Bill Fagan | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/10/2024	Bill Fagan is the absolute worst professor I have had the disprivilege of being taught by. Before taking this course, I did take a look at the PlanetTerp reviews. At that point, there were only three that had a lot of good things to say about him. After taking this class, I'm convinced he wrote those reviews himself. He does technically curve every exam as they have 108 questions but are graded out of a 100. However, the exams are so tricky to the point that this curve nor does the two page cheat sheet helps. He does not do a good job at teaching. He claims he is trying to build better relationships with his students and does a "lyric of the day" related to the content, but it is so hard to enjoy this class due to his teaching style. Attendance did go down throughout the semester solely because he reads off the slides, claims there is no trick questions, then we are faced with trick questions. I've genuinely studied for every exam, along with making my cheat sheet, and left feeling horrible about myself after every one of them. His TA's really are great though. Best and only part of this class was his TA's.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/09/2024	There are a lot of negative reviews for Fagan, but I had no biology experience since freshman year of high school and had a great experience in this class. He will add buffer points to exams (for example having 108 points possible on an exam but only grading out of 100, so above 100% is possible), and even added a few points curve to some of our midterms. Not only that, but he allows two full sheets of paper front and back each as notes on the exam... plenty of space, if utilized, to have notes on anything you need to remember from the lecture. There are reviews that criticize him for "reading directly from slides," but then some criticizing that he will add concepts that he talked about in class that weren't directly written down. Both of those can't be true at the same time, and in my experience the slides that he also posts for viewing on your own time as well are a great tool to have, but you have to go to lectures (missing one won't be the end of the world) and that's also kind of the point of an in-person class. There are also assigned readings, which admittedly I didn't even do unless I was having trouble with a concept, but I would guess that people who are struggling in this class didn't use this at all. There were only 5 homework assignments, very doable with the TA's available over email for extra help, and never took me much more than an hour. Some took fewer than 30 minutes. I am aware of many people doing them last minute the night before they were due, which I would just never recommend because then there is far less time to receive help if you end up needing it. I'm not sure if people who had bad things to say about Fagan were just not showing up, not paying attention or just taking notes straight from the slides. I can say that there was a noticeable drop in attendance after the first week, and he even showed us in the beginning of the semester grade distributions for those who attended nearly every lecture vs those who did not. Again, even though attendance isn't graded, this is college. Just show up twice a week. I feel as though I didn't have to go above and beyond to do very well in this course. I just showed up, listened and took notes, and used the resources he gave us (and even then sometimes did bare minimum). The TA's were also very helpful, and do deserve a shout out as well. This is not a throwaway class, and if you are in a science major you will likely face so much worse than this very manageable class. I'm not sure what others were expecting, but based on my personal experience I would absolutely recommend Dr. Fagan for BSCI160.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/09/2024	Hey Bill. Girl, you have done it again—constantly lowering the bar for all of us, and doing it flawlessly. I’d say I’m surprised, but let’s be real: you lied on day one when you claimed, “I never ask trick questions.” Or how about when you ask the class a question and everyone sits in silence because half the class already knows better than to show up for your mindless recitation of the slides? Oh, and don’t think I forgot about the homework, Bill. I don’t think I ever will forget how spectacularly poorly worded it was, asking us to rearrange population equations using differential equations that you genuinely typed and said "I'm cooking with this". Speaking of “poorly worded,” let’s not skip your exams that remind me of having psychosis at midnight in the middle of the woods. My favorite moment? The question asking, “Where in these regions is there a desert?” followed by options like Algeria and Kenya. Kenya and Algeria, Bill? When exactly did you teach us about Africa's geology, and did you know they both have deserts? I would rather be stranded in the Sahara with no water than have answer that question again. While we’re on the topic of questions, can we talk about your idea of “help”? Elizabeth and Charlotte, the TAs who carried this course on their backs with the care and competence you apparently couldn’t muster, were sent from heaven. Why were you such a brat (not in the good way) to your TA's Bill? Did they snatch your weave before the semester started? Meanwhile, your sole contribution to my exam stress was strolling by as Charlotte was actually helping me and dropping this gem: “Oh well, do better next time,” before catwalking off to add absolutely nothing of value. Bill, lick my soles. I also want to take a moment to celebrate how relevant BSCI160: Ecology and Evolution will be to my Cell Biology and Genetics major. I can’t wait to apply these vital lessons on desert geography? Also Bill, what heroin did you give the pre fall 2024 students? There must have been a mistake on the nameplate or something, as I see no real reason to give this man any five star review. Ultimately, Bill, I’d love to end on a high note and call you a good person, but oh well, do better next time.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/07/2024	Bill basically only read off slides, he rarely answered questions when hands were raised, one time i put my hand up to ask a question, and after he read 5 slides (not like short nothing slides, he covered 5 slides worth of content) i put my hand down b/c my arm was tired - i stopped going to class after this, i can read the slides myself thank you. Exams were fair, and he let you have 2 pages of notes for them For midterm 2, i woke up the day of the exam, read all of the slides for the first time and took 2 pages of notes, took the exam and got a 97%
