Reviews for William J. Higgins
Average Rating:| Biology Major Course: BSCI440 Grade Expected: A May 27, 2010, 8:59 am | Most of what the previous reviewers have said is correct about the class. Dr. Higgins speaks too fast, skips slides, very critical. However, he IS very helpful. If you go to his office hours, or write questions on the discussion board, he is sure to answer then or direct you to the place in the text where you can find the answers. His tests are challenging b/c there isn't much partial credit. An annoying thing about the tests is that there are always mistakes on the practice tests and practice answer keys. So two exact questions have different answers, and it is hard to decipher which one is the correct answer. The TAs are not helpful either. Make sure you check your tests after you get them back. The reason is that the keys might be wrong too. The one boring part of this course is the part that is taught by Dr. Araneda. He lectures from the back of the room, so people in the front cannot hear him. He spends an entire lecture focusing on one slide, and expects you to know the rest. The tests written by him are confusing. But reading the book and looking at the CD for Araneda helps a whole bunch. For Higgins, GO TO CLASS!!!! |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: May 20, 2010, 4:25 pm | Let me start by saying this, this class is a lot of material, and a lot of it comes from all over the place. Higgins does mostly the physiology, and Kent does the Nature/environmental stuff. I personally didn't like the structure of the course too much, and I feel like it shouldn't be a pre-requisite for bio majors(Anantomy would be much more useful). Their grading system was a bit odd, but from what I heard around the class if you had something around an 85, you got an A, if you had above a 76 or 77 you had a B, and then I'm not sure what the C and D marks were. Overall, I thought they both did the best they could with the structure of the 207 course, and provided students with enough material to go over to do well enough on the exams. It wasn't a nightmare but it wasn't a walk in the park either. If you study, you should be ok. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI440 Grade Expected: B May 19, 2010, 1:05 pm | Yes, Higgins is pompous and rude and arrogant and makes you feel like an idiot. But, after spending a semester with him, the thing I dislike most about him is his disinterest in students. He arrives late to class, he ignores student emails, he avoids opportunities to actually discuss issues with students, and he is not sympathetic to their problems. You might enjoy the lecture, but all the learning has to be done on your own - prepare to spend your life on this class or take someone else for BSCI4440. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: ?? May 16, 2010, 6:26 pm | Higgins is a really great lecturer and he makes class pretty interesting. In the beginning I was enjoying class and thinking that biology was pretty neat...then I took his and Kent's exams... I just wish that there were other grades like assignments and stuff or at least a curve. :( If you want an A, go to office hours as much as possible, even if you think you understand the stuff, because you might not. I wish I did. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: April 27, 2010, 6:34 pm | He's a great lecturer if you participate in class. However, he makes it a point to make simple topics extremely difficult. If you take this class, be prepared to put in more time and effort that any Biology class you have before. This class was ridiculous- and I honestly hated going. His exams are really tough. Put effort into the class and you will do fine. Otherwise plan on struggling the entire time. The class is full-time job. |
| hippoterp Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: April 24, 2010, 11:24 am | Alright, so, yes, Higgins is a hard professor. But he is also one of the best lecturers I have ever had. I really enjoyed going to lecture and learning (that's another thing- YOU HAVE to GO to lecture, you can't just listen to them or go off of his notes). The material he teaches is really interesting and he tells you in class what you do and don't need to know on his exams. He is only intimidating if you make him intimidating. You can tell he loves teaching-- and he's really good at it. But he can be pretty arrogant- but that's only because he's insanely smart and has really established himself as a research biologist. If you study hard for his exams, you will do well. If you don't- you will miserably fail. But, if you're not into studying, my advice is to get out of Bio now while you can. |
| hyeung1 Course: BSCI440 Grade Expected: A March 5, 2010, 1:47 pm | Intimidating person. Not very helpful. Sometimes funny. Makes you feel stupid and worthless all the time. He will have a ppt slide up and then talk for twenty minutes about things that are on the next two slides. Then he'll skip the next two slides because he had already talked about them, so you'll never "see" what hes talking about... exams...yuck mostly increase and decrease...if A increased what would happen to B...if B happened...what would happen to D... hard matching questions GRAPHS!! he loves graphs...he'll ask you to draw a graph that describes a relationship for 12 points (no partial credits of course). and theyre not easy graphs. he won't tell you that he is curving so he leads you to believe that you are getting a C for the entire semester until you get your final grade...so at that point you dont know if you should thank him for giving you a B or hate him for making you stress out all semester. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI440 Grade Expected: B February 6, 2010, 7:34 pm | Very pompous and rude. Full of himself. Yells at you instead of actually teaching. The course material is already a little difficult to master, and he does not do a good job of teaching it and frankly makes it harder to learn. Do not reccommend him as a professor, but I did learn a lot from the textbook and lab. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: B October 14, 2009, 1:10 pm | Very full of himself. However, he seems pretty knowledgable on the subject. BSCI207 kind of sucks no matter what teacher you have. They way they set up the classes is very strange. Not organized at all really. Cant really study from lectures either. In lecture they just keep giving various facts and you are expected to just remember them. