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Battista, Claire 
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 8:46 pm, Mar 29, 2013 Report Evaluation |
No textbook in 337, just a pointless $90 "ebook" online. All the material we learned online could be covered in less than one 2 hour class period. So straight up notes in all of her classes. Double dips information between classes a ton, and presents them in a very unorganized manner. 35% midterm, 35% final, 10% online quizzes, 10% in class exercises (only 3 collected assignments in the beginning), 10% blog assignments online. Tests are based off of a study guide she hands you a week before. Understand the concepts, because test questions are modified from the study guide. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:19 pm, Mar 21, 2013 Report Evaluation |
She is one of the best teachers i have had here at poly. She has so many office hours and is super helpful. She cares about her students and is a strong, independent, intelligent woman who really knows her stuff. I would totally take her again and wish she taught more courses like this one. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Elective 4:29 pm, Jan 14, 2013 Report Evaluation |
This teacher did a poor job at presenting the material. She couldn't explain it to anyone and always changed her mind. She was bad at returning tests or any homework. it took weeks to get back the midterm. Although the class is easy, this teacher does not help you understand the material, rather she just says that taxes should be raised and go read the material. take someone else, or take another class. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 7:22 pm, Dec 4, 2012 Report Evaluation |
I have had Battista for Econ 337, I am currently in Econ 303, and I will take her for any class in the future if given the opportunity. I think she is one of the best teachers at Cal Poly and anyone who thinks otherwise probably has yet to figure out college. I think the reason why most people struggle in any of her classes or do not like her is because they are lazy and are used to classes where they can cruise by all quarter and then study the night before the midterm. This strategy can get you by in a lot of college classes, but it does not transfer over into the real world. People also say they do not like her because she is very liberal, but that is a bullshit reason because Battista is completely open to talk about any point of view as long as you can logically defend your point. Overall, I think she is one of the most reasonable and helpful teachers I have come across in college and she pushes her students to actually think and develop their ideas, not just regurgitate information from a textbook. | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 10:16 am, Dec 4, 2012 Report Evaluation |
She knows her stuff, therefore she is super SUPER picky about her tests. You dont get partial credit. Tests can be either multiple choice or short answer but she definitely has at least one test mult. choice and another short answer. Take notes in class and RECORD her lectures. Her tests are not on the book, theyre on her lectures, everything she says matters. I found this class pretty hard, especially for a GE. She goes pretty fast, so if you, like me, dont quite get economics its going to be a tough ride. She writes everything on the board and it is often messy because ideas are mixed with each other. In other words, she only erases the board when its full. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:55 pm, Nov 20, 2012 Report Evaluation |
After reading several of the posts blasting professor Battista, I thought it would be appropriate to give my point of view. Professor Battista is a smart and well educated woman, who is open to all points of view. So many people in this class have never had anyone been tough on them and are little babies and brats. The material in the class, if absorbed with an open mind and careful dissection, is extremely interesting. In response to the comments of those who 'hate' her, it was my experience in the class that you fit into such categories: 1. do not pay for your education... your parents do. 2. are middle to upper middle class and have had things handed to you. 3. you spend a significant amount of time on FB during class (and other classes as well) then complain that you don't get anything out of it. 4. will add to the unemployment ratio of college graduates because when you interview with 'real' people your stories of how you 'like' 'totally' helped out homeless people and 'stuff like that' will not resignate with professionals. If you came to college to grow as a person and find your voice, you will love Battista. If you think you've got it all figured out... well then... why are you even in college? | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:02 pm, Jun 13, 2012 Report Evaluation |
Battista is very much a mean old lady. Her lectures go from really interesting in the beginning of the quarter to insanely boring. She makes it near impossible to find out what she demands on her assignments and how to get a good grade. Go to class every day and you'll definitely pass, she has a lot of in class assignments. Other than that I have no idea how I got an A, I guess she liked how I wrote. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 10:14 am, Jun 11, 2012 Report Evaluation |
This class consisted of 10% homework, 10% quiz, 10% blog/writing, 35% midterm, and 35% final. She lectures for the entire 2 hours of class each day without any handouts or slides, just straitforward handwritten notes. As she talks, she will draw graphs and write down major points, but not in as much detail as you need for the midterms and finals so make sure you write down everything she says, even if she doesnt write it. She often forgets details and jumps back and forth so leave space in your notes because she doesnt allow electronics of any sort in class. Also, she covers a lot of material each day so make sure not to miss any classes. The text for the class in online and this is where you will get the information for the homework and quizzes. Make sure to read because they are timed and you won't want to be searching for the answers. Although it is important to read, there was only one textbook chapter that actually applied to the midterm and final, you should be more concerned with knowing and understanding the notes. Professor Battista will give a study guide for the midterm and final that will be very similar to the actual tests, but she changes the tests and make them more difficult and confusing to understand. I memorized the study guides, but when it came the test, I had no clue what to be writing about. They are essay format, so there is no bullshitting and she is extremely extremely picky about what you write. I had a very hard time with this class and will probably not pass. I would not recommend this class for anyone who is not an ECON major, and even then, be prepared for a tough course. If you go to her office hours, be prepared to refer to only your own notes. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: A Elective 2:07 pm, May 30, 2012 Report Evaluation |
Battista is a great teacher, one of the best that I have had thus far at Cal Poly--especially being a finance major. She is not an easy professor and she expects a high level of participation and class discussion, but I think that is what makes her class interesting. We learned a lot about relative, current events--mostly having to deal with the financial crisis. She really cares about her students and learned everyones name in the class, out of a class of 65--and all she asks for in return is hard work and equal respect. Yeah she expects you to come to class, pay attention, and not be on your phones but the point of college is to learn something anyway so that when you graduate you don't sound like an idiot. Overall I would highly recommend Battista and I think she is one of the most helpful and understanding professors that I have had in college. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 12:18 pm, May 12, 2012 Report Evaluation |
Dammmnnnn people are harsh on here! The majority of complaints seem to be regarding Dr. Battista's demeanor and personal views in class. These things are irrelevant. Here's what you need to know: no tests, all writing. If you can write well - this includes research and support for writing - you will get an A or a B. There are readings (which can be fairly extensive and frustrating) once or twice per week for which you write a short response (like one page double spaced). Other than that, the only work is the final paper which is on Economic Mobility or Economic Inequality. This will probably be the biggest determinant of your grade so I recommend using office hours and the writing fellows for guidance. For the record I think Battista is pretty cool but hey I got an A- so who knows. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 8:14 pm, Apr 21, 2012 Report Evaluation |
This class was extremely unpleasant. I am unsure of how she treats her other classes but Battista did a poor job of managing her Econ 303 class. Everyday she seemed to be angry and would take it out by yelling at the class. If she doesn't agree with an opinion she responds in a rude manner. I would look for another professor, Battista's class was the worst part of my week for an entire quarter. | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 6:07 pm, Mar 28, 2012 Report Evaluation |
The material was really interesting and the workload was really reasonable. Copy exactly what she writes on the board and write it identically on the midterm and final and you should be fine. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:43 pm, Mar 28, 2012 Report Evaluation |
If you are extremely liberal, then you will get an A. Go to her office hours and go to class, you will get an A. If you argue against her views, you will get a B. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 1:40 am, Mar 15, 2012 Report Evaluation |
Battista teaches her material well. However, it can be confusing or not completely clear how she wants you to do essays. Class has no tests, only lots of reading and writing. | |
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ECON 222 Sophomore Grade Earned: F Required (Support) 4:31 pm, Mar 8, 2012 Report Evaluation |
don't take her. 'nuff said. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 1:00 pm, Dec 21, 2011 Report Evaluation |
She is horrible. I read her reviews and thought other people were over reacting and I could not have been more wrong. It is impossible to get anything higher than a B and you have to work your ass off just to get that and the material makes you want to kill yourself. She takes forever to get grades out too. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 5:13 pm, Dec 14, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Overall it is an interesting subject and class discussions are somewhat entertaining. She responds to emails quickly and is pretty helpful with essays if you actually take the iniciative to ask her. (she is letting me revise my final essay next quarter). Good class | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 7:53 pm, Dec 13, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Claire is a straight unpleasant person. She comes to class everyday with a horrible attitude and seems to take her anger out on her students. She usually gives very sarcastic responses to questions and is very unhelpful. She requires in class notes to be turned in at the end of class.... 2 of which i didn't receive credit for because she "lost them". Oh and her lectures are completely pointless. Avoid her at all costs. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 2:00 pm, Nov 29, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Easily one of the BEST professors at Cal Poly. I was so scared to take this class because everyone told me she was so horrible and so mean blah blah but in reality this has been one of my favorite classes at Poly. She's from New York so ya, she doesn't speak unicorns and fluffy bunnies but that doesn't means she's a b. She knows what she's talking about and is one of the only professors at Poly that holds students accountable and actually makes you THINK. Stop whining because you didn't get an A for turning your paper in on time with the correct word count...it takes more than that to be considered well educated and she makes you prove it. It's definitely a writing intensive course, but if you put in the work you can definitely see your writing improve. Keep up the good work Battista. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 10:21 am, Nov 28, 2011 Report Evaluation |
It's impossible to get anything above a B in this class, her grading system doesn't allow it. Lectures were boring, just a bunch of stats that nobody really cares about. This quarter was exceptionally horrible because all she talked about was the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The class is graded on writing assignments and a final essay plus community service, sounds easy right? No, Battista is a bitch and you'll find yourself hating her by the 3rd week. Fuck this class. | |
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ECON 222 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 8:45 pm, Nov 20, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Clare Battista uses her position as a professor to impose her narrow-minded beliefs and opinions upon the students of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The level of professionalism exhibited by this woman is atrociously low and many others feel the same way, judging by the other posts here. A university should elicit thoughtful consideration of ideas that helps to shape individual beliefs. On the contrary, Battista's class forces certain "answers" to be given if one wishes to receive a passing grade. It boggles my mind that an institution as respected and distinguished as Cal Poly allows for such behavior. Add her less-than-helpful way of addressing students coupled with condescending retorts to any challenge from the audience and you've got a pretty miserable class. Bias aside, her class was not difficult to pass. The hard part was turning in work that solely served to regurgitate the junk she fed us in class. | |
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ECON 413 Senior Grade Earned: A Elective 4:54 pm, Aug 22, 2011 Report Evaluation |
If you read the material, prepare for class, and follow her instructions for assignments you will do very well. If an assignment is for a summary of an article, summarize the article (don't include what you may think or include your educated opinion) as in write a narrative of what the article says and don't go beyond that. If the assignment is for a synthesis of assigned materials, then write a synthesis that connects the assigned materials. She is very clear in her instructions and not following her instructions will tank your grade. Dr. Battista knows economics better than anyone I've run across and is a deceptively great instructor. My suggestion is to keep it simple. Ask her for questions or clarification and she will be very direct (not fluffy nor will she be interested in keeping your ego intact, but she will be direct) in what she wants from you as her student. Took me a couple first assignments to get on track and from there on to the end of the quarter was fantastic. I recommend her because she (1) knows economics, (2) explains the material extremely well, (3) isn't a push over, (4) doesn't cut you any slack if you don't prepare, and (5) is direct. Also, if you are going through a rough patch or need help or suggestions from her, let her know. A few in my class were struggling with schedules and she was surprisingly accommodating. | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 7:51 pm, Jun 14, 2011 Report Evaluation |
