Tolin, Jeffrey  

This instructor does not have the ability to teach. If you take this class you must use the book to your full advantage because the instructor refuses to let students ask questions. If asked to answer a question from the homework, the instructor is often condescending and rude. The only positive aspect of his class is that he does show up for his office hours, however most students complain that they leave his office more confused. Lectures are pointless because he reads from a power point that he did not even create. All lectures are mandatory and he also threatened to fail any student who had one unexcused absence to a pointless lecture. Be prepared to answer 80 questions in one hour for first mid term. The questions were very detail oriented and yet sometimes vague and confusing. The test was open book but you barely have time to look up the answer. The 200 question final is just as terrible.

Dr. Tolin is an absolutely dreadful teacher, avoid him at all costs. He cannot explain anything clearly in class and then he puts ridiculously difficult questions on the take home midterms. He absolutely refuses to help with any questions on the take home midterm even if his phrasing is unclear, it's especially infuriating because in lecture he never tells you where to put certain items on the tax return. He acts as if the difficulty to complete the take home tests is the fault of the students (all of whom are confused) when it is due to his complete incompetence as a teacher. He's a nice guy with funny stories but a dreadful teacher. I have been doing well enough in the class but his attitude towards helping students is so poor I had to write this review.

Professor Tolin does an excellent job of explaining material and showing how what we are learning is applicable to real-life situations. His sense of humor may sometimes tend somewhat dark, but he is genuine, really cares about the students, and is an incredibly knowledgeable man. His stories are great. He grades fairly and the class objectives are very straight-forward. He's not out to get anyone, and really cares that the students learn and understand what is going on. I would definitely recommend taking BUS 320 from him.

Yeah, he wasn't great at explaining things, but I don't think the students gave him enough credit for how brilliant he is. Finally, a teacher with real world experience who knows the world we're getting into! The exams were all take home. They were difficult, but it's a take home! Anybody who didn't get an A or a B just flat out didn't spend enough time on the returns.

I love Tolin. He is kind of a bitter old man, but he's got a great sense of humor. He used to be a tax consultant for a movie company (I forgot which one at the moment...) The class goes over case studies from each of the chapters, so you should read them over before class because he calls on students to sum them up. The midterm and final are open notes, and he gives you a good idea of whats on it. I took the midterm today, and it was pretty reasonable.

Amazing and fun guy. He is good to get to know and combines his real world experience in his really laid back lectures. I loved his class and wish to take another one from him!

Okay, let me start off by saying that I ended up liking Tolin (even though it didn't start like that). Truly though, his polyrating is deceivingly high at 3.1. It should be more around the 2.3-2.7 range. The class is set up where you read a law chapter beforehand (can get long sometimes) and then he spends the 2 hour block summarizing (I would not at all call it lecturing) the case studies and going on large tangents. It can get rather annoying and you really start to feel like you're wasting your time, because the material covered could literally be covered in under 20 minutes. He has a weird sense of humor and is a nice guy, but can definitely come off as a dick. He invited anyone over to his house for thanksgiving if you had no where to go, so there is that. Oh, class is set up for a midterm and final, both open book, and a group project. Not too difficult to get a B, an A should be there with an amount of effort.

Tolin is a cool old guy with a lot of real-world experience. He doesn't lecture, so much as try and lead a class discussion about the cases. The quarter project was actually really helpful in understanding/applying everything we learned. His tests are hard, but he lets you use your notes/book, so just take the time to read and highlight things. He bought pizza for the whole class twice during the quarter to encourage attendance.

Prof Tolin is a great guy! This class is really worth taking, he will entertain you with some great jokes. And let's be real, open book open note tests are pretty nice as well. Anything you might not remember him discussing, you can look up! If you're looking for a good class, take 410 with Tolin. It will not disappoint.

Open book/note, multiple choice tests should be enough to take this class. One 25% project that he grades nicely on. Participation grade will screw you over if you don't read about 4 or 5 cases to the class after the homework. Uses 60% of class in a productive manner, the other 40% in real world stories that don't relate to the course but are funny as hell. Also pretty awkward in office hours, be warned

Tolin is hilarious. That being said, he is also not too great at staying on topic. He always covered the entire chapters, and felt bad about letting us out of class early, so he would fill in with short stories, jokes, and general off topic comments. One time he showed us a youtube video about Christian the Lion, and he bought our class doughnuts for the last day. He has lots of valuable life experience in the field of accounting as well. Overall, his tests were difficult but open book, and the project wasn't bad at all.

