My Ratings of Instructors at UoPeople (RateMyProfessors)
This entry is regarding instructors I have studied under at the UoPeople. Please note this is my experience based on the instructor’s activity level, willingness to change unfair peer grading, helpfulness, and reachability in courses. A special "Godzilla" (one of my favorite characters) rank will be given to professors who go the extra mile. I will update this post periodically.
1. "Dorothy Hassan at UoPeople" (teaches English courses)
Dr. Hassan has a PH.D. I had her for English Composition 1. She didn’t post regularly in the discussion forums but did post in some of them. Though she posted regularly in the course forum, motivating students and posting some notes regarding APA guidelines, etc. Professor Dorothy is a great instructor overall. She is a lenient marker and gives you great feedback for the learning journals. The only drawback was that she wasn’t very accessible via email. She does change the unfair peer assessment feedback given by other students once you bring it to her attention.
Rating: I will give Dr. Hassan a 9/10 and will definitely take any of her classes again.
2. "Charlotte Barrett at UoPeople" (teaches electives and business courses)
Dr. Barrett is a gem of an instructor, truly an asset to the UoPeople. She has a PH.D. I learned a lot in her class (UNIV 1001). She is probably the best online instructor I ever had. She gives feedback to all students (every single one of them!) on the discussion forum and engages them in critical thinking. She is an excellent and quick marker too. She also gives constructive feedback on learning journals. She was very accessible via email/Moodle messaging and responded to me quickly whenever I had a question. I’m not sure if she changes unfair peer assessment grades as I didn’t get any from other students in her class. But my guess is she would change the grading once notified.
She is the type of instructor you will remember for the rest of your life and would love to have a conversation with on any subject matter.
Rating: I will give Dr. Barrett a 10/10 and will absolutely take any of her classes again. She was really a Godzilla.
3. “Michael Marslek at UoPeople” (teaches accounting and similar business courses)
Michael has a Master's in Accounting, and is a financial auditor in California. I had him for accounting course at the UoPeople. He was very active in all aspects of the course. I didn’t have much interaction with him via email or Moodle messaging, so I don’t know how active he is in terms of communication. He posted extra notes and explained the topics each week in his own words, which I haven't seen many instructors do at the UoPeople. I would say that he's a decent instructor who genuinely wants you to do well in his class. He is also a lenient marker on learning journals. I don’t know whether he changes unfair peer assessment, but my hunch is that he would.
Rating: I would give Michael a solid 9.5/10 and would without a doubt take his class again.
4. “Furman Leopard at UoPeople” (teaches business courses)
Professor Leopard is a thorough gentleman. He has an Ed.D (Doctor of Education) and military background in the US. I had him for the management course. He was one of the most well-mannered instructors I had come across at the UoPeople. He was active in the discussion forums, posted weekly updates, motivated students, and was a great marker too. He encouraged students to report unfair peer assessments to him. Often times when other students marked me unfairly, he was quick to change the grade and replied to all my emails. He is truly a gem at the UoPeople.
5. “Michel Engwanda at UoPeople” (teaches economics and other business courses)
Dr. Engwanda has a PH.D. I had him for Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. I didn’t enjoy his classes or like him as an instructor. He was literally absent from all the discussion forums, never once posted in them. There are some courses where you dearly need the presence and input of the instructor, but he chose to be never around. Moreover, there were some heated arguments between students in his Microeconomics class, but he never showed up to remedy the situation. He also told us upfront the very first day that grades given by other students were final, and he wouldn’t change them. I was graded unfairly multiple times. But as per his policy, he didn’t correct them.
He used the Moodle messaging a great deal to send out many messages, which became quite overwhelming throughout the term. Furthermore, he was a strict marker on learning journals; probably the only instructor at the UoPeople I have encountered so far who grades students a bit harshly. I couldn’t figure out what exactly he wanted out of students’ work in the learning journals. Also, he didn’t allow using Investopedia as a reference. Students who are aware of Investopedia know that it is quite resourceful for business articles and information. In truth, UoPeople itself uses Investopedia in courses as course material, so a ban on Investopedia by the instructor was very unjustified. He replied to messages quite late when I messaged him, too.
Rating: I would give Dr. Engwanda 4/10 and absolutely won’t take his class again whatsoever.
6. “Brittany Strelluf at UoPeople“ (teaches English courses)
Brittany has an MA in education. She was my English Composition II instructor. She never introduced herself formally or let us know her educational background. I understand that as long as they're a good instructor, I'm okay with whatever their qualifications are. However, a bit about themselves, where they're from, etc. would've been great. Anyway, we didn't see much of her in the discussion forums, but she was very accessible when you sent her an email and she provided constructive feedback on the learning journals. It was the beginning of COVID-19 when I took this class, perhaps she had too many things going on in her life, so I don't blame her for her absence from the discussion forums. In fact, some instructors are like that; they want students to engage with one another without their presence. Besides English Composition II isn’t a very difficult course. Brittany regularly posted in the course forum and motivated students, though. She also answered her emails very quickly.
Rating: I will give Brittany a 9/10 and would happily take her class again.