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/06/2024	I definitely agree with the other reviews. He does not really explain concepts fully and then expects students to explain the concept on the exam. There is no practice before exams and NO CURVE. Other BSCI160 professors either curve or drop a test (sometimes both). However, Fagan does not do either. You would benefit from taking another professor.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/05/2024	Decent teacher and lectures are easy to understand. Unlike other reviews I think the exams are super easy because you are allowed to have 2 sheets of notes front and back which is more than enough space for what you need on the exam. Also he highlights all the terms you need to know in red on the slide shows. Writing those terms down on a note sheet and doing no other studying should be good enough to get an A on the tests. However, I do agree that the homework's are ridiculous. There are five in total. 1-3 are easy enough and shouldn't take you too long. 4-5 are insanely difficult and just don't make sense. The lectures don't help with the homework either.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/05/2024	Exams and homeworks are needlessly difficult. No flexibility with due dates whatsoever. If you are looking for an easy lab credit, keep searching.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/04/2024	RUN WHILE YOU CAN. He does not curve exams (other than the first one), and does not drop any exams. The other professors are so much better for BSCI160
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/02/2024	Just discovered that other professors are dropping exams and or are making the finals optional. Fagan is doing none of that, and makes the homework impossible with C averages on exams with no curve.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/02/2024	Other comments are all true try not to take if you can
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 11/25/2024	DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. I wish I had seen more negative reviews before enrolling in what I thought was going to be relatively easy. The other reviews from this semester do a good job at providing a well rounded image into this class and exams. pls don't take it
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 11/24/2024	He just doesn't help us out much. If he applies no overall curve to the class then I don't get what's going on (which the syllabus says there will not be). He makes it needlessly difficult when our content is seriously not that difficult, it's demoralizing. He is definitely doing bio majors dirty tbh, we literally need a high gpa to get anywhere after college so why am I stressing over an entry level bio class? Office hours, he listens, but his advice is helpful conceptually, but doesn't apply in practice. This same flaw is found in his lectures and is ultimately reflected in his exams. About that, he won't release exams scores of course, so all we know is people are doing poorly overall in the class, and I simply don't trust his display of the average scores, and he gives gimmicky questions on the exams that make BSCI160 a bad time overall. He really said for those struggling on the exams, write bubble maps... What is a bubble map gonna do? He consistently talks down to the students as if they are children... and constantly leaves a bad impression of bio, when BSCI170 was a breeze for me to get a solid A in with hard work. Avoid this class with Fagan, as it just feels like a time waste honestly...
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a C Anonymous 11/22/2024	DO NOT TAKE HIM. When BSCI160 is harder than my orgo2 class yk theres something wrong. Tests are insanely difficult and so is the homework. Its crazy when i got a A- in 170 but somehow a worse grade in 160. You dont get your tests back, no practice tests, you get slides which bring no purpose other than to be placed in your basically 4 page cheat sheet. Hes an okay lecturer. I would advise just to not take his class what so ever especially if you have an insanely busy workload.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/19/2024	I have to be honest, I have done well in all biology classes so far and maybe I've been taught poorly, but I have never struggled as much as anyone with Fagan. I've done very well in all classes so far, but this is currently my most stressful class out of Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Calc 2... which says something. Fagan gives out ridiculous homework assignment that are weighted far too much and cause way too much stress and gives exams that are truly perplexing. If you want an easy time in Biology, this is not it. However, I do believe I have a good understanding of the content for what it's worth, but this class is completely irrelevant to my major so it's practically a net negative. If you want an easy A or B, this is not the professor, and yes there are many easy professors for this class. I wish I had seen a more negative review for BSCI160 so I could have warned myself for the stuff you'll have to deal with. There are cheat sheets, but that doesn't matter as he asks questions that "get to the depth of the subject" which basically means you need to write all the background information on the slides, which there are 100's of per lecture. I strongly recommend not taking Fagan, and I normally don't go against professors like this unless my buttons have been pushed. He has gone out of his way to chastize the students for poor performance at moments, but deep down he does show care and respect for the material at hand, so I'd give him about 2 1/2 stars to be fair.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 11/06/2024	I would do 2 and 1/2 stars if i could. He's a bit bratty to his TA's and I truly dislike the way he structures his exams. I'm an upperclassman so it's not like I'm a freshman who doesn't know how college works. His exams are like 50% of what he puts in his powerpoints, but the other 50% require in-depth context from what he says in class. Some of his short answer questions are so confusing and vague you don't know wtf he's asking for. His lectures are a bit on the boring side, but I'm not crazy about biology so that's a personal thing for me. He says he models his exams after the book, but I'm not too sure how much he does. He also says he doesn't do trick questions, but so far that feels like a fat lie lol. He allows two cheat sheets for the exam which is helpful, but honestly not by a whole lot. He also doesn't do practice exams, which sucks for people like me who need them. He gives extra points back which is nice, and his curves are around 8 points. Overall, I wish I took a different professor but if you have a passion for the material I understand taking him.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/06/2023	He is nice and understanding. He curves well, he wants us to learn is overall great. he really just wants you to try your best and we will reward that.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/12/2022	He is such an amazing teacher. Curves on the tests are great, and he encourages questions. Show up to class it makes a difference!
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/12/2022	He is an excellent teacher. He genuinely wants you to understand the topics he is teaching, and is always accommodating to questions. His tests are usually 105 points but he grades them out of 100, so we get those 5 points back, and on top of that each exam is curved generously. He really wants you to excel in his class, and it shows in his teaching.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a C
Anonymous
12/10/2024

