Professor
Vickie Mays
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Most Helpful Review
I didn't listen to the flurry of bad reviews listed below because this class fit into my schedule, and it was the biggest mistake of my college career. If you value quality education that consists of a well structure class with a thoughtful, engaging and detailed professor who cares about your success... then do not take this course. Her lectures are very loosely structured with no thoughtful connection to the exams. She basically shows up and blurts out everything that comes off the top of her head about each chapter, and then tests you with random information directly out of the book (most of which she never mentions in lecture), which basically means if you want an A you have to memorize every single detail on this EXTREMELY dense and complex subject matter. This is a lazy and, quite frankly, sadistic method of teaching. I have a 3.7 and have studied harder for this class then I ever have, and have never done so poorly. Learn from my mistake and avoid this nightmare course at all costs.
I didn't listen to the flurry of bad reviews listed below because this class fit into my schedule, and it was the biggest mistake of my college career. If you value quality education that consists of a well structure class with a thoughtful, engaging and detailed professor who cares about your success... then do not take this course. Her lectures are very loosely structured with no thoughtful connection to the exams. She basically shows up and blurts out everything that comes off the top of her head about each chapter, and then tests you with random information directly out of the book (most of which she never mentions in lecture), which basically means if you want an A you have to memorize every single detail on this EXTREMELY dense and complex subject matter. This is a lazy and, quite frankly, sadistic method of teaching. I have a 3.7 and have studied harder for this class then I ever have, and have never done so poorly. Learn from my mistake and avoid this nightmare course at all costs.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2017 - She is one of the most unhelpful and condescending professors I've ever encountered. No matter what class she teaches or anything she's in charge of, do not take it with her. She doesn't guide you properly into understanding the material and when you do ask questions for clarifications, she makes you feel stupid and incompetent. She has no genuine concern for students at all which makes me wonder why she's a professor in the first place if she doesn't value helping students. She is super disorganized and is never focussed on one task at a time but go on tangents to different things. Despite being like this, she will openly and harshly criticize you for not knowing your stuff, when she ironically fails to even teach it to us. I have had my bad share of professors but at least some of them cared enough despite being bad professors. But, this one does not even deserve to be an educator, let along a professor or doctor.
Spring 2017 - She is one of the most unhelpful and condescending professors I've ever encountered. No matter what class she teaches or anything she's in charge of, do not take it with her. She doesn't guide you properly into understanding the material and when you do ask questions for clarifications, she makes you feel stupid and incompetent. She has no genuine concern for students at all which makes me wonder why she's a professor in the first place if she doesn't value helping students. She is super disorganized and is never focussed on one task at a time but go on tangents to different things. Despite being like this, she will openly and harshly criticize you for not knowing your stuff, when she ironically fails to even teach it to us. I have had my bad share of professors but at least some of them cared enough despite being bad professors. But, this one does not even deserve to be an educator, let along a professor or doctor.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Professor Mays is one of the WORST professors, by far, at UCLA, if not the entire UC system. She preaches equitable accommodations and resources, but ENSURES that her course was taught with an unequal and unfair disadvantage to her students, as well as with her unprofessionalism and her mocking of her students. She claims she shares positions on multiple committees - of which I question their reputability in anointing her a position - but never once treated this course and her students with the respect she demands for herself. I was thoroughly interested in the field of study the course aimed to educate, but after a quarter with Professor Mays, I can eagerly and most sincerely say that I will never take a course taught by her EVER again, no matter how interesting the course may be. Professor Mays has not yet ONCE (EVER) read her course evaluations - her being tenured only makes her a worse example of how poorly trained some educators truly are. She is an example of an abuse of power, and an individual who shares no respect for her students AND her teaching assistant. Shelby was the ONLY source of compassion and understanding this quarter, yet was treated with disrespect the ENTIRE quarter. I believe Shelby was mentally and emotionally strained this quarter, and it had to do with how Professor Mays treated her and this course. I understand my voice as a student will not be heard, but if this does reach individuals and committees of power, do INVESTIGATE PROFESSOR MAYS - she does NOT deserve her role as an educator here at UCLA. If you do read this, DO NOT take this class with Professor Mays. Before taking this class, I did read the BruinWalk reviews and very ignorantly ignored my peers. Professor Mays is everything her reviews say she is - none of these reviews are exaggerations. I do believe taking this class remotely with the current state of the world made this class and this professor all the more WORSE. She was NOT understanding. After the final "midterm," one week before the final exam, approximately 90 students remained in the Zoom meeting to voice their concerns about her offering an optional or no-harm final - to which she mocked us and claimed that she had no power in altering HER already-flawed syllabus to which she failed to abide to throughout the quarter. Do not take this class with Professor Mays.
Spring 2020 - Professor Mays is one of the WORST professors, by far, at UCLA, if not the entire UC system. She preaches equitable accommodations and resources, but ENSURES that her course was taught with an unequal and unfair disadvantage to her students, as well as with her unprofessionalism and her mocking of her students. She claims she shares positions on multiple committees - of which I question their reputability in anointing her a position - but never once treated this course and her students with the respect she demands for herself. I was thoroughly interested in the field of study the course aimed to educate, but after a quarter with Professor Mays, I can eagerly and most sincerely say that I will never take a course taught by her EVER again, no matter how interesting the course may be. Professor Mays has not yet ONCE (EVER) read her course evaluations - her being tenured only makes her a worse example of how poorly trained some educators truly are. She is an example of an abuse of power, and an individual who shares no respect for her students AND her teaching assistant. Shelby was the ONLY source of compassion and understanding this quarter, yet was treated with disrespect the ENTIRE quarter. I believe Shelby was mentally and emotionally strained this quarter, and it had to do with how Professor Mays treated her and this course. I understand my voice as a student will not be heard, but if this does reach individuals and committees of power, do INVESTIGATE PROFESSOR MAYS - she does NOT deserve her role as an educator here at UCLA. If you do read this, DO NOT take this class with Professor Mays. Before taking this class, I did read the BruinWalk reviews and very ignorantly ignored my peers. Professor Mays is everything her reviews say she is - none of these reviews are exaggerations. I do believe taking this class remotely with the current state of the world made this class and this professor all the more WORSE. She was NOT understanding. After the final "midterm," one week before the final exam, approximately 90 students remained in the Zoom meeting to voice their concerns about her offering an optional or no-harm final - to which she mocked us and claimed that she had no power in altering HER already-flawed syllabus to which she failed to abide to throughout the quarter. Do not take this class with Professor Mays.
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