7. “Robert Chambers at UoPeople” (teaches history courses)
Dr. Chambers is a total sweetheart. He has a PH.D. He was my Greek and Roman Civilization instructor. I’m happy to say that I met an instructor at this school who takes plagiarism as seriously as I do. Professor Chambers despised cheaters and reported them to the school and or gave them zero. If you don’t know how to properly cite through APA guidelines, then you should master it before taking his class.
He was very active in all aspects of the course, posted regularly on discussion forums, updated students regarding course material, invoked critical thinking by asking them questions, gave constructive feedback on learning journals, and answered all the questions quickly on the course forum and via email. He also made sure that peer assessment remained fair by telling us that he would use the same harsh and unfair assessment on anyone who would grade other students in that manner. He checked everyone's submissions on his own and adjusted the grades. All in all, he’s a brilliant and very hard-working instructor.
Rating: I will give Dr. Chambers a 10/10 and would love to take his class again. He was really a Godzilla in my view.
8. “Weicheng Xuan at UoPeople” (teaches mathematics and statistics courses)
Dr. Xuan was my Algebra instructor at UoPeople. He has a PH.D. He didn't speak English well, but it was still good enough to convey his thoughts to the students. He didn’t participate in discussion forums, but kept a close eye on it, and responded to students when he detected plagiarism. He told students to report plagiarism to him whenever we suspected it. The discussion assignments are very vague in College Algebra, and you could approach the question differently than your classmates. Therefore, I think it was very wise of Dr. Xuan not to respond to the work of students on the discussion forum. Imagine if he responded, then many of the students wouldn’t have gotten the scores they did.
Dr. Xuan responded to emails within 5 mins. Yes, 5 mins!!! Whenever I emailed him, I got a satisfactory reply to my question in exactly 5 minutes. I have never seen any instructor this quick in my life. He also gave fair feedback on learning journals. The only drawback I would say that he had was he didn’t change unfair peer assessment scores. I was graded unfairly twice but he told me he respected the assessment of my peers. You can read more about it here with proof. Overall, he’s a decent professor in my view.
Rating: I would give Dr. Xuan a 9/10 and would probably take his class again if I don’t get graded unfairly.
9. “Yeghsapet Zartarian at UoPeople” (teaches Marketing and similar courses)
Ms. Zartarian was my marketing instructor. She has an MBA and was pursuing another degree when I took her class. She was very new to the UoPeople, and it was her first time teaching this course. She tried her best to participate in the discussion forums and posted in a few of them. Whenever I had an issue or a question, she responded to my emails. It took her some time to respond to emails, but she responded to all my queries. She posted weekly updates, helpful guidelines and gave constructive feedback on the learning journals. We both did some detective work together to find out where one of the students copied their entire assignment from, and it was quite a fun collaboration. Overall, she has a decent personality and is a good instructor. I enjoyed taking her class.
Rating: I will give Ms. Zartarian a 9/10 and would absolutely take her class again.
10. “Jason Kahler at UoPeople” (teaches English and similar courses)
Dr. Khaler has a PH.D. He has been an instructor for well over 20 years. He was my English literature professor. He also runs several blogs and websites and writes short stories. It was his first time teaching this course at the UoPeople, let alone the very first time he was teaching an online course. Dr. Kahler wasn’t shy to admit that he was a novice when it came to technology. Several other students and I helped him out a bit here and there when something was off or not correctly displayed in the course.
Dr. Kahler was active in the discussion forums initially for some weeks but then didn’t post much in the latter part of the course. He posted weekly updates in the course forum though. He was probably the only instructor at the UoPeople that I encountered that allowed students to submit late work by emailing him the learning journals. But I don’t have an idea how the process went as I always submitted my work before the deadlines. The course had a word count restriction, and if you went over that limit then Dr. Kahler rightly deducted your marks in the learning journals. I experienced it once in the first learning journal, and then I posted my entries within the word count limitation. Dr. Kahler also responded to emails and messages via Moodle quickly. I don’t know if he changes unfair peer assessment grades as I didn’t get any from other students in his class. The discussion and written assignments are also 5% each in the course, so you shouldn’t worry much about it. I would say that Dr. Kahler is a jolly person with a very sweet personality.
Rating: I would give Dr. Kahler 9/10 and would certainly take his class again.
11. “Tonya Tate at UoPeople” (teaches psychology and health sciences courses)
Dr. Tate has a PH.D. She was my psychology instructor. She is one of the most wonderful instructors you could ask for. She was active in all discussion forums throughout the term, posted updates in the course forum, replied to her emails very quickly, and provided very detailed and constructive feedback on learning journals. She also checked all the submissions in the course, responded to students, and changed the grade on her own if there were any discrepancies (unfair peer assessment in written and discussion assignments). Suffice to say that she was on top of everything in the class. I must say she was probably the most hardworking instructor at the school I’ve encountered so far. Overall, an excellent all-around instructor with a great personality.
Rating: I will give Dr. Tate a 10/10 and will absolutely take any of her classes again. She was really a Godzilla.
