BIOL 4190

This course is graded by attendance quizzes (10%) and exams (90%). There are 5 attendance quizzes, each 2% of your grade, randomly throughout the semester. The quizzes are extremely easy. There are 3 exams, and the lowest exam grade is dropped, meaning that each exam is 45% of your grade. These exams are really hard– I got an A+ in cell bio & neurobio, and these exams did not work with my brain. It's frustrating because I felt like I understood the content really well and could explain it, but I just didn't do well on the tests. Despite my average being mid-70s, I ended up with a B in the course because he curves the median grades to a B+. In this sense, you are graded against your peers.
Iggy himself is fantastic though. The lectures are engaging, but you definitely need to go to class to understand what is happening. If you read the papers before the class and then pay attention, you will understand the material fairly well. I also went to office hours, and Iggy is suuuper helpful. He explains things so well. He's also super friendly and relaxed. Definitely loved him.
Ultimately, the content and professor are great. I wish I could have taken this without the grade, as it dropped my GPA.

Professor Ignacio uses a set of slides that are very sparse so if you miss class you won't get any of the takeaways. There are 5 in-class quizzes that count for 2% of your grade each that were supposed to be spaced out over the semester but ended up mostly in the last 2 weeks of class. I found the content of the course to be somewhat interesting so if you're actually interested in circadian biology I would recommend the course.

Otherwise, he creates his exams purposefully in a way that nobody is supposed to do extremely well which becomes frustrating. He also grades on a standard distribution so you are graded based on the performance of your peers and have no idea how well you are doing until he posts final grades.

TL;DR - don't take this class unless interested in circadian biology. There are much easier and more engaging 4000-level courses in the biology department that are easy A's.