PLCY201 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/22/2024	I love Meg Brindle!! Her class will be boring if you have n interest in public policy but it's an easy gened and she has a lot of interesting experiences in the world of international change. Strongly recommend this class to anyone who is willing to listen to lectures and respond. Class can get awkward if no one responds to her questions. No exams just a few papers but she grades the final harshly.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/16/2024	I love this woman she's the best. She is so sweet and knowledgeable in what she talks about and if you sit up and listen to her I stg you'll learn something helpful about leadership. The work isn't that hard and there are no assessments only papers and discussions. Put your phone away she hates that and participate in class Meg is the goat. Easy gen ed.
Susannah Washburn PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 10/13/2024	Having Washburn as my professor was a genuine blessing. I am a freshman majoring in public policy so this class was very important to me as it is one of my first intros to the topic of policy, and Washburn fully nurtured the passion and excitement I had for policy. Her workload is completely manageable, and she even removes a lot of the excessive readings from past years to make the class more discussion based. She will even go as far as not requiring the class to do certain work assignments on days where the discussions are lively, which is something teachers I've had in the past rarely due. She is always super well connected with her students and will go out of her way to talk to you after class. She also re-works to the curriculum every year to make it better and often involves students in that process. To top it all of she is an incredibly engaging speaker and knows how to foster great debates and discussions in class while remaining impartial which just makes every class all the more enjoyable. She is a 10/10 and I HIGHLY recommend her as a professor if you're genuinely interested in policy.
Brandi Slaughter PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/25/2024	This class is extremely boring and if she never took attendance I probably would have never shown up. She does not understand when it comes to health coinciding with school work and tries to connect with her students but it is so clear she does not care and would 100% not recommend her class.
Brandi Slaughter PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/22/2024	not interesting and can get really boring very fast but but def an easy A. not super understanding so if ur gonna take the course know that going in.
Brandi Slaughter PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/09/2024	I took PLCY201 in Spring 2024 as a public policy requirement in my sophomore year. Professor Slaughter is a highly qualified, intelligent, and friendly professor. She also was the first African-American professor/teacher I had ever had, she used this experience as a black woman inside the classroom. There is mandatory attendance because the class is extremely easy. I received an A, without going to class. Really good professor, boring content.
Nancy Lineman PLCY201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/08/2024	Lineman is the epitome of a tough-love teacher. The course has a lot of work but it is totally manageable. A lot of people don't like her course because of the workload but she puts a lot of effort into the class and expects you to do the same. The class can get a bit boring at times since it's 2.5 hours, but Lineman tries really hard to get interesting guest speakers-- including the Senate President of Maryland. For anyone looking for connections in public policy, TAKE THIS CLASS. She's very tough on grammar and formatting errors but only for the sake that it will help you in the long run, which it absolutely does. She may be a pain sometimes, but I don't think I've learned more from any other gen-ed, you genuinely get what you put into this class. Another little note is that the final consists of giving a 2:30 min. testimony on a policy issue in the state of Maryland that you've researched throughout the semester. If you're not huge on public speaking, I may reconsider this course, but it's really very short in the grand scheme of things. Would absolutely recommend it to anyone who truly wants to learn more about policy issues!!
Cullen Merritt PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/06/2024	He truly cares about his student's success. The class is very organized and as long as you go to class and engage you'll get an A. Very interesting class.
Nancy Lineman PLCY201 Anonymous 05/03/2024	Do not take this class with this professor, she makes the class so much harder than it needs to be. Talks to students like they are in high school, and then grades assignments like this is law school. Absolutely ridiculous for a 200 level class. The TAs don't even really know whats going on, and half of the class you just do random assignments or have guest speakers that have little to no relevance to the class. She will literally fail you on an assignment if you have some minor gramatical errors, which is complete bogus and disregards the hard work that students put into schoolwork. I honestly don't think she's qualified to be a professor, do not take.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/19/2024	Easy Gen-ed course to take, but if you do not intend to major in public policy or are 100 percent interested in public policy then I would probably not take this course. Also the TA does most of the work. The culture audit that we did in class was a fun project. Easy gen-ed to take but also this course can be very dry/boring sometimes.
Clay Ramsay PLCY201 Expecting an A MDreviews4 01/04/2024	Professor Ramsay held a very interactive PLCY201 class compared to what I heard about other professors. Each week you complete a "simulation" where you explore a relevant policy issue and get together with classmates to talk and come up with possible policy solutions. Attendance is mandatory and a significant part of your grade. The rest of your grade is made up of 3 short writing assignments and 1 long one toward the end of the semester. He can be a bit of a tougher grader but he is willing to look over your essays before you submit them for recommendations to help you get a better grade. He is super nice and willing to answer any questions you have about the content. If you attend class and participate in the simulations it should be pretty easy to get an A.
