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I really loved this class. I personally learned a lot even though some things were basic knowledge. Professor Leopold was amazing and I always enjoyed going to his lectures on zoom. The hardest part of the class was the reading because there is a decent amount. However, the tests are super easy and rewatching the posted lectures will get you an A.
As a requirement for McIntire, this class was pretty much what I expected. The workload was higher with some long assignments and some short assignments, coupled with an abundance of reading. The midterm was relatively easy but the final was slightly harder. Your grade in this class essentially comes down to your ability to regurgitate facts from the reading and getting a good discussion leader. I had Margaret as my DL and she was not an easy grader and was boring to have in class. I heard from other students that they got higher grades with other DLs, which was disappointing. I know they are changing the course after the controversy with Prof. Leopold, but continue to expect a large workload and a curriculum that is not straight forward. Enjoy mixing with all the Pre-Comm first years!
Even if you are not a Pre-Comm student, COMM 1800 is a great class to learn more about business in general. Discussion section is typically a review of a case study, and those were very enjoyable. As long as you put in some effort into assignments and small quizzes, you should get 5/5s on them. Midterm and Final are quite easy and should be grade boosters. Jeff is a great professor and really cares for his students, and personally helped me find an internship. Make sure to go to his office hours and get to know your DL well.
I really did not like this class. The material is not super interesting and the lectures are super boring. If you are not interested in going into the comm school, I would not recommend this class. A lot of the material felt like the common sense. The discussions are not super interesting, but it depends if you like your group or your TA.
Not a difficult class per se, but it's hard to get an A. I got a 97% in the class but to be honest I could have gotten much lower very easily. I aced to exams but they were tricky in that many questions had multiple answers that seemed right. The HW assignments are pretty easy, you should easily get mostly 5s if you just put in 25-45 minutes for each assignment. Leopold is right in that the best way to prepare for the exams is to understand the last slide of the ppts titled "what you should remember". I enjoyed the discussion because most of my classes are large 300+ lectures like bio or chem and I missed the in-class participation aspect of classes. however, if you don't enjoy talking in class you probably won't like the discussion. Participate and you'll be fine. Also, try and get along with your groupmates, they can sabotage you easily because you'll lose points in the end if your groupmates don't like you. Good luck, you shouldn't need it though haha!
The material in the class is not very hard to understand. The most work that comes from this course is just keeping up with the readings, doing the weekly homework, and completing group projects. These things aren't difficult to do, sometimes the reading is a little boring but it does help you understand business concepts so make sure to do those. To be honest the lectures weren't super helpful and I ended up just copying things down from the powerpoints and studying those notes with the assigned readings for the exams, but Professor Leopold is fun to listen to and I liked going to class to hear him talk. He's very friendly and knowledgeable about business; he even organizes lunches/coffee chats with students who want to talk to him to get to know them better.
I think that since this is an introductory course to what the comm school is like, some people find that they really dislike the format of the discussion section (which is understandable.) Every week you have to compete for class participation points in a 50-minute block of time, usually with some overly-competitive people (which can be pretty annoying). You are given a random group and have to work together on presentations/projects, so getting a "bad" group that doesn't want to meet up or is not on the same page can really hurt your experience.
Overall the class itself is not bad or hard, but I've noticed that for a lot of people who wanted to take this class to see whether or not they would want to apply to McIntire, their experience in their discussion section makes or breaks that decision. So if you don't like public speaking, competing with others to see who can talk the most in class, presenting etc...well, you might have a bad time in this course.
Professor Leopold is a pretty good lecturer, and he's very experienced in business, so that's good. I have heard some things about the TAs grading being pretty inconsistent (despite Leopold swearing they're "calibrated"). I didn't think it was too bad, but this was just my experience. There really isn't much work for this class, maybe an hour or so at most of readings for each lecture. Overall, the class isn't terribly boring, but I do think some of this stuff is pretty much common sense. I would just recommend to do all of your work/readings early and thoroughly, reread the slides for the midterm/final, and put as much work into group projects as possible (you can get extra points for this at the end of the semester if your group mates rate you well).
