2.5
Quality3.6
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake109
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
109
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
19
4
13
3
21
2
20
1
36
What Students Say
“Professor Hanscom is a terrible Professor”
BIO110 - 2.0 rating“What a nice man, but lectures unclear, rough start better towards end”
BIO315 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.90 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO101
4.0
(1)BIO315
3.9
(11)BIOLOGY
3.7
(3)BIOLOGY100
2.5
(4)BIO100
2.5
(81)Difficulty by Course
BIO130
5.0
BIO110
5.0
BIOLOGY100
4.0
BIOL100
3.7
BIO100
3.7
Reviews (109)
What a nice man, but lectures unclear, rough start better towards end
a great person, glad to have met him, lectures not clear , easy class
awesome!
Really nice guy, very informative and helpful. Pleased to have met him
Great teacher, learned a lot, do quizzes and go to class, cares about students
Great Prof. The class is interesting. Do quizzes, go to class, get involved
If you are not interested in the environment, DO NOT take this class. I was bored out of my mind..zzzz. Somehow I managed a C. The quizzes(ungraded) take a long time to do. If you stay on top of the chapters you should be ok. Very nice guy.
Really nice guy. BORING lectures, tests aren't too bad
Very enthusiastic about what he teaches, it is almost a philosophy class about how humans interact with the environment. Opened up my mind, highly recommend.
He is very nice and helpful, but very boring. His exams are kind of hard. Too much material. However, if you like this stuff, you are going to do great.
i seriously recommend u to take bio100 wit sum1 else, horrible class, i learned more in my biolab class then this! the chapter from the book is 30+ pgs long and he expect you to read it. lecture are boring! quiz ?s shows up on test,tests are hard!
Awesome professor! Make sure you do the quizzes and the assigned reading and you shoud get an ok grade.
Everyone's doing so badly in this class. He has high expectations from the students. It is hard for students who work and have more than 2 classes. There is too much reading and he tests us on more than 4 chapters that have more than 20 pages each chapter
Nice guy,BORING LECTURES-all straight from book,show up to sign in and then bounce,no point in staying for his class,easy to cheat off people so sit behind someone smart,take home quizzes,get w/ a study group for tests,ask&he'll say what's on test
Snow Shoveler from Home Alone and his best friend Ruth helps out with the class. Haven't been to class since the first week, and I have an A. read the book, tests are from the book and his online quizes.
Teacher doesn't know what he's doing (technologically challenged). Likes to talk about his opinion and sometimes preaches rather than teaches. Difficult to stay for entire class period, just do quizzes and reading. No need to attend lectures.
Very nice guy, but lectures are boring. Not necessary to go to class, just turn in quizzes and make sure you read. Exams are a little hard; they usually cover alot of chapters.
Boring class. Don't go to class, just read the book thoroughly and you will do okay.
This guy is a bio hippie. Take home quizzes, basically group tests, and most of the class has C's... think before you take him. if you have an insomnia issue, then he is great!
Zac is a really nice guy. It's just very hard to teach a class of 500 students! Overall, class is really easy; you just have to read the material. He makes it very clear what he wants and what are covered on the exams.
class is ridiculous and boring, not important to go to lectures as long as you do the take home quizzes and study them for the tests which have virtually the same questions, easy B...
teacher does not lecture he talks then wants you to know everything like common knowledge don't listen to what he wants you to know just do quizes get the answers cause the same question and answer will be on the test
Dont go to class, do the take home quizzes & read the chapters. Doesnt take attendance because it a 500 person class. He asks specifics and sometimes there is more than one right answer on the quizzes - but dont challenge him - he's never wrong!
WORTHLESS CLASS! HATED IT!
doesn't teach and not fun to listen to, just kind of spits out info and stories. everyone does bad on tests and they are curved so the average grade is a c instead of an f. try to another class!
Take this class if you want 3 free units. Didn't buy the book, didn't go to class, didn't study, got a B+. Large lecture hall, over 500 people, one test copy... I may be in trouble for later college biolgy knowledge, but oh well!