12. “David Hale at UoPeople” (teaches E-Commerce and similar business courses)
Dr. Hale has a PH.D. He is one of the most polite and well-mannered instructors at the UoPeople. He had been an educator for well over 20 years, holding teaching positions in the U.S. Army and at several universities all these years. He was very accessible via email and helped students if they needed something to be clarified or thrown light at. He also made sure that students got a fair grade each week and asked us to report the previous grades in the learning journals if a student felt unhappy with them. He also provided a written template for the learning journals and told us that we would get full marks if we followed it.
He encouraged students not to judge other students’ English and give them full marks unless they totally miss the mark in their discussion and written assignments. During the course, he became quite ill and had to be hospitalized and put to bed rest with heavy medications. However, he still marked all the learning journals and did his best to participate in discussion forums. Bear in mind that instructors are volunteers at the UoPeople. They don’t get paid for their services. So, such dedication and commitment even in sickness to students is very commendable. Overall, Dr. Hale is a top instructor and an extremely humane person. I really enjoyed his class.
Rating: I would give Dr. Hale 10/10 and would absolutely take his class again. He was a Godzilla.
13. “Cheryl Mazzeo at UoPeople” (teaches biology, psychology, and other health sciences courses)
I had Ms. Mazzeo for biology. She has two Master’s degrees in the related field. She has been teaching at the UoPeople for some time now. When the course began, she gave us plenty of information about what she expected from the students, like proper paragraphs with at least 4 sentences, conclusion, summary, perfect APA citations, very minimum to no quoting, and so on. I wouldn’t say she’s strict, but she wanted the submissions to follow her guidelines, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I applaud her for making so much effort by letting students know what and how she wanted the submissions.
She regularly posted in discussion forums and the course forum. She also made sure nobody got unfair peer assessment by changing the grades herself when necessary. She checked everyone’s submissions and graded students according to her guidelines. That puts unfair assessment out of the question. However, if students gave you a perfect or high grade but she found out that you didn’t follow her instructions, then she’ll grade you down. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. I only experienced it once when I went over the 750-word limit she had set. I actually learned a lot from her guidelines, which will definitely help me in future courses.
She also did something very unique; she told students privately when they received unfair grades and that she would adjust it at the end of the week. She was teaching three groups of biology simultaneously, but she remained super active in all aspects of the course. She is also very reachable on the email, but be sure to email her properly with your full name, student group (like 1, 13, 7, etc.) and class name (like biology), etc. All in all, she was a very hardworking and excellent instructor. As long as you follow her guidelines and work hard, you’ll thrive in her class.
Rating: I’ll give Ms. Mazzeo 9/10 and would certainly take her class again.
14. "Stephen Dimarco at UoPeople" (teaches finance and business courses)
I had Stephen Dimarco for principles of Finance 1. He has an MBA and is very young. He’s the only instructor at UoPeople I have come across who’s still in his 20s. To give you some perspective, when I finished my first degree, he was probably starting freshman year. He recently completed his MBA in 2020. It was his first time teaching at the UoPeople. He was a decent guy and tried to participate in discussion forums, though he didn’t participate in all of them. He posted weekly updates and was a lenient marker on the learning journals. I didn’t contact him for the unfair peer assessment I received as it wouldn’t have changed the final grade I received in the course. I’m certain he would have changed the grade because he told us to email him if we weren’t happy about it. However, he didn’t change the grades on his own like some Godzilla instructors I’ve talked about; neither I was expecting him to as being a first-time instructor; he was just learning the ropes of the school.
I emailed him once, and he responded to me quickly. I don’t have anything else to say about him. It was a tough class with a quite dull book, and he did everything that a decent instructor should do in terms of how things work at the UoPeople.
Rating: I would give Stephen 9/10 and would probably take his class again.
15. “Carol Hirko at UoPeople” (teaches Emotional Intelligence, psychology, and business courses)
I had Dr. Carol for Emotional Intelligence. She has a Ph.D. in psychology and has been teaching at the UoPeople for some time now. I didn’t see much of her in the class. She posted in the discussion forums now and then but not regularly. I would say that she was mostly absent from the course forums. Some instructors are like that, and I don’t blame her for her absence as the class was easy-peasy. She provides feedback as an extension of your discussion posts and learning journals, but rarely comments on the quality of the work. To be honest, I didn’t feel any connection with her. The course wasn’t difficult, and I understood everything on my own. She is a good person though and gives you full points on learning journals if you answer the question aptly.
I emailed her once to report plagiarism, and she replied quickly saying that she would look into it. However, she never changed my peer assessment grade for giving the perpetrating student zero (the course specifically asked to give a student zero if they cheat). I am not sure if she changes unfair peer assessment grades, but if I have to guess through my exchange with her, I will say that she probably won’t. I don’t have anything else to say about her. It was an easy course. She certainly answers her emails and is very accessible.
Rating: I would give Carol 9/10 and would probably take her elective class again.
