Victoria Ellison

This professor has taught: ARTT100

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Victoria Ellison ARTT100 Expecting an A chadvader29 05/13/2024	Took this professor in her first ever semester her at UMD, she previously taught at George Mason. She was filling in for the professor I actually took with a TA that had worked for the previous professor. I understand that teaching someone else's curriculum and assignments can not possibly be easy, but the way she handled it was genuinely deplorable. For one, her canvas was entirely discombobulated for the entire semester. I can understand taking a week or two to sort things out, but no, the entire semester there were assignments due a year ago, and all of our actual assignments were tucked away into a few files in the modules tab. Finding assignments and directions for this class was overly arduous throughout the entirety of the semester. This professor had to repeat where to find these assignment descriptions probably a few dozen times through the first half of the course, and even would acknowledge that it could be confusing, but decided to still do nothing about it. Thankfully, the descriptions for the assignments in this course weren't all that helpful in the long run, since these descriptions, the professor's directions, and the TA's directions all differed. She would often explain an assignment differently day to day or even person to person. She had to tell the class how an assignment worked numerous times for each one, but refused to acknowledge that her directions were clearly confusing and often contradictory. Fully understanding the requirements and directions for any one assignment in this class was truly an exercise in futility. She went as far as changing the requirement for the final project a week before it was due over a series of 3 emails, one of which, I did not even receive. For the final project, we were on a tight schedule because she had pushed back the last assignment. The final project was to make 30 5x5 inch pieces in varying mediums that all adhered to a single theme. 30 would be posted on the board along with 5 extras just to choose from at the end. Through the time we spent on this assignment, she acknowledged many, many times that it was a lot of work, perhaps an unfair amount for a 3 credit course (especially towards the end of the semester when we would have a lot of work from our other classes as well). Despite this, she did not lessen the workload, no, she changed the requirements from 30 on the boards to 36 on the boards. I had been using pieces I made that I specifically ended up not liking as my extra 5, so hearing that they would be on the final piece made me throw them away, along with also needed an extra piece overall. Of course, because I did not receive every email, and I did not know that this requirement was even changed, all I saw was some due date changes. On the final class period when I explained my situation, she told me not to worry about it, only to change her mind 4 days later, leaving me even less time to make it up than if she just told me to do it from the beginning; a truly maddening circumstance that left me seething. I happened to be sick during the back half of the assignment, which obviously did not help, but was not the main issue. The whole situation truly encapsulates the overall problem with the professor, miscommunication and an unending wavering attitude, where her mind changes on a whim. After all of that, she proceeded to give me a B on pretty much every assignment for the final (which included the final project and each exercise, which was just a progress check on having the correct number of pieces done by the due date). Maybe I deserved a B on all of it, I personally don't think so, and I think it is to spite me, which, honestly, to be fair, I can understand. I have been a real pain in her neck all semester, because I am willing to call her on her bs. Finally, her as a person. She is usually pretty kind and genuinely wants to help her students succeed, for the most part. Although, when she expresses her opinions on people's art, me and some other students I talk to can find it pretty off putting. She commonly acts like her opinion on the piece is the only correct one. Also, I found it odd that essentially the entire class was a workshop, with absolutely no demonstrations from the professor, as if this 100 level beginner class expected every student to figure out paint on their own. I have some art experience, so this was not really a hindrance to me, but I did find it odd that I never saw the professor make any art in the entire course, unlike my time in ARTT110. (Yes, I took the classes backwards, me dumb) Overall, she may not even teach her again, I am unsure. But if you take her, just be weary and make sure you fully understand the assignment and be careful, I went as far as showing her the printed directions and her own emails to show that what she was saying was contradicting previous directions. She isn't even rude most of the time, she can be pretty pleasant as a person, but her class was pure chaos in my honest opinion. Steer clear unless you haven't a choice; I think this professor and I may have permanent beef.