Don't take him for Bio 100! He talks to the class as if we are all bio majors. He gives take home quizes in which u get the answers from the book, but when you go over them in class, he says those arent the right answers. No point in attending class.
He didn't teach anything the first month. He didn't teach anything relevant to the tests until the last month. Your knowledge comes solely from reading the entire text book from which he picks mostly obscure questions and, if lucky, you end up with a C.
I hate this class! Lectures are worthless because he talks to everyone like we memorized the textbook. I don't know anyone in the class who is doing well on take home quizes or tests.
prof knows his stuff.but talks 2 every1 like they r bio mjrs.never bought book or attended class much but i got a c, he never answers emails. just do quizzes and read lecture notes-they r from the bk, which is why i never bought one!
he is so cool; it was a large class so u as the student had to make the effort to see him afterwards. He was so nice and willing to clear up any misunderstanding u had in class. Easy take home quizzes, tells u specifically whats on the final
Class is kinda hard, but its not too hard to beat the curve. Don't miss any quizzes, they are all announced. Read the book and you should get a B or better. Lecture is a complete waste of time.
He is so nice. I found out too late that if you actually do the reading you can totally get an A. This class is all about whether or not you work at it or not. He is totally willing to help, and the quizes which are all take home will get you at least a C
Wonderful person and very knowledgable. He is really responsive if you go to his office hours. My only complaint is that i had a grade average of 20% above the class average, and he told me i would recieve an A in the class and then he gave me a B
He is not a good teacher. he makes you read a chapter and then take a quiz before he even lectures on it!!! the class average for our first test was a D-. I hate this class, don't pick him!!!
Even though the content of this class sucks hard, ZAC HANSCOM IS SO NICE and friggin easy. You can copy the quizzes under his NOSE and he doesn't care. You can also outright copy the midterm exams in class and he doesn't care! I'd stick my hand in his compost pile anyday... ;)
Brings his politics to class. WE GET IT. YOU DON'T LIKE BUSH. But we don't need to hear it everyday. If you're a republican, dont take him. You'll just want to kill him. And i guess the class is easy if you like to get by by copying. If you work yourself, it's tough.
I guess if you read, you'll do well, but if you read AND went to class, you would probably kill yourself because of boredem. A LOT of redundancy in lectures. Test questions often come from left field. Really nice guy, though.
If you want an A or B in this class, you really have to read the book and study the material. Whats good is hes always willing to help you out. He's a very nice guy but his lectures always go off track. Always get 9-10 on his take-home quizzes and you should have a guarenteed C.
He sucks! You don't even have to go to class because he doesn't talk about anything that's going to be on the test anyway.
Worst teacher, never respondes to e-mails and is compleatly worthless in class dont go to class have someone else turn in your quizes and you can get a C though, but a horriable teacher
He wanted everyone to do well so if we all did bad on a test he was willing to do anything to help us. His class is unbelievably boring and pointless... He never reviews for the tests... I never read and did ok on the quizes barely ever studied and got a C. Hard!
Intro Bio should be an easy A, but I got a C and seriously struggled to get it. Unless you're really willing to go the extra mile to study endlessly, then find another prof.
No Comments
Ok I have a tip that everyone should know... THE FINAL IS JUST LIKE HIS PAST FINALS... To get an A in this class you need to find a final. Other then that if you actually are a real student and not a slacker you should be fine. As for his politics, a little is ok but he should cut it down a little.
Without the previous years tests this class would have been a little harder, some questions are different but mostly the same.He is very excited to see you at office hours, he will try to help with your grade.Not a horrible GE, I got an A.
He was alright, super boring..but nice guy. He's willing to help in office hours. Hard to stay awake in his class. review all quizzes and lecture notes [study a lil] and u should get at least a C without having to attend every class.
If you want to do yourself a favor, find another teacher for Bio 100. He is a random, eccentric man, and his lectures are not relevant to his test questions. The book for the class is horrible and he goes through power-point slides too fast. Listen to me, I am not a slacker and hated him!!
