone fails it. otherwise easy class
Doctor Davidson is an arrogant, pompous, and completely useless professor. His exams are arbitrary and every Freshman pays him $45 extra for his pointless book that is recycled untouched. This man should not be teaching. Spread the word.
Professor Davidson seems very full of himself. His lectures are extremely hard to pay attention too. The man is horribly boring. I find it terribly ironic that this man is a com professor! He wrote the text, which is also boring, and requires everyone to buy it, which if you ask me, is a scam. Exams are impossible, but they are majorly curved.
well if there was ever a prof. who thought he deserved a crown Davidson is the guy.. i dreaded going to his lecture plus he "revises" his book every year so students have to buy it..i strongly dislike this prof. but you can't really get around taking his course and he knows it..so bring something to do in lecture
Im afraid that if he ever found this wesite he might kill himself. There are no good comments about him on here but what can i say he had no reason to even be a teacher. Pretty much a total ****r!!!
****- looks like one -acts like one
Why does he teach greek philosiphy? It's not even a Philosiphy course.
boring teacher. forces you to buy his lame book for $50 and you only use a few pages out of it. don't take his classes. take comm over winterim so you dont have to have this professor!!
Would be better if he didn't make us buy his book!
He is a tool. Seriosly the biggest waste of my time ever. And money. Thanks for making me spend $45 on your stupid ridiculous book. Don't study for the midterm, you will pass simply due to the curve. The weekly lecture quizzes are answered in class and extremely easy to cheat on. I hate this man...
BORING!!!
This was a good class...and easy in the lecture portion. the amount of work in the discussion sections waa a little much...overall got a lot of good skills out of this class. Most of the reviews on thsi site for this class are obviously disgruntled freshman who don't understand that college is not High School...you are expected to act like an adult
walking textbook
He's very pompous and a bore to listen too.
Has no business teaching anymore. A great class to go to if you are looking for a nap.
This man is an absolutely horrible professor. He's the most pompous man I've ever met. Ironically, he's also a horribly boring speaker. And that $50 you dump to buy his pointless book, because it's required for the class. Why are we paying for an education from a man who can't educate? It's long overdue that Davidson should be removed from UWSP.
I loved my TA for this class, but I have to say Davidson sucked as a prof. He asked too many narrow and detailed questions on the midterm that had no relevance to the overall objective of the course. Not to mention that book we all hate so much. Besides taking notes in it, the most use I got out of it was using it for a doorstop on a windy day.
I didn't really learn anything from him. He just repeated what he said in his book. So either the money spent on the book was a waste or the time in mass lecture was a waste. Maybe he just likes to hear himself talk..which is no picnic to listen to either.
Very boring professor! Not only did I have him as my mass lecturer professor, but also for my small group. For being a communication professor, he certainly doesn't know how to communicate and teach very well. His book was the biggest waste of money from any of my college classes.
good sleep comes easy here
Grrrrrr... UTTER FAIL...I really do not know why this guy still has a job, if you can get out of this class do so!
This professor was a waste of time. He didn't teach how to communicate. They should change the name of the class to "History of Communication" or "Speech Writing". There was nothing that I will use in my profession.
It's pretty much opinion based, no real facts, also easy A, since its required, suck it up and have fun with the speeches, Also If you can get Drifka for the small lectures, do so. You will understand why.
He Is very boring & he also will do nothing to help you out. I asked to switch my final time & he will not let me! that means i will now have to drive 2hrs out of my way to take a test 3 days before christmas. Also he is terible at speaking so i dont understand how he can teach it, you have to buy his book which is now $75 he is usin us to make $$
He is terrible. Not much else you can say. He is teaching a communication course that everyone at the university has to take, yet he is a terrible speaker and communicator. His book is useless and a huge waste of money and trees. Small group discussion was fun. Midterm is no longer curved which does not help your grade at all. Good luck! :(
He laughs at his own jokes during lecture. Enough said.
While this class may be useful, Davidson is not. He teaches communication, yet his communication skills are lacking big time.He's arrogant,boring, and doesn't actually teach.He refuses to let TAs create study guides for the midterm and takes out the curve, because God forbid that somebody actually does well on it. Study hard,and try to stay awake
Bring a pillow to lecture
I don't understand all the hate for this guy. I had him for discussion and he was awesome. The atmosphere was fun and he was one of the easiest graders ive ever had. Awesome teacher.
i got near perfect scores on every speech and pretty much failed the mid-term. What you learn in class has nothing to do with learning how to be a better speaker.
He is terribly boring. There is no point to the lectures except the quiz points. You never use the very expensive book except for the evaluation forms.
RIP Dr. Davidson
RIP Dr. Davidson.
Very good teacher, will miss him. Those who didn't like him are just as boring as they perceived him to be, he was one of the most energetic teachers I've ever had. He even graded our papers on his death bed because he felt he "owed" it to us, good man that Bill Davidson was. RIP
Dr. Davidson was a very good professor who cared greatly about his student that cared about the class. I really credit his class with doing really well on the analytical portion of my GRE exams. Rest in peace Dr. D!
He was a very good professor and will be missed.
Class Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
54963
5.0
(1)COM252
5.0
(1)COM251
5.0
(1)C0M271
4.0
(1)COMM273
2.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
101273
5.0
COM
5.0
COM273
5.0
COMM9
5.0
C0M271
4.0