AI Rate Professor

Geology

W Phelps

GEO · GEO1B · OCE1 · OCE1L · GEO35 · GEO3 · GEOLOGY · GEO1L · GEOLOGY1 · GEO1 · 87 lifetime ratings

AI rating
81/100
RMP rating
4.3/5
Take again
61.9%
Difficulty
2.8

The decision

if you like funny, lecture-driven geology and will attend and if you need light workload or tight online organization.

Best fit · Effort For RewardHilarious lecturesLecture heavyNote-dependent testsExtra creditField trips
  • Lecture is engaging and joke-filled; if you show up.
  • Attendance and memorization matter; labs and .
  • Online sections draw more complaints about due-date chaos and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

68/100

An A is very reachable if , and use , but exams are long and memorization-heavy.

; online reviews stress harder long timed exams.

Is the course easy?

Beginner

62/100

, though labs and rock memorization raise the challenge.

; online reading load is higher.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

28/100

Many tags and comments say skip class and you will not pass because .

; online is asynchronous but still deadline-driven.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

72/100

Majority praise humor and learning value, though WTA is only about 62% due to workload, labs, and communication gripes.

In-person enthusiasm is high; online reviews are more mixed.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

52/100

and lecture-aligned tests help, but tough-grader tags and .

Format shift

Online students more often call him a .

Workload

Moderate

55/100

, but memorization, quizzes, long labs, and .

Format shift

Labs and some online sections feel heavier than straight lecture.

Teaching experience

Excellent

85/100

Repeated praise for funny, clear, knowledgeable lectures that make geology memorable for non-majors.

Format shift

In-person teaching praise dominates; online organization complaints are the main drag.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Quizzes, midterms, and regular homework in many sections.

Format shift

Online oceanography and geology also report test-heavy weighting.

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

45 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person students mostly love his humor and clarity; show up, take notes, and notes.

Main concern

and ; labs can be much harder than lecture.

What students said

“All is needed to Expect to actually learn geology by studying and taking notes during his lectures and it will be an easy A.”
GEO1
“He literally tells you the .”
GEO1B
“Class is an easy A, but it's just not worth the headache trying to deal with him.”
GEO1L

Remote format

Online

5 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online geology can still yield good grades but students report , and .

Main concern

Inconsistent due dates and .

What students said

“ and is a but all of the answers are in the lecture. the ”
GEO1
“He changes due dates a lot... It's almost as if he and there aren't make ups.”
GEO
“ and final 107 questions 80% of .”
OCE1

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

and can be very long; online versions are often timed and high-stakes.

Lecture-based testsLong examsMany quizzesTimed online testsExtra credit

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and notes; quizzes are frequent and memorization is required without study guides.

Lecture-based testsFrequent quizzesLong testsNo study guides often
“He literally tells you the .”
GEO1B
“he doesn't give study guides which makes it difficult to study for tests. You basically have to memorize your notes word-for-word.”
OCE1

Online

, and lecture/PowerPoint based with weekly quizzes.

Timed examsLong midterm/finalWeekly quizzesLecture-based answers
“the ”
GEO1
“midterm and final 107 questions 80% of . ”
OCE1

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Fantastic lectures. You will not be tested on something you have not gone over in class. He makes lectures so much fun and easy to memorize things.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (5 online, 45 in-person), , and format differences. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

85/100

“ ! He makes Geology fun.”

👍 Recommendation

72/100

“If we had more professors like Professor Phelps students would definitely be happier and have less stress.”

📝

48/100

“midterms are 100 ?s long and the final is 200+ ?s and much more difficult than the .”

😄 Humor & Style

90/100

“He keeps lectures interesting with his dad jokes lol.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Very grandpa vibes from prof. Phelps, caring and funny but firm on his policies
  • He is full of corny rock-related jokes and a plethora of knowledge
  • Great teacher. All he does is lectures, and

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Easy A if u study ur notes
  • he is a but all of the answers are in the lecture
  • You have to work for a good grade, but he will help you out a lot

Theme 3

⚠️

  • He changes due dates a lot
  • he doesn't grade work or let you know your overall grade

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

87

Lifetime ratings

90/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty reviews across many years and courses, rich detail, and consistent themes on humor, note-based tests, and .

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 565
4 out of 512
3 out of 51
2 out of 51
1 out of 58

Course coverage

GEO122 reviews
OCE19 reviews
GEO1B4 reviews
GEO3 reviews
GEO1L3 reviews
Show 6 more courses
GEOLOGY13 reviews
GEO32 reviews
408171 review
GEO351 review
GEOLOGY1 review
OCE1L1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

28 reported outcomes

A range

17

A+ 2 · A 14 · A- 1

B range

6

B+ 1 · B 5

C range

2

C 2

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

3

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Not sure yet 2