16. “Kerri Schaffert at UoPeople” (teaches finance and similar courses at the UoPeople)
I had Kerri for personal finance. She has an MBA and has been teaching at the UoPeople for the last 11 years! When the course began, she gave us plenty of information about what she expected from the students. She wants students to give their personal perspective and not the same old boring answers from the book for the assignments. She also requires students to ask 3 and answer 3 questions from one another in the discussion forums. Moreover, she wants students to remain civil, kind, courteous, and provide not so lengthy answers. You only get full points once you follow her instructions. The points of other students don’t really matter in the discussion forums as she changes them after reviewing everything.
Kerri was very active in all aspects of the course. She regularly posted in the discussion forums and posted weekly updates in the course forums. She answered my emails very quickly and was on top of everything in the class. She insists that students report plagiarism to her when they spot it (high fives, my kinda professor). She also changes unfair peer assessment grades in the written assignments if you bring them to her attention. Furthermore, she provides extremely constructive and lengthy feedback on the learning journals. Kerri is very chatty and reminded me of a motherly or sisterly figure you can talk to about anything for hours without getting bored. I enjoyed her class and teaching very much. In a nutshell, Kerri is a very hardworking instructor, a total gem, and an asset to the UoPeople and its students.
Rating: I will give Ms. Kerri a 10/10 and will absolutely take any of her classes again. She was really a Godzilla.
17. "Jenipher Coppin at UoPeople” (teaches business courses)
Ms. Coppin is a complete professional. I had her for Multinational Management (BUS 2207). She’s very active in discussion forums, gives constructive feedback on learning journals, checks unfair peer assessments and adjusts the points on her own, and scans all the assignments for plagiarism. Most of all, she despises cheaters and gives them a fat zero. She also expects students to fully answer the assignment questions and provide feedback to peers in at least 150 words.
When the course began, she gave students a questionnaire to fill and told us she would give us 10 extra points if we filled it. The questionnaire was a combination of questions related to emotional intelligence and business settings. At the end of the course, she adjusted those points in the assignments. She was the first instructor I’ve come across that overrides the points in Moodle. What it means is that no matter what your peers grade you, your marks will always remain the ones she chooses to give you.
Rating: She’s a dream professor for any student who works hard and puts effort and time into their work. She’s a total gem at the UoPeople. I’ll give her a solid 10 and would absolutely take her class again. She is a Godzilla!
18. "Pablo Markin at UoPeople” (teaches business courses)
I had professor Markin for Ethics and Social Responsibility (PHIL 1404). He has a PH.D. from Canada but now resides in Israel. He’s a very knowledgeable person and was extremely active throughout the course. He’s very polite, calm, and a total gentleman. However, I think he can be a little misunderstood because of the way he provides feedback. He gives feedback as an extension of your work rather than commenting on the quality of your work. He provides feedback through research papers and journal articles, which honestly, I completely enjoyed.
At the end of each week, he adjusts discussion forum points on his own. He’s also very lenient and gives full points on learning journals. But again, my work also ranges from 1000-1500 words regularly, so YMMV. He specifically told us there was no word limit in the class, but students still took off my points for writing more than minimum words. That always makes me think why students don’t read and follow the instructor’s instructions. He's a little slow in replying to emails. Anyway, I don’t have anything else to say about professor Markin.
Rating: I would love to take professor Markin's class again. I'll give him 10/10 and a Godzilla rank.
19. "Jessica Rouen at UoPeople" (teaches Maths and Stats courses)
I had Jessica for Stats (MATH 1280) at the UoPeople. When the course started, she didn’t formally let us know her academic background or education. But she did introduce herself and tell us about her favorite things. Google says that she has an M.A. in Statistics from the University of Missouri.
When she got assigned to me, I read two very negative reviews about her on the “Rate My Professor” website. But one review was the complete opposite of it. I am going to dissect those reviews with my personal opinion about her. Two reviews called her “Condescending,” which I didn’t find her to be. Though the reviews were true that she rarely gives feedback on the learning journals. She gave me feedback 4 out of 8 times in the learning journals. She deducted my marks twice on the learning journals and gave me an explanation once as to why. The other time I knew why she deducted my grade.
One of the positive reviews said things like “the course was quite easy, student-teacher interaction was the real magic, she encourages and gently motivates you, she has a great sense of humor, and the student was cracking jokes with her in the learning journals.” I also cracked a joke and talked about her favorite show in the learning journal. The result was that she deducted 0.10 marks from my submission. Though, it's true that she gently motivates you and admires your work if it’s creative and exceptional. However, the course is not easy. You’ve to put plenty of effort into it. She does respond to course forum questions and Moodle messages very quickly. She doesn’t reply to emails, though. She also posts on discussion forums regularly. She also posts weekly notes and special instructions about assignments. One of the assignments has incorrect answers in the peer assessment area of the course. She specifically told us about it and wanted us to message her if we were incorrectly graded. She does change unfair peer assessment grades. I messaged her once, and she quickly changed mine. In the final week, she again asked us to message her if we were unhappy with our grades.
In my opinion, given the mode of instruction and the standard of the UoPeople, she’s a decent and sweet instructor. She is trying her best to be an excellent professor and is attempting to create a great learning environment for her students. Some things about her were true in the reviews, but most weren't in my experience.