Nancy Lineman PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/01/2024	Interesting class with a lot of very cool guest speakers, but a very heavy workload. Expect to be doing a lot of writing, as well as listening to podcasts and audiobooks (it's possible to find transcripts/texts, but definitely not a great class if you're hard of hearing and/or don't have 30+ hours to dedicate to listening to audiobooks). The guest speakers were definitely the highlights of the class. Expect there to be more of a focus on people's independent experiences solving policy issues in the real world rather than any sort of "textbook" learning about the legal aspects of policy/its history/etc. She's a little bit intense, but incredibly well-connected. Also very good at chasing down people if they don't answer your emails for the final project. She's also very willing to write letters of recommendation if you ask her, which is great if you're looking for internships. Cons: Spelling/grammar. Oh boy it is Rough. She penalizes incredibly heavily (0.5-1% per issue, depending on the project), and on the discussion posts, you'll get a 0/5 if you have any errors at all. Getting people to proofread your work is an absolute must for this class (and absolutely don't rely on grammarly/other AI, it'll let you down). The class is only 100 points, so mistakes add up real quick. If writing isn't your strong suit or you don't want to dedicate a significant amount of time to checking your work, I wouldn't recommend this class. Lots of "shame" lectures about grades or people messing up assignments, I wasn't a fan. Basically, if you're prepared to put in the work, it's a great class. If you want something with an easy A, this is not the class for you.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2023	Professor Brindle is a very nice lady and the class demands a very low workload so, if you are looking for an easy Gen Ed, this is the class! However, don’t expect learning anything from this class other than public speaking when presenting. The lectures are relatively boring and the only thing I can remember is Professor Brindle talking about her sons. The expectations outside of class are very confusing and there are no assignments ever posted. Your guide is the syllabus that lists the chapters you are supposed to be reading each week. I did the math: The page numbers can eclipse 60 pages before the next class period. It’s simply not worth the time reading all of that since most of leadership is common sense. I just skimmed the case studies at the end which were half of the in-class discussion. On top of no assignments being posted, half the grades you receive in the class aren’t reported in canvas and you just hope that your “participation” grade is good without any information unless you directly ask the GA. On the topic of the GA: she did almost all the work and determined how we were graded. Professor Brindle doesn’t grade much. My main gripe with the grading structure was professor Brindle made it seem as if the discussion posts were extra points of participation for reserved individuals in the class. However, when midterm grades were due, my grade was lower than expected because the discussion posts were mandatory by the GA and she would drop your participation grade. Just make sure to do the discussion posts, read the case studies before class, and you should be golden for an A in participation (I started to figure this pattern out midway through the semester)
Clay Ramsay PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2023	I really enjoyed PLCY201 with Dr. Ramsay. He's really nice and even made us chuckle a few times in class. For PLCY201, he made simulations where students "pick a side" of an issue and then come together to make a consensus decision. I took this course as a gen-ed credit and while I am not a gov & politics person, I did take away some valuable skills from this class and have even wanted to become more involved in some issues talked about in this class. You do have to do some writing assignments and I did initially struggle with them because I had never written something like them before (4-5 papers total), but Dr. Ramsay provides some really helpful feedback! He also provides some examples of what your writing should look like for a guide, and the TA's were helpful with writing guidance as well. You are graded on attendance (30% of your grade) so if you like to skip, this class isn't for you.
Gregory Ramsay PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/06/2023	This man is the nicest professor and human being on campus! I'm not a policy major but I took this for a gen ed and ended up loving it, mainly because of how kind Professor Ramsay is. The class is very easy and interesting, each week is a "simulation" about a real, relevant public issue and you meet in groups to discuss your solution. Three press releases and a final paper but they are not bad at all. Take this clas!
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A- JuliiaFriiedman 12/05/2023	Easy Gen ed 100% should take
Clay Ramsay PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/04/2023	Super nice guy. Let me rewrite some of my papers. As a STEM student, I'm awful at writing press releases and be decisive about policy. But he is super accommodating and answers emails really fast. Will give you feedback on your papers too if you write them early. So nice and easy to talk to, and he makes this class fun. Great I-series, I recommend!!
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/01/2023	Professor Brindle is a very well respected instructor, and will make sure you know it by the end of the semester. Engaging with interesting stories but at times it seemed like the TA was doing more work than her. Still, she was a very nice woman who is very understanding and a majority of the work for this class was simply participating. Easy A.
Nancy Lineman PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/24/2023	Pros: Responds to emails, especially if they're about clarification an assignment, very quickly. Ask questions about assignment formats even if you think they're stupid, formatting is a lot of the grade! Adds sample formats for basically every assignment which makes figuring out what to write fairly easy Really interesting guest speakers! They're most of the class, honestly, which is good since it was one of the highlights of the class Good at leading discussions and leading people through thinking things through No exams! Cons: Kind of intense about her class. Expects you to put a lot of effort in and isn't always fair about it. She gave us a lot of "shame lectures" where she would spend class time lecturing us about how we needed to do better and work harder, which got irritating fast since she was spending time doing that instead of teaching Bad grammar is penalized very heavily. Get someone to read through your essays and throw them through grammarly, you lose a lot of points for grammar The course is only out of 100 points (we had a leadership essay, 6 discussion questions worth 5 pts each, and the final is an essay worth 30 points and a presentation worth 20), and the smallest assignment is worth 5 percent of your grade, so stuff goes bad fast Lots of writing, pretty much every assignment is a good chunk of writing, don't take the class if you aren't good with that Kind of mean sometimes? Nothing too intense but sometimes I got a little freaked out tl;dr: interesting guest speakers and she knows a lot about public policy, but she's also really intense about certain things relating to her class (especially grammar and formatting) Expect a lot of writing
Nancy Lineman PLCY201 Anonymous 11/08/2023	rather intimidating but gets nicer as the semester goes on. final project is a little heavy in terms of workload but still doable.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 10/25/2023	Took this class with her. She is so boring and talks so quietly its hard to hear. I had an A in the course the whole semester and then she graded our final paper so harshly that it brought me to a B+. Also, her TA does literally everything for her.
