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Courtney Demko
AD
Based on 4 Users
Very easy to get an A in the class, just do the work and be engaged :)
This class was one of the most frustrating experiences I have had at UCLA. Professor Demko provides almost no feedback and is extremely unorganized. The majority of the class consists of reflections that provide no feedback and a midterm and final that are graded extremely harsh. After providing no support she just bashed everyones paper for no reason and without clear expectation. She also released the midterm halfway through Week 9 AFTER the final was already distributed. In addition, the majority of the class was taught by outside professors and TAs which made it really confusing as these lectures were often not related or important to the actual content of the class. I have genuinely never had a more frustrating experience in the Public Affairs department and I wish that I had never taken this class. IF you are interested in this class I HIGHLY recommend you take it with a different professor as I have heard more positive reviews about different ones (particularly professor small). Professor Demko is not interested in student learning and is more interested in arbitrarily punishing students and destroying their confidence. She also became extremely defensive post-midterm and passive aggressive to students who desired clarity on their grades. She also just generally seems like she doesn't know what she's talking about. When I went to her office hours she referred me back to the READINGS instead of giving actual insight.
Grade breakdown:
- 10% participation/attendance
- 30% reading reflections (3 --> 10% each)
- 30% midterm paper
- 30% final paper
Pros:
- genuinely interesting content
- lectures are organized, all on slides
- readings are largely optional
- engaging guest lectures
- grading on paper explainers is pretty easy
Cons:
- midterm grading was harsh (grading was somewhat confusing, varied between TA)
- it can be hard to focus at times because lecture content is not super connected to graded assignments
- lecture/discussions are mandatory
This class was one of the most frustrating experiences I have had at UCLA. Professor Demko provides almost no feedback and is extremely unorganized. The majority of the class consists of reflections that provide no feedback and a midterm and final that are graded extremely harsh. After providing no support she just bashed everyones paper for no reason and without clear expectation. She also released the midterm halfway through Week 9 AFTER the final was already distributed. In addition, the majority of the class was taught by outside professors and TAs which made it really confusing as these lectures were often not related or important to the actual content of the class. I have genuinely never had a more frustrating experience in the Public Affairs department and I wish that I had never taken this class. IF you are interested in this class I HIGHLY recommend you take it with a different professor as I have heard more positive reviews about different ones (particularly professor small). Professor Demko is not interested in student learning and is more interested in arbitrarily punishing students and destroying their confidence. She also became extremely defensive post-midterm and passive aggressive to students who desired clarity on their grades. She also just generally seems like she doesn't know what she's talking about. When I went to her office hours she referred me back to the READINGS instead of giving actual insight.
Grade breakdown:
- 10% participation/attendance
- 30% reading reflections (3 --> 10% each)
- 30% midterm paper
- 30% final paper
Pros:
- genuinely interesting content
- lectures are organized, all on slides
- readings are largely optional
- engaging guest lectures
- grading on paper explainers is pretty easy
Cons:
- midterm grading was harsh (grading was somewhat confusing, varied between TA)
- it can be hard to focus at times because lecture content is not super connected to graded assignments
- lecture/discussions are mandatory