The best aspects of the course included the interesting course material, the easy to fol ow notes and lectures, and the few effective teaching assistants that were available for the course. The worst aspects of the course included the harsh grading policy and grading system made up of only tests and quizzes, as well as the course’s overall level of difficulty. Students felt that the quizzes and practice tests were not equal to the level of difficulty on the actual exams. The course would improve if the entire class and grading system could be structured with more practice assignments and quizzes that could help students understand the content better, and was at a level of difficulty equivalent to the exams. Prospective students should know that the course is very chal enging but if they attend al lectures and take advantage of the supplementary materials, they will be successful in the course.

Students rated the interesting lectures, logically organized flow of topics, and no weekly homework as the top features of this course. Many students thought the sheer size of the lecture and the dependence on having a good TA to succeed were the worst aspects of the class. There were several students who rated harsh grading and over-reliance on two exams for the final grade as detractors from the course. Suggested improvements included using PowerPoints for the lectures, making more practice exams or problem sets available for studying, and using a different textbook. Prospective students should know that the course can be difficult if you do not have previous microeconomics experience, but the subject matter is interesting and accessible with some effort.

Many students in the class appreciated the instructor’s expertise and the application of concepts to real world examples. The course material was interesting and the instructor as well as TAs made themselves available to students. Most students felt the grading criteria was unclear and did not allow for different interpretations of the material. Exams were difficult and students would have liked more assignments to practice concepts. Other suggestions for improvement included better communication between the instructor and TAs, and more feedback from the instructor on exams. Prospective students are encouraged to seek help at the learning den and prepare to allocate time for independent study.