Reviews for PLCY100

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M Apolonia Calderon Cervantes PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/25/2024	I took this class as one of my first required courses for the public policy major Pros: reasonably fair grading on MCQ midterm and final policy memo, pretty little homework (except readings), good organization on ELMS Cons: not very engaging lectures, lots of content and textbook reading but not much of it is tested/used but you need to study it anyway Other notes: most classes are basic lectures where you take notes, second half of semester was mainly guest speakers coming in to talk about their careers, which was often not very interesting/helpful but could be helpful if you want to learn more about the field
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/03/2024	Professor Calderon was a good professor. If your looking for an easy class, take this because it consists of one exam (which anyone who has any knowledge of the government could get an A on) and the final project. Do not listen to anyone telling you the exam was difficult because they probably just didn't pay attention at all. She teaches for he first half of the class and for the second half invites guest speakers. Overall, this was a simple class that little effort will result in an A. Lectures were slightly boring at times, but she tries to keep people engaged.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2023	Professor Calderon is not a very engaging lecturer and does not make herself available for extra help from students. The class is not hard, but it isn't interesting either. The class included a midterm exam and a final policy memo/brief. After the midterm, all we did was have guest speakers. I'm not sure why I'm paying to take a class full of guest speakers -- I think this class could be restructured by the School of Public Policy to make it a more engaging and interesting introduction to the major. Overall, Professor Calderon is fine. Not bad, but not good either. PLCY100 is easy but boring.
Jennifer Littlefield PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/14/2023	If you're nervous about taking Professor Littlefield, don't be. She just started teaching PLCY100 again after a few years and it was great. The class is run like a discussion, she starts off with some slides to review the textbook readings and then jumps into a class activity that either involves you moving into groups to craft and argument, or talking with the class about a policy issue. The only consistent homework the class requires is the reading journals every week which is just four questions and is really a grade boost than anything else. There is one midterm exam which is pretty straightforward, a group presentation, and a policy memo (which you work toward the whole year and is 6-8 pages double spaced). Otherwise, your grade is based on participation which you can get through speaking in class, or by posting on a discussion board in canvas. As a professor, Dr. Littlefield is extremely genuine and very nice. She tries to make policy interesting by getting our opinions and using real life examples. She is very understanding and can read the room quite well. Towards the end, she will bring in guest speakers which are great for forming new connections and possible internships. This was one of my favorite classes. 10/10 class with a 10/10 professor.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2023	I had Professor Calderon-Cervantes in my first semester of college (Fall 2022). Overall, she was an "okay" professor. Nothing stood out about Professor Calderon, very average. However, PLCY100 was very lecture heavy, and boring. However, I forgot about presenting a group project and she still gave me a 90% on the project, which was very nice.
Jennifer Littlefield PLCY100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/11/2023	She's very nice and very enthusiastic about public policy. I also got lucky with a really good TA. There was a final paper and a final presentation, and I thought it was pretty reasonable. She loves people who raise their hands and participate. Overall not a bad class with her if you go to the lecture and discussions and do the homework.
Jennifer Littlefield PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/07/2023	I love Dr. Littlefield so much. She is absolutely my favorite professor. She cares so much about the students here and the class is fair and manageable. I'm taking another class with her because I love her lecture style.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/05/2023	If you have any other option besides her, please take it for your own sake! The class structure was absolutely terrible - she lectured for 6 weeks and then we had one exam. The exam was difficult and did not reflect the material we learned in lecture well at all. I would say 50% of what was on the exam was actually covered in class. After the midterm, we guest speakers in every class. She did not teach once after the midterm. It felt like an absolute joke. Wouldn't it just make sense to push the exam a few weeks back so you can actually lecture on the material?? Assignments don't have any rubrics, and they will take off points randomly with no explanation. By far the most disorganized class I've ever taken at Maryland.
