Spann, Sarah  

Spann was a very friendly and knowledgable professor. As NR 142 is a very broad course, she didn't know all the answers to questions, but she always tried her best to get back to students with the answer at the next class. It was her first time teaching this course, but she taught it well, and really applied everything to real life case studies well which I appreciated. I hope to have Spann again, and I would recommend her to all.

Such a broad overview for Environmental Management it is like AP Environmental Science condensed into 10 weeks. She did a very good job of lecturing for it, especially it being her first time and it is literally impossible to delve deeply into one topic for to long when teaching this class for only three hours a week. There is one research paper due at the end of the quarter that is meant to be 2,000 words long, but with four or five people working on it, it is extremely manageable. The research paper does give you an opportunity to learn more about one specific topic that you find interesting. She gives you a study guide for the midterm and final which pretty much mirror what is on it. Professor Spann is a very approachable and friendly gal, you can really tell she wants you to get the most out of the class and is always eager to look up questions that students may ask and she doesn't know. She has real world experience working as an Environmental Consultant which makes her class all the more engaging. I recommend her, it is a good intro class to the major.

This intro course was very much just a review of AP Environmental Science, but it's nice to have a fun and engaging professor for it like Sarah Spann. She's a total mom and always wants the best for her students. Get to know her in this course and you'll be benefited for NR 416 and other later courses she teaches.

You don't realize how easy this class is with Spann until you learn how the other NR 142 classes work with the other professors. The difference with Spann is unlike most professors in NRES she is not a doctor and instead has real world job experience which is interesting to learn about and she resonates a lot more with students. The class is super straightforward and everything on the final was covered in her study guides which were all super comprehensive.

I thought Sarah was very understanding and straight forward. The material covered was basic and sometimes uninteresting. We nearly skimmed every environmental issue brought about in the class. But hey, its an introductory course! She is very caring and concerned about everyones grade in the class. She takes time to email you updates on your grade and such. The tests were pretty easy I thought. She would give you a study guide in advance. Make sure to study from this because just about every test question comes directly from this. We had 4 tests (or quizes as Sarah called them). We also had 3 assignments. 2 were worth 50 points and 1 at 100 points. They were relatively easy and can be completed the night before. Overall the course was very interesting. I would recommend taking Sarah for this class.

This class is listed as NR 416. While Spann is nice for the most part, she assigns huge amounts of work with little explanation. You spend the quarter writing advanced professional documents with very little direction but very high expectations for your quality of work. This class is the first in a three part series, and is so unbearable that I changed my major. I think it is a complete waste of ENVM majors' time unless they plan to become an environmental consultant. Cal Poly should make this an elective, and if it did I would anticipate very small class sizes. Nobody wants to take this class.

416 is definitely a challenging class but Sarah is an AMAZING professor. You will learn so much and she is an expert in the field. If you get a bad group talk to her from the beginning. Sarah is so personable, kind, and really wants to get to know her students and support them.

Anyone hoping to have an easier time taking this class with someone besides Vilkitus is in for a NASTY surprise. Sarah is not a great lecturer and she plays the same types of word games that Vilkitus does. You know, the standard true and false question where one seemingly insignificant item is changed to make the question false. Additionally the class material deals with many overlapping issues and more than once an answer that was technically right according to the text and the lecture notes was wrong on her quuz or midterm. Sarah also doesn't make it clear what she wants in you documents until after you have them written up. Then of course its too late. She is as flexible as a board and coopereative as a rabid badger. She is not an alternative to Vilkitus- shes just as bad, if not worse. Thus far I am passing the class but I took a lot more from the books than I did from Sarah. She shouldn't teach. Of course the same has been said for Vilkitus.

Professor Spann is very knowledgeable and cares about the learning experience of her students. Her lectures for NR 416 are easy and low-effort because the lab is a lot of work. She is reasonably helpful with lab questions, although her communication isn't perfect. She has high expectations for her students and a low tolerance for bullshit, but if you show that you're interested and engaged she will be willing to help you as much as you need. Overall, I enjoyed Professor Spann's class and would take her again. Just be ready to put in the time and effort on the lab.

This is definitely a hard class but wow does Sarah know her stuff. Its a ton of work but Spann is a great lectures and knows EVERYTHING about CEQA and consulting. Her slides are super informative and she really gets straight to the point. Spann is so nice in office hours and understanding. If you have an issue with your group make sure to talk to her asap.