It's pretty difficult to keep up with her in lecture. She has graphs on her lecture slides and it's not always easy to remember what's going on. She doesn't post her lecture slides online and she took down the past exams right before we took the final for some reason (she says everything that you'll see on the final will be on the study guides, but that's not the case). Of all the material on her exams, she explains only half of it, for the rest you have to study on your own. She also doesn't take questions very well. She's not open to suggestions either. Her review sessions are great, definitely go to those. | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 8:32 am, Jun 11, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Clare knows econ really really well. but shes extremely bad at teaching it. she gets a kick out of making you feel less than you are. she encourages you to ask questions but makes you feel like an idiot when she answers. she goes through lectures WAY faster than any one is able to write, and youre not even allowed to bring in ur laptop. her teaching method doesn't make any sense. she goes through lectures fast and expects us to take all the notes (she wont put up lectures online til about a day before any test) but gets mad when we "arent listening" and are rather taking notes.. like HUH?!? this woman is on a major power trip and doesnt understand how to teach. the only good thing about this class was the review courses. here shes finally able to be less of a monster and be more of a teacher. although the times are awkward, i strongly suggest you find a way to get to these if you get battista as a professor. these are what saved my grade. good luck... | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 2:10 pm, Jun 9, 2011 Report Evaluation |
AVOID TAKING BATTISTA IF AT ALL POSSIBLE! She is mean and will not answer your questions. She does not teach. She lectures at you and expects you to understand what she is saying without really explaining anything. Her tests are freakishly hard, even if you do all of the reading, outline, do the homework, go to class, and pay attention. If at all possible, take macro with any other teacher. I dreaded her class every day and she makes econ sooo boring. Incase you couldn't tell, I really didn't like Battista. | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 7:33 pm, Jun 1, 2011 Report Evaluation |
As you can see by every other post, Battista is not a good teacher. Yes, she knows a lot about economics, but there are tons of smart people out there who aren't teachers. Battista should be one of them. She has no idea how to teach. If you are unfortunate enough to have her, I'm not even going to say you should pay attention in class because that's impossible. But definitely go to class because she does random in-class assignments that will hurt your grade if you don't do them. For the tests, study the review guides, a lot of the questions are the same. But if you can, do not take this teacher. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 7:16 pm, May 21, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Many people do not like Battista as she is very opinionated. However, if you're not retarded, you will just complete the assignments (online 200 word responses and 2 essays--yea no tests) by using her opinion as your own. It takes a dipshit to try and convince a teacher like Battista that her ideas are wrong. And frankly, they're not wrong. She is very liberal but honestly just tries to make all of us realize how lucky we are. She assigns 14 hours of mandatory community service which is a kind of a joke but it does put your life (and stereotypes) in perspective. Overall i would say she is an above average teacher and the class is pretty easy too | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 1:39 pm, Apr 27, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Battista is one of the most boring teachers to listen to that I have ever encountered at Poly. She'll assign a 1500 word paper and only give you 5 days to complete it, then in-between that time she'll give you two more assignments with a days notice, and also material to read that she gives pop up quizzes on that were never mentioned the first day of class. I would have ran away full speed after the first day if this was not a required class. Good luck. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:17 pm, Apr 5, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Battista is not the most pleasant woman in the world, but the class isn't that hard. Complete all of your online discussion questions & pws (she grades them fairly easily) and write decent papers and you'll get a B. The material she lectures on is pointless because the essay comes out of material from the text. Knowing this, she makes pointless random in class discussion questions that you have to turn in for points, extremely annoying. All though I wouldn't recommend her as a professor the class really isn't that hard. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 7:55 pm, Mar 16, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Battista is a decent professor, though much of what she explains in class is unnecessary material. I would actually consider almost all of her lectures to be mostly pointless, all that she talked about mostly reaffirmed what I already knew, and im sure that many others felt that way too, so many started skipping and leaving class early. she noticed this however and started to give out in class assignments about half way through. If you are going to take Econ 303, know that it is a writing intensive course, and there will be essays and other writings to do, and a decent amount of reading to do as well. She rarely reminds people when the smaller assignments are due, so you have to constantly check the schedule for when things are due. the essays were a pain to write due to how specific she wanted the format to be, she says "APA format", but then makes her own rules that contradict some of those rules, along with the difficulty of trying to figure out exactly how to cite sources depending on what kind of material they are from, especially with all the different kinds of electronic material available today. another note, you will have to do 14 hours of community service for this class, not too big of a deal, you just sacrifice one night, and in the process, will likely have a very eye-opening experience. The one thing that is truly a problem is the grading system she uses, it is impossible to get 100% on anything, where she gives out "gpa style" grades, where full points is 95%, so it makes it so the threshold for grade letters is higher than if she just gave out points like any other professor. I have heard of complaints being raised before about this, but I guess she wont consider changing that. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 4:27 pm, Mar 13, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Tip: read the syllabus VERY CAREFULLY. If you follow her exact guidelines, you'll be golden. The best thing about this class is there are no tests. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:07 pm, Feb 15, 2011 Report Evaluation |
I enjoyed this class. She graded fairly, I got a B+ all because I didn’t attend class when she had in class assignments, so attend class. There was a lot of reading but wasn’t heavy at all. I recommend reading rubric before you submit an assignment. She is also helpful during offices hours to help with papers and anything in general, and very understanding, I got an extension on last essay. There are two essay and writing though out the course, not hard at all. Also, the 14 hours of community services is required, but a life lesson. I recommend her!!!!!!! | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Elective 4:14 pm, Jan 23, 2011 Report Evaluation |
Why is everyone BITCHING about how horrible she is. This class was easy as hell, all you had to do was show up, do the homework, volunteer and 14 hours, and write 2 papers or something. i did not find it THAT hard, people are exaggerating on here. The only down side is the huge class size and the volunteering | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 12:33 am, Dec 22, 2010 Report Evaluation |
Battista is the only teacher I have had so far that seemed like she genuinely wanted her students to fail. Her lectures are utterly pointless, I missed an entire week of classes and didnt fall behind AT ALL. . . the only reason classes became a necessity was that about 75% of the class caught on that lectures were pointless and quit going . . . so Battista started doing in-class assignments (which is not one of the reasons I count for her wanting her students to fail, I would have done the same in her position, there are plenty of legitimate reasons she is horrible that any one of her former students could tell you). We didn\'t get the first paper back until the second paper was due, which made it hard to tell if your writing was up to par or not, even though she insists it shouldn\'t matter because they are different assignments. I am a strong writer and got B\'s on both of my papers (papers, prep-writes, and DQ\'s are your entire grade), but still pulled an A in the class. If you aren\'t a decent writer, DON\'T TAKE BATTISTA. Plus, I had to spend the night in a homeless shelter for this class, so if you aren\'t into community service, DON\'T TAKE THIS CLASS. Also, if you want a good teacher who doesn\'t simply read off the slides, DON\'T TAKE THIS CLASS. Overall, I hated it with a passion. The prepwrites and DQ\'s are such a pain, and she grades the prep-writes pretty harshly. Moral of the story: DON\'T TAKE THIS CLASS!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 3:16 pm, Dec 21, 2010 Report Evaluation |
Everybody rips on Battista for being the worst professor at Poly, but to be honest she\'s not that bad. I took this class in the silo so from what I hear it may be graded a bit easier than the smaller classes. Battista is an incredibly intellectual woman and often intimidates students because of that. All quarter every student bitched about the teacher but to be honest she\'s not that bad. When and what assignments are due is fairly unclear, but if you just assume you will have something due before every class then you\'ll get by just fine. Her grading is inconsistant and she offers no comments on to why she marks things down. The class consists of a number of online assignments which are only 250 words and pretty easy to be honest. I got mostly 3s and 4\'s out of 4. Other than that there is a few in class assignments that she hands out just to make sure kids are skipping her class. If you attend you get full credit. Finally, the majority of the grading consists of 2 essays. Our quarter the second essay was due before we ever got the first one graded, so this was shitty in the sense that if you really fucked up the first essay, you wouldn\'t know until it\'s most likely too late. She\'s tough but very helpful in her office hours. I managed to miss a couple assignments and got a high B and low A on the papers and managed to pass the class with an A-. There\'s easier teachers out there, but taking Battista is not the end of the world. This class actually helped me develop my real world outlook on life, rather than just take tests I\'m going to forget in a week. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 2:44 pm, Dec 13, 2010 Report Evaluation |
I took Battista for Econ 303 to fulfill a GE requirement. Econ was never a strong point of mine but this class is very interesting and different from other Econ classes I have taken. Battista was very open to hearing peoples opinions and loved it when people would participate in lectures and ask questions. She never would make you feel stupid for throwing an idea or opinion out there, even when students were rude and obviously not taking the class seriously. I feel like a lot of people complained about her class, but I think it\'s just because they weren\'t following the instructions she laid out (which were in the syllabus she gave on the first day.) There is some volunteering either at homeless shelters, or the Prado day center, which makes sense since it is about poverty. This class gives out a lot of small assignments but as long as you follow the instructions she gives, and go to every class you will be just fine. | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 2:16 pm, Dec 8, 2010 Report Evaluation |
Attention Colleagues, Doctor Battista did a great job educating me on money, banking, and credit. I am glad to have taken this course as it seems many of my friends are lacking in the m,b, and c department as we prepare for graduate school. Definitely better one on one than in class, kind of awkward, but show me one person in the econ department who isnt... I think she just has a hard time being unbiased all the time and would prolly be much more relaxed if she was open about her political and economic views. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 2:06 pm, Dec 8, 2010 Report Evaluation |
It was Doctor Battista\'s first quarter doing 303 in the silo when I had her. It was kind of a structural mess at the time but fairly interesting class. I would recommend the lady, seems like this is her area of expertise. We did a few papers, she was good about incorporating that skill-set into the curriculum for econ and business students who are usually too busy eating free pizza with cpac to care. I take that back, accounting students can probably write well, not sure, at least they have the most attractive ladies? Na thats marketing whos kidding who- actually its IT but we would never know. Regardless, C-Batt lays down poverty and all that like its Zimbabwe up in this biatch. Comes off as a bit of a cooter, but if you get to know her she is really cool and helpful with career plans, E tea sea. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 4:03 pm, Nov 28, 2010 Report Evaluation |
She knows what she wants and you better get it the way she wants even though she doesn\'t tell you how she wants it | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:11 pm, Jun 20, 2010 Report Evaluation |
I tried really, really hard to give Battista a chance. Unlike many of the students I actually really liked the content of the class. However as the quarter went on I began to feel like Battista wanted us to fail. The class is a gigantic power trip for her. Every single student in the class could disagree with her but it was like she almost enjoyed telling us we were ALL wrong. Her essay requirements were incredibly unclear. She had the TA grade our first essay and when we all got better grades than she expected or thought we deserved she got mad. She said the majority of students should be below average writers and that our scores reflected that we should all be above average. So basically she thinks we should all get D\'s without even reading our essays? We were set up to fail. The way she weights assignments is completely screwed up also. She\'s ridiculous. I\'m not ripping on her because I got a B+ not an A, I\'m ripping on her because she made me feel completely inadequate because of her bullshit standards. I would have had a lower grade had the TA not graded the first essay. She rude, harsh, and cold. She is literally the most uncaring, inconsiderate teacher I\'ve ever had. I\'m sorry that she has a stick up her ass and feels the need to take it out on her students. IF YOU DON\'T LIKE STUDENTS, DON\'T BE A TEACHER. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 7:48 pm, Jun 5, 2010 Report Evaluation |
