Melissa Ferguson

PSYCHOBIOLOGY · PSYC250 · PSYCHBIO250 · PSY20014 · PSYC280 · PSYCH280 · 43 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 52/100
RMP rating: 3.3/5
Take again: 53.49%
Difficulty: 3.3

The decision

Take her if you can keep up weekly work and want reachable As with ; skip if you hate busywork or .

Best fit · Effort For RewardPolarizing WorkloadExtra Credit AvailableLecture HeavyCaring but HarshBusywork Heavy

Students split hard between easy-A fans and heavy busywork critics.
and clear criteria help, but weekly load and .
Online sections feel more chaotic and reading-heavy than some in-person PSYC250 sections.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

68/100

Many students report easy As when they finish weekly work and use , but and busywork block free As.

Online reviews stress daily workload more; some in-person PSYC250 reviews call it an easy A with open-note mini-exams.

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

Content is approachable for many psych students, but bio-heavy modules, long readings, and .

In-person easy-A comments cluster in PSYC250; online psychobiology and PSYC280 feel harder and denser.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

38/100

Attendance or participation is frequently required, especially in person, though as optional.

; online is mixed between optional modules and required weekly posts.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

53/100

and reachable As, critics warn of chaos and busywork.

Recommendation is stronger for lighter in-person PSYC250 than for heavy online or research-style sections.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

52/100

and effort-based grades help many, but tough-grader and unfair-plagiarism complaints pull leniency down.

Format shift

Online critics mention harsh or .

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Weekly modules, discussions, readings, and .

Format shift

Online reviews more often cite hours-per-day and nine-assignment weeks; some in-person PSYC250 classes feel lighter.

Teaching experience

Average

56/100

Students describe both amazing engaging lectures and disorganized, vague, or crash-course-heavy teaching.

Format shift

In-person fans highlight humor and caring; online .

Assessment method

Balanced

48/100

, and occasional group finals rather than one pure exam focus.

Format shift

Online leans assignment-heavy; several .

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

26 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Beginner Friendly

In-person PSYC250 is often praised as caring, funny, and manageable with online mini-exams; PSYC280 and psychobiology still get heavy-read and .

Main concern

and reading load in higher courses.

What students said

“This is one of the easiest A of my life I say as a bio major.”
PSYCHOBIOLOGY

“ .”
PSYC250

“She accused students of plagiarism over simple sentences that anyone could have written.”
PSYC280

Remote format

Online

17 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online sections often feel lecture-heavy with , and uneven support; some still get easy As with steady effort and .

Main concern

, and occasional cheating accusations make online weeks stressful.

What students said

“It's not a class that you can do all the work on Sunday, but if you work enough, it's an easy A.”
PSYC250

“I spent two hours or more daily on this class.”
PSYCHOBIOLOGY

“She assigns at least 9 assignments a week and expects you to know everything.”
PSYC280

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Many reviews describe Canvas or and manageable if and readings.

Canvas TestsOpen Note Mini-ExamsNot ProctoredTimed Quizzes

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

74/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

open-note or not proctored and fairly easy when prepared.

Canvas TestsOpen NoteNot ProctoredMini-Exams

“ .”
PSYC250

“1 weekly hw and .”
PSYC250

Online

Online comments mention timed exams and heavy prep but do .

Timed ExamsModule QuizzesAssignment Heavy Prep

“4 exams consisting of 30 questions and you only get a time limit of 35 mins.”
PSYCHBIO250

“Lots of discussion boards, and A.”
PSYC250

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“It's not a class that you can do all the work on Sunday, but if you work enough, it's an easy A.”
Voice snapshots generated from 43 reviews (17 online, 26 in person), highlighting polarizing themes in , and teaching. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

56/100

“She is actually an amazing and easy to understand!”

📚 Workload Reality

28/100

“She assigns at least 9 assignments a week and expects you to know everything.”

🅰️ Grade Access

68/100

“This is one of the easiest A of my life I say as a bio major.”

👍 Recommendation Split

53/100

“TAKE THIS CLASS! ! Warning there is a lot of and she isn't a tough grader, just show effort.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

super caring about her students and overall wants you to do good
Her lectures are so funny and she doesn't give too much work
Seems like she has no idea what she's teaching

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

if you work enough, it's an easy A
it's just an easy A class with online tests and minimal assignments
grades extremely harsh for someone who can't teach the material properly

Theme 3

📝

Lots of homework
assigns 5-10 assignments a week
Too many assigned discussion posts to read and

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

43 detailed reviews spanning 2020-2026 with both formats, rich grade reports, and consistent polarizing themes support a strong credibility rating.

Inside 43 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 518

4 out of 57

3 out of 51

2 out of 55

1 out of 512

Course coverage

PSYC25015 reviews

PSYC2808 reviews

PSYCHBIO2507 reviews

PSYCH2805 reviews

PSYCHOBIOLOGY5 reviews

Show 1 more courses

PSY200143 reviews

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

41 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 10 · A 13 · A- 4

B range

B+ 1 · B 3 · B- 3

C range

C+ 1 · C 2

D range

D 1

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Not sure yet 2

Melissa Ferguson

Take her if you can keep up weekly work and want reachable As with x x; skip if you hate busywork or x x.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Standard

Mandatory

Depends

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Quality

📚 Workload Reality

🅰️ Grade Access

👍 Recommendation Split

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

📝 x x x x

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

Take her if you can keep up weekly work and want reachable As with ; skip if you hate busywork or .

📝