Class is insanely subjective. A huge chunk of your grade comes from group work and TA grading style. Grades are supposedly equally distributed across all discussion sections. Eh, this is a lie. Easy B+/A-. Subjective nature of class makes it hard to get an A. Exam questions are tricky and it's hard to tell what to study because his slides are useless.
This is an interesting class for sure... probably the easiest comm prereq yet it very difficult to get an A. Prof Leopold is a fun, interesting person but his lectures can be VERY dry. I enjoyed the guest speakers a lot but be sure to pay attention to their lectures because he makes a lot of exam questions about their visits. Exams aren't too bad. The worst part of the course is by far the discussion section. Snake culture comes out in participation grades and group review. If you're suck with a bad group, you are essentially screwed.
You only take this class because you have to. The TA's grade extremely harshly and vary dramatically, a lot of your grade depends on a random group of kids that are difficult to meet up with, and the homeworks are the most dry and boring assignments possible (and are graded harshly as well). For such easy material, it is near impossible to get an A in the class. That is the problem with Comm 1800. They aren't grading on your understanding of the easy material, it is a subjective mess. Leopold is a good guy and professor, but the class structure is setting students up for failure.
Pre-comm or not definitely take this class! Jeff is the man!! Love his teaching style, so straight to the point and easy to understand. It's a great intoduction to the business world so everyone should take it. Readings are about actual stuff, no boring textbook readings. Homework is definitely a thing as are group projects and what not. Doesn't matter I still give it a big thumbs up.
Professor Leopold is such a nice guy and I really enjoyed going to lecture. If you show up and pay attention, the midterm and final are extremely easy. The discussion part of this course caused me the most "stress," but if you're naturally one to participate in class, you'll be fine. I thought participation would be graded harsher, but I felt like the grade I got was extremely fair. The group projects were easy, but it 100% depends on your group members. My group always tended to wait until the last minute ( which I really didn't enjoy) but we always got the work done in the end. Overall, I liked the course and would recommend.
Final scores haven't yet been released (probably will be in a day or two), and I'm pretty sure I got an A- in the class. The content in this class really isn't that new/useful, and you don't feel like you're learning anything (yes, business basics, but it includes the most elementary stuff like: profit = revenue - costs, marketing and innovation is important, platform markets are a thing, a lot of case studies on companies like Uber, Apple, etc.). Most of the readings are case studies on companies, which is expected, but I never really felt that engaged, and I also definitely didn't know how exactly these companies strategized their way to success (of course, if you could distill that down into an article, then you've struck gold, haven't you?). You definitely do have to work a bit for the A, although it's pretty easy to get an A-, like someone else said, especially if you aren't great at presenting (which I'm not; I tend to get stage fright, and it's really stuck with me my entire life unfortunately), since the presentations and group projects count for a lot. The midterms and the final are pretty easy, and so is the rest of the course. Professor Leopold seemed like a pretty okay lecturer, although I just didn't get a lot of knowledge out of it, so most of the time I wasn't at all incentivized to pay attention during lecture; I also felt like he enjoyed divulging his life stories a bit too much, even if he did have some business experience with Circuit City and Capital One.
Even if you aren't taking pre-comm classes, 1800 is worth taking just develop a very basic understanding of how business works. Attendance is required, but Leopold's lectures are entertaining and notes really aren't necessary most of the time. Most work (group projects included) is easy, and the exams aren't challenging unless you have no logical thinking skills. Overall, hard to complain when the class is interesting enough and fairly low-effort.
This class was awesome and it really confirmed that I wanted to be pre comm. I recommend this course even if you are not pre comm because it will teach you some valuable information. Leopold is amazing and he keeps the class very engaging. I recommend doing all of the reading because there are details that show up on the exams that are not explicitly discussed in class. There are also a lot of guest speakers which is great!