How does a teacher attract so much hate from her students and still have a job? She probably holds the record for most negative comments. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 2:08 pm, Jun 4, 2010 Report Evaluation |
oh and one more thing.... you could be the smartest mother f***er at Cal Poly and this class could somehow manage to screw up your GPA. I would stay away from this course. hard work in this class definitely doesnt correspond to a good grade | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 2:05 pm, Jun 4, 2010 Report Evaluation |
You will not learn much from this course other than common sense things. very simple assignments will be made stressful. Dr. Battista really should not teach in the silo because she does not know how to handle it and this makes her hate it. The class is far to large to have two essays assigned when the teacher doesnt want to deal with \"all the dumb questions.\" I would pick a different class unless 303 stops being offered in the silo. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 11:03 am, Jun 2, 2010 Report Evaluation |
I do not recommend this class or this professor for anyone, especially if it’s in the business silo, which sucked. The class has some sort of reading due every day, usually about 10 pages, and most days there is an assignment to go along with it which generally does nothing to progress your knowledge of the class. There are two papers which make up the majority of your grade; each has required outlines, and multiple drafts due. There a few quizzes, which at the beginning of the quarter she says will be unannounced but all the quizzes were on the syllabus. This class has no test so if you are a terrible test taker that loves busy work and writing this may actually be your class. She is crazy about APA formatting but then doesn\'t give consistent examples or provide clear instructions and gets angry and the majority of the class is confused and asks for clarification. There is also 14 HOURS OF REQUIRED COMMUNITY SERVICE. Which you would think would mean she would cut down on the course load but that doesn\'t seem to be the case. The community service must be performed at an approved \"agency\" all but one of which are homeless shelters. At first I tried to be understanding since the majority of the students in the 200 person class really only seemed to show up because she has unannounced, in-class, graded assignments. So the class was very loud and unruly throughout the quarter. As the quarter progress I began to realize the Dr. Battista didn\'t make the situation any better with her ridiculous busy work and inconsistent instructions. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 3:21 pm, May 19, 2010 Report Evaluation |
battista has got to be the worst professor ever | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 11:51 pm, May 18, 2010 Report Evaluation |
one thing: dumb bitch who shouldnt be a professor | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:03 pm, Apr 20, 2010 Report Evaluation |
If i could choose one word to describe Battista it would be CYKE. She is useless. She cannot work a computer...who gave this woman a phd? Take this course if you love busywork and then listening to someone tell you for two hours what you just did. This is not only a waste of your tuition money, but also a waste of your life. Dis ho be trippin. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 2:50 pm, Apr 9, 2010 Report Evaluation |
This class is not meant to be for 200+ students. It\'s writing intensive, so being in the silo sucked. If you had issues, you had to go to office hours, and she had a grader, and they didn\'t always see eye to eye, so that was tough. I didn\'t want to criticize her for not recognizing students\' difficulties because it was such a large class, but she often gave us a hard time when all 200 of us brought something to her attention and she wouldn\'t change it. I bought the book ($80) and the notes ($40), and the notes didn\'t even follow along with what she showed in class, so that was $40 wasted (since Cal Poly doesn\'t buy back anything from University Readers). The book was handy because the quizzes mostly came from the reading. Overall, average professor and an average course. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 3:40 pm, Apr 1, 2010 Report Evaluation |
The class is so disorganized, that you may as well throw the first syllabus she gives you out the door, because she will constantly be forgetting things and changing dates. The material of the class is interesting, controversial, and it is also good for starting up incredibly long class discussions that, after almost an hour of questions and comments, reduce your brain to cottage cheese. The essays are worth a lot, so I found it interesting to see that we received grades for THE VERY FIRST ESSAY on the day that our second essay was due!! No excuse, I was in the smaller class that she taught as opposed to the one she held in the lecture hall, but she is obviously overwhelmed and cannot handle the load. Quizzes are infrequent and can be worth a humongous percentage of your quiz grade, or a few points, you\'ll never know. I thought I had an A for sure until she returned our first essays. Final words: Don\'t expect much! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 10:37 am, Mar 28, 2010 Report Evaluation |
This has been the worst class I’ve ever taken at cal poly. The lectures suck and make you fall asleep. Don’t waste your time like I did sitting in class listen to lecture for 2 hrs! This class consisted of in-class writing and two papers and sometimes quizzes. She makes you read and then when you get to class doesn’t give a quiz. I hated it because some of the chapters are 30 plus pages and if you’re a good student you want an A. I managed a B but take another professor please. She sucks at teaching and has not style. She is very disorganized and wont make effort to meet in office hours unless she likes you. I missed a quiz and emailed her 3 times and she never wrote back. Don’t torture yourself! | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: B General Ed 9:30 pm, Mar 23, 2010 Report Evaluation |
I have never rated a professor on polyratings.com before, nor on any other similar website, but I felt it absolutely necessary to rate \"Dr.\" Battista...she is the worst professor I have ever had a Poly. Her lectures are incredibly bad, and she is the most anal professor I\'ve ever had about formatting. I received a 0 on a paper because I put to many spaces at the heading of the paper. PLEASE AVOID HER AT ALL COSTS! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 12:29 pm, Mar 11, 2010 Report Evaluation |
Hands down, THE WORST PROFESSOR I have ever had at Poly, or possible any school. The majority of your grade hinges on in-class quizzes, there were about 4. They were true false and even though I did the readings and understood the material better than most of my friends in the class I still got about a 60% quiz average. I got full credit on both my essays, still managed to get a B in the class due to her bullshit grading methods. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 9:53 am, Mar 9, 2010 Report Evaluation |
Qoute from below: \"I don\'t know why people are always complaining about Battista. She is an awesome teacher!!!\" Battista stop filling out delusional evaluations for yourself on poly ratings. No one respects you. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 1:45 am, Mar 4, 2010 Report Evaluation |
I would say take the class if it is a big lecture, cuz it\'s not that hard. Just short writing assignments due almost every class, some quizzes (which are worth a lot so go to class!!), and two essays. But Battista TERRIBLE!! Possibly the worst teacher I\'ve ever had. She is so disorganized, changes due dates and assignments all the time, and has no idea how to lecture. She is extremely boring, but you have to go to class everyday because she always has some quiz or in class assignment to nail you on. The lectures are completely pointless. I would still say take the class, but don\'t expect greatness. | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:09 am, Jan 15, 2010 Report Evaluation |
TAKE NOTES!!! Make sure your notes are IDENTICAL to her notes in class. I didn\'t take good notes for the first exam and was screwed b/c the material was not in the book. After figuring this out, I was much more prepared for future tests. The only way she will help you out is by referring to your notes. If you dont have them, you\'re screwed. HAVE FUN! | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 12:22 am, Jan 4, 2010 Report Evaluation |
Dr Battista is an interesting professor to say the least. She is consistently not prepared for class and her exams are graded to too much detail, you have to show every single step and even if you get the main idea of the problem she will probably only give you a point or two for it. I WILL NOT take this professor again. | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Major) 4:25 pm, May 28, 2009 Report Evaluation |
quite possibly the worst teacher i have ever had. she may have a phd in her subject but she has no idea how to teach effectively. the class average on her midterms were 69 percent. do not take her! | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:48 pm, Mar 31, 2009 Report Evaluation |
I don't know why people are always complaining about Battista. She is an awesome teacher!!! She is really helpful if you go to her office hours for questions about the essays. She is a tough grader on the essay's so make sure to put some effort in them. The community hours were not too bad and the group presentation was a breeze. So take her!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 8:01 pm, Mar 17, 2009 Report Evaluation |
I was really scared going into this class based on everyone's comments, but Dr. Battista was my favorite professor this quarter. It helped that the subject was interesting and also that there were a lot of right-wing students in our class that brought about some heated in-class debates. I'll admit she's a bit unorganized, but she's also really understanding if you forget to do an assignment (she'll let you turn it in the next day) and she presents the material well. The work load is really light too: two 4-page essays and 1-page free writes or reading responses for every class. Also, if you go into her office hours, she'll gladly help you on your essays, just be prepared to come back with them covered in red ink! | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Elective 9:44 pm, Mar 13, 2009 Report Evaluation |
If you are opinionated and have above-average writing skills, this class will be an easy "A." Weekly assignments consists of Freewrites and Reading Responses, which are simple 1 page papers on the assigned reading for the week. Two 4-page essays, write a rough draft and take it to her office hours, and she'll tell you what you need to do to clean it up. The 14 hour community service requirement can be easily satisfied by volunteering one night at a homeless shelter. She is very knowledgeable and articulate about the subject. Discrimination and poverty are typically "leftist" issues, so there's obviously going to be a liberal slant to her lectures, but she welcomes opposing viewpoints during discussions. I enjoyed her class despite not agreeing with some of her views. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 9:28 am, Mar 12, 2009 Report Evaluation |
Contrary to earlier posts, I think that Dr. Battista really stepped it up this quarter. In regard to some late papers and occasionally being late to class, she has an outside life too so give her a break. She might incorporate some of her own opinions into the lectures, but overall they are very interesting. The poverty and discrimination aspect of the class is so interesting and she presents the material very well. A good grade is definitly attainable in this class, just do all of the freewrites and reading responses to her specifications. If you go into her office hours, she is amazing. She is so helpful and wants you to understand the material! | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 6:10 pm, Feb 22, 2009 Report Evaluation |
Im pretty sure that if you're a white male you can't an A based on the principles of this class. People might hate this class but its actually really really easy. No tests, you read about 2 hours of material for every class period, which really isnt that terrible, and I never read all of it. The writing is the only difficult part and if you have any backround in writing you should be fine. I got a B+ which for a girl would be an A+, its a class that you want to take concurrently with hard classes to lighten your load. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:32 pm, Feb 19, 2009 Report Evaluation |
This was quite possibly the worst teacher I have ever had my entire carer at Cal Poly. She would show up completely un-prepared for class, not teach us a thing, and rant for 2 hours about nothing. There were no test, but a ton of essay, which were graded completely randomly. The way Battista present this class is a complete waste of time. If you can try and take another teacher. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:52 am, Jan 5, 2009 Report Evaluation |
While I did get an A in this class it was the most frustrating class I have ever taken. Dr. Battista would sometimes take 4 weeks to return a paper, during which time we would have another paper to write (not having any feedback from previous papers). As mentioned below, she was consistently a few minutes late to class. Class seems very biased; it can be interesting at some points, but for the most part not worth the teacher. We had maybe 1 pop quiz the beginning of the quarter, but had 4 or 5 in the last few weeks. For essays and written work she says the length doesn’t really matter…IT DOES. For ‘Protocols’ be sure to write a whole page (NO heading, just one line at the top with name etc) and double-check your margins. Other homework assignments: longer is better. There is homework due almost every class meeting. Also, just a warning, often during office hours she would close her door. So, if it looks like she isn’t there, try knocking. This is a very writing intensive course; she seems to prefer very logical (almost to the point of being repetitive) papers, but I never did figure out what exactly she wanted. She would sometimes post assignments due Monday on Saturday night (be warned) and she was very unclear about changes made to BlackBoard and what was due when. She is NOT good about responding to e-mails. Over the quarter I sent her about 8 and received responses to 2. She told us at the end of the quarter that she will not, under any circumstances, respond to e-mails asking about assignments ‘figure it out among yourselves’ was the message….. Also, 14 hours of community service is required, so be prepared to bring your calendar the first week to sign up for it. If you have options, try to pick something you are interested it as there is a presentation at the end of the quarter about what you did/learned/theory applied/etc. Good luck! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 12:18 pm, Dec 19, 2008 Report Evaluation |
