AI Rate Professor

Astronomy & Earth Sciences

Scott Phelps

ASTR5 · GEOL8 · ASTR7 · AST7 · ADJU7 · 31 lifetime ratings

AI rating
74/100
RMP rating
4.1/5
Take again
66.67%
Difficulty
3.1

The decision

Take him for astronomy if you can handle heavy busywork and .

Best fit · Effort For RewardLots of homeworkCorny dad jokesLecture heavy flipped classLong examsWants students to succeed
  • Engaging and funny for many students, with and
  • Workload is high via daily or , and very long tests
  • Easy enough if you do the work; mixed reviews on lecture style and

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

62/100

, and studying lecture material often yields an A or B, but volume and .

Online students find quizzes easier; and .

Is the course easy?

Standard

52/100

Astronomy concepts , and dense tests raise the challenge.

Both formats describe manageable concepts with high work volume; .

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

30/100

Many reviews say attendance matters to turn in , and not fail.

A few say optional; most in-person and .

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

68/100

Majority recommend him for humor and support, while a work.

Online reviews are positive; in-person has both glowing and strongly negative outliers.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

68/100

and appear, and effort is rewarded.

Format shift

Online notes easy quizzes; and completion credit.

Workload

Heavy

32/100

, and long exams create a heavy load.

Format shift

Both formats report lots of homework; recent in-person also flags 150-question exams.

Teaching experience

Good

76/100

Many praise engaging lectures, humor, and help; .

Format shift

Online students emphasize humor and helpful lectures; in-person opinions are more mixed.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

, and finals all matter, with exams often mirroring quiz and lecture content.

Format shift

; and projects sometimes.

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

28 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person is flipped-style with pre-class lectures, lots of , and .

Main concern

and extremely long multi-choice exams frustrate some students.

What students said

“As long as you pay attention in lecture and complete the and you can get an A.”
ASTR5
“He would give you 150 multiple choices to do in just under 2 hrs.”
ASTR5
“Work hard, Easy A.”
ASTR7

Remote format

Online

3 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online sections still assign solid weekly work but and find his humor and lectures helpful.

Main concern

.

What students said

“Professor Phelps does give a fair amount of work but it's nothing too hard.”
ASTR5
“The as long as you do the homework and follow along with the lectures.”
ASTR5
“If you are lazy, don't waste your time! If you really want to learn, there's no better scholar.”
AST7

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams can be extremely long multiple choice but , and study guides.

Very long multiple choiceQuizzes mirror examsStudy guidesCurves and extra credit

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person exams range from manageable to 150-235 question marathons, sometimes curved with study guides.

Long multiple choice finalsStudy guidesCurved testsQuiz content on exams
“He would give you 150 multiple choices to do in just under 2 hrs.”
ASTR5
“the final had 235 questions and took me about 3 hrs to finish it”
ASTR7
“To study the because thats what 75-80% of the test is.”
ASTR5

Online

Online quizzes and tests track homework slides and .

Weekly quizzes from slidesHomework aligned to tests
“There are , but they are generally from the and they show up on the test, too.”
ASTR5
“The as long as you do the homework and follow along with the lectures.”
ASTR5

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Honestly theres a lot of work to be put in this class but its not hard work, its juat a lot. Go to class, do the work, study the work and get an A or at least a B.”

Voice snapshots generated from 31 reviews across online and and workload complaints. Credibility rating: High.

📚 Heavy Busywork

32/100

“Not necessarily hard but a lot of work. Way too much to study.”

😄 Corny but Engaging

76/100

“he has the corniest jokes but he's honestly an easy and good professor.”

📝 Long Exams

48/100

“He would give you 150 multiple choices to do in just under 2 hrs.”

👍 Success-Oriented

68/100

“He wants you to succeed!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Makes lecture very interesting and engaging.
  • Has corny dad jokes
  • he digresses a lot in class - he sometimes seemed sleep deprived.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

  • Work hard, Easy A.
  • There is a lot of homework. .
  • as long as you attempt the HW, you get credit.

Theme 3

📚 About Workload Structure

  • Felt like I took an online course. Professor has you watch online lectures for homework
  • and answering problems
  • Make sure to do the work due before class as he calls on every student

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

31

Recent reviews read by the AI

31

Lifetime ratings

82/100

Evidence confidence

31 reviews over many years with recurring workload, humor, and .

Inside 31 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 517
4 out of 58
3 out of 52
2 out of 52
1 out of 52

Course coverage

ASTR515 reviews
ASTR710 reviews
AST73 reviews
418731 review
ADJU71 review
Show 1 more courses
GEOL81 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

21 reported outcomes

A range

10

A+ 2 · A 8

B range

8

B+ 3 · B 5

C range

0

No reported values

D range

1

D 1

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

2

Not sure yet 1 · Rather not say 1