AI Rate Professor

Business

Sam Atherton

BUSM51 · BUSM66 · BUSM20 · BUSM61 · BUSM52 · BUSO25 · BUSM53 · 109 lifetime ratings

AI rating
89/100
RMP rating
4.8/5
Take again
92.73%
Difficulty
2.3

The decision

Take Sam Atherton in person for practical business mentorship, but stay on top of , and due dates.

Best fit · Effort For RewardReal-World Business StoriesExtra CreditInspirationalLecture HeavyMandatory Attendance
  • Most students call him an inspirational real-world business mentor with funny, story-driven lectures.
  • Weekly discussions, quizzes, and reading keep the load moderate, with generous .
  • A , and exam questions that feel disconnected.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

68/100

Many students earn A or A- with and steady work, but grades also include B and C outcomes when effort slips.

In-person students find grades fair with ; .

Is the course easy?

Standard

55/100

Content is approachable with stories and slides, yet weekly reading, discussions, and .

In-person difficulty feels moderate; one online review called BUSO25 a nightmare.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

22/100

and participation or weekly discussions matter.

In-person attendance is repeatedly mandatory; .

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

88/100

About 93% would take him again and praise real-world mentoring, though a vocal minority dislikes his classroom focus.

In-person recommendation is strong; online reviews are more negative.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

72/100

Students call grading fair and abundant, though some still land in the B or C range.

Format shift

; online point loss often comes from due-date confusion.

Workload

Moderate

55/100

Expect weekly discussions, chapter quizzes, reading, and .

Format shift

In-person workload is steady but manageable; online due-date friction adds stress.

Teaching experience

Excellent

88/100

Most students praise engaging real-world lectures and mentoring, while a minority say he gets off topic.

Format shift

In-person teaching praise dominates; online teaching experience is weaker.

Assessment method

Balanced

52/100

, and rather than pure homework or pure exams.

Format shift

Both formats use quizzes and exams; in person adds discussion and participation weight.

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

47 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person students mostly love his storytelling, real business advice, , and .

Main concern

topic, and some say tests cover material not fully taught.

What students said

“Having him as a teacher is a no brainer.”
BUSM66
“Super funny and fun stories, lots of great business stories.”
BUSO25
“Gets off topic every single lecture and never fully goes over the material”
BUSM51

Remote format

Online

3 reviews

Low confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

one student found the business process motivating, while and .

Main concern

Assignment due-date mismatches and .

What students said

“Professor Atherton gave me the motivation to start the process of setting up my own business.”
BUSM66
“The way assignment due dates are set WILL inevitably cause .”
BUSM51
“This Professor should be relatively okay in person but taking online is a nightmare.”
BUSO25

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams and weekly quizzes usually track lectures and readings, with study guides and common.

Weekly quizzesStudy guidesLecture and book based examsExtra credit on quizzes and exams

Assessment risk

Standard

62/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

as straightforward if you follow lectures, discussions, and study guides.

Study guidesWeekly quizzesExtra credit
“Gives study guide for exams.”
BUSO25
“Course work and as taught in class lectures and learned in discussions.”
BUSM66

Online

Limited online reviews mention exam questions that felt unrelated and assignment instructions with typos.

Unclear due datesExam alignment concerns
“Some questions on the and had nothing to do with Business Communications.”
BUSO25
“He sets the but its actually die on Wednesday at 6:00pm.”
BUSM51

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“If you haven't taken his class what are you doing. Having him as a teacher is a no brainer.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, mostly in-person, highlighting mentorship strengths and online friction. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

88/100

“He teaches for the real world not for .”

🌟 Real-World Mentoring

90/100

“Professor Atherton gave me the motivation to start the process of setting up my own business.”

⚠️ Off-Topic Risk

35/100

“Gets off topic every single lecture and never fully goes over the material”

👍 Recommendation Rate

88/100

“ to the way he can change the way you think.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • lectures feel more like a conversation
  • teaches by experience and storytelling
  • Fantastic teacher, he gives you things you can actually apply to the real world

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • This class isn't hard if you do your work.
  • I got an A- because of all the .
  • He makes it so that it is hard to fail his class.

Theme 3

💻 About Online Format

  • taking online is a nightmare
  • assignment due dates are set WILL inevitably cause

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

109

Lifetime ratings

90/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty reviews with recent volume and mostly consistent in-person praise give strong confidence despite a few negative outliers.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 5100
4 out of 52
3 out of 51
2 out of 55
1 out of 52

Course coverage

BUSM6614 reviews
BUSO2512 reviews
BUSM518 reviews
BUSM538 reviews
BUSM204 reviews
Show 3 more courses
BUSM612 reviews
BUSM521 review
busm531 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

48 reported outcomes

A range

30

A+ 3 · A 25 · A- 2

B range

10

B+ 6 · B 4

C range

6

C+ 3 · C 3

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

2

Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 1