Battista is a nice person - at times - but beware.... If you take her, be aware that you will be in a quarter of turmoil and frustration. She is extremely disorganized and gives assignments on Saturday or Sunday evenings due on Monday. We did not get assignments back until the 7th or 8th week of the quarter -- so we did not know what our grades were until then! It was weeks and days of frustration because Battista was not clear about directions for assignments or expectations. While she can be a nice person, there is no structure for the class.... For the protocols, be sure to go to Battista for her thoughts about your papers. She is a liberal/socialist and tailor your papers to that (even though she indicates that students can write about whatever as long as the thesis is supported). We wrote 3 protocols -- although there were supposed to be 4 protocols, a REQUIRED 14 hours of service (if you spend the night at the homeless PLEASE make sure that you sign up with a MALE if you are a FEMALE. There were 2 females who were on assignment alone and a regular Sunday evening volunteer walked in a said "This (2 females volunteering) should NEVER happen." They failed to ask a male board member to come to be with the 2 women that evening... so the women were alone for the evening and responsible for chaperoning 32 persons - single men, families, single mothers with children, etc. In addition to the protocols, service, there was a project about the service required, a couple quizzes, reading responses, and discussion board online. No midterms or finals, so that was great! | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: A Elective 9:42 am, Dec 18, 2008 Report Evaluation |
Battista isn't a bad teacher for 337. The class is based off 2 midterms and a final (which is basically a midterm) and a few short homework assignments throughout the quarter. She teaches the class in such a way that she gives you exactly what you need to know for tests and will even walk you though examples during class time to make sure you understand what is coming. She posts a study guide before every exam with questions that are transfered exactly to the exam so DO THE STUDY GUIDE and there should be no reason why you can't get an A on the tests. She is pretty nitpicky on grading the tests which a few people didn't like, but when she is basically giving you the questions beforehand, she probably thinks she has a right to be that way. You have to go to every lecture of this class, otherwise you will miss too much, but otherwise Battista made the material straightforward and easy to understand. Take her if you can. | |
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ECON 222 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 6:55 pm, Nov 2, 2008 Report Evaluation |
She is a horrible teacher. Very unorganized woman. I had this class Monday and Friday at 9am, the two worst days of the week to have a morning class. If you can take another teacher I would highly recommend it. She is a nice woman, but is not good at conveying the information. AND shes a stankin hippy. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:03 am, Sep 3, 2008 Report Evaluation |
I read the reviews about this teacher before I took the class so I knew what I was in for. What attracted me was the fact that it was quite easy to walk away with a good grade in the class (which I did). Though as far as teaching abilities go I have to echo what others have said before me. She was bad, probably the worst I’ve had at Poly. She is late to class by five to ten minutes every day (and I mean each and every day). She was also completely unorganized. It always seemed as if she had enough planned to last about half the class and then she would just wing it for the rest. We did have the individual choice of either staying the night at a homeless shelter or doing a canned food drive for part of our grade. In the end those who opted for the canned food drive didn’t have to do anything and just got the assignment excused because she was the “organizer” of it and of course she didn’t get it organize (meanwhile the homeless shelter people still had to do their project). All in all, if you just want an easy way to get a good grade and don’t want to learn anything, take her. If not, avoid her. NOTE: Don’t buy the books. All the readings she assigns are very well known/published articles that can easily be found by just googling it. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:00 pm, Aug 28, 2008 Report Evaluation |
Well, Battista is a good professor if you like to write, however, if you don't or you are not good at it she will help you out. I know that writing and Econ do not go hand in hand but she insists that everyone should be a good writer. I took the class over the summer which I recommend.. This class is a breeze and people shouldn't knock on her just because she is disorganized, would you rather have more work to do? She is a bit scattered and sometimes she will catch you off-guard and tell you HW is due, when in fact she never assigned any.. No big deal, she just makes it due the following session. Overall, average instructor but an easy class. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:20 am, Apr 19, 2008 Report Evaluation |
She is compassionate about the subject. From what I understand, our class was a bit of a "control group" class for future plans of the course. Either way, it was not organized. Half of the time, you rarely knew what to do and how to succeed at it. I like the service requirement, but it should be more interactive and not just "stay the night at a homeless shelter". I think the lectures were just blah, blah, blah because she was not prepared well enough. However, she did bring across some great points and key items that I will remember, they just weren't enough to take up the whole class period, so you would find her wandering in the lecture and thus would the class. She tries, but there is much more to the class that could be done. | |
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ECON 222 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:46 am, Apr 1, 2008 Report Evaluation |
Battista is a very nice woman but possibly the worst teacher I have ever had. Her teaching style is really wordy and I couldn't follow her to save my life. The worst part is I enjoy econ, I got an "A" in 221. I went to every extra study sesh and still managed to drop from an A- to a B+. Her class feels insanely easy until you get your test back and realize she grades really hard and according to her own "special" definitions (I couldn't understand her so I read the text which apparently did not give the right definitions. cool.) | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Elective 8:19 am, Mar 25, 2008 Report Evaluation |
lots of people hate her, but if you look down, the person who took 303 and bashed her still got an A. I agree with what this person is saying, however i think its a plus for the class. I never had to worry about this class. Each morning before class (twice a week) i would read for and do a free write for an hour, MAYBE at most. No homework, test, quizzes are group and its all writing. Imagine a class that you put nothing into and if you can write well and understand the material you can get an A. Sounds like a good deal to me. Its not an ECON class. It should be Ethnic Studies class. White males Get Everything 303 maybe. Anyways it was easy, just listen to her talk and write good protocols. | |
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ECON 222 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 10:39 pm, Mar 19, 2008 Report Evaluation |
soooo..battista. well, she definitely held true to the missing class factor that everyone talks about. i felt like i never even took econ. oh yea, and she was incredibly boring and kinda seemed angry all the time. but if you get her, make sure you study and truly MEMORIZE the definitions for the downward sloping demand and AD curves, she expects very specific answers. go over and re-write all of the steps and graphs for each situation and DO THE PRACTICE TESTS. they're almost identical to the real tests. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:24 pm, Mar 16, 2008 Report Evaluation |
"What would an educated person do?" That was Battista's response to every question. Well Battista, here is what an educated person would do:an educated person would have had some sort of a plan for the class instead of making it up as she went; an educated person would know how to write and argumentative essay and realize that support quotes are necessary evidence, not summary; an educated person would have given specific instructions for the "protocols" assigned before the first one was due. The list goes on, but the fact of the matter is that Cal Poly should be genuinely ashamed of itself for having given tenure to such an incompetent excuse for a professor. Battista is the worst professor I have had so far at Poly, and I highly recommend avoiding her if possible. The entire class hated her, and no one ever knew what was going on in class or what was due next. She is completely unorganized and she has such a superiority complex that she's difficult to approach or reason with. I got an A in the class, so I'm not bitter, she's just an awful professor. The only bright side of this class was the fact that there were no tests. There was a required 14 hours of community service and a pointless presentation, though. Take her at you own risk. | |
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ECON 222 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Elective 7:39 am, Mar 7, 2008 Report Evaluation |
Battista is terrible. Expect incoherent lectures, her not showing up, ans an extremely boring waste of your 2 hours twice a week. There is no homework, which sucks because the tests come out of nowhere (considering you feel like you havent learned anything thus far, so how could there possibly be a test). Please... if you do have to take this teacher, take it credit no credit, it is easy to get a C (and I cant see her failing someone who showed up and did all the VERY easy outside work, which is going to 2 outside preformances and talking about it). Elective teachers rarely do a good job teaching, and then wonder why everyone does so bad, then grades them super hard. So yeah, just take it credit no credit. | |
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ECON 339 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 7:34 am, Mar 3, 2008 Report Evaluation |
Battista is terrible. She is not a fair grader, very unpleasant to talk to, and just a bitch in general. DO NOT TAKE ECON 339 with her. It will be a waste of your money and time. If econ is not offered by anyone but her, i would just recommend not taking the class. | |
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ECON 222 Freshman Grade Earned: C General Ed 2:03 pm, Feb 26, 2008 Report Evaluation |
I thought she was nice, presented a lot of material and got confusing at times. Study for the tests really well and you will do good. Her tests are pretty staright forward if you pay attention is class and take good notes. You really need to take good notes because they will be your best studying tool. You should defitley go to this class almost everytime because she gives classwork and homework which can really help your grade. Classwork and homework was almost like a full letter grade in our class and the work is really easy as long as you do it on time you will get full credit. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 7:07 pm, Oct 27, 2007 Report Evaluation |
She's WONDERFUL; she gives you every opportunity to get help outside of class and find your strengths and weaknesses in writing. She does not have any quizzes or tests the entire quarter, but you have 6 one page "protocols" that are graded based on your ability to support your thesis. Homework consists of light reading, journal entries, protocol writing and editing, and community service. Most people hate her because she triggers emotional responses to the articles we read. She does not state her point of view, but people tend to assume they know her opinion and hate her based on their assumption or stereotype of her. People get defensive and personally attack her when she isn't stating her opinion, she's just throwing ideas to get the class involved. Those who hate her lack the ability to actively listen to what she is really saying. I am halfway through the class and I have an A so far. | |
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ECON 413 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 9:38 am, Aug 11, 2007 Report Evaluation |
I have previously taken Battista for other courses, and I must say she taught this one the best of all of them. She was still disorganized, but at least she helped you prepare for her tests and gave mildly entertaining lectures. The class structure was based around three tests, some debates and presentations, and a paper. The tests were fairly difficult and required a good amount of study. The textbook wasn't required, but I felt that it helped me some. Battista's study guides are amazing and really helped you do well on the tests because most of what was on the study guide was on the test. There is a lot of reading in this class, and some of the material was a little hard to get at first (a lot of memorization too), but the homework load is light. We only had one paper and it was on a person that we admired and why we admired their occupation and why they were good at it. The debates were a little disorganized, but went fairly well. They were on hot topics of current issues like walmart good or bad? and for immigration or not? The class was pretty interesting, some group work, and a bit of reading. Her lectures were long and had lots of notes. Study those notes well and do the study guides and you will do alright. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 6:44 pm, Aug 9, 2007 Report Evaluation |
