Reviews of professor Sarah Giarrusso

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
She's fine. Required class.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
She keeps politics outside the classroom. A lot of professors sneak in political commentary. She keeps her beliefs to herself. More professors should do that. Also, online exams are open book, so easy A.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
I like the way she takes attendance. She passes out index cards at the end of class and we answer a question based on the lecture. Most times the question asks our opinion on something relevant to that day. It feels like I "earn" my attendance instead of a teacher just doing roll call or passing a sign-in sheet.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
I took her for Intro to CJ last semester. For one of my first classes in CJ, it was a good start. She didn't assume that you knew basic CJ material so she explained complicated subjects without making us feel like babies. I liked that, because I would have been embarrassed to raise my hand to ask a question & admit I didnt know the stuff

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
She pauses lectures in the middle of class for a discussion (the question is on the powerpoint). Whoever is next to you gets in a group of 3-4 and discusses your opinion based on her prompt. After 4-5 minutes each group reports back to the class. It was good to break up lectures. I liked that she wanted to know what we thought of the issues.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
She is very passionate about what she teaches but the class overall isn't too hard if you pay attention. Her quizzes are online but most of the answers can also be found online or in the notes she makes at the end of each chapter. The work load isn't too bad either.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
The blackboard exams are online. They are timed, but if you have a general sense of the material you can search the book pretty quick to verify your answers.