AI Rate Professor

History

Nolan Higdon

HISTORY105 · HISTORY117B · HIST117B · 117A · HISTORY10502 · HISTORY10501 · HIST117A · HISTORY117A · HIST10502 · HIST118 · 42 lifetime ratings

AI rating
78/100
RMP rating
4.2/5
Take again
86.36%
Difficulty
2.8

The decision

Take Higdon for history if and papers; expect a fair grade when you follow the .

Best fit · Effort For RewardPaper-heavy historyClear grading criteriaLenient if you follow directionsEngaging lecturerSelf-paced online
  • if they can write and keep up with readings.
  • and citation counts are followed.
  • Workload swings hard by term, with summer and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

72/100

Many students earn As by completing readings and papers, but the grade is not free and weak or rushed work can hurt.

Recent online and in-person comments both support manageable As; older summer and group-heavy sections feel harder.

Is the course easy?

Standard

52/100

Content is , and occasional group work keep the challenge real.

; in-person ranges from light weekly work to intense presentation or paper loads.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

55/100

and optional in others, so policy is not uniform.

Online and reports.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

80/100

A and fair grades, with a consistent minority rejecting low feedback or heavy group work.

Recent online GE-style reviews are especially positive; .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

78/100

and repeated comments that he is not a if you meet citation and direction requirements.

Format shift

Online students especially note lenient grading with required citations; a few in-person students still call him a .

Workload

Moderate

42/100

Regular terms can be manageable, but , and some accelerated sections create a solid to heavy writing load.

Format shift

Online and summer sections draw more overwhelm comments; .

Teaching experience

Good

78/100

Many praise engaging lectures, clear directions, and care for student success, while .

Format shift

; some online sections feel distant and self-taught.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

28/100

Papers, reading responses, discussions, and occasional presentations dominate over traditional closed testing.

Format shift

Online leans papers and discussions; , and sometimes in-class essay 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

31 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

and strong lectures to group-heavy or writing-intense formats; many call him chill and , while a minority dislike presentations and sparse traditional lecturing.

Main concern

Some terms lean heavily on group presentations and .

What students said

“ !!! Just around 1 assignment per week, got 100 on all. Ended the class w 100 and most do.”
117A
“He lectures very little, instead he has you read the material and do presentations off based what you thought the material was about.”
HISTORY117A
“There was not a single test, just a couple of papers about 2 weeks apart from each other and class discussions basically everyday.”
HIST117B

Remote format

Online

11 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online sections are often straightforward with discussions, quizzes, and papers, but interaction can be low and some terms pile on heavy writing.

Main concern

and heavy writing or citation requirements can make the course feel self-taught.

What students said

“Workload is manageable if you manage your time wisely & do the readings. There are a , but honestly he doesn't grade too harshly on them.”
HISTORY117A
“He grades pretty leniently as long as you meet the required number of citations.”
HISTORY105
“There is little to no communication with the professor at all, all the required work is posted online and then it is up to you to complete the material by the due date.”
HISTORY117A

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment usually centers on papers and reading work, with some terms using in-class essays rather than strict proctored exams.

Papers as midterm and finalReading responsesDiscussion postsIn-class essay tests in some termsClear rubrics

Assessment risk

Standard

58/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

, and sometimes in-class essay tests or study-guide midterms; format varies by semester.

In-class essaysPapers instead of testsGroup presentationsDiscussion postsStudy guides
“Tests are in-class essays”
HIST117A
“There was not a single test, just a couple of papers about 2 weeks apart from each other and class discussions basically everyday.”
HIST117B
“He also gives study guides that tell you EXACTLY what is on all the midterms.”
HIST117A

Online

Online reviews describe graded reading responses, quizzes, midterm and , and limited live interaction; .

Reading responsesMidterm paperFinal paperQuizzesLow interaction
“You'll be graded on 5 reading responses, a midterm, and a .”
HISTORY105
“There are a few papers and some quizzes, but not to hard if you do the readings.”
HISTORY117A
“There is little to no communication with the professor at all, all the required work is posted online”
HISTORY117A

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ !!! Just around 1 assignment per week, got 100 on all. Ended the class w 100 and most do.”

Voice snapshots generated from 42 reviews (11 online, 31 in person), balancing easy-A praise with paper load and . Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

78/100

“ in my whole two years! !”

👍 Recommendation Rate

80/100

“If and it's not your major, highly recommend Professor Higdon.”

📝 Workload Reality

42/100

“There is tons of reading and writing, and very little time in .”

⚖️

78/100

“He grades pretty leniently as long as you meet the required number of citations.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He's so chill and if you're looking for an easy A!
  • He's basically Tony Stark, but he makes a horrifically boring subject interesting
  • he makes you think and really see if you understand

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Easy A as long as you do all the work
  • Not a hard class at all, show up to class and do the work, youll do just fine
  • Not easy A, but doable if you are a dedicated college student

Theme 3

⚠️

  • I basically had to
  • tons of group work, same groups & topics all semester
  • Would have had to have turned in over 80 pages of

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

42

Recent reviews read by the AI

42

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Forty-two reviews spanning many years, both formats, and mixed but repeating themes provide strong credibility despite some era-to-era variation.

Inside 42 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 525
4 out of 510
3 out of 53
2 out of 52
1 out of 52

Course coverage

HIST117A13 reviews
HISTORY117A11 reviews
HISTORY1057 reviews
HISTORY105013 reviews
117A2 reviews
Show 5 more courses
HIST105022 reviews
HIST117B1 review
HIST1181 review
HISTORY105021 review
HISTORY117B1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

37 reported outcomes

A range

34

A+ 7 · A 27

B range

2

B+ 2

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Drop/Withdrawal 1