Anne Kaiser PLCY201 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/15/2023	Pretty chill class, most people stare at their laptops doing other work for the 2.5 hour sessions and little is required of you in class time. HOWEVER, the grades on the assignments are not clear. Just like other reviews in here, you will lose points on points for things that make no sense even when you can find no reason you deserve point deduction. Did you included everything on the rubric thoroughly and clearly into your essay? Jokes on you, B- for made up reasons.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/13/2023	This class is unbelievably boring and Professor Brindle is no better. This is one of the worst classes I have taken so far in college. I feel like I have learned absolutely nothing, and Professor Brindle made it almost unbearable. She is extremely passive aggressive and disorganized. She expects you to take notes in class but her lecture slides are completely disorganized, don't actually say anything important, and she moves too quickly to take notes anyway. What I find most ironic is that she is teaching a class about how to be a good leader, and yet she embodies none of the leadership traits she teaches us about. She is extremely braggy and definitely has favorite students and students she dislikes, and she makes it clear who falls in which category. She and her GA also refuse to submit grades on ELMS for some reason, so no one has any real idea of what their grade is in the class. SOMETIMES we get emails with feedbacks and scores on papers, but not always. While she may technically be qualified, this is not the type of person you want to learn about leadership from. I am excited for this class to be over. I feel like I am walking out having learned nothing, been extremely bored and drained mentally, and feel even less confident in my leadership abilities than when I walked in on the first day. She is only getting two stars instead of one because I feel like there is a little bit of room to be worse somehow, though I would not recommend taking this class with her.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/03/2023	Brindle has a lot of interesting experiences she shared in the class. It may be abit annoying for those who do not like to write (almost all writing and presentation assignments), but otherwise a nice chill gen-ed to take.
Brandi Slaughter PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/27/2023	Easy Gen-Ed but honestly a joke. No one learns, her presentations are awfully dull. Every other week you write a 3-4 paged single-spaced paper with limited guidelines and basically no requirement for sources. You have to fight hard to make up BS for the essays because the prompts mean nothing. Sweet professor but not worth your time, better off going to sleep.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 04/13/2023	Imagine the most boring class known to mankind. This class does not teach me anything and brindle needs to learn to engage her students rather than passive aggressively singling them out because they don't pay attention. If you're not a Public Policy major do not take this class with her, there are other I-series classes that are so much more interesting than this (and can count for more than one gen ed). The other one star review also applies to this review
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/24/2023	This was my favorite class last semester! Dr. Brindle is very nice and is extremely over-qualified to be teaching this course. The workload is super light, just a few papers, and you could do just fine if you didn't do the readings. I usually skimmed what I was supposed to read that week at the beginning of class and that system never let me down. There is a participation component to the grade, but she allowed those who didn't really want to speak during class to write a small discussion post on their thoughts of that weeks' content (people usually wrote a little over 100 words) and that was good enough to give me full points. I highly recommend her as a professor, and taking this class!
Nancy Lineman PLCY201 Expecting a B- Anonymous 01/11/2023	Kind and Knowledgable professor but grades very harshly on minor things like typos and formatting errors. Class is only out of 100, Expect a discussion post every week that is worth 5 points, and a few papers that are worth 20-30 points each, and one final project where you have to get in contact with a government official.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/11/2023	Not an easy Gen ed. Assignments aren't clear and the participation is very confusing. The TA writes down the names of people who answer questions in class so be aware of that because it can cost you points. You can learn some cool stuff about leadership, but if you want an easy gen ed find something else. This is not a walk in the park at all. The professor has occasional meltdowns so be ready too.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2022	I honestly took this class because it looked like an easy GenEd, but the class ended up being super interesting and became my favorite class. There's an easy workload, as long as you pay attention and get your work in on time, this class is an easy A. Lectures are boring at times but like other reviews say, she talks a lot about herself and her leadership and it's interesting sometimes! Dr. Brindle is super sweet, knows how to teach the class and has leadership experience and I'd definitely recommend taking PLCY201 with her, whether you want to knock a GenEd out of the way or are genuinely interested in leadership.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/13/2022	I love Meg, but don't take this class to actually learn about leadership. DO take this class for a chill gened without too much work. You basically have to just show up to class and pay (some) attention. You won't miss out on much if you don't do the readings. The workload really isn't that bad, though not many things are actually graded. The best part, of course, is how much Meg likes to talk about her life. Believe it or not, this made the class so much more interesting than it could have been. She has had an interesting life, and I almost feel like I shouldn't spoil anything so you can take the class and learn about it for yourself. We even had a bingo game going where we would mark off squares based on which stories she mentioned :D
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/09/2022	I absolutely love this woman, and if she taught more undergrad classes I would definitely take them! The subject for PLCY201 itself isn't the most interesting, but it is an extremely easy class that you really don't have to put much work into it. Hearing about all of the things Dr. Brindle has done in her life is by far the most entertaining part of class, and she is super easy to talk to if you need clarification on an assignment or topic. I highly recommend this class to anyone who is looking for an easy gen ed or elective!