Bill Fagan is the absolute worst professor I have had the disprivilege of being taught by. Before taking this course, I did take a look at the PlanetTerp reviews. At that point, there were only three that had a lot of good things to say about him. After taking this class, I'm convinced he wrote those reviews himself. He does technically curve every exam as they have 108 questions but are graded out of a 100. However, the exams are so tricky to the point that this curve nor does the two page cheat sheet helps. He does not do a good job at teaching. He claims he is trying to build better relationships with his students and does a "lyric of the day" related to the content, but it is so hard to enjoy this class due to his teaching style. Attendance did go down throughout the semester solely because he reads off the slides, claims there is no trick questions, then we are faced with trick questions. I've genuinely studied for every exam, along with making my cheat sheet, and left feeling horrible about myself after every one of them. His TA's really are great though. Best and only part of this class was his TA's.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/09/2024

There are a lot of negative reviews for Fagan, but I had no biology experience since freshman year of high school and had a great experience in this class. He will add buffer points to exams (for example having 108 points possible on an exam but only grading out of 100, so above 100% is possible), and even added a few points curve to some of our midterms. Not only that, but he allows two full sheets of paper front and back each as notes on the exam... plenty of space, if utilized, to have notes on anything you need to remember from the lecture. There are reviews that criticize him for "reading directly from slides," but then some criticizing that he will add concepts that he talked about in class that weren't directly written down. Both of those can't be true at the same time, and in my experience the slides that he also posts for viewing on your own time as well are a great tool to have, but you have to go to lectures (missing one won't be the end of the world) and that's also kind of the point of an in-person class. There are also assigned readings, which admittedly I didn't even do unless I was having trouble with a concept, but I would guess that people who are struggling in this class didn't use this at all. There were only 5 homework assignments, very doable with the TA's available over email for extra help, and never took me much more than an hour. Some took fewer than 30 minutes. I am aware of many people doing them last minute the night before they were due, which I would just never recommend because then there is far less time to receive help if you end up needing it. I'm not sure if people who had bad things to say about Fagan were just not showing up, not paying attention or just taking notes straight from the slides. I can say that there was a noticeable drop in attendance after the first week, and he even showed us in the beginning of the semester grade distributions for those who attended nearly every lecture vs those who did not. Again, even though attendance isn't graded, this is college. Just show up twice a week. I feel as though I didn't have to go above and beyond to do very well in this course. I just showed up, listened and took notes, and used the resources he gave us (and even then sometimes did bare minimum). The TA's were also very helpful, and do deserve a shout out as well. This is not a throwaway class, and if you are in a science major you will likely face so much worse than this very manageable class. I'm not sure what others were expecting, but based on my personal experience I would absolutely recommend Dr. Fagan for BSCI160.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/09/2024

