Becky Epanchin-Niell

Information	Review
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2024	This is probably the most fun class I have taken in a while. She puts a lot of effort into making the class fun and does not take attendance during lecture. The workload can be overwhelming at times but it’s really just two essays you really have to put work in for. TA’s grade a little harsh but nothing unreasonable. If you find the topic interesting it will be a great class
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/03/2024	For starters, Professor Epachin-Niell is an incredibly warm, passionate, and intelligent woman. She always teaches with a smile on her face, and she is truly a good teacher. I personally don't recommend you take this class. If you are into this kinda stuff, the class will be fine for you. However, while the class is very, sometimes annoyingly, easy, this should not be taken as an easy gen-ed. There are two essays, a multi-week-long online simulation, two midterms (the final is optional if you are happy with your two test grades), a group project, and a weekly homework assignment. Again, while ALL are easy, it is a lot of annoying busy work; such an easy class should not have this much work. I don't find this stuff interesting so the lectures were boring. Needless to say, the two gen eds kept me going. I'll reiterate: DO NOT TAKE THIS FOR AN EASY GEN ED! Only take it if you are interested!
Becky Epanchin-Niell AREC200 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/05/2024	Super interesting class if you are into this stuff, personally I took it as a gen ed so I didn't care for it, but she gets really into it. Work is mostly common sense, feels like you're in kindergarten sometimes, group project at the end. she posts slides and they also post slides from discussion so you don't really have to go.
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!
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.

Becky Epanchin-Niell
AREC200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/06/2024

This is probably the most fun class I have taken in a while. She puts a lot of effort into making the class fun and does not take attendance during lecture. The workload can be overwhelming at times but it’s really just two essays you really have to put work in for. TA’s grade a little harsh but nothing unreasonable. If you find the topic interesting it will be a great class

Becky Epanchin-Niell
AREC200

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/03/2024

For starters, Professor Epachin-Niell is an incredibly warm, passionate, and intelligent woman. She always teaches with a smile on her face, and she is truly a good teacher. I personally don't recommend you take this class. If you are into this kinda stuff, the class will be fine for you. However, while the class is very, sometimes annoyingly, easy, this should not be taken as an easy gen-ed. There are two essays, a multi-week-long online simulation, two midterms (the final is optional if you are happy with your two test grades), a group project, and a weekly homework assignment. Again, while ALL are easy, it is a lot of annoying busy work; such an easy class should not have this much work. I don't find this stuff interesting so the lectures were boring. Needless to say, the two gen eds kept me going. I'll reiterate: DO NOT TAKE THIS FOR AN EASY GEN ED! Only take it if you are interested!

Becky Epanchin-Niell
AREC200

Expecting a B
Anonymous
11/05/2024

Super interesting class if you are into this stuff, personally I took it as a gen ed so I didn't care for it, but she gets really into it. Work is mostly common sense, feels like you're in kindergarten sometimes, group project at the end. she posts slides and they also post slides from discussion so you don't really have to go.

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!

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.