M Apolonia Calderon Cervantes PLCY100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/05/2023	The class itself is not very hard, but only having one midterm was a bit unusual and made things a bit difficult because it covered so much material. Dr. C is very nice and great at answering questions, and having guest speakers come in to speak to us is what made the class so interesting. The TA I had (Fatima) was very nice, and for most discussion sessions, she let us out early mainly because for our group activities, many groups finished really early, and she takes attendance, so that's a huge part (and sometimes all) of your participation grade in discussion.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/09/2023	class was extremely boring i basically stopped going after the midterm. she is sometimes nice and sometimes not. midterm was much harder than it needed to be. discussion is required attendance and is also super boring but obv this depends on TA. overall the class itself is a repeat of the textbook and is pretty easy, but also boring and feels like high school.
Toby Egan PLCY100 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/10/2023	I can get a sense that Prof. Egan is very successful outside of his teaching roles at UMD, but he displays a tremendous amount of humility to everyone's opinions during class discussions- except his opinion that schools are supposed to teach children morals and principles. He stood on that one. I hope to revisit him in my upper level Policy courses or he stays at UMD. You can establish your own network and brand if you take the out of class assignments seriously, depending on your ideal career path. The summary of this class is don't just sit around and talk about your passions, but get out there and.. here's how. If his assignment format stays consistent, my advice is to read the book as much as possible because tests are tailored more towards the definitions of basic terms of government and who is in office, and class is about applying those terms to real life situations.
Toby Egan PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/28/2023	Professor Egan made our large classroom fun and engaging with many good discussions about policy, current policy making and everyone’s views on current and historical issues. The tests were not too hard, knowing about how government works definitely helps. And, we all got to choose a policy to write and talk about. I would definitely recommend this class and Professor.
Toby Egan PLCY100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/24/2023	Let me start by saying that Dr.Egan is a nice guy- he's very qualified but also down to earth and easygoing. However, his class lacks structure. The grades for our class midterm were way lower than expected and the exam had some questions straight from the book despite the fact that he rarely ever referenced the book in class. His lecture is usually about a current event/something in the news and can be kind of boring at times, but he doesn't take attendance.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/12/2023	Dr. Calderon is fine and PLCY100 is an ok class. There is not a lot of work and the material is pretty straightforward. The midterm and final projects are relatively easy if you can work in groups.
M Apolonia Calderon Cervantes PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/22/2023	Really easy class. Suspiciously easy, really. But her lectures are sooooo boring and the discussions with your TA is worse. You have to go to the discussions because they take attendance and you're graded on this and you HAVE to participate a few times. This class is basically a high school government class. I can't complain too much because there were like 4 easy assignments and no exams, so honestly dealing with the boring classes is fine because the 98% you're probably going to get in the class for doing next to nothing is worth it.
Toby Egan PLCY100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/08/2023	The class isn't over yet, but I have needed a lot of help from Dr. Egan this semester because of some personal problems/health issues. He has been great--Meeting with me one-on-one and providing accommodations. Not too many professors help in this way--especially in such a huge class. I also like how interactive the course is. He makes the large class much more personal and my friends in the class agree. I'm off to a good start as a public policy major because of this experience. And, my non-policy classmates are enjoying too.
M Apolonia Calderon Cervantes PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/09/2023	My main criticism is that paying attention is extremely difficult, as lectures were often difficult to take notes on and repetitive. Her bias shows through in teaching, and while a lot of us agree with that perspective, it makes learning policy feel jaded. I will say, not having any tests was nice and I appreciated her stance that it does not help us learn well. That being said, the final project is not well communicated and having almost all of the weight on one assignment is daunting. I would take the class because you have to take the class and it was an accessible grade, but I would not necessarily want to choose this professor in a class I was genuinely interesting and engaged in.
Eric Luedtke PLCY100 Expecting an A edenw29 12/17/2022	Best professor ever. His lectures are so much fun. He's an easy grader and wants to make sure all of his students do well.
