Reviews of professor Whitney Tholen

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Class only consists of 4 midterms and 1 final that can be dropped. All exams are open book, so just review the chapters a couple of times and you will be fine. The lab is a lot, but that could be because I took the course over the summer. Dr. Tholen does not reply to emails and her syllabus and lectures were unorganized and not up to date.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
She's also the lab coordinator, but labs were always disorganized/never had materials. Exams are easy, make sure to read and make quizlets. Only thing that really bothered me is that even if you did do extra credit, she said she would only put it in if you showed "effort and participation." Won't round your 89.5.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
If English is not your first language DO NOT take her! 
I took her during summer and her lectures are off her PowerPoints BUT her exams are off the textbook? she's very unreasonable, barely replies to emails. Exams are open book, but you have 50 min to answer 50-60 questions?

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Before taking the class students should be considerate of the prof's schedule. Dr. Tholen is the main contact for all gen micro labs despite the increased class enrollment each semester. Outside the classroom and working for her as a UGTA has only made me respect her as a person and want to work again for her and help with the lab preparation.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Dr. Tholen is awesome. Her course will have 4 midterms and 1 final (80%) and a lab section (20%). All exams are online. I had an 88 as my final grade and she bumped it up to an A. She is so nice and her lectures are very interesting. If you work with her, she work with you.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
I don't understand her bad rep. Her exams are open book and showing up to class is optional. I do think her actual lectures are something to improve, but having the textbook during exams is awesome. The textbook is from 2019, so a few things like COVID-19 or monkeypox won't be in the textbook so be sure to cover that in her slides before exams.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
I would not take Tholen again. She doesn't responded to emails, and when you approach her in class she makes excuses and continues to ignore emails. The lab assignments are the PET & Lab report that were never discussed in lab, nor lecture. They are 35% of your grade. In class we cover slides that aren't on exams. Extra credit counts less than 1%.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
I took BIOL 4390 this past spring '24 semester. Dr. Tholen helped us new UGTAs through understanding the expectations and process of running the general and nursing micro labs. She was helpful with getting us started while allowing us to work through every task on our own. This course is highly recommended for any student wishing to work in labs!