Rating: I’ll give Jessica a 9.5/10, and would absolutely take her class again.
20. "Leon Kelley at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Mr. Kelley for Business Communications (BUS 1105). He’s an academic dean at a vocational institution in the US. He has an MBA and has been teaching at various schools for the last 15 years. Mr. Kelley has been instructing at the UoPeople for 5 years. In the first week, he told us that he didn’t tolerate plagiarism, yet there was still some in the course. I reported plagiarism to him once, and he took care of it.
He participated in the discussion forums regularly and responded to course forum questions quickly. I emailed him once, and he replied to me quickly as well. He also provided great, and constructive feedback on learning journals from a practical standpoint. Mr. Kelley always graded the learning journals on Sundays, and I liked the fact how punctual he was. I don’t have any complaints about Mr. Kelley. He was one of the few instructors at the UoPeople that acknowledged “the broadly diverse and geographically dispersed student body.” All in all, Mr. Kelley is a total professional and an excellent instructor.
Rating: I would give Mr. Kelley a 9.5/10 and would love to take his class again.
21. "Beverly Givens at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Dr. Beverly for Business and Society (BUS 3306). She has a PH.D. in the relevant field and has been teaching at the UoPeople for a couple of years. She is probably one of the only instructors that admitted that students are responsible for their own learning and that she is simply there to guide them and support that learning. She was absent most of the time during the course. She only graded the learning journals and rarely posted on Discussion forums or replied to emails. I was graded unfairly once on one of my written assignments. I requested her repeatedly in learning journals, emails, and Moodle messages to have a look at it, but alas, she never replied.
There were many broken links in the course. Another drawback of hers was that she only responded to questions related to broken links at the very end of the week when students might already have completed their assignments. The course is not difficult at all. But I feel she should respond more swiftly to students, especially about the broken links. She should also change unfair peer assessment in my view, or at least provide a reason to students why she isn't changing them.
Her good thing was that she reported cheaters to the school. She warned students regarding plagiarism in the beginning, but it didn’t stop cheaters. So, she started reporting them to the university. I am happy that instructors like her exist who take plagiarism seriously.
Rating: I’m unsure whether I would take her class again. I think she needs to be on top of communication with students. Other than that, she was alright. I'll give her 8.5/10.
22. "Erin Morris at UoPeople" (teaches electives and Art courses)
I had Erin Morris for Art History (AHIST 1401). If I had time, I could write the lengthiest paper I have ever written on her. Ms. Morris has an Ed.D. in history and anthropology. She has been teaching at the UoPeople for quite a while. She also teaches at various universities in the US. When she was assigned to me, I read several negative reviews about her on the RMP website, but fortunately, she wasn’t one bit like what the reviews said. It could also be because I knew the subject so well that I didn’t see the darker side of her, which the reviews or other students I talked to on various platforms had implied.
You can read tons of negative reviews about her on RMP. Most of the students say that she’s a harsh grader, is mean, cold, and reports students for plagiarism. I didn’t experience any of it. I did get the paid version of Unicheck for her class for just in case scenario on the suggestion of a friend. I have got an unimpeachable academic record at all the schools I have attended, and I would like to keep it that way.
Anyway, she has fixed rubrics for learning journals. If you follow it, she’ll always give you full points. She was very punctual and regularly graded the learning journals on Fridays. She also participated in the discussion forums to invoke critical thinking in students by asking questions. She provides additional information about the topics on the discussion forums. I’m unsure if she changes unfair peer assessment as I never contacted her about that. I enjoyed her class very much.
Rating: I would absolutely take her class again. I'll give her 10/10.
23. "Ian Peters at UoPeople" (teaches BBA and MBA courses)
I had Dr. Ian Peters for Entrepreneurship 1 (BUS 3303). He is a British-Canadian and holds a PH.D. He is probably the only professor so far in my experience at UoPeople that reads all the discussion forum posts and accompanying references and then comments on every post. I would say that he is quite polite and intelligent. He mostly teaches MBA classes at the UoPeople and was teaching BUS 3303 at a Bachelor’s level for the first time. Funny story, he assumed that we were all MBA students initially. But no one other than yours truly corrected him.
Dr. Ian marks the learning journals quite late because he takes time to read everything including sources. He also regularly posts in the discussion forum on all the posts of students. He has quite a lovely personality and is an awesome motivator. He also provides constructive feedback on learning journals. I am not sure if he changes unreasonable peer assessment because I never contacted him for that. But my hunch is that he would absolutely change your grade. I don’t have anything else to say about him.
Rating: I would certainly take his class again. I'll give him 10/10.
24. "Pamela Clark at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Professor Clark for Leadership (BUS 4405). When I took the class, she was completing a Doctorate in Human Services. She has a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Leadership and Management with a concentration in International Studies. She also has a B.S. in Psychology/Sociology.
Professor Clark is a very hardworking instructor. She has over 20 years of experience working in Non-Profit Organizations (NGOs). UoPeople is also an NGO.