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/07/2022	She is very degrading at times and not the nicest. The whole class is based on participation. There were 2 major writing assignments, a group paper and the final, which was easy. The other writing assignments were all 1 page. The GA posted weekly discussion boards. This helped students who did not want to participate verbally earn a good participation grade by the end of the semester. If you don't read over the slides or the readings, it's hard to participate. PLCY201 isn't hard, but she is difficult, so if you do what she asks and deals with her moodiness, you will be fine.
Mathew Feehan PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/10/2022	Best Professor at UMD by far. I had him last year for PLCY201. Extremely fun but makes sure you succeed in his class. His lectures are engaging and he encourages everyone to break out from their shell and participate in his class. Wish he taught more classes at UMD because I would definitely take them.
Anne Kaiser PLCY201 Anonymous 05/20/2022	This professor is the harshest grader I have had. Nothing is good enough, even if you follow the prompts she will find ways to make you unsuccessful. I highly recommend not taking her course.
Toby Egan PLCY201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 03/31/2022	This was a very good class. In particular, I liked that we had autonomy to choose a topic that we wanted to explore more deeply. Dr. Egan was super helpful , chill, and gave good feedback. He’s fair and supportive of diversity. Recommended!
Toby Egan PLCY201 Anonymous 03/23/2022	This class was not terribly hard, but it was kind of boring. Dr. Egan is very nice, but his grading seemed a bit arbitrary. The class was pretty heavy on group work which was pretty annoying. I wouldn't take this class unless you are a policy major.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/19/2022	Dr. Brindle's PLCY 201 is a pretty interesting gen ed and relatively easy as long as you pay attention during class. The lectures can get kind of boring after a while but if you participate they are certainly manageable. She is an expert in leadership and is helpful with assignment instructions. Overall a good gen ed if you are interested in leadership.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/31/2021	The class had a light workload, which was nice. Dr. Brindle is very knowledgeable on leadership, so she can answer potential questions you may have. The readings were pretty easy as well. If you want a decent Gen Ed, take Dr. Brindle's PLCY201.
Toby Egan PLCY201 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/30/2021	One of the best classes at UMD so far. Dr. Egan cares about his students and really mixed leadership, our personal development and policy in an interactive and interesting way. I’m definitely signing up for another of Dr. Egan’s classes.
Toby Egan PLCY201 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2021	This was a great class! It was particularly fun to work closer with classmates on projects, learn about ourselves and the class guests were good. Dr. Egan is highly recommended!
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/20/2021	Brindle is a good professor, however, her lectures can get quite boring if you do not participate. you don't have to attend every single lecture, as long as you look over the book and go over the slideshows that she posts. You should attend somewhat though, there is a 15 percent contribution category, I don't think they actually evaluate that though, I would still show up most of the time, but if you don't really feel like going you won't miss too much. Other than that the class is pretty simple, there is a slight curve at the end, if you do badly on any assignment, just ask her if you can make revisions to it, she is very accomodating. I got a 79 on the culture audit the first time, then I asked if I could redo it, emailed her why I should deserve a regrade, and emailed her my revised copy, and got an 89 on it. I would recommend taking this class.
Anne Kaiser PLCY201 efriedm3 12/07/2021	I liked Prof. Kaiser. She seems like a good human being. However, she is way to harsh of a grader for someone who refuses to give a rubric. If she had, I would take her grades in stride. The classes were interesting and she led discussions well. It's just that the TA's and her grade so harshly on the most minor mistakes. It's super frustrating. She's a very accomplished woman and I have much respect for her--it's the grading that gets on my nerves.
Margaret Brindle PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/07/2021	Great class, not so much work. Professor Brindle is very accomplished in her field, and I found her very easy to talk to during office hours. We never had a quiz or a test, just a few papers throughout the class. Very manageable. Since there's not so much graded work you want to contribute in class. Definitely would recommend for an easy but interesting GenEd
Toby Egan PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2021	This class is really fun and really easy. There is a lot of interactive aspects with personality tests to understand yourself better and there is a lot of communication with your peers through group work and discussions. You really do not need to read the readings to do well in the class, but they do take attendance every day. This class is definitely not about policy and more about leadership, however Toby still brought in guest speakers who work with policy speak for the class. There is one big group project on a social issue of your groups choice that is really fun and interesting. Toby is really easy to reach out too and is super chill about everything. He actually cares about his students and likes to meet with students to check in often. I think the organization of the class is a little off as the last 8 weeks of the semester was purely presentations which got very old. Overall I would recommend this professor and definitely the course as well.
Toby Egan PLCY201 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/25/2021	The class is very interactive! Dr. Egan is very responsive to students and the class guests were great. It's a fair amount of work, but he does a great job supporting with information and is always accessible. Recommended!
Tiffany Ford PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/27/2020	great professor and person. class was very easy and work was minimal. readings were also very interesting
Susannah Washburn PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/08/2020	Washburn is the absolute best, which you probably know if you're in PL. Classwork is fair and doable, the TAs are helpful, and usually it's interesting. She's also always happy to talk to students and personable is an understatement.
Eric Luedtke PLCY201 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2019	Great guy. Class is very discussion based. Grades based on attendance, 5 quizzes (1 question, short answer response to question), 2 written papers (both very manageable), midterm, and final. Exams are written responses and fair.
Eric Luedtke PLCY201 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 06/10/2018	Amazing professor