Hey Bill. Girl, you have done it again—constantly lowering the bar for all of us, and doing it flawlessly. I’d say I’m surprised, but let’s be real: you lied on day one when you claimed, “I never ask trick questions.” Or how about when you ask the class a question and everyone sits in silence because half the class already knows better than to show up for your mindless recitation of the slides? Oh, and don’t think I forgot about the homework, Bill. I don’t think I ever will forget how spectacularly poorly worded it was, asking us to rearrange population equations using differential equations that you genuinely typed and said "I'm cooking with this". Speaking of “poorly worded,” let’s not skip your exams that remind me of having psychosis at midnight in the middle of the woods. My favorite moment? The question asking, “Where in these regions is there a desert?” followed by options like Algeria and Kenya. Kenya and Algeria, Bill? When exactly did you teach us about Africa's geology, and did you know they both have deserts? I would rather be stranded in the Sahara with no water than have answer that question again. While we’re on the topic of questions, can we talk about your idea of “help”? Elizabeth and Charlotte, the TAs who carried this course on their backs with the care and competence you apparently couldn’t muster, were sent from heaven. Why were you such a brat (not in the good way) to your TA's Bill? Did they snatch your weave before the semester started? Meanwhile, your sole contribution to my exam stress was strolling by as Charlotte was actually helping me and dropping this gem: “Oh well, do better next time,” before catwalking off to add absolutely nothing of value. Bill, lick my soles. I also want to take a moment to celebrate how relevant BSCI160: Ecology and Evolution will be to my Cell Biology and Genetics major. I can’t wait to apply these vital lessons on desert geography? Also Bill, what heroin did you give the pre fall 2024 students? There must have been a mistake on the nameplate or something, as I see no real reason to give this man any five star review. Ultimately, Bill, I’d love to end on a high note and call you a good person, but oh well, do better next time.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/07/2024

Bill basically only read off slides, he rarely answered questions when hands were raised, one time i put my hand up to ask a question, and after he read 5 slides (not like short nothing slides, he covered 5 slides worth of content) i put my hand down b/c my arm was tired - i stopped going to class after this, i can read the slides myself thank you. Exams were fair, and he let you have 2 pages of notes for them For midterm 2, i woke up the day of the exam, read all of the slides for the first time and took 2 pages of notes, took the exam and got a 97%

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/06/2024

I definitely agree with the other reviews. He does not really explain concepts fully and then expects students to explain the concept on the exam. There is no practice before exams and NO CURVE. Other BSCI160 professors either curve or drop a test (sometimes both). However, Fagan does not do either. You would benefit from taking another professor.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/05/2024

Decent teacher and lectures are easy to understand. Unlike other reviews I think the exams are super easy because you are allowed to have 2 sheets of notes front and back which is more than enough space for what you need on the exam. Also he highlights all the terms you need to know in red on the slide shows. Writing those terms down on a note sheet and doing no other studying should be good enough to get an A on the tests. However, I do agree that the homework's are ridiculous. There are five in total. 1-3 are easy enough and shouldn't take you too long. 4-5 are insanely difficult and just don't make sense. The lectures don't help with the homework either.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a C
Anonymous
12/05/2024

Exams and homeworks are needlessly difficult. No flexibility with due dates whatsoever. If you are looking for an easy lab credit, keep searching.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/04/2024

RUN WHILE YOU CAN. He does not curve exams (other than the first one), and does not drop any exams. The other professors are so much better for BSCI160

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/02/2024

Just discovered that other professors are dropping exams and or are making the finals optional. Fagan is doing none of that, and makes the homework impossible with C averages on exams with no curve.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/02/2024

