Ryan, Lucia  

She's alright. Really, thats what it comes down to. This class will be an easy B, if you go to class and just read your speech. If she likes you, because she does play favorites, then you'll get an A. Theres a midterm thats ridiculous so make sure you take notes and memorize them. She bases the "final" off of how well people did on the midterm. If people don't do well on the midterm, she give you a final test so people can "redeem" themselves. If people do well on the midterm, she assigns you a paper as the final. Overall, shes an easy B, with a little sucking up and memorizing your notes, it shouldn't be too hard to get an A. Take her if you need to fill this GE.

Dr. Ryan is an excellent Coms professor. Her class consists of 4 speeches. 1 group, 1 introductory, 1 informative, 1 persuasive. They are in that order. It was really nice to have the group speech first because it allows you to become comfortable in the class. I dreaded taking this class SO SO much, but after a few class meetings, I looked forward to going. She is a pretty reasonable grader. If you have a speech that makes sense, and deliver it pretty well and use the techniques she teaches you, you will receive an A no problem. She requires an outline of the speech, and it is very basic. If you use her guideline on PolyLearn, you will easily receive an A. The midterm is very straightforward. It is basically the exact information from the lecture notes. The final is either a paper or exam, dependent on how well the class does on the midterm. We had the exam final, and it was nearly identical to the midterm. She is a very nice lady and really is there to help. I recommend this class 100%. It's not only an easy A or B but you will make friends and become a much better communicator in the process.

The class is an easy B and a harder A. Dr. Ryan is a very lenient grader although the midterm and final are fairly difficult--consisting of all fill ins and short answer. I wish there were more frequent presentations and group discussions to improve myself on.

LOVED HER! You want to hate her because coms is not fun but you cant because she is so sweet!! Not too hard of a class either, but you do have to study for midterm/final. TAKE HER CLASS.

Ryan was one of my favorite professors my first quarter of freshman year. She is intelligent and is such a genuine person. She is open to talking to you about whatever you may need to talk about, class-related or not. Her lectures are based on the handbook so it is best to read the chapters she assigns before her next lecture. The handbook is extremely simple and easy to understand. Her exams are based off of information from her lectures and since her lectures are based on the book, all you need to do is study the material from the book. Now when it comes to the actual speeches, she is a fair grader. She gives you the grade you deserve and could even be too generous about it. Her constructive criticism does improve your speaking skills. She gives you plenty of positive comments and just makes helpful suggestions that do improve your speaking skills. I enjoyed this class and became more comfortable and confident with my public speaking skills after I completed the course.

Diane Ryan is a very intelligent individual. She knows her material very well, and presents it clearly. Her presentations are a bit boring, but how can you make public speaking a fun thing? She's a very nice woman, and very much wants to give you the best grade possible. Just rehearse your speech a couple times the night before, take a deep breath, and away you go. Easy B. If you want the A, then you'd better be prepared to STUDY. Her midterm and final exam are a little tough, since she doesn't supply any guides or indications as to what will be on them. But with very little studying and some panic, you can get a C on them. After each speech, Diane will critique you in front of the class. But don't worry; she's not harsh at all, and only compliments you! Very sweet lady. Overall, I think Doctor Ryan made public speaking a huge relief. Some professors are tough about giving speeches. If you have stage fright, don't want to prepare much for speeches, and hate studying, then this professor is for you. I commend her ability to raise your overall confidence...take her!!

I averaged low A's on every speech but didn't come close to getting an A in the class. Why is that? Because her midterm and final exam were a lot more difficult than they needed to be- I got C-'s on both. Whenever we asked her what we should expect to see on the midterm she would reply with the following: "As long as you've been showing up to lecture, paying attention, and reading the book then you should be fine." This made preparing for her midterm not only difficult but ineffective as well. She makes "Contribution" a part of your grade. She never emphasized that it consisted of attendance and once 4/5 of the quarter was over, she told us that we should should be participating more. As difficult as it may be, SHOW UP to every speech day/lecture, GIVE FEEDBACK, and make comments to classmates regardless of how ridiculous you look. What works best is when you tell classmates what worked well in their speeches. This will help boost your grade for this section. If you want to do well on her exams, keep up with your notes in lecture and read the book very thoroughly. All in all I enjoyed the class and learned a lot, but the sketchiness of her exams and her some parts of her grading system only made me think of her as an average professor at best.

Dr. Ryan was interesting. She gave such great grades in my speeches, but the finals and midterms were NOTHING like what we discussed in class. It was pretty disappointing.

There are a lot of Public Speaking teachers at Cal Poly, and Dr. Ryan definitely seems to be one of the better/easier ones. The class consisted of 4 speeches, a peer review, a midterm, and a final. Although the speeches seem daunting, she gives you all of the support you need to write and perform them, and only gives positive feedback after you perform (she sometimes even seems TOO nice!). The midterm and final are what seem to really bring peoples grades down, but honestly you just need to study your notes and read the handbook. Half the test is complete common sense and the other is simply memorizing lists of "Different types of listening" and silly stuff like that (it's stupid, but really easy to memorize!) I crammed for 1 day for both the midterm and the final and got a B on one and an A on the other. They are not as bad as people say if you just study! Oh and also make sure you make comments after people perform, she gives you participation points at the end! Overall, if you need to take Coms I would definitely go with Ryan. She's a very nice professor who wants her students to succeed and will not try and rip anyone off. It's a pretty easy B, and with a bit of effort and thought, a pretty easy A.

She may have been the worst teacher I have ever had. She did not say what she wanted clearly so either got got it and were fie or spent the entire quarter trying to do what she wants. I even went in and met with her on occasions to see how i could improve and she really only told me that the way I spoke and my voice wasn't the most effective, when I really cant change my voice or how I talk. Also her midterm and final were impossible and had things neither she said or cam out of the book. She played favorites and was so unhelpful to other student.

First off Lucia is a nice person, she just might not be the best "professor". For being a so called "professor" at a cal state she doesn't really teach much. She put the electronic book on the powerpoint and reads from it... i could do that by myself. Her grading is all over the place and doesn't have a steady rubric for what does or doesn't get a good grade. I don't think you want to waste your money with this teacher. STAY AWAY. She shows clear favoritism in the class so if you aren't hear favorite prepare yourself for bad grades that can't really be argued against. I could teach more to the students. Are you serious Cal Poly?

This class was OK. Ryan doesn't really teach, she just reads off the textbook PowerPoints. Her midterm and final are difficult for the class; they ask really detailed questions about unimportant information and have strangely-worded subjective questions. I got low Bs on both even although I studied for a long time and knew all the material. So memorize everything! Also she graded my last speech BEFORE I EVEN GAVE IT. My grade was on PolyLearn a week before I gave it, then she gave me that same exact grade when I actually gave my speech. Weird.