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/22/2024

I love Meg Brindle!! Her class will be boring if you have n interest in public policy but it's an easy gened and she has a lot of interesting experiences in the world of international change. Strongly recommend this class to anyone who is willing to listen to lectures and respond. Class can get awkward if no one responds to her questions. No exams just a few papers but she grades the final harshly.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/16/2024

I love this woman she's the best. She is so sweet and knowledgeable in what she talks about and if you sit up and listen to her I stg you'll learn something helpful about leadership. The work isn't that hard and there are no assessments only papers and discussions. Put your phone away she hates that and participate in class Meg is the goat. Easy gen ed.

Susannah Washburn
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
10/13/2024

Having Washburn as my professor was a genuine blessing. I am a freshman majoring in public policy so this class was very important to me as it is one of my first intros to the topic of policy, and Washburn fully nurtured the passion and excitement I had for policy. Her workload is completely manageable, and she even removes a lot of the excessive readings from past years to make the class more discussion based. She will even go as far as not requiring the class to do certain work assignments on days where the discussions are lively, which is something teachers I've had in the past rarely due. She is always super well connected with her students and will go out of her way to talk to you after class. She also re-works to the curriculum every year to make it better and often involves students in that process. To top it all of she is an incredibly engaging speaker and knows how to foster great debates and discussions in class while remaining impartial which just makes every class all the more enjoyable. She is a 10/10 and I HIGHLY recommend her as a professor if you're genuinely interested in policy.

Brandi Slaughter
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
07/25/2024

This class is extremely boring and if she never took attendance I probably would have never shown up. She does not understand when it comes to health coinciding with school work and tries to connect with her students but it is so clear she does not care and would 100% not recommend her class.

Brandi Slaughter
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/22/2024

not interesting and can get really boring very fast but but def an easy A. not super understanding so if ur gonna take the course know that going in.

Brandi Slaughter
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/09/2024

I took PLCY201 in Spring 2024 as a public policy requirement in my sophomore year. Professor Slaughter is a highly qualified, intelligent, and friendly professor. She also was the first African-American professor/teacher I had ever had, she used this experience as a black woman inside the classroom. There is mandatory attendance because the class is extremely easy. I received an A, without going to class. Really good professor, boring content.

Nancy Lineman
PLCY201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/08/2024

Lineman is the epitome of a tough-love teacher. The course has a lot of work but it is totally manageable. A lot of people don't like her course because of the workload but she puts a lot of effort into the class and expects you to do the same. The class can get a bit boring at times since it's 2.5 hours, but Lineman tries really hard to get interesting guest speakers-- including the Senate President of Maryland. For anyone looking for connections in public policy, TAKE THIS CLASS. She's very tough on grammar and formatting errors but only for the sake that it will help you in the long run, which it absolutely does. She may be a pain sometimes, but I don't think I've learned more from any other gen-ed, you genuinely get what you put into this class. Another little note is that the final consists of giving a 2:30 min. testimony on a policy issue in the state of Maryland that you've researched throughout the semester. If you're not huge on public speaking, I may reconsider this course, but it's really very short in the grand scheme of things. Would absolutely recommend it to anyone who truly wants to learn more about policy issues!!

Cullen Merritt
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/06/2024

He truly cares about his student's success. The class is very organized and as long as you go to class and engage you'll get an A. Very interesting class.

Nancy Lineman
PLCY201

Anonymous
05/03/2024

Do not take this class with this professor, she makes the class so much harder than it needs to be. Talks to students like they are in high school, and then grades assignments like this is law school. Absolutely ridiculous for a 200 level class. The TAs don't even really know whats going on, and half of the class you just do random assignments or have guest speakers that have little to no relevance to the class. She will literally fail you on an assignment if you have some minor gramatical errors, which is complete bogus and disregards the hard work that students put into schoolwork. I honestly don't think she's qualified to be a professor, do not take.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/19/2024

Easy Gen-ed course to take, but if you do not intend to major in public policy or are 100 percent interested in public policy then I would probably not take this course. Also the TA does most of the work. The culture audit that we did in class was a fun project. Easy gen-ed to take but also this course can be very dry/boring sometimes.

Clay Ramsay
PLCY201

Expecting an A
MDreviews4
01/04/2024

Professor Ramsay held a very interactive PLCY201 class compared to what I heard about other professors. Each week you complete a "simulation" where you explore a relevant policy issue and get together with classmates to talk and come up with possible policy solutions. Attendance is mandatory and a significant part of your grade. The rest of your grade is made up of 3 short writing assignments and 1 long one toward the end of the semester. He can be a bit of a tougher grader but he is willing to look over your essays before you submit them for recommendations to help you get a better grade. He is super nice and willing to answer any questions you have about the content. If you attend class and participate in the simulations it should be pretty easy to get an A.

