Joseph Saenz

GEOL101 · GEO101LEC · GEOL101LAB · GEOR101 · GEOLAB · CLASSSECTION · GEOL130 · GEOLOGY101 · GEOLR101 · GEO101 · 39 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 94/100
RMP rating: 4.4/5
Take again: 94.74%
Difficulty: 1.9

The decision

if you can commit to attending every class.

Best fit · Easy A HunterEasy A if you attendGives answers and study guidesCaring and hilariousMandatory attendanceExtra credit field trips

Students repeatedly say he spoon-feeds quizzes and reuses that if you show up.
because weekly in-class quizzes drive the grade and there are often no makeups.
He is widely described as caring, funny, and expert in local geology, with only a minority criticizing personal-story digressions.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

EasyA

90/100

He walks through quiz answers in class, , and many students call it an easy A if you attend.

Both online and in-person reviews stress easy As via reviewed quizzes; online sample is smaller.

Is the course easy?

Introductory

86/100

Students describe geology content as easy and spoon-fed rather than conceptually brutal, with low average difficulty.

Online and in-person both call the class easy; difficulty ratings stay low across formats.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

22/100

Most reviews say attendance is mandatory or that skipping means you will not pass because of weekly in-class quizzes.

; in-person tags often say skip class and you will not pass.

Is this professor recommended?

MustTake

93/100

Near-universal take-again sentiment, with students calling him a real gem and recommending him for lecture and lab.

Recommendation is strong in both formats; the .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Generous

91/100

Students report , and grades that stay high when quizzes are completed.

Format shift

Online and .

Workload

Light

78/100

Homework is often minimal; the main load is weekly quizzes plus midterm and .

Format shift

One online review tags lots of homework, but .

Teaching experience

Excellent

88/100

Students praise clear, interesting lectures, local expertise, humor, and genuine care, with only occasional complaints about personal stories.

Format shift

Online students emphasize entertainment and support; in-person students emphasize storytelling and experience.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

68/100

and final drive grades; and some labs reuse quiz material on exams.

Format shift

; online comments still emphasize quizzes and tests.

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

34 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Easy A Hunter

In-person reviews dominate and paint him as a funny, supportive easy-A professor who reviews quiz answers in class and .

Main concern

Skipping class tanks your grade; a few older reviews dislike personal-life storytelling.

What students said

“He spoon feeds you so much that the 10 quizzes (he does with you) and you get to use them on the midterm and FINAL”
GEOLR101

“For the whole lecture we would go over each question and he gives the answers to them all. The same :)”
GEOL101

“Easy A if you pay attention and attend class.”
GEOLAB

Remote format

Online

5 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Easy A Hunter

Online students still call him caring and entertaining, report easy grades, and and tests.

Main concern

as mandatory even online, and one student notes he talks a lot.

What students said

“it's an easy class in the sense that he will give you the answers during the test and we go over the quizzes and talk through them.”
GEOL101

“ !”
GEOL101LAB

“He talks a lot and .”
CLASSSECTION

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are highly predictable because he reviews and often reuses quiz questions, though some older comments mention cumulative closed-book midterms and finals.

In-class quiz reviewQuiz questions reused on examsOpen notes on some quizzesStudy guides with answersSome closed-book cumulative finals

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

82/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and final, lab often allows quiz sheets, and lecture sometimes allows a notecard, though some closed-book cumulative tests are mentioned.

Quiz reuse on midterm and finalOpen notes on quizzesNotecard on some lecture examsClosed-book cumulative tests reported by some

“you get to use them on the midterm and ”
GEOLR101

“Be ready for , and a mid-term and .”
GEO101

Online

Online students say he gives answers during tests and .

Answers given during testsQuiz walkthroughs

“he will give you the answers during the test and we go over the quizzes and talk through them.”
GEOL101

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“He spoon feeds you so much that the 10 quizzes (he does with you) and you get to use them on the midterm and FINAL... He is an EASY A”
Voice snapshots generated from 39 reviews (5 online, 34 in , and caring lectures. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

88/100

“Professor Saenz is one of the college career. He is a subject matter expert and nows how to explain the details and makes it interesting.”

🅰️ Easy A Path

90/100

“Easy A if you pay attention and attend class. He reviews a lot for tests during class.”

📅

22/100

“ if you know you wont be missing any classes.”

❤️ Student Support

91/100

“You can tell that he cares about his students and always treated everyone with respect.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Funny and entertaining during his classes
He mixes study with personal life to make it fun
Uses colorful geologic presentations of his worldwide travels

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

Easy class period.
He gives you the answers to the tests
You'd have to be an idiot to get a poor grade in his class.

Theme 3

📅 and Workload

Don't miss class, he gives weekly in class quizzes.
.
He talks a lot and .

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

39 reviews spanning many years with consistent easy-A and , and only a small minority of negative outliers.

Inside 39 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 524

4 out of 512

3 out of 51

2 out of 52

1 out of 50

Course coverage

GEOL10111 reviews

GEOLR1016 reviews

GEO101LEC5 reviews

GEO1014 reviews

GEOL101LAB3 reviews

Show 5 more courses

GEOLAB3 reviews

CLASSSECTION2 reviews

GEOLOGY1012 reviews

GEOR1012 reviews

GEOL1301 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

17 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 13

B range

B 2

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

No reported values

Joseph Saenz

x x x x x x x x if you can commit to attending every class.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

EasyA

Introductory

Mandatory

MustTake

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

🅰️ Easy A Path

📅 x x

❤️ Student Support

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

📅 x x and Workload

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

if you can commit to attending every class.

📅

📅 and Workload