Reviews for AREC200

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Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/26/2024	Dr. Becky is so passionate about this course which is something to appreciate. She's very sweet and lecture slides are pretty easy to follow. She has all of the slides posted on Canvas, even those from several guest speakers we had throughout the course. I went into this course expecting an easy GenEd, and my advice is to not do that. Although it's not too challenging, it is a course that you need to spend a considerable amount of time paying attention to outside of class. There is a simulation where you have to make decisions based on your assigned role for a few weeks during the semester, one midterm, two problem sets and two written assignments which are decent parts of your grade, and then of course the final. The midterm and final were pretty simple and if you take the time to study the content outside of class you will be fine. I did find grading to be slightly harsh a few times throughout the semester, but you can email the TAs about that if need be.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2023	Professor Becky is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the Chesapeake Bay. She clearly cares a lot about her students and is reasonable when handling extensions or illnesses. The course itself was manageable. Two writing assignments, the midterm and final exams, a few homework assignments. Overall, not too much work for a Gen-Ed. Put in effort and you will do fine!
Rebecca Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/15/2023	Dr. Becky is extremely enthusiastic and personable. She is engaging and cares about the topic and her students. She even baked cookies with her kids and brought them in for the entire class. I enjoyed having her as a professor and even though the topic isn't something I am usually interested in, she made it fun. I never felt shamed or judged for asking questions, she deeply encouraged participation and learning. The TAs were also amazing, Tomasso and Iman. The only reason why I am not giving 5 stars is because I felt that the grading was harsher than it should've been for a gen ed class. The midterm multiple-choice questions were graded high in comparison to the written ones, so missing a couple of those hindered me from getting an A on the midterm. The problem sets were also graded harshly with unclear guidelines and expectations on how in-depth to answer.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/15/2023	Not only was this class extremely easy, but she was clearly passionate about that content she was teaching which made the class a lot more interesting to me. There weren't many assignments (2 short essays, 2 problem sets, 1 midterm) and I felt that if you actually put effort towards it you are guaranteed to do well. People complain that the TAs grade too harshly but I feel that they just didn't put in as much work as they should've as they expected this to be the "mindless gen ed". There is a pretty big group project in the second half the semester but they give you plenty of time (like 2 months) to do it and the project itself is weighted heavily but totally manageable with enough planning. There's also a large simulation at the beginning of class that is easy points but also fun and insightful (helpful for studying for the midterm). The lectures are not mandatory but the discussions are which I thought was weird at first but made sense in the end as most of the group work is done in there. I would 100% recommend taking this class as the teacher is amazing, easy with a reasonable amount of effort, and in general is a very eye opening experience.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/07/2023	Dr. Becky is an incredible professor and she's very passionate about the Chesapeake Bay. AREC200 was a fun class, however, the only reason I deducted a star was for the TAs. They graded work very harshly, to the point where they'd be taking off 5-10 points based on small mistakes rather than 1-2. Grading-wise, the class was a bit unfair.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/17/2023	AREC was actually a free 3 credits. Almost no homework and only one midterm. 2 essays but they are like just so easy. I repeat, this class is impossible not to get an A in.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2022	Dr. Epanchin-Niell is incredibly passionate about the Chesapeake Bay and its economics, but if you aren't interested in either of those things don't take the class. I found it relatively easy and not graded harshly but don't expect an easy A if you are going to skip every lecture. Lectures are usually recorded and there were a lot of guest speakers, all of whom I found interesting.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/13/2022	This class is good to knock out two Gen-Eds in one if you're willing to do the work, not an easy A but not hard to obtain if you do the work. Dr. Epanchin Niell is really passionate about her work and keeps her lectures fast paced. The TAs were knowledgeable and grade your papers so keep in touch with them. The weekly check ins are annoying and the date/time varies sometimes which is annoying. The problem sets and papers really weigh on your grade but checkins add up too. The guest lecturers weren't as interesting as the professor herself but still somewhat interesting. Friday discussion attendance is mandatory and we were supposed to have clicker questions in lecture but never did. She tries to record the lectures if possible but they're not guaranteed. Overall the content is interesting if you like ecology and business but if you're looking for a lazy and easy gen-ed (like I was) this might be a back up option and not the first choice. Best of luck!
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/13/2022	Personally, this topic does not interest me and I took for a Gen-Ed. Everything is graded very harshly. Lecture is not mandatory but discussion is. Personally, I would take another class if you are taking it for a Gen-Ed.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2022	This was a really interesting class on the intersection of economics and policy on the local environment. We had 8 bi-weekly check ins, 5-10 questions, which were never hard and she puts the slides on canvas so it's not difficult to find the answers. The major assignments were two written assignments, 1 midterm and a final group poster presentation. I don't think any were too difficult and the professor and the TA's were very open to questions and useful in the discussion section.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/29/2022	Take this class if you're interested in science, economy, and/or policy. However, if you're just trying to satisfy Gen-Ed requirements, I would look elsewhere. Attendance is not mandatory, but discussion is. Additionally, they grade harshly on bi-weekly check-in assignments and on the exam.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 imwahl 01/07/2022	Very interesting class and very engaging professors. The guest lectures for this class were notably much less entertaining than her and Dr. Lombardi(her co-lecturer). I would highly recommend AREC200 as it covers a lot of gen ed credits and has manageable workload.
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/27/2021	Good lecturer. Asked for feedback throughout the course on how she could organize her lectures better, and tried her best to address student concerns.
Jorge Holzer Bilbao AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/25/2020	Covers the material thoroughly. Very open to discussing topic in depth at Office Hours if something was not understood. Goes a little fast but not too fast to manage, and usually let the class out 5-10 minutes early.
Sara Lombardi AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/25/2020	Absolutely wonderful. Very energetic and makes sure the class is all on the same page. Great at reviewing material covered and goes at a very easy pace to follow.
Sara Lombardi AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2018	One of the best professors I've had at UMD in terms of knowledge of the topic and enthusiastic lecturing. Really knows how to engage the class and get you to pay attention. AREC200 isn't too hard of a class. If you do well on the homeworks and have a good grasp of the topics, you'll do fine.
Jorge Holzer Bilbao AREC200 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/21/2017	Dr. Holzer is a decent professor for an easy class. The lectures can be a bit boring but the assignments are easy. Dr. Holzer taught the second half of the semester which focused on economics. The first half, on ecology, was taught by Dr. Sara Lombardi. Show up, do the assignments, and do a minimal amount of studying for exams and you'll get an A.
Sara Lombardi AREC200 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/21/2017	Dr. Lombardi is passionate and encourages student involvement in the class. The midterm was very easy and even had some extra credit questions. The final was written by the other professor though (Holzer). There was no textbook, but just a few readings which were posted on ELMS. Minimal effort for an A.