Nancy Lineman
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/01/2024

Interesting class with a lot of very cool guest speakers, but a very heavy workload. Expect to be doing a lot of writing, as well as listening to podcasts and audiobooks (it's possible to find transcripts/texts, but definitely not a great class if you're hard of hearing and/or don't have 30+ hours to dedicate to listening to audiobooks). The guest speakers were definitely the highlights of the class. Expect there to be more of a focus on people's independent experiences solving policy issues in the real world rather than any sort of "textbook" learning about the legal aspects of policy/its history/etc. She's a little bit intense, but incredibly well-connected. Also very good at chasing down people if they don't answer your emails for the final project. She's also very willing to write letters of recommendation if you ask her, which is great if you're looking for internships. Cons: Spelling/grammar. Oh boy it is Rough. She penalizes incredibly heavily (0.5-1% per issue, depending on the project), and on the discussion posts, you'll get a 0/5 if you have any errors at all. Getting people to proofread your work is an absolute must for this class (and absolutely don't rely on grammarly/other AI, it'll let you down). The class is only 100 points, so mistakes add up real quick. If writing isn't your strong suit or you don't want to dedicate a significant amount of time to checking your work, I wouldn't recommend this class. Lots of "shame" lectures about grades or people messing up assignments, I wasn't a fan. Basically, if you're prepared to put in the work, it's a great class. If you want something with an easy A, this is not the class for you.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2023

Professor Brindle is a very nice lady and the class demands a very low workload so, if you are looking for an easy Gen Ed, this is the class! However, don’t expect learning anything from this class other than public speaking when presenting. The lectures are relatively boring and the only thing I can remember is Professor Brindle talking about her sons. The expectations outside of class are very confusing and there are no assignments ever posted. Your guide is the syllabus that lists the chapters you are supposed to be reading each week. I did the math: The page numbers can eclipse 60 pages before the next class period. It’s simply not worth the time reading all of that since most of leadership is common sense. I just skimmed the case studies at the end which were half of the in-class discussion. On top of no assignments being posted, half the grades you receive in the class aren’t reported in canvas and you just hope that your “participation” grade is good without any information unless you directly ask the GA. On the topic of the GA: she did almost all the work and determined how we were graded. Professor Brindle doesn’t grade much. My main gripe with the grading structure was professor Brindle made it seem as if the discussion posts were extra points of participation for reserved individuals in the class. However, when midterm grades were due, my grade was lower than expected because the discussion posts were mandatory by the GA and she would drop your participation grade. Just make sure to do the discussion posts, read the case studies before class, and you should be golden for an A in participation (I started to figure this pattern out midway through the semester)

Clay Ramsay
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/17/2023

I really enjoyed PLCY201 with Dr. Ramsay. He's really nice and even made us chuckle a few times in class. For PLCY201, he made simulations where students "pick a side" of an issue and then come together to make a consensus decision. I took this course as a gen-ed credit and while I am not a gov & politics person, I did take away some valuable skills from this class and have even wanted to become more involved in some issues talked about in this class. You do have to do some writing assignments and I did initially struggle with them because I had never written something like them before (4-5 papers total), but Dr. Ramsay provides some really helpful feedback! He also provides some examples of what your writing should look like for a guide, and the TA's were helpful with writing guidance as well. You are graded on attendance (30% of your grade) so if you like to skip, this class isn't for you.

Gregory Ramsay
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/06/2023

This man is the nicest professor and human being on campus! I'm not a policy major but I took this for a gen ed and ended up loving it, mainly because of how kind Professor Ramsay is. The class is very easy and interesting, each week is a "simulation" about a real, relevant public issue and you meet in groups to discuss your solution. Three press releases and a final paper but they are not bad at all. Take this clas!

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A-
JuliiaFriiedman
12/05/2023

Easy Gen ed 100% should take

Clay Ramsay
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/04/2023

Super nice guy. Let me rewrite some of my papers. As a STEM student, I'm awful at writing press releases and be decisive about policy. But he is super accommodating and answers emails really fast. Will give you feedback on your papers too if you write them early. So nice and easy to talk to, and he makes this class fun. Great I-series, I recommend!!

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/01/2023

Professor Brindle is a very well respected instructor, and will make sure you know it by the end of the semester. Engaging with interesting stories but at times it seemed like the TA was doing more work than her. Still, she was a very nice woman who is very understanding and a majority of the work for this class was simply participating. Easy A.

Nancy Lineman
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/24/2023

Pros: Responds to emails, especially if they're about clarification an assignment, very quickly. Ask questions about assignment formats even if you think they're stupid, formatting is a lot of the grade! Adds sample formats for basically every assignment which makes figuring out what to write fairly easy Really interesting guest speakers! They're most of the class, honestly, which is good since it was one of the highlights of the class Good at leading discussions and leading people through thinking things through No exams! Cons: Kind of intense about her class. Expects you to put a lot of effort in and isn't always fair about it. She gave us a lot of "shame lectures" where she would spend class time lecturing us about how we needed to do better and work harder, which got irritating fast since she was spending time doing that instead of teaching Bad grammar is penalized very heavily. Get someone to read through your essays and throw them through grammarly, you lose a lot of points for grammar The course is only out of 100 points (we had a leadership essay, 6 discussion questions worth 5 pts each, and the final is an essay worth 30 points and a presentation worth 20), and the smallest assignment is worth 5 percent of your grade, so stuff goes bad fast Lots of writing, pretty much every assignment is a good chunk of writing, don't take the class if you aren't good with that Kind of mean sometimes? Nothing too intense but sometimes I got a little freaked out tl;dr: interesting guest speakers and she knows a lot about public policy, but she's also really intense about certain things relating to her class (especially grammar and formatting) Expect a lot of writing

Nancy Lineman
PLCY201

Anonymous
11/08/2023

rather intimidating but gets nicer as the semester goes on. final project is a little heavy in terms of workload but still doable.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
10/25/2023

Took this class with her. She is so boring and talks so quietly its hard to hear. I had an A in the course the whole semester and then she graded our final paper so harshly that it brought me to a B+. Also, her TA does literally everything for her.