Professor Leopold is a very nice teacher and I really enjoyed going to class; however, the class material itself is pretty boring and really dies down after the midterm. Group projects are really annoying but they are manageable and usually result in a decent grade. The Excel assignment was graded really harshly so take your time on that. The final was much better than the midterm and typically boosted everyone's grade at the end.
Like most others have said, some things feel like they're graded a bit subjectively (and sometimes arbitrarily), but an A is definitely doable as long as you listen well/take detailed notes (Leopold has some exam questions based on things he mentions that his PowerPoints don't show), review slides, go to Leopold's office hours to ask questions, etc. COMM 1800 makes a big point of pushing you to work in a business-esque way, so definitely take initiative in group projects and discussion sections and meet with Professor Leopold to show that you're putting in the effort for this class. My TA was great with meeting with me whenever I had questions about any of my assignments or wanted feedback on my group projects. Homework assignments and readings are fairly simple and graded leniently and the individual projects are maybe just a bit more tedious. Group projects definitely need more effort, especially since your presentation grade is peer graded (which can be a bit harsh at times). The exam questions can be tricky, but the key is to look at the questions from Leopold's perspective and think about how he would answer the question (which is easier said than done, but he did curve the final by 5 (out of 50) questions so it wasn't too bad). Professor Leopold is a really great guy and he's genuinely trying to help his students -- I've been to his office hours and just talked about life and my concerns for the future with him for like 40 minutes -- and he's got a lot of business know-how and experiences that he shares during lectures. The course isn't perfect since it's still going through a massive transformation, but I think it'll only get better from here, so I'd say give it shot if you're considering commerce.
If you are interested in business or the comm school then this class is a prerequisite and definitely offered a lot of information. I recommend it to anyone interested in business at all. I do think that the discussions and the grading are highly based on TA and also how well your projects go can depend on your group. The lectures were engaging and when we had guest lecturers they were fun too. The midterm and final were both multiple choice and the questions were kind of tricky and lots of times could trip you up so make sure you read the readings, do the homeworks, and try to understand the big concepts fully. Otherwise the course is ok, not an easy A though so put in the work.
First things first, Jeffrey Leopold was one of my favorite professors this semester; he's super approachable and makes an effort to get to know students. At the same, this class was a mixed experience. Initially, the course starts off with some fundamental business concepts like market cap, CVP, strategy, etc. which were useful and fun to learn about. After the midterm, though, you spend a ton of time talking about corporate social responsibility, creativity, sustainability, globalization, and other amorphous concepts that you can't really teach in a classroom setting. Lecture at that point got a little dull. As far as the grading, make sure you know the PowerPoints for the midterm and final because Leopold took his questions directly from them. The biggest time sink, I found, were the group projects. They take forever, they're graded a little randomly (Leopold didn't post a rubric for the last two), and they're only like 15% of your grade. You'll have to work for the A but this class is an easy A-. Not sure what you'd get out of this class if you aren't precomm so if you're looking for a fun, engaging comm elective go somewhere else.
I enjoyed this class. It was interesting, we had cool guest speakers, and it really did give a good background in business. I will say that there are HW assignments due every Tuesday and Thursday, readings for case discussions, and a mini pre case discussion, as well as 3 big group projects (2 are presentations) in the discussion sections. It sounds like a lot but it is not too difficult and can be pretty cool, but I did want to warn to let you know that there is work. I would recommend this course to anyone with the slightest bit of interest in business at all.
Professor Leopold works really hard to make the class engaging by having a lot of guest lecturers which was cool, but the class itself is kind of boring. Most of the things you learn are common sense, so there aren't really any notes to take. The tests are all multiple choice and relatively simple, but it's easy to get tripped up because some answers are meant to trick you. The weekly readings can take a lot of time, but he goes over what you need to know in class so there's really no point to read them in depth, skimming them usually suffices. The discussion section was interactive and better than the lecture itself, and it more closely replicates what Comm School is like.
Whatever you do (unless you have to for comm school) do NOT take this class. A complete waste of time. You could know all the information on all the readings and lectures and it still won't reflect what you know on the exams. TAs are extremely unhelpful and everything is subjectively graded. Went to get help multiple times for group projects and spent a lot of time on them and my whole group still did mediocre.