Professor Clark is a very hardworking instructor. She has over 20 years of experience working in Non-Profit Organizations (NGOs). UoPeople is also an NGO.
Clark reviews all the entries (Discussion and Written) on her own in the course. She gives meaningful feedback on the Learning Journal, too. She fixes any unreasonable grade as well. She is probably the first instructor I had that recognized how dishonest students in the class were using Course Hero to plagiarize, and she would give zero to cheaters and report them to the university (high five! 🙌). I love instructors whose values against cheaters align with my own. Cheaters should have no place in any institution in the world. The onus is on institutions and instructors to make certain that preparators don't put a school's reputation at stake. Clark was active throughout the class and posted several helpful guidelines. She had a specific rule of a 70-word reply on the Discussion Forums. If the students didn’t meet her guideline, she deducted points from their grades.
Overall, she is a dream instructor for any hard working and ethical student.
Rating: I would love to take professor Clark's class again. I'll give her 10/10 and a Godzilla rank.
25. "Janette Martin-Isaacs at UoPeople" (teaches psychology and other elective courses)
I had Janette Martin-Isaacs for psychology. She has a PH.D. in Advanced Studies in Human Behavior from the US. She has tons of experience in the healthcare sector. She is originally from the Bahamas.
She is a gem of an instructor. She was active all over the course. She regularly posted in Discussion Forums, reviewed Written Assignments on her own, and reported cheaters to the university. She was one of the few instructors I had that actually commented on the arguments presented in the Learning Journals and replied with comprehensive feedback. When you present an argument, there is a multidimensional audience for it. It could be your classmates or instructors in a classroom setting. For example, I offered an argument to her regarding the course load in some of the courses at the UoPeople through the prism of psychology. She presented a counterargument about that.
In her class, there was a lot of plagiarism, and she reported all of the dishonest and morally corrupt students to the school. She had a fixed schedule, and on specific days, she reviewed and graded the Written Assignments and Learning Journals. Overall, she is a complete professional.
Rating: I would love to take her class again without any doubt. I’ll give her a solid 10 and would absolutely take her class again. She is a Godzilla!
26. "Schalonda Griffith Critchlow at UoPeople" (teaches business classes)
I had Schalonda for Organizational Behavior (BUS 4402). She has several Master's and Bachelor's degrees in business/arts from West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago to be specific). She has been teaching at the UoPeople since 2021. I cannot describe in words how awesome she is. Her motivational skills are on the level of 1000. She motivated all the students throughout the term effortlessly. The learning journals in the course are a bit tedious, but she allowed me to open up to develop a sisterly relationship with her. I talked to her about what was happening in my personal life along with the course material, and she not only motivated me but also appreciated the decisions I was taking to remedy the situation.
She was active in all aspects of the course. She posted regularly in Discussion Forums, Course Forum, and provided detailed and motivational feedback to the whole class. She does review Written Assignments on her own when less than 3 students peer assess your work. I am certain she also changes unfair peer assessment when you bring it to her attention. I loved her and her class very much. She is a testimonial that an excellent instructor can make a boring aspect or overall class very interesting. She is an all-around diamond of an instructor and person.
27. "Sayani Das at UoPeople" (teaches Sociology)
I had Dr. Sayani Das for Sociology (1502) at the UoPeople. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology and is from India. She started instructing at the UoPeople in late 2021. Here are some of the things I observed about her during the class:
Pros:
-She was very active throughout the course.
-She replied and answered all my emails/Moodle messages.
-She provided extra links to help students understand the material.
-She was a total professional and knew the subject quite well.
-She reported cheaters to the school.
Cons:
-Her grading was very harsh. I have studied Sociology before during my previous degree. She gave me a 5/10 on my first Learning Journal. I wrote nearly 850 words to explain the topic. She also questioned my APA citations (end references). I used the ones provided by the school. However, she still deducted my points.
-Sometimes too much information can be very confusing. She provided tons of information in the Discussion Forums. The information was too much and I found it overwhelming. I know she was being helpful. But having too much information can be as dangerous as having too little.
-She graded Learning Journals very late. I only got the grade for the first LJ after I submitted the third one. Nonetheless, I cannot truly blame her as she was instructing four classes of Sociology simultaneously at the UoPeople.
After getting the grade back from her on the first LJ, I had planned to drop the course. I also talked to some peeps on Reddit, Discord, Facebook, and other mediums. They all suggested that I should drop the class. For a second opinion, I talked to some of my previous professors from various institutions with whom I'm still in contact with. They all indicated that I shouldn’t. I’m a very persistent, consistent, and structured individual. I don’t give up on things easily in life. So, to tackle her grading, I devised a plan of attack. First, I had a healthy argument with her regarding APA citations. She accepted that my APA citations were accurate. Afterward, I started writing 1500-2000 words in LJs. I was aware that she was teaching 4 groups of Sociology. I wanted to test whether she reads my work. It turned out she actually reads the work. However, when you write so much, even the toughest instructor can melt. My grades improved and I got 10s and 9s only for the rest of the LJs.