Other comments are all true try not to take if you can

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
11/25/2024

DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. I wish I had seen more negative reviews before enrolling in what I thought was going to be relatively easy. The other reviews from this semester do a good job at providing a well rounded image into this class and exams. pls don't take it

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
11/24/2024

He just doesn't help us out much. If he applies no overall curve to the class then I don't get what's going on (which the syllabus says there will not be). He makes it needlessly difficult when our content is seriously not that difficult, it's demoralizing. He is definitely doing bio majors dirty tbh, we literally need a high gpa to get anywhere after college so why am I stressing over an entry level bio class? Office hours, he listens, but his advice is helpful conceptually, but doesn't apply in practice. This same flaw is found in his lectures and is ultimately reflected in his exams. About that, he won't release exams scores of course, so all we know is people are doing poorly overall in the class, and I simply don't trust his display of the average scores, and he gives gimmicky questions on the exams that make BSCI160 a bad time overall. He really said for those struggling on the exams, write bubble maps... What is a bubble map gonna do? He consistently talks down to the students as if they are children... and constantly leaves a bad impression of bio, when BSCI170 was a breeze for me to get a solid A in with hard work. Avoid this class with Fagan, as it just feels like a time waste honestly...

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a C
Anonymous
11/22/2024

DO NOT TAKE HIM. When BSCI160 is harder than my orgo2 class yk theres something wrong. Tests are insanely difficult and so is the homework. Its crazy when i got a A- in 170 but somehow a worse grade in 160. You dont get your tests back, no practice tests, you get slides which bring no purpose other than to be placed in your basically 4 page cheat sheet. Hes an okay lecturer. I would advise just to not take his class what so ever especially if you have an insanely busy workload.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/19/2024

I have to be honest, I have done well in all biology classes so far and maybe I've been taught poorly, but I have never struggled as much as anyone with Fagan. I've done very well in all classes so far, but this is currently my most stressful class out of Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Calc 2... which says something. Fagan gives out ridiculous homework assignment that are weighted far too much and cause way too much stress and gives exams that are truly perplexing. If you want an easy time in Biology, this is not it. However, I do believe I have a good understanding of the content for what it's worth, but this class is completely irrelevant to my major so it's practically a net negative. If you want an easy A or B, this is not the professor, and yes there are many easy professors for this class. I wish I had seen a more negative review for BSCI160 so I could have warned myself for the stuff you'll have to deal with. There are cheat sheets, but that doesn't matter as he asks questions that "get to the depth of the subject" which basically means you need to write all the background information on the slides, which there are 100's of per lecture. I strongly recommend not taking Fagan, and I normally don't go against professors like this unless my buttons have been pushed. He has gone out of his way to chastize the students for poor performance at moments, but deep down he does show care and respect for the material at hand, so I'd give him about 2 1/2 stars to be fair.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
11/06/2024

I would do 2 and 1/2 stars if i could. He's a bit bratty to his TA's and I truly dislike the way he structures his exams. I'm an upperclassman so it's not like I'm a freshman who doesn't know how college works. His exams are like 50% of what he puts in his powerpoints, but the other 50% require in-depth context from what he says in class. Some of his short answer questions are so confusing and vague you don't know wtf he's asking for. His lectures are a bit on the boring side, but I'm not crazy about biology so that's a personal thing for me. He says he models his exams after the book, but I'm not too sure how much he does. He also says he doesn't do trick questions, but so far that feels like a fat lie lol. He allows two cheat sheets for the exam which is helpful, but honestly not by a whole lot. He also doesn't do practice exams, which sucks for people like me who need them. He gives extra points back which is nice, and his curves are around 8 points. Overall, I wish I took a different professor but if you have a passion for the material I understand taking him.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/06/2023

He is nice and understanding. He curves well, he wants us to learn is overall great. he really just wants you to try your best and we will reward that.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/12/2022

He is such an amazing teacher. Curves on the tests are great, and he encourages questions. Show up to class it makes a difference!

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/12/2022

He is an excellent teacher. He genuinely wants you to understand the topics he is teaching, and is always accommodating to questions. His tests are usually 105 points but he grades them out of 100, so we get those 5 points back, and on top of that each exam is curved generously. He really wants you to excel in his class, and it shows in his teaching.