This course is both frustrating and confusing. The way the class is set up is very disorganized and very informal. This was both good in some ways and bad in most. The class is based around readings, discussions, a cumulative project, and writings (protocols). There were 4 or 5 protocols. These are writings that you can't support with the course readings. You basically write off the top of your head on a topic such as racism, sexism, classism, etc. These are graded very subjectively and I received poor grades on the first ones. You have to find out what she is looking for and what she wants in the writings. She is very helpful if you go and see her during office hours. Battista is very disorganized, and this makes the class frustrating. You have to ask what is due next time and when she expects different assignments and readings done by in order to turn them in on time because many times she doesn't explain herself fully. The class is great in some ways because the reading load is very light and many times is interesting. Sometimes the readings will challenge your own personal beliefs and at times it is hard to read them. I think that it is very good to get others' viewpoints and opinions, especially when they are opposite of your own. The class structure was a disorganized discussion every class with little or no lecture material. This is good because you don't have to take notes, but I felt that I only learned from the book and didn't get much insight from the discussions. It seemed that most times, the students ran the discussions and this lead many of them to be shallow. Group work was standard and be prepared to talk about your assignment for the day for no more than 20 minutes and then talk about nothing for the rest of the class. This made the class feel like it took forever and that you weren't learning anything and that you were wasting time coming to class. The project was a very good experience. You could either go to a homeless shelter for a night, or tutor at risk students after school at the local middle school. I highly recommend the former because being at the shelter got the project over in one night (14 community service hours) and it was a good experience to see the homeless as people like yourself, just in a tough spot in their lives. It was difficult to see whole families of homeless people, that live out of their cars, but I felt I really grew from the experience. Overall this class wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. Take her, but be prepared to be pretty bored and annoyed with disorganization and frustrating grading. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 12:44 am, Jul 29, 2007 Report Evaluation |
I cannot stand Dr. Battista's way of teachings and she seems completely un-objective when it comes to assigning grades. However, she's WAY BETTER THAN VILLEGAS and I didn't really have to work that hard to get an A. You can definitely tell she's a liberal, but if you give her the answers she wants to hear (she's not that hard to read), you'll be fine. The community service might be a little pain in the ass, but it's not too bad and it's definitely better than taking a final. She comes off as a hard-ass, but if she likes you enough, she'll be sympathetic. Even though I didn't really agree with her, the class is about 90% on student discussions, so it almost always makes for an interesting session. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 10:00 pm, May 21, 2007 Report Evaluation |
I have a 3.45 GPA, this class is one of two C's I've got here at Poly. That being said, this class was the worst class I have ever taken. Many are drawn to it because it takes care of 3 requirements, but don't fall into that trap. The class would be more aptly called "Econ 303 - Why white middle class males are the devil". I was expecting economics, but there were absolutely none to be found in this class. Econ 303 should be a sociology class, not econ. 50% of your grade comes from "protocols" which are one page writings assignments based on the (ultra-liberal) readings. I know how to write a decent paper, but based on my own, and my classmates grades, it is obvious that this woman chooses not to grade on the quality of writing, but instead on how closely your beliefs mirror her own. Please save yourself the 10 weeks of pain and anguish that I've suffered through, and take my advice to AVOID THIS CLASS AND TEACHER AT ALL COSTS! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:41 pm, Mar 31, 2007 Report Evaluation |
Good professor- this class seemed like something I would have had in high school in terms of the structure...almost all class time is spent discussing issues. I would agree that she is liberal and it is fairly easy to notice, but I don't necessarily agree that she will grade down if you don't agree with her. To be on the safe side, pick issues that you really do care about that liberals would agree with- in your protocols you don't have to propose a change to the way things are, you can just point out a current flaw; and liberals and conservatives alike would agree there are always flaws with the system. I did this with almost every protocol I turned in and always got an A or B. Only gave out one pop quiz during the quarter and it falls under your participation category- do the reading, but if you miss one, it's not the end of the world. It's not in the syllabus but there is a lot of interaction and you have to talk in front of the class- good because you aren't just sitting there listening the whole time, but if you don't like doing skits or sharing your viewpoint on the spot with an audience, this isn't the class for you. If you do the work, this should be a moderate class in terms of difficulty level. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 7:33 pm, Mar 26, 2007 Report Evaluation |
I really enjoyed Battista. She really knows her stuff, and can/will answer any questions you have for her. I am an econ major so maybe i understood everything better than the average student, but she was a good fair teacher. Tests closly followed the class notes and the study guide(know how to produce all charts and explain the process for comming up with your answers). We had NO homework assignments, and you really don't need to even buy the book. Just make sure you're someone who will attend every lecture (otherwise you seriously will NOT do well in her class). She's a great lady. Take her. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Elective 11:55 pm, Nov 13, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Best teacher I've had at Cal Poly. Go to class. Pay attention. Ask questions & study & you'll be fine. | |
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ECON 339 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 9:14 am, Oct 2, 2006 Report Evaluation |
I have taken several classes with Battista and have to say that most of these reviews are bogus. She is a great professor who is extremely knowledgable about the subject matter she is teaching. No one has an excuse to get below a C in any of her classes because SHE GIVES YOU THE TESTS a week before the test date - really. Her classes are demanding but before giving her shit for this, try to remember that you're earning a college degree. If you're some stupid douchebag who wants to dick off the entire quarter then post on poly ratings about how you got what you deserved, dont take Battista; but if you like prof's who care about what they're teaching and the students they're teaching, take a course with her. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:10 pm, Jul 9, 2006 Report Evaluation |
When I read the reviews for Battista, frankly I was a little intimidated taking a class from her. She turned out to be a pretty nice teacher. Her style of teaching is a little different. I understood most of what she taught. Reading the book really, really helps. Sometimes she is a little unclear and sometimes I didn't get it, but when I would ask her later, she would be very helpful in trying to get me to understand the material. Her lecturing style is difficult to follow sometimes, especially with her notes on the board. She doesn't give herself enough room on the board to write and in everyone's notes, they would have to draw arrows and be cramped for space. The class is based on two midterms and a final. The first midterm was not very hard at all. Many of the people in class got A's. The second midterm was very hard and I definitely didn't do as well. The final was hard, but went ok. Study really hard for all of her tests. Her tests are all open ended essay questions. There is a lot of writing and memorizing for this class. Memorizing all of the effects from one thing changing in the economy is a little much and difficult to do. One complaint I have is that she didn't even show up for the final. We had no prior notice and then on our usual classroom there was a note that said we were taking it in a different room with a different class. Maybe this wasn't her fault, but it's worth mentioning. Overall, I liked the class, it was difficult and required work, but it was ok. Also, don't be afraid of Battista, she is a nice teacher and most of what is said on this site wasn't observed by me. There wasn't much politically charged material at all. But, I took 337 not 303. She was a pretty good teacher, although a little disorganized. | |
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ECON 337 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 3:35 pm, Jun 25, 2006 Report Evaluation |
This bitch is an idiot... she is biased,,, unorganized and never shows up to office hours. She doesnt know anything about economics... she did not give anyone As... i cant believe shes a doctor,, you figure with that type of education she would have some sense of econ or how to run a class | |
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ECON 339 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 9:53 pm, Jun 17, 2006 Report Evaluation |
This class was heavy, and required an enormous commitment of both time and energy. Dr. Battista did everything possible to make sure that we came out of the class genuinely understanding the material. She explains statistics well, as she is one of those rare professors who is as skilled verbally as she is technically. As far as the statistics aspect goes, the early part of the quarter was mostly spent reviewing things that were taught in the 251/252 series. Depending upon how much of those courses you managed to retain, this will either be incredibly frustrating or a god-send. There are 3 tests that test your knowledge of both statistics and the peculiar ways in which economists use statistics. Her study guides are immensely helpful for these. The project is the super-insane part, or at least it was for me. Make sure that you pick a topic that you understand well; preferably pick a topic that you've taken a class on (I didn't, and oh how I paid). You are required to build a regression model that explains the changes in an economic variable of interest (say: expenditures on widgets(in which case it would be good to have taken a course in widgetnomics)). You need to review literature from economics journals in order to get an idea of which independent variables to use in your model. That can get somewhat difficult. I know people who did this all at the last minute (or at least claimed to) and did OK in the class , but I don't reccomend it, especially if you are a little shaky on your economic theory like I was. The key to completing this project with minimum stress is to work on it every day. Like the person a few entries below me, I didn't take Dr. Battista for either 303 or 337, so I can't say anything about what your experience will be in those classes. I do know however that Dr. Battista put a tremendous amount of time into helping us out with our projects, even holding night time lab sessions. She made like one of the cuff political comment when going over R^2 early on in the semester, and it was more or less something everyone could agree with. I can't imagine that anyone's conservative sensibilities were offended. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:15 pm, Jun 8, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Although many people are very frustrated by this class, I really enjoyed it. I am a fairly timid person, and this class helped me form my opinions and gather support on my views. She can be very liberal, but I think this is something Cal Poly needs. Our education should be well rounded and it helps to learn from a variety of professors, in my opinion. The class basically consists of essays (protocols) and in class work. If you are present, you will get full credit for the in class assignments. There also is a community service project which I really enjoyed doing. I am not quite sure why this is an ECON class as it really is different from any other economics class you have probably taken. It is more of a social issue class tied with writing. I benefited greatly from the class, and while not everyone will, I learned a lot about social issues and how to improve my written arguments. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: C General Ed 7:28 pm, Apr 2, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Horrible teacher. Grading is biased. She presents the material to you in a very liberal, left wing way and then requires you to write protocols, or mini essays, on them. The problem is if your views on the issues do not allign with hers then your grade will be heavily affected by it.She does not grade based on the quality of writing, amount of thought put into it, or research done, she simply grades on how much your views agree with hers. She takes forever to hand back graded papers. The material has so much potential to be interesting yet due to her teaching style you don't get the most out of it. | |
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ECON 339 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 3:17 pm, Mar 30, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Honestly Dr. Battista gets a bad rap on here from all the 303 / 337 business students or people taking these courses as general ed, but as an economics major I can tell you two things about Battista: 1) she knows her shit, and 2) she works her ass off for the classes she's teaching. It's tough to get a hold of her and she isn't prompt about responding to voicemails, emails, or posting on blackboard, but thats because she teaches like 5 classes. I don't know of anyone TAKING 5 classes at Poly, let alone TEACHING 5 classes. Give her a break. Also on the bleeding-liberal comment...she very well may be but she didn't even bring any of her political views to our Econometrics class, not even once. Specific to ECON 339: don't skip class or you'll fall behind QUICK, and don't miss the labs. She gives 3 midterms, but requires a B- (80%) or better to 'pass'. By pass she means if you get below an 80% you simply retake the questions missed and your grade improves (hint hint: she is concerned about you learning this stuff). In lieu of a final exam there is an ongoing econometric model that you complete from week 2 - 10 that is a big paper - 40 - 50 pages - but really isn't too bad. I for the most part put the entire paper off until 3 days before it was due and still completed it in time (I wouldn't recommend this but it's doable). Honestly she deserves above the 1.66 rating she has on here; take her and show her some respect, shes a good person. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 12:34 pm, Mar 22, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Hmmmmmm, I don't know where to start with this one. She acted like posting grades was like finding a cure for cancer. She told us (promised by the way) numerous times that grades would be posted and they never were. So for 11 weeks you have no idea what your grade is because she doesn't hand back the homeworks or group works and she adds points to your test without your knowledge. So going into the final you have no idea what you need to get for the grade you want. 3 tests, 6 or 7 group works, and 5 homeworks are the class. The best one was when she gave us the wrong answers to the study guide for the first test. She said it was our fault if we got the answers wrong on the test because it is our responsibility to know if they are right or wrong. What the hell is that? Hey Battista, what is the point of a study guide if you give us the wrong answers? The group works are stupid because she just sits there and looks at you dumbfounded (I guess it's her break). Her lectures make you want to shoot yourself because she is so boring. And if I have to learn about the Fed again I will officially drop out of Cal Poly. We got enough of the Fed in 222 didn't we? I would not recommend her but the class isn't hard because her study guides and tests are almost the same. If you get stuck with her: just go to class and copy down all her notes from the board, do the HW's and GW's (they are easy), and do the study guides as if they were the test. Good luck. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 12:33 pm, Mar 22, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Alright, this class is relatively easy, but was quite annoying to ever show up too. This teacher simply doesn't teach and doesn't seem to think before she speaks. You pass this class through knowledge that you have had before entering it. The basic structure is 40% class participation, 10% final presentation (includes 14 hours of community service), and 50% protocols/essays. Simply put, this is not a real econ class. She teaches the class through philosophy and rarely ever relates any of our lectures/discussions to economics. The protocols are relatively easy, but she doesn't accept papers that are just short (ie 2 lines or so) or too long than the suggested requirement. The biggest problem with the class is that she presents far left liberal opinions that she never really proves to be right or wrong. This class could be a good one to take, but just with another teacher. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Elective 4:39 pm, Mar 17, 2006 Report Evaluation |