Tolin is very knowledgable on the subject. He is also hilarious and keeps class interesting. The class consists of a presentation and paper, and then an open book midterm and final. The tests are difficult but if you prepare a study guide and study a little bit it is easy to look up the answers in enough time to complete the test and get an okay grade. I would definitely recommend this class. Overall I had a good experience and some good laughs.

Tolin is my favorite professor at poly, he is absolutely hilarious and makes a potentially dry topic interesting. While he does get distracted easily it is honestly my favorite part of lecture, and actually helps me stay focused by giving my brain a break. He is incredibly knowledgeable about pretty much everything and while initially he puts up a tough front he truly does care about every single person in class (even if he doesn't remember your name). However, if you want to do well in this class you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to read the book-he does not assign homework besides one project so you should have time to do it. All in all, my interest in this subject was unexpectedly stimulated, and I am so happy I took this class with Tolin.

I didn't participate (10% of the grade). I got a D on the midterm (30% of the grade). Somehow I got a B+ in the class. I know I killed it on the final worth 45% of the grade. But this guy curves your grade at the end of the class and it helps A LOT. Don't expect to learn much in class but he is super chill and funny.

Professor Tolin is easily my favorite professor I've had here at Cal Poly, by far. Considering how dry and boring a subject International Business Law can be, Tolin kept it interesting, entertaining, and digestible. I had him for a 9 am two hour lecture and I never missed once. At first he came off intimidating, but he warms up to the class quickly and shares his life with his students throughout every lecture (which he doesn't just read straight off powerpoint). He is hilarious and will make you see the importance of what you are learning/make you want to actually learn it. He only had one group research paper/presentation which he grades super easily and one midterm/final. You should participate in class for points, but we never had homework or quizzes. Tolin is a kind, wise, and hilarious guy that will not just teach you about business law, but about life in general.

Professor Tolin is a great guy; just an awful teacher. He doesn't teach anything; he just rambles on about his wife, daughter and how our generation sucks. Grading structure is 10% participation (easy), 15% project (easy), 30% midterm (kinda hard) and 45% final exam (hard). Sure, you can read everything and understand the concepts when it comes time for the exams. However, roughly 30-50% of the questions are just bullshit (extremely specific information of certain treaties, events, etc.); luckily, you get to bring in 3 pages of notes to help you out for both exams, but you probably won't know the exact specific things to know. I didn't do so hot on the midterm (I got a 70%) and went to his office hours to check out the exam. He said I was a smart kid cause of all these questions I ask during class, but then he asked why I did poorly on the exam. I told him its because the test has lots of questions about random specific things (how can you remember so many things for 150 pages of reading?) and he said that demonstrates that students actually read. Then, he got upset about how I think that doesn't evaluate whether people understand the concepts. Cal Poly should get rid of this class. To sum it up, don't take this class. It really sucks and YOU DON'T LEARN SHIT!

DO NOT TAKE TOLIN. You will literally learn nothing from him and tests are very difficult.

Tolin is a great professor! He truly cares about his students, and wants you to learn as much as you can. He shares his real world experiences that I have been able to use on my job. I recommend taking him if you can!

I think that Professor Tolin doesn't get the credit he deserves for BEING REAL with students. Instead, these whiny kids on PolyRatings just look at him as a grumpy, old man. He can be difficult, but he genuinely wants you to learn and develop through that hard work - I can appreciate that in a teacher. Professor Tolin, former Senior Partner at Ernst & Young - Los Angeles, has some of the best career AND life experience out of all the faculty. Plus, he's hilarious - great sense of humor. He has great experience in the accounting industry, however, my favorite parts of class have been his life stories. Tolin is one of the best professors at Cal Poly. In the top 3 that I've had during undergraduate and graduate school here - yeah, I said it.

Don't expect to just show up to class and have Professor Tolin teach you everything. If you do the reading and work hard you'll be able to follow his lectures. It's definitely not easy material, but he gets that and does his best to help you understand it. If you go to his office hours he's very helpful and you can tell he cares about your success as a student. The best part of his class is listening to his experiences. He's a great guy and pretty hilarious when you get him talking. Even if you don't like his teaching style, you should show up to class just to listen to his stories. Oh, and he tends to speak in code sections...so try to get those down asap so you'll be able to follow his lectures better

Professor Tolin is incredibly knowledgeable! It's great having a professor with so much experience in the tax world as part of the Masters in Tax Accounting program. As others have said, his stories about things that he encountered while a partner at Ernst & Young really help the material come alive for the students. He is definitely the most understanding professor when everyone is stressed out and he really wants to help us get through and understand what is going on. The longer you know him, the more you appreciate him as a professor. We go over some tough things in the program, but he's always willing to take the time to clarify, both inside and outside of class. He's funny, and I think an asset to the accounting faculty at Cal Poly.