AI Rate Professor

Communication Studies

Allyson Thornton - Sides

LEC18734 · COMM301 · COMM361 · COMM303 · 14 lifetime ratings

AI rating
48/100
RMP rating
3.3/5
Take again
53.33%
Difficulty
3.1

The decision

if you will attend every day, follow instructions exactly, and .

Best fit · Effort For RewardTough GraderSpeech HeavyStrict AttendanceAPA ObsessedPolarizing Personality
  • Speech-focused Comm courses with and APA
  • and phones are often banned
  • Students split hard between fun engaging lectures and picky or harsh classroom tone

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

42/100

As and Bs are possible, but speeches, outlines, APA details, and and precision.

and group finals; in-person reviews stress memorized speeches and outline perfection.

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

Speech length ramps up and weekly work exists, but many say the class is manageable if you follow instructions.

In-person feels harder due to memorization and attendance; and group coordination.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

and missing class lowers your grade even with emails.

; online also tags attendance yes for several sections.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

52/100

About half love her energy and feedback while others warn about attitude, favoritism, and .

; online lean negative on clarity and group work except one strong 2021 praise.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

and outlines, with and picky details.

Format shift

Online and in-person both call her picky; .

Workload

Moderate

48/100

, and activities keep a steady but not always crushing load.

Format shift

Online includes weekly quizzes and group finals; in-person ramps speech length and outline work.

Teaching experience

Average

52/100

Some find her hilarious and supportive; others report unclear directions, sassy tone, or embarrassing students.

Format shift

Older online COMM301 was highly praised; recent online and .

Assessment method

Balanced

58/100

Core grade comes , and some exams.

Format shift

Online is speech-plus-quiz heavy; and textbook-based.

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

11 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person classes are interactive and often fun, but , and .

Main concern

Some students report passive-aggressive tone, picky grading, and .

What students said

“If you skipped a class even if it was an emergency or even if you emailed her she marks your grade down.”
COMM301
“ APA format but uses old criteria so listen to what she wants vs what is shown.”
COMM361
“ ! She makes class so fun and keeps you engaged.”
COMM301

Remote format

Online

4 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online Comm sections mix supportive speech coaching with , and .

Main concern

Group speeches online and .

What students said

“Nice but picky when it came to grading and .”
COMM303
“You do about 4 speeches over zoom and and hands on.”
COMM301
“Grades her speeches super hard.”
LEC18734

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment centers on individual and group speeches with quizzes and .

Multiple SpeechesWeekly QuizzesAPA OutlinesGroup Final SpeechTextbook Exams

Assessment risk

Standard

55/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person work features four to five speeches, strict outlines, weekly open-book quizzes in some terms, and .

5 SpeechesMemorized SpeechesOpen Book Weekly QuizzesTextbook ExamsAPA Outlines
“Our last speech was 8 minutes long and you had to completely memorize it through apa formatting.”
COMM301
“You also have to take a 10 question open book quiz every week which is also extremely easy.”
COMM301
“Textbook heavy for exams.”
COMM361

Online

Online students report solo speeches, a , and weekly quizzes; .

Zoom SpeechesGroup Final SpeechWeekly Quizzes
“You do about 4 speeches over zoom and and hands on.”
COMM301
“Solo speeches and one group as a whole team and as an individual.”
COMM303

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Biggest complaint about Professor Sides is that she has a strange and passive-aggressive attitude with students.”

Voice snapshots generated from 15 reviews, highlighting , and . Credibility rating: Medium.

🎯 Teaching Quality

52/100

“ ! She makes class so fun and keeps you engaged.”

⚖️

28/100

“Grades her speeches super hard.”

📍

18/100

“If you skipped a class even if it was an emergency or even if you emailed her she marks your grade down.”

👍 Polarized Recommendation

52/100

“So long as you pay attention in class and read the syllabus at the beginning, you'll know what she expects.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Very interactive, charismatic, and eager to help students out!
  • she was really strict on the no phones and sometimes a bully to students
  • A little sassy but funny.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • APA format
  • Passing her class is easy if you stay on top!

Theme 3

🗣️ About Speeches & Group Work

  • Speeches become easy even if you're shy.
  • it's hard to communicate with team members online & you're graded mostly as a team
  • Be ready to give 5 speeches (4 individual speeches, 1 group speech)

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

15

Recent reviews read by the AI

14

Lifetime ratings

68/100

Evidence confidence

15 reviews with recent detail and , but opinions are split and sample size is only moderate.

Inside 15 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 55
4 out of 53
3 out of 50
2 out of 54
1 out of 53

Course coverage

COMM30111 reviews
COMM3032 reviews
COMM3611 review
LEC187341 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

14 reported outcomes

A range

8

A+ 1 · A 6 · A- 1

B range

4

B 3 · B- 1

C range

1

C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Drop/Withdrawal 1