Claire was awesome and she new how to help me with my deepest challanges. She broke my heart. I really thought we could make this a lasting friendship. I have never been able to relate to a nother female with such sincere tenderness and love. I still feel myself getting moist when I sit in her class or she glances in my direction. Tkae her class, but protect your heart. | |
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ECON 303 Graduate Student Grade Earned: F Required (Support) 6:38 pm, Jan 17, 2006 Report Evaluation |
I wrote the review down below on "11:38 am, Feb 11, 2002", and even though it's almost four years later I still despise the bitch. Take any other teacher and you'll be much happier. Even if the other teacher absolutely sucks, it will STILL be better. Fuck you Battista, you shit bag. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 8:35 pm, Jan 14, 2006 Report Evaluation |
She is so bad that I still tell people about her and I took the class 4 years ago and have graduated from Poly. She is a f*ckin biatch who lies and spreads hate. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 7:54 pm, Jan 2, 2006 Report Evaluation |
BLEEDING HEART GODDAMN LIBERAL! Battista's attemtps at brianwashing our class by continually showing Michael Moore videos was disgusting. Aviod at all costs. read: bitch | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:40 am, Oct 18, 2005 Report Evaluation |
Battista is an overall great teacher. If you want a teacher who is straightforward, doesn't bullshit, and is willing to work with you then by all means take her. She's also excellent for 339 and you can use your project as a basis for your senior project. | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 3:09 pm, Jul 28, 2005 Report Evaluation |
I really liked this class, you learn a lot of very practical shiznatz. Her tests are straight from the study guide so the fact people get less than an A is a testament to their incompetence and idiocy. Battista is great and one of the more interesting at Poly. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:22 pm, Jun 14, 2005 Report Evaluation |
At the start of this quarter this was the class I was most looking forward too. However Battista managed to take this course and ruin it. For the community sevirvice prpject which you have to do to pass the class you basically have to work in a homeless shelter for a night or volunteer at some place where low income kids go to. I think this is the best part of the class because it opened a lot of people's eyes into a different side to our country. The rest of the class however is worthless. She will give you assigned readings which I stopped doing the second week due to their worthlessness. Then in class you get into a group and talk about the reading for about an hour and fill in some sheet with a couple questions. Bring your book and answer the questions with a couple sentences in the first five minutes and then ask your groupmates how their weekend was and talk about that for the rest of your time. I strongly recomend taking this class with someone you know or get a group with a cute chick to pass the time quicker. The rest of class you talk about what your group was supposed to be talking about but its pretty easy to bullshit some info if you happen to get called on. !!!WARNING DONT HAVE AN OPINION!!! This will make her not like you unless it happens to coincide exactly with her opinion. You have a one page paper due every week my highest grade was an 8 although usually it was 7 with a few 6s. I would consider myself pretty liberal but I disagree with her on a lot of specifics and the fact that I did and spoke my viewpoint made her not like me at all. In fact I'll close this eval out by aying she's basically a closeminded bitch. KAH!! | |
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ECON 201 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 2:57 pm, Jun 5, 2005 Report Evaluation |
soooo boring. class made me want to jump out of the silo. tests harder than they should have been, except the final, which was the study guide, which was nice. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 6:33 am, Mar 18, 2005 Report Evaluation |
Claire is the best instructor for econ, that is, if you can memorize well. She is very clear in her lectures and her study guides are almost identical to her exams. I would recommend her for Econ 337. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:17 pm, Jan 12, 2005 Report Evaluation |
There are very few times that I feel so compelled to write about a teacher but I must make an exception for this woman. In class you spend 3/4 of the time talking about an article, which is fine but an hour and a half of sitting there after you've worn everything out after the first 30 minutes is ridiculous. At the beginning of the quarter she said that our grade was based on quizzes, protocols, and the community service project. Well get this, she wasn't even there for our final presentations of our community project, she left it up to her aide! And what % was this supposedly of our grade? She only gave us one quiz during the quarter which she never graded and never gave back our last protocol grades that she promised. She picks our grades out of the air with no rhyme or reason, and if there is, well she certainly has not shared it with the class. You role the dice with this teacher, but since you will either get an A or B (she does not bother with +/-) most people don't complain. She may be a nice person but honestly by her attitude, you can tell that this is just a job for her. She's passionate about the subject but not about the teaching and it glaringly shows by the lack of effort she puts into helping students understand her grading system and the overall lack of effort she puts into the class by having us just sit there and talk to each other the whole time. | |
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ECON 201 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 2:15 pm, Jan 3, 2005 Report Evaluation |
I actually really enjoyed this class. She kept it interesting and was extremely fair. Just read the chapters and go over the study guide that she gives before each midterm and you'll do fine. There are 4 midterms, the lowest gets dropped. 10% of your grade are in class assignments which is basically just attendance. Show up, copy a few things down on paper and turn it in. Pretty easy class, I would recomend. | |
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ECON 303 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:22 am, Dec 10, 2004 Report Evaluation |
The best part about this class was the community service. Everyone in class seemed to have a good time doing whatever it was that they picked to do. There are weekly protocols due which more or less suck even though they are only one page. It's the inclass discussions that really take this class down a peg. Every class we get in groups and discuss our readings, then we do the same discussion with the whole class. It's like pulling teeth, but it's not hard at all. This is a really easy class to pass, no exams. I would actually recommend this class but as far as economics goes it's the best you are going to get. | |
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ECON 413 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 3:46 pm, Aug 19, 2004 Report Evaluation |
NOT a good teacher. Too busy, never available, doesn't know her stuff. Unfair grading. AVOID HER CLASS. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 9:00 pm, Jun 17, 2004 Report Evaluation |
This class did open my eyes to numerous social issues. I don't think she presented the issues of this class in an unbiased manner necessary in an educational setting. In this class you are required to write protocols, or responses to readings you make. She gives you about 3 protocols to shape up and feed her her liberal bullshit right back to her in a coherent 1 page paper every week. Whatever your views, tell her what she wants to hear to earn 50 % of your grade. You must do 14 hrs of community service, which can open your eyes. I would definately not chose to endure this class again even if I had to. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 12:19 pm, May 24, 2004 Report Evaluation |
HORRIBLE TEACHER, SO PICKY, AND NEVER, EVER GETS BACK TO YOU. IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO HER, SHE IS NEVER AVAILABLE!!!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 5:13 pm, May 12, 2004 Report Evaluation |
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. The material is interesting, but every class you get with your group and go over the reading. What a waste of time. Your grade comes from these damn protocols, unless you write exactly what you want to hear you'll end up with a 7 or 8 no matter how many hours you put into these papers each week. And your grade is pretty much based on these papers. If you want to feel frustrated at least once a week during the quarter, take this class. But i urge you, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS...yeah I know I said it twice. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A General Ed 10:12 pm, Mar 29, 2004 Report Evaluation |
Where to start? Okay 303 will open your mind to some very profound realizations some people never discover during the course of their sad lives (tragically many fellow Polymers). Ever heard someone say "I make a lot of money, why should I have to pay high taxes because I'm a hard worker", namely Scott ;). It sounds pretty rational, but it's like claiming CO2 isn't bad for the environment: it ignores very important factors. I ENVY anyone who is came out of this class learning to think different, because it flies in the face of the crap we watch on TV. Don't get me wrong, I play the stockmarket, I admire Rich Corporate Bosses (that Carly is so sexy!), but at least I recognize I am able to do this because I'm white, rich, and have a penchant for sparkling water (particularly Perrier). Recognition is the first step, the second is for us to figure out. 303 will do that, and Battista with her odd way of moving her hands as she speaks, is very effective at that. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: F General Ed 10:27 am, Feb 13, 2004 Report Evaluation |
This has to be the worst teacher I have EVER had. I took Econ 225 and 303, w/ this lady. And, for econ 303 she failed hella people b/c she did not receive some required part of the community service assignment. However, she had everyone turn this part into the community service department and didn't even bother to verify if they were doing their job turning in all of the assignments to her, which resulted in an automatic F. To add insult to injury, when she was told about this she said that it was not her job to find out if the assignments were passed to her from the comm. service office.. If her job is not to give her students fair grades, than what the fuck is her job? | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:31 pm, Jan 5, 2004 Report Evaluation |
Good teacher. a little wierd in her dressing but she is good. I just wanted to get the req's out of the way. Just do your best on the essays get help if you need it but you should be fine on your own. Oh you dont do much of any economics in this class in case the title is misleading. about 4-6 hours a week plus 14 hours community service and you'll easily have a B even if you suck at essays. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 10:11 pm, Dec 27, 2003 Report Evaluation |
Professory Battista rocks as a professor of this subject. She implements a new tteaching method that complements poverty and discrimination issues. Unfortunately, many Cal Poly students are not ready for this type of reflection of such issues (critical thinking and analysis of personal position and opinion). I highly recommend this course for those with an open mind and those willing to explore taboo topics- those already set in their ways and scared to explore such topics should NOT! Those people should continue taking classes from teachers who require reading and regurgitating of material! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:57 pm, Dec 10, 2003 Report Evaluation |
When grading essays, Battista lets her liberal views persuade her grading. A bit of advice for future students, don't write conservative papers. Just feed her some liberal bullshit and you'll be fine. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 6:13 pm, Nov 26, 2003 Report Evaluation |
Somebody needs to tell her the sixties are over. | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 8:00 am, Nov 13, 2003 Report Evaluation |
Great professor-just take really good notes. Tests are pretty picky so watch out for the little details and go to class-otherwise its impossible to understand the stuff. Overall, she's a good teacher but is a little standoffish and intimidating during office hours/after class. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:17 pm, Nov 5, 2003 Report Evaluation |
Battista would be a great professor at UC Berkeley. She is just way too left-wing for Cal Poly. She is like an Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. I didnt find too much offense to her since I'm pretty moderate, but I'm sure someone on the right would call her a Fema-Nazi. The secret to getting a good grade in her class is write everything ever assigned to you as far left-wing, radical, green party, progressive alliance, as you can. Go so far left that you can't go left anymore and she will give you a 9 or 10 ewverytime. It works. try it. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:54 pm, Sep 22, 2003 Report Evaluation |