Anne Kaiser
PLCY201

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/15/2023

Pretty chill class, most people stare at their laptops doing other work for the 2.5 hour sessions and little is required of you in class time. HOWEVER, the grades on the assignments are not clear. Just like other reviews in here, you will lose points on points for things that make no sense even when you can find no reason you deserve point deduction. Did you included everything on the rubric thoroughly and clearly into your essay? Jokes on you, B- for made up reasons.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/13/2023

This class is unbelievably boring and Professor Brindle is no better. This is one of the worst classes I have taken so far in college. I feel like I have learned absolutely nothing, and Professor Brindle made it almost unbearable. She is extremely passive aggressive and disorganized. She expects you to take notes in class but her lecture slides are completely disorganized, don't actually say anything important, and she moves too quickly to take notes anyway. What I find most ironic is that she is teaching a class about how to be a good leader, and yet she embodies none of the leadership traits she teaches us about. She is extremely braggy and definitely has favorite students and students she dislikes, and she makes it clear who falls in which category. She and her GA also refuse to submit grades on ELMS for some reason, so no one has any real idea of what their grade is in the class. SOMETIMES we get emails with feedbacks and scores on papers, but not always. While she may technically be qualified, this is not the type of person you want to learn about leadership from. I am excited for this class to be over. I feel like I am walking out having learned nothing, been extremely bored and drained mentally, and feel even less confident in my leadership abilities than when I walked in on the first day. She is only getting two stars instead of one because I feel like there is a little bit of room to be worse somehow, though I would not recommend taking this class with her.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/03/2023

Brindle has a lot of interesting experiences she shared in the class. It may be abit annoying for those who do not like to write (almost all writing and presentation assignments), but otherwise a nice chill gen-ed to take.

Brandi Slaughter
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/27/2023

Easy Gen-Ed but honestly a joke. No one learns, her presentations are awfully dull. Every other week you write a 3-4 paged single-spaced paper with limited guidelines and basically no requirement for sources. You have to fight hard to make up BS for the essays because the prompts mean nothing. Sweet professor but not worth your time, better off going to sleep.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
04/13/2023

Imagine the most boring class known to mankind. This class does not teach me anything and brindle needs to learn to engage her students rather than passive aggressively singling them out because they don't pay attention. If you're not a Public Policy major do not take this class with her, there are other I-series classes that are so much more interesting than this (and can count for more than one gen ed). The other one star review also applies to this review

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/24/2023

This was my favorite class last semester! Dr. Brindle is very nice and is extremely over-qualified to be teaching this course. The workload is super light, just a few papers, and you could do just fine if you didn't do the readings. I usually skimmed what I was supposed to read that week at the beginning of class and that system never let me down. There is a participation component to the grade, but she allowed those who didn't really want to speak during class to write a small discussion post on their thoughts of that weeks' content (people usually wrote a little over 100 words) and that was good enough to give me full points. I highly recommend her as a professor, and taking this class!

Nancy Lineman
PLCY201

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
01/11/2023

Kind and Knowledgable professor but grades very harshly on minor things like typos and formatting errors. Class is only out of 100, Expect a discussion post every week that is worth 5 points, and a few papers that are worth 20-30 points each, and one final project where you have to get in contact with a government official.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
01/11/2023

Not an easy Gen ed. Assignments aren't clear and the participation is very confusing. The TA writes down the names of people who answer questions in class so be aware of that because it can cost you points. You can learn some cool stuff about leadership, but if you want an easy gen ed find something else. This is not a walk in the park at all. The professor has occasional meltdowns so be ready too.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/19/2022

I honestly took this class because it looked like an easy GenEd, but the class ended up being super interesting and became my favorite class. There's an easy workload, as long as you pay attention and get your work in on time, this class is an easy A. Lectures are boring at times but like other reviews say, she talks a lot about herself and her leadership and it's interesting sometimes! Dr. Brindle is super sweet, knows how to teach the class and has leadership experience and I'd definitely recommend taking PLCY201 with her, whether you want to knock a GenEd out of the way or are genuinely interested in leadership.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2022

I love Meg, but don't take this class to actually learn about leadership. DO take this class for a chill gened without too much work. You basically have to just show up to class and pay (some) attention. You won't miss out on much if you don't do the readings. The workload really isn't that bad, though not many things are actually graded. The best part, of course, is how much Meg likes to talk about her life. Believe it or not, this made the class so much more interesting than it could have been. She has had an *interesting* life, and I almost feel like I shouldn't spoil anything so you can take the class and learn about it for yourself. We even had a bingo game going where we would mark off squares based on which stories she mentioned :D

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/09/2022

I absolutely love this woman, and if she taught more undergrad classes I would definitely take them! The subject for PLCY201 itself isn't the most interesting, but it is an extremely easy class that you really don't have to put much work into it. Hearing about all of the things Dr. Brindle has done in her life is by far the most entertaining part of class, and she is super easy to talk to if you need clarification on an assignment or topic. I highly recommend this class to anyone who is looking for an easy gen ed or elective!