This is the most boring class that I ever took at SDSU. His lectures are pretty much pointless to go to since they are based on what you were supposed to read for the quiz. His tests are extremely random, so it's pretty hard to know what to study for, other than looking at the quizes. Very boring!
Bio 100 is not meant to be hard, in hgihschool I got an A in Bio. In his class I got a C and I aced the final with a 111/120. Unless you can find the test from someone do not take. Very boring, hard to stay awake in his class. Seriously find another teacher especially for you nursing majors.
Would you like a teacher who doesn't explain anything clearly, who talks about politics during class even though he is your bio teacher, and who never replies your countless e-mails? I didn't think so.
Doesn't give rewiew shett and don't listen to us when we say that we need it!!!!Very excited about his subject but common it's supposed to be BIO 100 not 1000!!!!!!!!!
For everyone who complained, you must not have gone to class. He's sweet and funny, and incredibly willing to help any of his students. Yes, it's a bit challenging, but that is the point. Take his quizzes, go to class, ask questions. Maybe then, you'll actually learn something. He has a big heart.
One word: BORING! One comment: HIS NOT CLEAR, TALKS ABOUT OTHER STUFF, NOT RELATED TO BIO...REALLY THIS GUY SUCKS! ANSWER: DON'T GET HIM********HIS BORING!!! BAD TEACHER!!!!! AVOID HIM WARNING: DON'T GET HANSCOM....IS HORRIBLE....UNLESS U WANNA SLEEP AND HEAR NONSENCE!!!!
The class isn't a cakewalk, unless you're really into biology, but he's a really nice guy and more than willing to help. He wants his students to succeed. The lectures are a bit confusing, so I mostly just read the book and did pretty well. Attendance is not required, except to turn in the take-home quizzes.
THE WORST TEACHER EVER! He never talked about bio, only rambled on about politics and stuff unrelated to bio. He thinks he is always right, so don't even try to get in a conversation with him. This is the most bogus class ever. RUN!!!
You have to be mentally challenged to not pass this class. He reminds me of a professor from Humboldt State. Cool class; easy if you do your quizzes!
Great professor, go to class and print out his notes. No need to read the book because his notes are better. He really wants students to pass, take it from me...
Read the book and go to class, otherwise you can find yourself very behind. There is a take-home quiz about once a week and three tests throughout the semester, one being the non-cumulative "final". I didn't think the class was that hard, but the class average for my class on the final was an F. He curved the final grades though.
Should have been an online course. Class was very hard to pay attention in. Reading the book helps and studying the previous years tests is also good. If you can take another prof then do it.
Not very nice or helpful, and from what I've heard he doesn't respond to his e-mails or he just takes forever. Lectures are hard to follow, but tests are very easy to cheat on if you can find previous exams. Buy the book and quizzes will be cake. Tests are almost impossible to do well on unless you either study your a** off or find an old exam.
Easiest class I have ever taken and I dont know anything about bio
I dropped the class!! Hanscom's lectures rarely were about the topic, he was more interested in giving the class his political views! Couldn't find the answers to the quizes in the book, I went to him for help but DID NOT receive any!! I recommend taking another professor if possible!!
Pleave choose another professor if you have the chance. Very unclear and boring lectures. Doesn't give review sheets for tests. Talks too much about politics. He should retire.
This teacher is not FRIENDLY. He's not very helpful and he doesn't give specifics about tests. He expects us to know 7 chapters for a test, but doesn't provide any study guides. His lectures are incredibly boring. But the quizzes are open note, which is probably the only good thing that can come out of taking the class. I don't recommend taking it.
Ok, seriously, this guy is horrible! He goes way too fast giving notes (which dont make sense anyway).U can get the answers to the once a week take home quizes online but the exams are 90 questions and he offers no study guide!! He doesn't respond to emails. Im a good student but this class is so hard i'm seriously worried about my grade...
To describe this teacher/class in one word it would be HORRIBLE!! What he expects from students taking a 100 level class is absolutely ridiculous. First test was 7 chpts, 90 very specific and not straight forward questions, no study guide, no review, no teaching really.. Soo hard to do well in this class...pretty much ANY OTHER class will be better
He's a hippie/treehugger and about as liberal as they come...but if that's your sort of thing, well then enjoy. Oh, and he will destroy you on his tests.
