Travis Smith

HIST117B · HIST105 · HIST117A04 · HIST117A · HISTIRY117A · 22 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 72/100
RMP rating: 4.0/5
Take again: 68.18%
Difficulty: 3.0

The decision

Take him for online history GE if , and several essays; skim well and follow directions closely.

Best fit · Effort For RewardCaring and approachableHeavy reading loadEssay exam heavyTricky timed quizzesGives useful feedback

Weekly quizzes and discussions are doable, but and .
of the difficulty and grade risk.
if they stay on top of reading and writing.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

62/100

Many earn A or B by finishing weekly work and essays, but and if you slip.

Online reviews more often call it doable with effort; in-person HIST105 has harsher zero-score grading stories.

Is the course easy?

Standard

55/100

Content is standard survey history, but volume of reading, timed quizzes, and GE.

Online comments stress self-teaching the textbook; and reading precision.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

55/100

and optional in others, with little evidence that sitting in class is the main grade driver online.

Online is largely work-based; in-person reports mix mandatory and .

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

68/100

Most students recommend him as caring and fair if you do the reading and and .

; in-person is split between easy-class praise and HIST105 avoid warnings.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

48/100

Clear criteria and useful feedback appear often, but Tough grader tags and zero scores for .

Format shift

; one in-person HIST105 review describes extreme strictness.

Workload

Heavy

35/100

, and three multi-essay exams create a heavier load than many GE history students expect.

Format shift

Both formats report heavy writing and quizzes; .

Teaching experience

Good

74/100

Students repeatedly call him caring, approachable, and good with .

Format shift

Online and in-person both praise personality and feedback; negative teaching tone is mostly HIST105-specific.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

Grades mix weekly quizzes and discussions with major essay exams and .

Format shift

Online emphasizes essay exams plus weekly quizzes; and essays.

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

5 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person reviews mix easy A praise for HIST117A with harsh grading complaints in HIST105 over reading-specific quizzes and .

Main concern

and overwhelming weekly quizzes in some sections.

What students said

“ ! Super easy class, had 3 essays throughout the entire semester but they weren't too bad.”
HIST117A

“He's horrible. I wrote a summary... he gave me a 0 because the huge 10 senescence paragraph I wrote about it wasn't specifically only for pages 152-153.”
HIST105

“The quizzes and . 2-4 quizzes a week, 30 minutes to complete each.”
HIST105

Remote format

Online

17 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online HIST sections center on weekly textbook quizzes, discussion posts, and three multi-essay exams; many call it manageable if you keep up, but and .

Main concern

Tricky timed quizzes and textbook.

What students said

“ discussions and quizzes weekly also get 3 essays throughout the semester”
HIST117A

“This class is 95% self teaching yourself a full history textbook and taking tricky quizzes with only 1 minute allowed per question”
HIST117A

“Professor Smith's class isn't too demanding. You do need to stay on top of the ”
HIST105

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Core assessments are timed textbook quizzes plus three critical-thinking essay exams that .

Essay examsMultiple essays per examTimed quizzesTextbook-based quizzes

Assessment risk

Standard

52/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews describe essay tests and ; closed-book or proctoring software is not clearly documented.

Essay testsTimed quizzesReading-based quizzes

“Essay test and quiz heavy; 6 quizzes a week, and 3 essay tests in total.”
HIST105

“you have 30 minutes to complete an 8-question quiz and then 30 minutes to complete a 28-question quiz.”
HIST105

Online

Online sections use weekly timed quizzes and ; reviews do not clearly prove webcam or Lockdown Browser proctoring.

Timed quizzesEssay examsTwo essays per examWeekly discussions

“There are 3 critical thinking essay exams and you have to write 2 moderately long essays in each exam despite only 1 being graded.”
HIST117A

“the . You have 3 essay exams and for each exam you write 2 essays each”
HIST117A

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“A lot of writing and quizzes, but not an unmanageable amount. and genuinely caring professor”
Voice snapshots generated from 22 reviews spanning 2020-2026, weighted toward online , and . Credibility rating: High.

👨‍🏫

74/100

“Very nice and genuinely caring professor”

📝

40/100

“You have 3 essay exams and for each exam you write 2 essays each, which totaled to 6 essays.”

⏱️

35/100

“taking tricky quizzes with only 1 minute allowed per question”

👍

68/100

“ if you suck at history or hate it, you will pass.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Overall super cool teacher and !
and easy to talk to!
Provided me with .

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

this class is easy just discussions and quizzes weekly
if you struggle with reading
complete the quizzes either

Theme 3

📚 About Workload

Great professor but the amount of hw he gives is definitely more than it should be for a history class.
You HAVE to buy three books. Be prepared to spend many hours on this class.
A lot of writing, but definitely do-able.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

82/100

Evidence confidence

22 detailed reviews from 2020-2026 across HIST105/117A/117B, mostly online, with , and caring teaching.

Inside 22 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 513

4 out of 51

3 out of 54

2 out of 52

1 out of 52

Course coverage

HIST117A11 reviews

HIST1057 reviews

HIST117B2 reviews

HIST117A041 review

HISTIRY117A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

21 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 7 · A- 1

B range

B+ 1 · B 7

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

F 1

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 2

Travis Smith

Take him for online history GE if x x x x x x x, and several essays; skim well and follow directions closely.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Standard

Varies

WorthIt

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.

👨‍🏫 x x

📝 x x x

⏱️ x x x

👍 x x x x

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

📚 About 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

Take him for online history GE if , and several essays; skim well and follow directions closely.

👨‍🏫

📝

⏱️

👍