This class is literal garbage. Everything from how assignments are graded by TAs (which are HIGHLY inconsistent and variable) and other bs busy work. You learn common sense, every other post is true in that regard. I attended every class and still did mediocre. This class is not a measure of my intelligence, it is a measure of my patience vs. irritability. Don't take this class unless you have to. If you have to, may the odds be ever in your favor.
This class is very blah and average. I didn't hate it but didn't love it. Material is boring and a lot of it seems like common sense. Exams are tricky because Leopold likes to put option e, which is a combo of 2 of the other options, so the tests are very tricky. Group work isn't hard, just a pain to find time to meet and actually do the project. Individual assignments are annoying and the homework is not really useful. Readings can be anywhere from 2-50 pages, and most of it is boring, and then you also have to take pictures of business concepts for every homework (waste of time). A lot of my friends ended up skipping lectures which screwed them over because the final consisted of many questions that you had to be in class for. Overall this class is very vanilla, not something to take if you aren't a pre comm student fulfilling requirements.
Jeff Leopold is a fantastic professor. He's super engaging and really enjoys teaching the COMM 1800 material. He has a lengthy business background and he's pretty knowledgeable about all the concepts. He's super approachable and just an all-around great guy. The class consists of 18 homeworks (you can skip two of them), three group projects, three individual assignments, and two exams. Most of the assignments are straightforward and just require a good amount of effort and quality writing. The grading system is a bit vague and there's not a lot of feedback given. What's good about Leopold is he responds really well to constructive criticism. Last year he had a grade for participation, but after lots of complaints, he removed it. He tries to make the course better with every successive semester so I think that in the coming semesters this class will be nearly perfect in terms of being a prerequisite for the comm school. If you're trying to apply to the comm school then you're gonna have to take this class but it's definitely worth it to take even if you're not interested in business.
Jeff Leopold is a fantastic guy, and most of his lectures are pretty interesting to listen to, but this class is just absolutely terrible. The assignments are a complete waste of time, you don't really learn anything. Worst of all is the grading -- it just makes absolutely no sense! Like I did well in the class, but I felt like grades were not at all a function of the quality or amount of work you put in, but were completely random. And the tests were absolute bullshit -- the final exam was horribly designed, its questions didn't even make sense and barely tested a student's intelligence, or understanding of the material. I honestly think that Jeff Leopold has amazing potential as the professor for the COMM 1800 class, but he needs some serious help re-organizing his assignments, tests, and grading. I think that once he has a few more years of experience as a professor this is going to be a great class, but at the moment it needs some serious improvements -- it will leave you extremely frustrated and for no good reason.
Leopold is a great professor and awesome guy, but he's still figuring out how to teach comm 1800. There's not a lot of work, but the material is unengaging and everything is seemingly self-explanatory until you get to the exams. He basically asks you to recall specific things he or the guest lecturer said in class that probably doesn't serve any importance to the course itself whatsoever. Everything else is obvious, but you'll spend 10 minutes trying to remember the explanation for a riddle he told you months ago. Don't take this unless you have to. For pre-comm kids, just pay attention to his lectures (and have a perfect memory) and you'll do fine!
Professor Leopold was very great and an enthusiastic teacher; however, the class itself is pretty useless. A lot of the information is common sense or things that you could learn from just reading an article. When people asked me way I learned in this class, I could never really come up with an answer. I liked his idea of us learning through example, but the endless discussions about the articles we read, seemed like overkill. Also, the grading was extremely subjective based on your TA; you would do a group project and then they would just give you a grade with no indication of what you did wrong or feedback. I literally would have never known who my TA was if I didn't run into him once. The exams were also pretty hard to study for because you did really learn many concrete things and the questions were a little weird. All this being said, the class was ok, but definitely not an easy A.
