Sarah Oates

This professor has taught: HONR278E, JOUR175, JOUR200U, JOUR282, JOUR289F, JOUR458E, JOUR479E, JOUR698L, JOUR698R, JOUR800, JOUR801, JOUR808B
Information Review
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/05/2024
The course was well-managed and straightforward. It was exactly what I needed out of an asynch gened class. She is extremely kind and communicative and always responsive and accommodating. Could not ask for better!
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/31/2023
Really sweet Professor, everything is asynchronous and done on your own time. Super easy weekly quizzes and discussion posts. The only thing to worry about are the two exam essays and the research project, but they are not graded as harshly. I wanted to clarify some things occasionally, and she always responded as quickly as possible and even met with me a few times on Zoom. This is one of the few completely asynchronous classes you'll have the option to take in UMD, and it lifts such a big weight off of your shoulders not having to show up to a useless lecture! Strongly recommend this class, super interesting topic that is applicable to contemporary times as well.
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Anonymous
12/23/2023
I don't think her ratings should be as high as they are. The quizzes were frankly annoying to deal with and I noticed a good number of errors. The essays and the discussions had unnecessarily high word counts that had me thinking of how to fill in the word count requirements rather than concisely making my points. Grading seemed fairly inconsistent. There are so many readings, but you can control+F through them. Honestly, there's no way to truly read all of the stuff she requires because there's frankly just an insane amount. She's very annoying about turning in stuff late, even if you ask for an extension in advance and you have a valid reason. She keeps responding by talking about equity, but it's a 200 level gen ed class. It's really not that deep. Not the worst class to take, but I would look at secondary options if you can.
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting a B+
sch1ar
12/14/2023
I don't have my final grade as my final paper hasn't been graded, but I enjoyed this class! It was completely online, and you don't have to join a zoom which was great since I could do it on my own time. A module consisted of a discussion & quiz each week which is manageable. I like the class, would definitely recommend to others!
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2023
If you are a freshman or a transfer student who can take this class, PLEASE do. I mean, where do I start? To put it plainly, SAO is the best professor I've had in a very long time. She empathizes with her students so well and ensures we can contact her with any need. The course material consists of weekly quizzes and discussion posts that are meant to be easy and require maybe 1-2 hours per week. Three papers to write throughout the semester, which don't take long either. Even though this class is async, I felt extremely connected with SAO, honestly more than my other professors. I cannot stress how amazing she is and how fun this class was. I am truly going to miss her :(
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/20/2023
Class is relatively easy, just weekly discussion posts and quizzes (open-note). You also have one project/research paper and two written take-home tests. Easy to get an A in this course. Professor Oates is also very understanding and quick to respond to emails.
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A
Anonymous_Entity
04/06/2023
Not gonna lie, I was nervous about the coursework of this class considering that it is comprised of weekly quizzes, discussions, 2 midterms, and a research paper but it turned out to be manageable. She is very responsive to emails and is quick to fix minor grading errors such as when points should not been taken off. The class itself is completely asynchronous so you don't have to worry about scheduling which is a HUGE W. Overall, I highly recommend this class for gen ed as it is primarily about the effort without the time stress unlike many other courses.
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/21/2022
Extremely knowledgeable prof and extremely straightforward course. Three writing assignments, weekly discussion posts, weekly quizzes (easy control-f quizzes), and weekly readings. Took less than an hour a week except for the weeks of the papers. The papers were straightforward and graded fairly. Dr. Oates is one of the first profs where I feel like they really want me to succeed. An excellent course, very interesting too!
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/16/2022
Although everything was asynchronous, there still was a good setting she placed when teaching this class. The class is not bad at all, and she (or the TAs) did not grade my papers strictly so that was a huge plus. Take if you can, it was interesting.
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/31/2021
I loved this professor and she was really accommodating! The weekly assignments are not hard and the class was very interesting.
Sarah Oates
JOUR282

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/11/2021
Great professor and very nice! Easy online class that was also very informative about current events worldwide through social media. There were a couple of readings and essays, but they weren't the worst. I highly recommend taking this class.
Sarah Oates
HONR278E

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/25/2018
Very nice professor who cares more about students learning the course material than grading. If you show up, participate in discussion, and do at least most of the readings, you'll be fine. One of the more enjoyable and manageable honors seminars I've taken.