Reviews of professor Nancy Riley

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Took this class for Maymester and it was hard. She gave us so much homework and her tests involved recognizing so many classical pieces. We had a final project for her class and she told us after the proposal was due that it had to be about a certain composition, not a biography. Did not enjoy daily writing assignments she gave us. Be aware!

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Dr. Riley's Intro to Music History is one you have to spend time studying and doing homework for, but she's always clear about her expectations and organized. I'm not a huge history fan, but she makes it pretty palatable. She also doesn't expect you to memorize exact dates, which is nice.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Dont take this First Year Seminar if you hate busywork. After every assigned reading (every day) you had to summarize the article in 300-400 words and provide discussion questions that were almost never addressed. There were a total of 21 reading responses. Other FYS classes are easier, only discussion about the readings and no constant essays.

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Professor Riley expected all of her students to treat FYS as top priority. Lots of reading & essay responses to what we read. If you missed class your grade would suffer. She was kind of passive aggressive & put her views on students. So many better FYS teachers at Belmont that make the class fun & easy instead of course work heavy & boring.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
The main issue is that she doesn't really add anything in class. She just regurgitates the readings word for word and makes you re-listen to all the boring stuff you listened to and wrote about before class. Also tons of homework. Not the most organized (but admittedly not the least) and generally condescending.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
I see these bad reviews and she seems a lot better this semester. She gives us multiple attempts for the chapter quizzes so we can get a 100% on them. I know she gives tons of homework and can be a tough grader, but she is very sweet and funny. Great teacher!

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
She is a GREAT professor for FYS. She is so engaging with everyone in class and it feels like a big friendly conversation the entire 50 minutes. It is a lot of reading and writing but if you do those assignments on time you will be fine.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Honestly, I hate Riley. She is extremely condescending and her class is deathly boring. She adds nothing in the class sessions other than regurgitating the information that you went through online before class. She is deceptively approachable but is extremely unwilling to work with you. Honestly one of the worst professors I've ever had.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
I had her for FYS and she is a super laid-back person and is very sweet. It is a lot of readings that are very random and writing assignments/ question sets. Good class but just be warned I found it difficult to talk/ participate because oftentimes it would become very political and she isn't afraid to express her views.