(Read comments below) So if the person below you didn't do well in the class, then how is it that the person got the same grade as you? RETARD! Dr. Battista isn't the best teacher. She may be nice, but she is very confusing, and it is one of those classes that you feel that you've gained nothing from, but good sleep. Take this class at your own risk. It's worth taking if you want a class that doesn't require a whole lot of work. It can be nice to work in groups since you get to meet other people that dred the class, so you're not alone, but the group work deal may get excessive. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: B Elective 10:07 am, Aug 12, 2003 Report Evaluation |
the person below me didn't do well in this class, or likely any of their other classes. ----------that person graduated cum laude in the second most difficult major at CP, what cheesy-ass lib-arts major are you? <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Dr. Battista is not sexist, nor is she racist. ----------That wasn't mentioned below, just that she is a poor teacher, and not open minded about the views of others, the very thing she claims to promote in the class. | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:37 pm, Aug 8, 2003 Report Evaluation |
One word, BOOB!!!! This teacher is the biggest BOOB there is at Poly. Besides her outfits looking as if she took them off of her drapes at home, she doesn't present material well, nor does she explain things well. She has you do stupid protocols which make up a good portion of your grade. She had us write one, and then the BOOB tells us how she wants us to write them, giving everyone shitty scores for the first protocol. She then confuses people even more when trying to explain how she wants the joke protocols to be done. The quizes are also ridiculous. She quizes on very detailed things, which are hard to remember even if you did read the extremely boring ass material. You also work with groups A LOT in this class, which may not necesarily be a bad thing, but with the amount of people in the class, it pretty much sucks, especially when you do the same monotonous things. The good things about the class is that it isn't particularly hard, but it's one of those classes where you want to poke yourself in the eye with your pencil repeatedly until the pain is do bad that you go unconscious hopefully until class is over. It's pretty much one of those classes that feel like a complete waste of time. Take the class if you want, but be aware that it is one of those very annoying classes. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 1:36 pm, Aug 6, 2003 Report Evaluation |
It's obvious to me that the person below me didn't do well in this class, or likely any of their other classes, because they waste way too much of their time writing novels on Polyratings. That said... Dr. Battista is not sexist, nor is she racist. She does, however, see right through bullshiters and recongizes slackers immediately and treats them all accordingly. She's not too big on cocky assholes either, but if we're all being honest, who really does like the jerk in the back of the class who makes rude comments,complains about everything, and tries way too hard to look cool? The weekly readings and subsequent protocols take up A LOT of time, as does the 14 hours of commmunity service (which I did hate), but there are no tests at all, just the protocols, the community service, and a 5 page paper at the end of the quarter. So if you're not offended by essays and movies that don't always run right along side of your own beliefs and opinions, this class is cake. | |
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ECON 303 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 1:55 pm, Jun 5, 2003 Report Evaluation |
I have to start with the good point about the course: there were no tests. While this might be a stressed student’s dream, what does the fact that there are no tests on the course really mean? In essence, there was no knowledge applicable to my degree that was gained in this class. There was nothing worth learning in this class either; it was a complete waste of my time. This class offered me a great opportunity to join with friends and discuss the rampant racism, discrimination and poverty in our society today. No really, she doesn’t lecture at all, merely provides points of discussion at the start of class. Then she lets you go out among the flowers to discuss what we did with our weekend and what we’d rather be doing than wasting our time in a worthless class. If nothing else, the in-class activities made me realize how much I missed kindergarten. “ECON 303 Economics of Poverty, Discrimination and Immigration (4) (Also listed as HNRS 303) GE D5 USCP Economic analysis of the cause, extent and impact of poverty, discrimination and immigration and of the policies designed to address these socioeconomic issues. Emphasis on the experience of African-Americans, Latinos, and women in the United States. 4 lectures. Prerequisite: Completion of GE Areas A, D1, and ECON 201 or 222.” The course listing and description pasted above and in the course catalog does not mention that it is a service learning course, but don’t worry, it is. You’ll be required to perform 14 hours of community service IN ORDER TO PASS THE CLASS; even though it is not listed in the percentages your grade is based on. Hmmm. But that’s ok, during this “community based learning” you get to play “Pimp’s and Ho’s” for hours on end with the degenerates (the only game they know), as they attend glorified daycare and scheme as to how they will make it back in next time. Ms. Battista grades based on a very well defined though unmentioned scale. If you present an argument that suits her and is in line with the “truths” that you’re supposed to learn in class, you will receive a proportionally high grade. But if perchance, you disagree with the information presented in the exceedingly liberal text, your grade will suffer. If she doesn’t agree with what you have written, expect to be marked down. If you don’t adhere to her particular style of writing, expect to be marked down. If one page is not enough room to critique an entire twenty-page article, you will be marked down (even though she recommended this method). If you don’t have a thesis in your paper, you get marked down (of course, but…) if you mention that the author of the reading assignment doesn’t have a thesis (yup, you guessed it!) you get marked down. If you are an ass-kisser who will write anything for a grade, and give up your moral thoughts to embrace the bullshit force-fed to you during this class, don’t worry, you will do just fine. If you try to describe a faltering job market in terms of supply and demand, she won’t understand it; after all, it’s not like she’s a fucking economics teacher (oh, and you’ll get marked down for that too!) If you haven’t noticed, I feel that I was graded unfairly on my weekly ‘protocol’ assignments. Ms. Battista will side with the author’s argument of the readings no matter what falsehoods are written. Even if it is obvious that the author had bent statistics in their writings, if you make that observation, your grade will suffer. If you take a stand for what you believe in, prepare to be attacked. If you try to defend yourself, your grade will suffer. Regardless of the level of your writing, my experience is that she will ignore all logic and sense and keep grading based on a whim. What’s worse, although student’s received grades on their weekly writing assignments, these were next to meaningless because she “just looks at how the student improved over the quarter then evaluated their grade at that time.” This, in combination with a policy of never letting the student know their in-class grades or total grades leaves her leeway for when final grades come around. In discussion with several other students, I have also been informed that Ms. Battista is negligent in her communications with students outside of class. Students have attempted to contact her so that they could complete assignments, leaving messages only to have them ignored. I have never had reason or desire to contact this instructor, and why would I want to? It’s not like she would listen to my side of the reasoning, she didn’t even take the time to completely read my arguments before writing derisively mocking comments on my assignment. When she does have something to say to the class, she stands in front of the audience of 120+ students and whispers, even after repeated requests to speak up. This makes it difficult to hear from the middle of the room, much less from the back. It does allow you to tune the nonsense out though. Perhaps it’s just me, but out of respect for the instructor, I make an effort to be in classes on time, I believe that this works both ways: I expect an instructor to be on time, an infrequent tardiness being excusable. However, Ms. Battista would consistently stroll in ten minutes late. (This was the rule mind you, not the exception.) I just can’t believe that someone can retain a position and get paid to behave like this. All told, this class only cost me a little more than $800, between the registration fees, the worthless leftist text, and fuel to get back and forth to the service-learning requirement of the class, not to mention wear and tear on my automobile. (I had to drive, making extra trips, due to poor scheduling availability with service learning, and no bus service to locations.) The last time I checked, prison was the place they sent you after you paid your fines. While there, you were told how horrible a person you were and how atrocious the acts you committed were. Then, you were sent off to perform community service, to mend relations with the folks that you had wronged. But now you don’t have to commit a crime to yield these benefits, I have found all of these qualities in ECON 303 with Ms. Battista. I guess Cal Poly has no problem with condoning these acts and purveying this image. But then, as a student, you really have little choice over what classes you actually take, you have to settle for what is offered, whoever is teaching it. Know that I feel for you, and wish you good luck. I signed up for this particular section because it fit well in my schedule and fulfilled the requirements for my major. I would not recommend you do the same. This class has soiled the end of my Cal Poly experience. If the alumni association ever calls me requesting funds, I can point to the disservice that this class has provided to me as a reason not to. There are many things wrong with this world but ECON 303 at Cal Poly, as taught by Ms. Battista, is one of them. This class will make you miserable, just ask my co-workers; I would bitch about this class every time I came back from it. If I had a class list for all of the students taking this class next quarter, I would surely make copies of this document and forward it to them, I hope you do as well. Please excuse my bitterness, but enduring the endless shit that was fed to my classmates and myself has left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. If you want to take this class just to try to tame the flaming bitch, be my guest, but I recommend not doing it while you are registered for the course. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:51 am, Mar 13, 2003 Report Evaluation |
If I had read the ratings before I took this class, I would not have taken it. However, Prof. Battista is a great teacher. She is very clear with her lectures and she tells you exactly what you need to know. The tests are very involved, but again she tells you exactly what you need to know. Many of the other comments have said that this class involved a lot of memorizing. If you look at it like you need to momorize the material it will a lot harder. There is logic to the charts and Prof. Battista does a good job at providing the connections for you. Take some time and find the logic in the process! That is what learning is, understanding the logic. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A General Ed 11:34 am, Jan 25, 2003 Report Evaluation |
Claire Battista was one of the worst professors I ever had. She made no effort to meet with students or answer any questions they had. She wansn't in her office when her hours were posted, and when she made mistake on trying to send out a huge pdf file for us to read before class (the day before the class!) she blamed the students for not having big enough storage space in their email. She is a very egotistical feministic bitter lady that has little to nothing to add to anyone's higher educational learning experience. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:29 pm, Jan 11, 2003 Report Evaluation |
If you are a blue-eyed, white, heterosexual male who comes from a reasonably opulent/affluent background, be prepared to get beaten up and accosted for the crimes of your ancestors. The readings are horribly inflammatory, and filled with unsupported suppositions. That being said, I liked the class, and enjoyed the debate that came out of the reading. You will very likely get low grades (C) on your first couple papers--that | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 1:30 pm, Jan 8, 2003 Report Evaluation |
This class was miserable. Dr. Battista would assign reading, and you would basically discuss the same issue with your group every day in class. This is 40% of your grade but she doesn't tell you your grade on the group assignments, EVER!! The protocols were a waste of time. They were supposed to improve your writing skils, but all they did was waste a few hours of my time on the weekends. These were 50% of your grade and the average score she hands out is around a 75-80%. The other 10% of your grade is a 5 page essay due at the end of the quarter that discusses your 13 hours of volunteer work that you must complete during the quarter. All in all, Dr. Battista did not teach us a damn thing. Do not take this teacher. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 10:33 pm, Dec 4, 2002 Report Evaluation |
Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 10:10 am, Nov 5, 2002 Report Evaluation |
no comment | |
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ECON 303 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 1:29 am, Nov 5, 2002 Report Evaluation |
She is a hard core feminist and is baised against men. I consider my writing skills to be above average but for some reason I was never able to get a decent grade on any of my protocols. Furthermore, this class has nothing to do with economics.. It should be called a sociology class because all that it consists of is male bashing and racism against white people. | |
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ECON 222 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:21 am, Sep 23, 2002 Report Evaluation |
Dr. Battista was a fairly good professor. She missed a lot of class, but from what I understand it was due to a completely justifiable situation. This IS econ, so if you havent really liked econ in the past dont think she is going to change your outlook on the subject. She does, however, present the material fairly, and her tests are very easy if you do the practice test and briefly look over key terms in the book. | |
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ECON 222 Junior Grade Earned: Credit Required (Support) 8:15 am, Sep 22, 2002 Report Evaluation |