I hate this class! Take whoever else you can! He sucks
DO NOT TAKE THIS PROF. he is absolutely the worst prof. i have ever taken. i took bio fresh year in HS and AP bio senior year, and this class is still hard. he doesn't explain anything, his notes are pointless and he offers no study guide to his tests, and is worthless/impotent in everything he does. take another class or professor
this guy sucks! he rambles on about nothing.. he talks monotone like ben stein.. hes so boring that ive gone 2 times and never went again..i guess id rather fail the class then sit there and listen to him talk about nonsense.. dont take this class
No Comments
THIS IS THE WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER HAD!! His teaching methods are not methods. He assumes everyone is following his lectures that make NO sense. The class average for the first test was a 49% and he blamed the students!! A quiz is due every week on difficult, in depth things that havent been taught yet. TAKE ANY PROF. BUT THIS ONE!! SO BORING!
He is smart man, but doesn't know a thing about teaching. The only way people passed the test was by cheating off old exams. I recommend doing that!
Easy class if you can read the book and go to class. prof help with you a lot if you have trouble. very caring!
I can't believe how rude some of the class are to this man. He cares so much about his subject. And he will totally help you if you find the class hard.
this is BY FAR the worst teacher i have ever had. In fact i would not even call him a teacher. His lectures are in no way helpful to the tests and he rambles on abuout random**** that has nothing to do with his class. He doesn't give a study guide leaving about 300 possible vocab for the 3 midterms (each). Worst proffesor at sdsu.
do not take this teacher under any circumstances, hardest class i've taken at sdsu
I don't know what the fuss is about. the tests are just based on the book. nice guy if you talk to him outside of class.
very hard and unenthuastic.
Ok so he's a nice man- BUT a REALLY bad teacher. He is not reasonable at all. 90 questions for a test is ridiculous- you get about 30 sec. per question. The average for the two midterms was an F. DONT TAKE THIS CLASS.
Worst class I've ever taken. Dont ever go to class, its absolutley worthless.If you're thinking about taking his class, DONT. Tests are impossible. When you ask for help through email or at his office hours, he'll just tell you to read the book. Dont waste your time.
This teacher does not know what is going on with the student's status. He blames all the low averages on the class. He does not answer questions clearly. Do not take this professor. Recomendation: Pozos for Bio 100
worst class i have ever taken! if you can take it with another professor. dont go to lecture its pointless.
Everyone who blames this teacher for their grade is just stupid! The only reason he started being hard was because students were cheating on his tests! If you go to the lectures and read the book you will do great on the test! His test are completely based on the book and his lectures simply go over the book! Plus he is a really sweet guy!
This class was awful! He takes his questions from test banks posted online, which does not coincide with the book. The class average on every test was about 50%. It is impossible!
DON'T LISTEN TO THE COMMENT MADE ON THE 16TH!! Sure Hanscom is a fuuny & super nice person, he just isn't a good teacher at all. I honestly think he's completly unconscience of this fact, so he makes no effort to change his teaching style. Tests are super hard-- I studied for 2 weeks & only got half the questions right.
I tooked the class CR/NC so it was easy for me. Tests and quizzes almost all A's and B's eventhough I had it CR/NC. Students need to learn how to study instead of copying quiz answers before class. Some students need to go back to high school if they aren't ready for college. Funny how that one chick wanted a "reward".
class grade bases on 10 take-home quizzes and 4 tests(non-cumM)-test questions are detailed. he does not explain subject matter very clearly, not helpful to undergrad non-bio major. he is concerned more with bio-ethical issues and steering his students opinions his way. goes off on tangents easily. elusive, office hours are useless.