Eric Luedtke PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/13/2022	Luedtke is great! Super engaging, clearly cares about the subject and his students. Only 4 writing assignments that you have plenty of time for, a midterm, and a final. They're all weighted a lot because it's the only assignments, so you have to do well on all of them if you want an A. But you can send your work to the TAs and they'll review it. Great class!
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/07/2022	She is a great and kind person, but the class itself is boring and the information is unorganized. If you want an easy A+, this is the class for you. My TA was AWESOME and canceled class all the time, but it will definitely change per TA. There were no exams, and the final and midterm were group projects. Overall, this class did not teach me that much, but it was easy and there was no homework/exams/etc.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/06/2022	I'm not really sure what the review under me is referencing, because I really disagree (but maybe it's a different experience in-person). There are no in-class tests or quizzes, pop or otherwise. Dr. Calderon is super super sweet and flexible with due dates and personal matters. Attendance isn't taken at lecture, and it's a pretty laid back class. Much love for Dr. Calderon. Would recommend!!
Shanna Pearson PLCY100 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/21/2022	This professor is highly unorganized and grades too harshly for an intro-level course. Too much is left up to TA's and grading differs between them. Does not share lecture slides and strays off topic easily. You can never really pinpoint what you are learning at any given point, and due to this, exams (which were essay format) are very difficult to prepare for. Prof seems nice at first but when you meet with her one on one, she is not. Would not recommend. Alternatively, I've heard great things about Eric Luedtke, and would recommend taking the course when he teaches it.
Shanna Pearson PLCY100 Anonymous 05/17/2022	Dr. Pearson is a sweet lady but a horrible professor. She turned an introductory level course that was known for being easy into a class that everyone hated. Class time was pointless and full of busy work, and she made assignments during the last 2 weeks worth 50% of our grade. Since taking this class I have lost interest in public policy.
Eric Luedtke PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/23/2021	What I think is very cool about professor Luedtke is that he is the majority leader in the Maryland House of Delegates so he brings that experience to the class. The content is very interesting as it goes over all different types of policy. There is an average amount of work such as 4 papers, and a midterm/final however if you put in the work, and send in your papers to your TAs to check before you submit, you'll be fine. He is also super nice, and funny. The textbook is very long and the readings can be 40+ pages sometimes which can be annoying, but all you really need to do is skim the chapters and make sure you understand the basic ideas. Also, the midterm and final is mostly based off the class slides + discussion so reading the book will not impact you as much. Overall, I highly recommend this class/professor.
Eric Luedtke PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/13/2021	Great teacher! Really passionate about what he does. He's the majority leader in the Maryland House Of Delegates which is really cool. Class is not that much work. As long as you do the work and try somewhat, you will pass.
Eric Luedtke PLCY100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/12/2021	Amazing professor. Very engaging. Grades can be slow and often tries too hard to incorporate (factually incorrect) conservative points of view in some topics. very passionate about the subject and overall makes the class more interesting than it should be
Eric Luedtke PLCY100 Anonymous 10/22/2021	AMAZING professor. Super nice guy who is very engaging in class. The class is also extremely interesting and I feel is an important subject for everyone to know a bit about. I would highly recommend this class in all aspects.
Erica Smith PLCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/17/2021	The course is not difficult, but Professor Smith made it a lot harder than it needed to be. Her lectures are read word-for-word from the textbook but you still have to watch them because she slips in one or two points that you will definitely be tested on. Exams and quizzes require a lot of memorization and not much actual understanding/application of the content. She is a nice person and she clearly cares about the well-being of her students, but the way she structured the class just made it much more stressful and overwhelming at times. Luckily a lot of the class is taught by the GAs and all of them were very good.
M Apolonia Calderon PLCY100 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/20/2020	Super biased and the lectures are soooooo longgggg (took online). Also pop quizzes were tough. I wouldn’t take again