Rating: I would give Dr. Das an 8.5/10 and would probably take her class again. She is a decent and professional instructor. I found her very sweet if you communicate with her. Apart from her harsh grading, I didn’t have any beef with her. I’m certain that students can learn a lot from her. The LJs are a total chore in the class, but she can't be blamed for that, apart from her gnarly grading.
28. "Tahemina Pathan at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Tahemina Pathan for Quality Management (BUS 4406). She is from India and has a Ph.D. in Human Resource. She was active throughout the term in the Discussion Forums. Her grading was also very lenient. She provides feedback in Discussion Forums as an extension of your work through research papers. I didn’t contact her via email or Moodle. So, I don’t know how active she is in that department. I didn’t contact her regarding unfair peer assessment, too. However, my hunch is that she would change your grade once you bring it to her attention. I’ve got nothing much to say about her.
Rating: I would give Dr. Pathan a 9/10, and would certainly take her class again.
29. "Karl Thompson at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Karl Thompson for Business Policy and Strategy (BUS 4403). He is from the Caribbean (Kingston, Jamaica) but now resides in the US. He has a doctorate (DBA) in Business Management. Professor Thompson has been instructing at the UoPeople since 2016. He did everyone an instructor is supposed to do at the UoPeople. However, he goes too much by the book. You’ll witness it in his comments. In other words, free-thinking might not be appreciated in his class. For instance, if you discuss why you aren’t sure about something by giving various arguments, he would question why you don’t know it instead of focusing on the arguments provided by you. Although, he likes to invoke critical thinking by asking questions in the Discussion Forums, which is a good thing for your development as a student. Nonetheless, sometimes he did that very late on Wednesdays and even on Thursdays when the forums are already closed for students.
I got seriously ill during his class and forgot to provide feedback to three students in the 5th week. He messaged me about it, and I explained to him about my sickness. He was very understanding and didn’t deduct any points. He also changes unfair peer assessment once you bring it to his attention. But don’t expect that he’ll give you full points. His grading was also quite lenient. He replies to his Moodle messages and emails, too. A decent instructor overall!
Rating: I would give Dr. Thompson a 9/10 and would take his class again.
30. "Luis Teixeira at UoPeople" (teaches electives)
I had Dr. Teixeira for Globalization (POL 1503). He’s from Portugal and has a Ph.D. in Portuguese culture. If you have been to central Europe where people speak English, you will observe that they often don’t know if their interaction in English is polite/serious/funny, etc. That would summarize Dr. Teixeira’s communication. His eccentric interaction reminded me of Christopher Lloyd’s character from Back to the Future. In truth, he also looks like him.
When the class began, he let students know his expectations but didn’t adhere to them. For example, he told the student “I am ACTIVE on the boards. I don't sit back and watch the conversation--I get into it.” Nonetheless, he rarely participated in discussion posts. He also told us that he takes plagiarism seriously, but when I reported a plagiarized assignment verbatim from Course Hero to him, he told me the student hadn't plagiarized. Additionally, one of the LJs in the class required discussing two case studies, but he told me in the feedback that I should’ve written about four. He also takes off points if you include more than 5 references in your LJs. Though I didn't experience unfair peer assessment from other students in his class, his idea was everything evens out in the end. In other words, he won't change unreasonable grades given to you by other students.
On the positive side, his LJ feedback is thought-provoking. He replies to his emails quickly and is a jolly and harmless character. His grading is also lenient, and he doesn't deduct a ridiculous number of points, even though his feedback sounds unconventional and funny.
Rating: I would give Dr. Teixeira a 9/10 and would take his class again.
31. "Ryan Hoskin at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Ryan for Strategic Management (BUS 4407). He's 40 from LA, California, and has an MBA. He actively participated in discussion forums throughout the course. Also, he asked students questions in the discussion forums, which I loved. In my view, he’s a nice instructor. However, he wasn't able to help me understand some of the concepts I was having trouble with. In the class, I totally blew up my quizzes. Each Graded Quiz in the course has only 10 questions that are worth 2 points or 20% of your total grade. I blew up both of my Graded Quizzes, as I had a hard time understanding the riddling questions on two of the concepts. I asked him for help, and he politely told me to read the reading material that I had already done. I brought it up again, but he just ignored me. The instructors are just moderators in the classes as one of my acquaintances put it, so perhaps I was expecting too much out of him.
Other than that, he’s a decent instructor and did everything a prof should at the UoPeople. Nevertheless, I had to get in touch with a business prof from another school to understand the problematic concepts fully, which immensely helped me do well on the final to get an A in the course.
Rating: I would give Ryan a 8.8/10 and would take his class again.
32. "Maher Ghalayini at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Dr. Maher for Consumer Behavior (BUS 3302). He’s highly educated with two Master's, one Bachelor's, and a Doctorate (Ed.D.). He didn’t introduce himself, but his education and work experiences from LinkedIn suggest that he’s from the US or Canada. He currently teaches at a college in Canada. He has been instructing at the UoPeople since 2015.
