<p>I've been wrangled into Mr. Duggin's Bio 101 class, and I'm getting a bit scared based on the horror stories I've read and been told by my friends who were freshman last year. I'm sticking with 18 credit hours for my freshman semester (though that's kinda cheating since Uni 101 is 3 of them), and the preparation needed for his tests is supposedly on the extreme end of the scale.</p>
<p>Should I be worried about taking an early GPA hit because of his class? I don't want to be scrambling to change my schedule around in August so I figure it'd be best to ask now.</p>
<p>Is there another section you’d like to be in that fits. If so, just check VIP every day. USC added seats to some classes at the end of July last year. If you could be happy just dropping that course and not replacing it, then wait until you see for yourself the first week.</p>
<p>To be completely honest, you really should be worried.</p>
<p>I had a friend who had all A’s her first semester, including Bio 101L, but receieved an F in Duggin’s class. I helped her study. I know she knew the material. At the very least she should have received a C. When she talked to the TA’s, they said her tests should have been A’s. Duggins didn’t agree. She ended up retaking Bio 101 last semester and received an A with a different teacher and had a much better experience. She’s now in summer school taking Bio 102, though.</p>
<p>I had another friend who said “Oh. I’ll do fine. I’m recording his lectures.” He was a Biology major. He did perfectly well in Bio 101 with another professor. He then took 102, knew all of the material on the test, but then received a 30-something, ended up dropping the course, and changed his major. He’s now taking something like 15 hours of summer school to catch up with his major.</p>
<p>My friend from first semester had two lab partners. One was a sophomore who waited to take Bio 101 so that he could get a good professor. He did fine. The other was a freshman Biology major who failed Bio 101 and ended up changing her major because of that class.</p>
<p>I don’t want to be discouraging and it is possible to do well in that class, but I have personally seen friends who studied their arses off and really knew the material fail his class. If at all possible, I would recommend checking VIP every day to see if another section opens up with a different professor. The horror stories you here are very true and I don’t believe they’ll be going away. This professor has students write letters to the dean year after year, but nothing ever happens.</p>
<p>Also, you won’t be the only one “scrambling” to change your schedule in August. If you do change your schedule, it’s not a big deal. A lot of students do change their schedules, and some professors wait to assign seats, give out syllabi, etc. until the Add/Drop date is over.</p>
<p>Do you know anything about Datt as a biology teacher for 101? Thankfully I was able to avoid Duggins but I don’t really know what the consensus is about Datt</p>
<p>^I’ve heard good things about Datt. My friend who retook 101 liked him. Her only complaint was his accent, but she said that if you studied then you would be fine.</p>
<p>Honestly, from all of my friends who have taken Biology 101, I’ve heard good things about every teacher but Duggins. Duggins can just be an absolute nightmare for some students.</p>
<p>Why jeopardize your GPA with a professor with all the issues listed on Rate My Professor? If enough students avoid his classes, maybe he will improve or maybe USC will replace him with a better professor. </p>
<p>There must be something about Duggins and Datt as they are the most rated Biology professors at USC on Rate My Professor.</p>
<p>Sort by University of South Carolina and select the Biology department. There are 94 Biology professors rated at USC. Duggins is tied for the 10th most difficult. Datt isn’t far behind. There are a large number of professors with both a quality and easiness score of 3.0 or better.</p>
<p>@AUGirl
Thanks for another very informative post. I usually take horror stories with a bit of skepticism, but if Duggin’s class is one where knowing the material doesn’t lead to at least a halfway decent grade, there’s no way I’m taking my chances with him. I’ve been checking VIP with religious devotion for an opening in any other BIO 101 section, and I’m hoping that will yield some positive results.</p>
<p>@DHopkins
I had seen his page on RMP, but I don’t remember seeing the 240 ratings bit, which is a bit shocking considering he’s racked up a 1.8 Easiness rating after that many reviews. Not that I put a lot of weight on anonymous reviews, but it still definitely gets the point across.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put a whole lot of faith in rating sites. My son is attending our local community college for the summer and all three of his teachers at the community college have some really bad comments on one of those sites - but my son has bragged on all three professors saying that they really seem to care that the students are “getting it”.</p>
<p>Also, a 1.8 on the “easyness scale” is far from the lowest (hardest) rating at USC. One of my sons professors has a 1.0 rating on the easyness scale and requires 15+ hrs per week of homework, yet somehow most of his students make "B"s and at least a few make A’s - for those who actually do the 15 hours of individual study it’s hard to make less than a B because they do “get” the material.</p>
<p>One of the things my friend liked about Datt versus Dugins, was that Datt’s tests were multiple choice AND he gave out bonus points. Her class was only 40 students, so she was able to get 2-3 bonus points over the semester to be added onto her final grade. He told her one day that he could see she knew the material, because she always rose her hand, but that he tried to spread the bonus points around… so he sounded like a fair teacher. Also, there’s not really any bias in a multiple choice test. Personally, if I had a choice between Datt and Duggins, I’d go with Datt. I think you have a much higher likelihood of success with him if you’re willing to put in the work.</p>
<p>And yeah. Ratings aren’t always good and neither are “Easy A” classes. My U101 class was far from a joke and required the most work of any of my classes first semester. My only non-A at USC came from a class in which the professor said on the very first day of class that it was “an easy A”. I received a B+ and it wasn’t from a lack of trying. I went to class every day, turned in everything on time, and got pretty good grades, but in the end I came out with an 89. Talk about being extremely upset. lol I was hoping to come out with a 4.0, but I’m having to settle for my 3.95 and it’s because of my “Easy A” class.</p>
<p>@imagep
Thanks for the reply. In most cases I would agree that rating sites are not worth putting into consideration, but the only recurring issues I’ve read and heard about are Duggin’s infernal tests. I’m perfectly fine with excessive homework and studying as long as it better prepares me for tests or exams, which, sadly, doesn’t seem to be the case with his class.</p>
<p>I spent some time looking over the master list of classes and found a section that I can change to without having to change Chem 111 and Math 142 sections as well. I’m going to try my luck and see if an opening pops up in that section this month. I never would have imagined that scheduling would be this difficult, but I’m hoping it pays off.</p>
<p>Sorry about the double posting. Just wanted to say that a few openings today let me change BIO 101 sections to one of Dhameja’s sections. I can’t say I’ve heard anything negative about him, and, for what it’s worth, RMP suggests he’s a passable teacher. I don’t have to worry about back-to-back Bio and Chem classes on the same days, as well, which is an enormous relief.</p>
<p>Everything worked out in the end, it seems. Thanks guys!</p>