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/07/2022

She is very degrading at times and not the nicest. The whole class is based on participation. There were 2 major writing assignments, a group paper and the final, which was easy. The other writing assignments were all 1 page. The GA posted weekly discussion boards. This helped students who did not want to participate verbally earn a good participation grade by the end of the semester. If you don't read over the slides or the readings, it's hard to participate. PLCY201 isn't hard, but she is difficult, so if you do what she asks and deals with her moodiness, you will be fine.

Mathew Feehan
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/10/2022

Best Professor at UMD by far. I had him last year for PLCY201. Extremely fun but makes sure you succeed in his class. His lectures are engaging and he encourages everyone to break out from their shell and participate in his class. Wish he taught more classes at UMD because I would definitely take them.

Anne Kaiser
PLCY201

Anonymous
05/20/2022

This professor is the harshest grader I have had. Nothing is good enough, even if you follow the prompts she will find ways to make you unsuccessful. I highly recommend not taking her course.

Toby Egan
PLCY201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
03/31/2022

This was a very good class. In particular, I liked that we had autonomy to choose a topic that we wanted to explore more deeply. Dr. Egan was super helpful , chill, and gave good feedback. He’s fair and supportive of diversity. Recommended!

Toby Egan
PLCY201

Anonymous
03/23/2022

This class was not terribly hard, but it was kind of boring. Dr. Egan is very nice, but his grading seemed a bit arbitrary. The class was pretty heavy on group work which was pretty annoying. I wouldn't take this class unless you are a policy major.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/19/2022

Dr. Brindle's PLCY 201 is a pretty interesting gen ed and relatively easy as long as you pay attention during class. The lectures can get kind of boring after a while but if you participate they are certainly manageable. She is an expert in leadership and is helpful with assignment instructions. Overall a good gen ed if you are interested in leadership.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/31/2021

The class had a light workload, which was nice. Dr. Brindle is very knowledgeable on leadership, so she can answer potential questions you may have. The readings were pretty easy as well. If you want a decent Gen Ed, take Dr. Brindle's PLCY201.

Toby Egan
PLCY201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/30/2021

One of the best classes at UMD so far. Dr. Egan cares about his students and really mixed leadership, our personal development and policy in an interactive and interesting way. I’m definitely signing up for another of Dr. Egan’s classes.

Toby Egan
PLCY201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/20/2021

This was a great class! It was particularly fun to work closer with classmates on projects, learn about ourselves and the class guests were good. Dr. Egan is highly recommended!

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/20/2021

Brindle is a good professor, however, her lectures can get quite boring if you do not participate. you don't have to attend every single lecture, as long as you look over the book and go over the slideshows that she posts. You should attend somewhat though, there is a 15 percent contribution category, I don't think they actually evaluate that though, I would still show up most of the time, but if you don't really feel like going you won't miss too much. Other than that the class is pretty simple, there is a slight curve at the end, if you do badly on any assignment, just ask her if you can make revisions to it, she is very accomodating. I got a 79 on the culture audit the first time, then I asked if I could redo it, emailed her why I should deserve a regrade, and emailed her my revised copy, and got an 89 on it. I would recommend taking this class.

Anne Kaiser
PLCY201

efriedm3
12/07/2021

I liked Prof. Kaiser. She seems like a good human being. However, she is way to harsh of a grader for someone who refuses to give a rubric. If she had, I would take her grades in stride. The classes were interesting and she led discussions well. It's just that the TA's and her grade so harshly on the most minor mistakes. It's super frustrating. She's a very accomplished woman and I have much respect for her--it's the grading that gets on my nerves.

Margaret Brindle
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/07/2021

Great class, not so much work. Professor Brindle is very accomplished in her field, and I found her very easy to talk to during office hours. We never had a quiz or a test, just a few papers throughout the class. Very manageable. Since there's not so much graded work you want to contribute in class. Definitely would recommend for an easy but interesting GenEd

Toby Egan
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/06/2021

This class is really fun and really easy. There is a lot of interactive aspects with personality tests to understand yourself better and there is a lot of communication with your peers through group work and discussions. You really do not need to read the readings to do well in the class, but they do take attendance every day. This class is definitely not about policy and more about leadership, however Toby still brought in guest speakers who work with policy speak for the class. There is one big group project on a social issue of your groups choice that is really fun and interesting. Toby is really easy to reach out too and is super chill about everything. He actually cares about his students and likes to meet with students to check in often. I think the organization of the class is a little off as the last 8 weeks of the semester was purely presentations which got very old. Overall I would recommend this professor and definitely the course as well.

Toby Egan
PLCY201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/25/2021

The class is very interactive! Dr. Egan is very responsive to students and the class guests were great. It's a fair amount of work, but he does a great job supporting with information and is always accessible. Recommended!

Tiffany Ford
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/27/2020

great professor and person. class was very easy and work was minimal. readings were also very interesting

Susannah Washburn
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2020

Washburn is the absolute best, which you probably know if you're in PL. Classwork is fair and doable, the TAs are helpful, and usually it's interesting. She's also always happy to talk to students and personable is an understatement.

Eric Luedtke
PLCY201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/18/2019

Great guy. Class is very discussion based. Grades based on attendance, 5 quizzes (1 question, short answer response to question), 2 written papers (both very manageable), midterm, and final. Exams are written responses and fair.

Eric Luedtke
PLCY201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
06/10/2018

Amazing professor

Reviews for PLCY201