She knows what she is talking about but leaves you with NO CLUE! She never showed up to class. Sounds appealing but no she brings in different substitute teachers that have such a different style of teaching and it completly throws eveything off. The test material is so boring and she doesn't make any effort to make it interesting. There were two difficult midterms and a final some homework assignments which took only a few minutes. Stay away from this teacher if at all possible. (the tests are all different if you are one of those...) | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 12:58 pm, Sep 14, 2002 Report Evaluation |
I must preface this by saying that I do sympathize with Dr. Battista. Nonetheless, she missed class more times than I did. This is not conducive to the learning environment. Nevertheless, she is an economic whiz and presents the material with complete knowledge. Unfortunately, the material for this class sucks. You will spend your time memorizing flow charts of economic phenomena and definitions of economic terms. It is completely unnecessary to purchase either text, which is, in retrospect, infuriating. Her tests are pure regurgitation of the in-class notes, and she is *nitpicky* about awarding points on the questions. Other points in the class come from homework assignments that take 5 minutes. And overall, I must say, this was not a very informative class. Dr. Battista is not wholly responsible for that, but surely she must shoulder some of the blame. I would be wary of taking this professor again. | |
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BUS 303 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 8:47 pm, May 19, 2002 Report Evaluation |
SHE IS A RED DIAPER DOPER BABY!!!! STAY AWAY FROM HER IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU!!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 12:42 am, May 11, 2002 Report Evaluation |
First off, this lady presents the material of economic of poverty and discrimination so slanted that you would think that you were in the middle of a Green Party rally. She uses a book that presents only one side to the whole topic- THE EXTREME LEFT - It is amazing to see how instructors can waste your time in using class time to push their political views on you. Unless you are a bleeding heart liberal, that wants to be homosexual because its the hip thing to do, don't take this class. If you are free thinker who likes to take in information and process it for yourself don't try in this class. Her "protocals" are supposedly for you to respond to what you have read in the book and if you have anything that is in opposition or in question of that material you will not get an A on them. She wants you to forget anything that you have beleived in before and accept the fact that the only way to be is liberal and that being liberal means being right. I couldn't beleive the amount of students who took this class bought all that crap. You could see them just become totally blinded by all the liberalist rhetoric. Besides the teacher being crappy and close minded this class jsut sucked too. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 12:39 am, May 11, 2002 Report Evaluation |
First off, this lady presents the material of economic of poverty and discrimination so slanted that you would think that you were in the middle of a Green Party rally. She uses a book that presents only one side to the whole topic- THE EXTREME LEFT - It is amazing to see how instructors can waste your time in using class time to push their political views on you. Unless you are a bleeding heart liberal, that wants to be homosexual because its the hip thing to do, don't take this class. If you are free thinker who likes to take in information and process it for yourself don't try in this class. Her "protocals" are supposedly for you to respond to what you have read in the book and if you have anything that is in opposition or in question of that material you will not get an A on them. She wants you to forget anything that you have beleived in before and accept the fact that the only way to be is liberal and that being liberal means being right. I couldn't beleive the amount of students who took this class bought all that crap. You could see them just become totally blinded by all the liberalist rhetoric. Besides the teacher being crappy and close minded this class jsut sucked too. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:29 am, Mar 11, 2002 Report Evaluation |
She makes you write alot of essays, and is strange on grading them. I put a lot of effort into writing some and got a grade of 8/10, and wrote some crap and got 9/10 points. I don't understand her grading, but she's a fun teacher to take and cares about her students. She has interesting lectures. | |
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ECON 303 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: F General Ed 11:38 am, Feb 11, 2002 Report Evaluation |
I really want to smack this bitch! I had her for Econ 303, but then I became really sick with walking pnemonia, and missed the last 2 or so weeks of school. I emailed her repeatedly, called her constantly, and even had someone in class explain to her that I was deathly ill. SHE NEVER RESPONDED! In fact, the bitch FAILED me, and I was doing well in the class up until that point; she had no reason to dislike me. After I got the grade, I left a note under her door, and more email, and more phone calls - and never heard back. I should drag her ass through the coals of Administration for this one! Don't take her, avoid her, but if you can't, and you get sick.... take an emergency medical withdrawl! Oh, and the class was way boring and I didn't learn squat. Constant group work in class, and those irritating "protocols" that she'll never give you a perfect score on. The class was easy enough, and I should have received a B. | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 12:41 pm, Jan 7, 2002 Report Evaluation |
This class is not only boring, but useless. "Economic for Poverty Discrimination" sounds like an interesting topic to discuss, but Battista's boring "go by the routine" way sucks. I would have much rather discussed real topics that were happening in current events about racial and gender discrimination rather than the boring repetitive stuff she has us discuss. She also makes us work in groups, EVERY DAY, so we can't be absent. The group work is boring and repetitive as well. We turn in these writings she calls "Protocols," which are due every week on the readings. These writings have a strict guideline and are graded extremely tough. Then there is volunteer work, 12 hours in one quarter, which is probably the most exciting thing about this class. Please don't take it with her, I'm sure there's a better teacher out there. | |
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DSCI 303 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 2:26 pm, Dec 5, 2001 Report Evaluation |
If you take her for ECON 303 you better love to READ!!!!!!!!! | |
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ECON 303 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 12:50 pm, Dec 2, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Prof Battista is good at presenting the material to the class to stir up arguments. This gives students the opportunity to voice their opinions. Yu have to do 12 hours of community sevice and papers each week (which aren't hard at all). There are no quizzes or finals (except for a paper). It's a preety easy class, I recommend it. | |
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ECON 337 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:08 pm, Nov 5, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Dr. Battista is a very informative professor, one of the best I have had here in the COB. Many people don't like her style of teaching, which is very direct/to the point with no fooling around. If you attend clsas regularly and take good notes then you are fine. She spells EVERYTHING out in class and once you get a handle on what everything you wrote down means, you will have learned a good deal about how things work in our economy. I did not read the book much, just mainly studied the notes and I was cruisin. Oh and one extra hint, leave LOTS of room on your paper for side notes that she will throw in randomly throughout her lecture. | |
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BUS 337 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 6:19 pm, Oct 29, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Battista is a very odd, quirky professor. In general, she is not very approachable and she expects you to fully understand the material from her completely discombobulated notes. Her notes are thorough and if you completely memorize every single thing from your notes, you will do well. The only problem is that you take more notes in this class than any other. Overall, this class is challenging and very rewarding because it is useful information, but you will want to strangle Battista at times. Good Luck! | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 2:52 pm, Oct 29, 2001 Report Evaluation |
This class was really interesting, and Prof. Battista clarified the material really well. However, there is a lot of memorization involved, which can be bad on all-essay tests. If you don't know the notes really well, then you will not do well in this class. | |
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ECON 401 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 5:07 pm, Oct 3, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Dr. Battista is a very nice woman. However, this was her first time teaching this class and it showed. She wasn't incredibly clear in her explinations, and some of the assignments didn't gain me all that much. However, I think that her tests reflected the material covered, and it wasn't all that difficult to get a good grade if you had done the sample-tests she provided. I understand that she is a good but tough teacher for Econometrics. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 3:44 pm, Aug 23, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Mrs. Battista was a great teacher, but when it came time for test time, her great teaching skills didn't really help. Her tests were very similar to the practice tests she gave; at the beginning of the test she'd hand out a 10 or 15 page test, giving you a page for each question. I thought I understood the material, but since the questions were essay only, if you forgot something, it dropped your grade majorly. I would have done much better if there was a multiple choice test, but there wasnt so my grade suffered. SHe is incredibly anal at grading, in the tests you would have to outline procedures as to what happens when for example, bond prices go up and then list a series of 10 effects that are caused by that, but if you wrote down the 2nd step wrong, then you would get no credit for the 3rd-10th steps, and you would end up failing that question, all because you made one simple mistake. Don't take her, you will learn,but your grade won't show it. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:29 pm, Jun 1, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Professor Battista was an above average instructor for this class. I came into this class thinking it would be extremely boring, however she made the topic interesting by relating it to real life situations. The class does require you to attend class all the time. You might get side tracked if you miss even one day. I think her tests are very fair and straight to the point. It does require alot of memorization. Overall, I would recommend her for ECON 337. | |
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ECON 222 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 7:22 am, Apr 4, 2001 Report Evaluation |
No comment posted. | |
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ECON 201 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 10:52 pm, Mar 1, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Dr. Battista obviously understands the subject of Economics, but if this is your first time ever learning the subject, she is NOT a good professor to choose. I found myself lost amidst a sea of flowcharts which eventually led to a non-existent finish. The exams were fairly difficult... the first one earned evry single student except one a 65% or lower. What does that say about teaching ability?? And after her grading, Dr. Battista refused to curve to test, which was very veyr frustrating. What was even worse, was that when I asked see her for office hrs, she agreed,a nd then never showed up. Overall, this was my worst experience at Poly thus far...it is truly a miracle that I did not fail this course. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: A Elective 3:32 pm, Jan 9, 2001 Report Evaluation |
Battista lays out ideas and concepts clearly on the board but have fun trying to keep your notes organized. She likes to add things right in the middle all the time. I suggested leaving lots of open space in your notes just for these occasions. The book used is also well layed out and her lectures follow along with the concepts in the book. Her test require a lot of memorization of processes in the economy, so be prepared to know absolutely every step in the processes. She has awesome in class assignments that help greatly and the study guides are pretty much the tests. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Elective 2:54 pm, Dec 13, 2000 Report Evaluation |
Dr. Battista is an excellent teacher whom I highly recommend. If,however, you are a slacker who is absent alot or has poor memorization skills, then this might not be the best teacher for you. She is really detailed in her lectures, but I guess I really like that in a teacher. Her lectures are very informative, even if you aren't an econ major. Another thing is that she offers in class assignments that are credit no credit, and these help your grade. Also, for your tests, if say you received an A, you can resubmit the test with the correct answers explained in a short paragraph and you get 4% more on your test. If you have a B, you get 3% more. So if you consider yourself a semi-serious student at all, this will probably be a good class for you, and really not hard. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Elective 1:51 pm, Apr 20, 2000 Report Evaluation |
if you are a girl, i recommend you go to her office hours because she will be really helpful. if you are a guy, don't expect any help from her at all. | |
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ECON 337 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 5:47 pm, Dec 7, 1999 Report Evaluation |
I enjoyed this class very much because the information that Professor Battista presented was helpful and is able to apply in the real world after college. She breaks the information down for students to understand and goes further in depth. She is a very fair grader and very understanding to those students who are working hard in class. I recommend this Professor Battista for Econ 337. | |
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ECON 337 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Elective 11:29 pm, Jun 22, 1999 Report Evaluation |
Dr. Battista knew the subject well, kept the course interesting and was easy to interact with. The tests were primarily from the lectures. Only thing to be aware of is her grading, which was anal at times... | |
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