COMM 1800

I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who is interested or thinking about commerce. It goes over the basics of a lot of different business topics. I will say it is not easy for anyone coming in without much prior knowledge but I personally really enjoy business and found this class interesting. Each lecture is pretty dense but Professor Costanza makes it funny and interesting to listen to. The exams aren't too bad but you definitely have to study, I honestly found the quizzes a little harder. There are readings but you don't really have to do them as long as you pay attention to the lectures. I really liked this class and the professor was fun to talk to and is very knowledgable about the subject!

(I took this course Fall 2024 but for some reason only Spring 2025 was an option for this review).
I enjoyed this class far more than I expected to. Right out of the gate, Professor Costanza basically said that the readings weren't super necessary to this class which I find to be very nice. The only downside to that is that you have to pay very close attention in class for the entire 75 minute lecture. However, Professor Costanza is a very knowledgable, animated man, so I actually found the lectures to be quite enjoyable. This class is sort of like a combination of the history and psychology of business which I found extremely interesting, but you are more of a quantitive student (facts, data) this class might not be for you. Although you don't have to do the reading, there are weekly homework assignments including reflections at the end of every week, 3 case studies, and some other supplemental assignments as well. Nothing was too time consuming though, and I relatively enjoyed all of the work for this class. There are also 3 exams (no final) which are all multiple choice, but in-person and closed book. The exams are also pretty straight-forward. Overall, I would recommend this class, especially if you are applying to McIntire as it is required.

Going into this class, I did not have a strong base for business knowledge. Coming out of it, I think I can confidently say that I know all of the basics of business, and that is entirely thanks to professor Costanza. He is an extremely engaging and charismatic professor, and he made what could be seen as otherwise mundane topics seem incredibly interesting. In terms of the coursework, there are three exams (no cumulative final) and six quizzes, the lowest one being dropped at the end of the semester. They were all multiple choice, and (minus a few exceptions) pretty straightforward and aligned with the notes/lectures. There is textbook for this class, but the professor makes it clear that it is optional. I did the readings and found them interesting, but I know people who didn't and did not see that as a inhibitor. There was some homework scattered throughout the course, but nothing overly difficult or time consuming. Overall, I'd 100% recommend this class!

Costanza has pretty interesting lectures however since lectures aren't recorded and he likes to test on stuff he talks about in class and not on the slides showing up to class and taking notes is pretty important. Every time he brings up an example, take notes. Understanding his examples is crucial to helping understand the class and do well on the tests since many tests questions are application-based where there is an example and you are asked about a particular concept in relation to that example. If possible try to make some friends in your classes that way you can compare notes and see if you missed anything. Overall a lot of work is completion but that means making sure you do all the assignments every week. Personally, the book wasn't that helpful but you can skim it if you would like. It's not super dense anyway so if you have the time just skim through it. Most of the work has pretty good instructions and the grading isn't too harsh. The quizzes are open note and book so just make sure to take good notes and if you missed a class try to find somebody else's notes. The tests can be pretty challenging, but the best tip is to make sure to take good notes so you can understand the examples because he likes to use similar situations as the ones he said in class albeit maybe with different names.

I took this class in Fall 2024 and it was Costanza's first time teaching this class. He is a pretty engaging professor who teaches using a lot of examples from his previous experiences to make concepts more tangible. He encourages participation during lecture but the class is big enough that you don't have to ever speak if you don't want to, but you can raise your hand to ask questions while he is teaching. The class is made up of relatively small and frequent assignments that don't take very long and add up to boost grades on top of the exams. There are 3 exams and they are all non cumulative which is really nice. The only thing I didn't like about the way Costanza structured this course was that he doesn't let you see what you get wrong on quizzes or old exams so it is pretty hard to learn from your mistakes, but I could see this changing in the future if he gets enough complaints but I would count on not being able to see what you missed unless you go to office hours to do so. This class was a good introduction into the world of business and the Comm school as a whole and was very doable.

Professor Costanza is amazing. I couldn't recommend him or this class enough. He's such a great teacher and the little stories he tells during class to illustrate concepts are actually helpful. A lot of your grade depends on submitting work on time, and he never accepts late work. The tests are so-so, there will always be some questions that'll never make sense. Regardless, Costanza is a fair grader and it's clear he really does care about his students. I wish I could take this class again honestly.

Honestly, Professor Costanza was great. He is an entertaining lecturer with a clear passion for the subject, and is someone who clearly cares for the students of the class. Though I 100% recommend this course, I would caution any student about the two things before starting: 1. Professor Costanza accepts NO late work with ZERO exceptions (as someone who missed two assignments because of genuine circumstances, this was something that affected me) and 2. Professor Costanza loves to incorporate unclear/ambiguous and sometimes very niche questions into quizzes/exams, so be prepared to be confused during some of those assignments. My advice would be to go to office hours and take very good notes on the lectures as to retain any nitty gritty material he may use on a test/quiz, as well as get to know your TAs very well as they can help you with additional assignments like case studies. Overall, this class is a pretty easy A if you put In the effort and do moderately well on exams.

Costanza is a fun teacher but his tests are filled with ambiguous and trick questions. Homework and grading is very dependent on matching course material.