I had a couple of grievances about him. He doesn’t change unfair peer assessment, which was widespread in the class. I had never been graded so harshly and unfairly on Written Assignments in any course except his. He also expects you to submit your LJs in bullet format, which he would only tell you about after you submit your first journal by taking off your points in the process. An instructor should let students know the expectations beforehand, not in the assignments via deducting points. Once I switched to bullet format, he was content with my submissions.
Dr. Maher was the instructor of one of my friends for Business Management (BUS 1101) in 2019. But they dropped out of his class, and I can now understand why. He replies to his emails/Moodle messages, and was only active in some of the discussion forums.
Rating: I would give Dr. Maher a 7/10 and would probably not take his class again.
33. "Solomon Aborbie at UoPeople" (teaches business courses)
I had Dr. Solomon For Financial Accounting. He’s originally from Ghana but now resides in the United States. He has a Ph.D. in Finance and has been instructing at the UoPeople since 2021.
Dr. Solomon is probably the only instructor at the UoPeople who I observed as having a communication gap in interacting with and giving feedback to students. For instance, he’ll copy part of your post and then use it to reply to students on discussion forums. Moreover, he doesn’t read learning journals properly, and only chooses one of his rubrics to deduct points from students unreasonably. He also sends solutions to the problems of Written Assignments to students before the end of the week for some unknown reasons. Moreover, I don't understand why he posted the same threads verbatim in Course Forum and Assignments without an introductory post for students.
He often told me in most of my Learning Journals, “where are your citations” when I used in-text citations for every single freaking sentence accompanied by end references. He also treated learning journals as papers, which was very absurd, and wanted headings and other unnecessary stuff to be included in them. I mean what headings did he expect? If you look at the questions for the course, which is Financial Accounting, there’s a very slim chance you can write a paper on it. In every learning journal, he’ll use a different aspect of his rubric to deduct points even if you’ve fulfilled them. His grading and behavior reminded me of the episode of Courage the Cowardly dog Show where Muriel, now a kid, demands either more Mac, more Cheese, less Mac, or less Cheese every time Courage cooks for her. And even when the proportion of Mac and Cheese is perfect, she just claims she hates Mac and Cheese. That analogy perfectly sums up Dr. Solomon’s grading and demeanor, in my view.
Furthermore, Dr. Solomon doesn't consult the book. I did my readings from the prescribed textbook and explained the concepts using it throughout the course. But lo and behold, he just copies from Investopedia and CFI and expects that you should've discussed those aspects. In my stance, a person can have the qualifications, but not everyone can be fit for the job of an instructor. If you get Dr. Solomon, I suggest avoiding him.
Rating: I would give Dr. Solomon a 5/10, and wouldn’t take his class again.
I had Dmitrii for Business Law and Ethics (BUS 3305). He’s originally from Russia but now resides in the US. He’s a lawyer in New York and holds an LLM (the Master of Laws). He’s been teaching at the UoPeople since 2022.
Since he’s a lawyer and works in the field, he’s very knowledgeable and knows the law from a practical point of view. I treasured his feedback in the discussion forums and LJs, which he gave from a realistic perspective. He was also quick to point out any discrepancy if a student misunderstood the law. It was a huge class of nearly 40 students, and I commend him for posting in the discussion forums each week.
His feedback was also lenient, and I didn’t have any issues in his class apart from an unfair peer assessment once. Also, I reported plagiarism to him once, and he took care of it swiftly. He replies to his emails and Moodle messages.
Rating: I would give Dmitrii a 9.5/10 and would certainly take his class again.
35. "Pallavi Bagewadi at UoPeople" (teaches electives)
I had Dr. Pallavi for Environmental Sciences (ENVS 1301). She’s from India and holds a Ph.D. in Geography. She’s extremely knowledgeable in the field and is a very hardworking professor. Her feedback was very enlightening, and she gave food for thought to every student through her additional expertise on the subject.
There is this perceived dogma at the UoPeople that all Indian instructors are bad and don’t have what it takes to teach students. I’m strongly against the notion. I have had three Instructors from India during my time at the UoPeople, and only one of them was a bit harsh in her grading, but she too was very skillful in her field and knew the subject inside out. I’m not implying that what other students say isn’t true, but it’s an incorrect notion that all instructors from one particular part of the world are incompetent. I’ve had Indian instructors at Stanford, and they were equally proficient. I’ve had Indian instructors for Economics for Engineers/Computer Scientists and Finance at my previous school, and they were also experts in their fields there. However, my Computer Science prof from India totally sucked, and most students switched their sections to another competent one in my old alma mater. Just like any instructor regardless of where they're from, some may suck, and others may not.
Anyway, that was a slight digression from the topic. Dr. Pallavi is downright awesome! She changes unfair peer assessments on her own, participates in discussion forums, sends gentle reminders, provides very detailed feedback, and grades the learning journals fairly. I loved her class! A cool and active instructor can change the mood and lift the spirits of a class with their teaching, and Dr. Pallavi did exactly that. And she did all that while instructing four groups of the class, which is again commendable.
Last updated: Jan 8th, 2023
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