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: May 21, 2009, 10:59 pm | He can be pretty intimidating and elitist since he's been teaching at umd for something like 30 years... however, he really is a great professor and even though this class was incredibly hard, he made the lectures really interesting and was very energetic (even if he does tell stupid jokes) while teaching. Sometimes, he would drop really obvious hints about exam questions. Even though he and Kent posted their lectures online, you MUST go to class. Most of his slides are pictures and equations, so you need to be there to take notes. The book is useful for background, but 80% of the exam is stuff from lecture. Like someone said already, he likes to put calculations and graphs on his exams. There was a lot of multiple choice on the midterms (~50 MC, then like 4 short answers at the end), and the final was 150 MC. Basically, if you have to take this class, do it with Higgins. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: May 18, 2009, 9:11 pm | i actually enjoyed this class very much. dr. higgins is quite enthusiastic and VERY knowledgeable since he is the mamm phys professor as well, so he knows his stuff; and from years of experience he knows how to keep students engaged and the materials memorable. exams are indeed difficult, but that in a way is a strength of his teaching. easy exams don't test you on what you know, it's the difficult ones that you benefit from. people just complain about him cause they don't work hard and expect good grades. |
| joepenn1 Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: B May 1, 2009, 4:06 am | Higgins in a nutshell: Great teacher when it comes to material; a little condescending but usually in good taste and funny; Tests are HARD but doable with adequate studying; MUST attend lecture, there is no substitute even though power points are posted. If you want a class where you learn a lot and don't mind studying, this is your guy for it. Expect a B to a C with adequate studying, A if you work. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: A April 13, 2009, 11:46 pm | Higgins is energetic and makes it hard for you to fall asleep in class, which is good; however he also tries to artificially make the class harder than it has to be by having some trick questions and things like that. On the other hand in some way or another he ends up telling you exactly what will be on each exam (if you go to all the lectures). I recommend him. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: C April 4, 2009, 2:12 pm | He's funny and can be entertaining but don't let that fool you, his tests are extremely and just ridiculous. you'll never be prepared for them. |
| frecklespug Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: B January 20, 2009, 10:52 am | Higgins is a sexist, obnoxious man. He thinks very highly of himself and isn't afraid to be outright creepy in his treatment of his students. He seems to befriend random people in the class and act like they are best friends in class. He makes people participate in stupid, useless demonstrations in front of the class as well. He yells into the microphone and makes other equally annoying noises into it. I hated going to class with him lecturing and sat in the back to avoid him bothering me. |
| dmd Course: BSCI440 Grade Expected: A December 20, 2008, 7:44 pm | Higgins is a great lecturer. He really makes you understand the material and is good at explaining difficult concepts. He really prepares you well if you are willing to put in time to learn the material. His lectures are entertaining and his class demonstrations keeps everyone awake. However, he's been teaching mamm phys for 30+ years and he lets you know. He likes to talk about himself and about all the current doctors, deans, and professors who have been his student at some point in time. If you want to learn, take Higgins..he knows his stuff! |
| jessgord Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: A November 14, 2008, 8:23 pm | He covers A LOT of material at a fast pace, but manages to make you understand it. He knows his subject well and expects you to by the end of class. It takes a lot of work and studying, but you should do fine if you've attended lecture and taken notes (and studied in advance!). He's also very funny and a little bit insane ...and as much as I complained during the semester, I feel a void this year without him teaching me. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: A May 22, 2008, 10:08 am | I got an A, but not without hard work. You can't really study for the tests the night before, you have to start early and really make sure you understand the material. Higgins is a good and entertaining lecturer, but sometimes he can move fast and be unclear. Make sure you ask questions, he will always go back and answer them. Must attend lecture, his lecture outlines are full of pictures, not words, so you must take extra notes. He loves graphs and calculations for his exam questions, and in class he gives heavy hints on what those questions will be, or he flat out tells you. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: March 16, 2008, 8:57 am | Very interesting lecturer. He takes lots of quick breaks for jokes or witty comments, and seems to know what sort of teaching style engages college students. Despite his humor, he is a very good teacher. You must attend lecture because there is more to class than what's on the slides. Very receptive to questions, especially if they don't take lecture time. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: A January 18, 2008, 7:01 pm | Exams are difficult. Likes to use graphs and tricky questions. Lectures are engaging but he can be very condescending at times. Must attend lecture: his exams are derived from lecture not textbook. |
| pinklacepajamas Course: BSCI440 Grade Expected: B October 21, 2007, 11:52 am | Engaging lecturer who knows how to keep a class of around 200 awake at 8 am. He explains everything very clearly. His exams are doable, although difficult, as they require that you thoroughly understand the relationships, cascades, and pathways. One drawback about him is just that he is pretty pompous and elitist. |
| vdawg Course: BSCI207 Grade Expected: A October 20, 2007, 8:03 pm | Dynamic, interesting lecturer. Really cares about he subject and makes it comprehensible. Will keep you awake no matter how early you take his class. Exams are objective, very few short-answers, primarily matching, definitions, etc. |