Although Professor Leopold is a great guy and full of knowledge, the course definitely does not reflect this and is easily one of the most boring / useless classes I've taken, although necessary for the Comm school. The lecture parts of class weren't bad, but the first 45 minutes or so would be a discussion where the professor would call on ~10 students to share what they wrote about for homework - extremely boring and not helpful, except to the people who need participation points. There's a poll at the beginning of each class that's mandatory for attendance, so you have to go to lecture and endure the tediousness. The homeworks were also busy work-ish and there were tons of assigned readings, but not all readings are necessary for the exam. As another reviewer said, the topics on the second half of the course were pretty useless or obvious, like "diversity in business" or "ethics in business". The midterm was only ~30 questions and the questions were EXTREMELY difficult and subjective, so it was basically impossible to prepare for. The final was a lot better, but the midterm grade drags you down even though the material is so easy to understand. In addition, the group projects and individual projects were good grade boosters but if you got points off, you'd never know why because there is no set rubric for any of those assignments. Overall, I would not recommend taking this course unless you absolutely have to.
I personally found his class very interesting, and it was one of the few classes I enjoyed this semester. I've heard pretty mixed reviews about his class from others though, but it is mainly due to the participation requirement. The tests are do-able and he puts study guides up, but I definitely underestimated the midterm.
Leopold is a great guy who you can tell truly enjoys teaching. However, the grading is done by 4th year TAs who are not consistent in their grading and don't seem to care much to be honest. I didn't find the exams difficult, but they are only around 30 questions so if you get a question wrong you are already a goner. If Kemp was still around, I would honestly rather take it with him, even though reviews about him weren't enthusiastic, because at least you would get the grade you earn and actually learn more useful ideas to commerce. A lot of the projects you do are very subjective in nature and their is not set rubric or clear instructions about these assignments. Also the content of the class can seem a bit useless in the second half of the semester with topics like diversity and "creative thinking."
Anyway, I would not recommend this class, but if you're pre-comm you have to take this anyway, so you won't be able to wiggle your way out of this but good luck--you'll need it!
The midterm is stupidly difficult and complicated. After looking at the grade averages, I quickly realized that my grade sucked not because I was a terrible student but because the exams are awful to say the least. Random, annoying, and deliberately tricky, the exams really kill a student's ability to enjoy the course. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO. this class is not fun at all.
Professor Leopold is very knowledgeable in the course and is a very good professor. However, the grading is kinda whack in the course. Leopold doesn't provide rubrics to students so it's not like the TAs have a set standard of grading to. So the grading is all about what your TA thinks about your paper. You can put all the time in the world on the bigger projects and still get a B. The amount of effort I put into the big projects went down by the end of the semester and I still got high Bs on them. I think it's important to know what your TA is looking for rather than Professor Leopold. I learned a lot in this class but I'm not sure the grades I got on the assignments are a full reflection of that. You don't get feedback on your assignments so you aren't really learning where you lost points or where you can improve. Unless you need it for the Comm School, I recommend taking the lower level class for non-business majors.
Leopold has more guest lecturers than lectures he actually teaches himself. He's a great guy and is extremely nice but I just wish HE would teach a bit more and give less busy work. You have a homework due every class and it can get tedious and sometimes a little boring. Overall, if you're taking this class its probably because you need the pre-req, so you really don't have a choice to not take the class. I guess just make the most of your time and grind through it, because the material is easy to understand.
Leopold is cool, you can tell he's super smart and really enjoys what he does. The class is pretty much a giant discussion and you get points for participating. Exams aren't too bad but ti's a little confusing to know what to study and you have pretty easy/short homework assignments due every class. There is a lot of reading, but not all the readings are necessary but some help with the hw/exam. It's not completely necessary to go to class he just does an online poll at the beginning of class where you go on your phone and click if you were there or not. Overall pretty easy and fun class.
Leopold is an incredible lecturer and it is great that he is taking over for all Comm 1800 sections. But the TAs for this section were fourth years that clearly didn't care much about the class. Never paid attention during lecture and were not clear at all in their guidelines at the beginning of the course. Overall, Leopold is great, but grading in this course is wack and doesn't have much merit in how much effort you put in the course...
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