Freaking run away. This class was impossible. I got a C because he curved the final grades but I assure you that half the class almost failed. Do not take this class.
i passed because of the curve. going to the lecture is pointless. i recommend taking another professor if you really are interested in biology.
advice for taking his class: use outside resources!!! search around the internet, you'll find he doesn't come up w/ his own quiz and test questions. and don't worry, you'll get a good grade after the curve. I got an A
This prof is ridiculous. Each of his tests are crazy b/c they cover between 4-7 chapters. A lot of the time, his lectures & notes don't match the text. When someone has a question, he gets defensive & fails to answer it. His quizzes are BS too because they're mutliple choice with more than one correct answer. This class sucks, BUT HE DOES CURVE GENEROUSLY!!!!
worst teacher in the world.
He lectures about nothing. Tests are hard. Look up quiz answers online. Overall, it works out because his curve is huge.
Class was boring, I just showed up to turn quizzes in. Tests were sort of hard, but they are easier if you go and take diligent notes. He would go off on tangents about worm farms and stuff though, which was occassionally funny.
quizzes are not bad, just have to look online for the answers at times. The tests are generally hard covering too much material to know with no study guide. Though, thank goodness for the curve or else i could have failed, but ended up with a C.
A teacher is someone who teaches and this professor does not! Plan on teaching yourself from the text and any other source you can come up with. Exams are very hard and there is no study guide ever. Quizzes are not bad but take a while to do. The only good thing is he curves the grade at the end of the semester so all 400 students won't fail.
Nice guy, he means well but goes off topic sometimes, quizzes are easy test are not. Take the class for Cr/Nc the curve will save you.
He's a good person during office hours. You should take advantage of them if you have questions. No need to come to class. Come just to turn in quizzes and take tests. Just read your book thoroughly. He doesn't give study guides for the tests, so test topics are ambiguous. Just read your book!!! And understand it. It's all pretty logical.
Buy the book. Read it thoroughly. No need to go to class. Notes I took in class did not help at all on exams. Quizzes each week turned in in class. 4 exams. Extremely difficult questions, but somewhat similiar format to quizzes. Huge curve of 20% or more. Take for Cr/NC and you'll be fine
THIS GUY IS AN ****!!! HE TOLD ME I WAS GOING TO RECIEVE A NC IN THE CLASS AND THAT I COULD TAKE IT OVER AND INSTEAD HE GAVE ME AN F AND I GOT KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL!!!!!!! A LIAR AND A BAD PERSON!
I don't know what everyone is complaining about! This class is way easier than most biology classes, just study and read the text book. Class is not necessary and if you go to his office hours he will give you a way better grade. An extremely nice man even if he is not the best teacher in the world.
SO BORING!!! His class is really hard top get through...the whole semester I only sat though a whole period three times. Really, you just have to go on the days take-home quizzes are due or tests are being given. Tests are really hard, the class avg. is usually a low D or an F, but the curve helps alot!
he was extremely boring, but he was nice. I ended up with a B in the class. His curve really helped me out b/c tests and take home quizzes were tricky and hard. Studying and reading the book really helps because all of the questions are straight from the book.
He is a really nice man and has a lot of interesting insight on biology topics. You don't need to go to class unless there is a take home quiz due or it's a test day. The tests are pretty hard but he has an insane curve, I should have got a b- but i ended up with a solid a.
He was often off the subject that we should have been lectured on and he has a way with tricking you on the tests. but he was a nice guy and knowledgable on many subjects having to do with the environment
He's a really nice guy but gets offended easily. If you ask a question he doesn't answer it, he just babbles on without answering the question. His tests are extremely hard and cover too many chapters. His take home tests are tricky. I would take someone else if I could. More than half of the class seems to be failing.
Professor Hanscom is a terrible Professor. First, he would give you a low grade for submitting your homework by the required deadline, b/c it wasnt fast enough! Than, I obtained a 92% in his class, and according to his grading scale is an "A" and he gave me a final grade of a "B". This guy is a joke! Would not recommend to anyone!!
Class Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.90 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO101
4.0
(1)BIO315
3.9
(11)BIOLOGY
3.7
(3)BIOLOGY100
2.5
(4)BIO100
2.5
(81)Difficulty by Course
BIO130
5.0
BIO110
5.0
BIOLOGY100
4.0
BIOL100
3.7
BIO100
3.7