Howard, Zeljka  

City and Regional Planning

2.54/4.00

27 evaluations


CRP 203


Graduate Student
B
Required (Major)
Sep 2001
I thought she pretty much sucked as a teacher. I had her for design lab and it never really was clear what she expected out of our assignments. Despite what she said in class or wrote on an assignment sheet, the assignment would change everyday and as a result many students would have to throw away a portion of a project they spent hours on because she changed her mind. The class was always confused and what we would turn in for final projects never had the same elements as a result of her lack of clarity. She blatantly has favorites in the class and she is very inapproachable if you want to talk about grade discrepancies and things of the sort. I highly believe that our grade in the class is based on how much she likes you. Although I got a B in the class, I had many assisnments in her hand writting in which she gave me an A. I know many of you won't have a choice of avoiding her, but make sure you keep very clear records of your assignment grades because she doesn't. I just graduated and I had her a few years ago and I definately felt the lack of skills that I was supposed to gain from the class as I advanced in my CRP classes . Overall, The CRP staff was wonderful, but she has been my least favorite CRP professor. Good Luck and I hope this is helpful. Make her do her job the way it was intended. We pay too much tuition to have professors like her. If you don't like something she is definately more approachable if you go to her in a large group rather than alone because no matter your demeanor, it can become a little confrontational.


Junior
C
Required (Major)
Apr 2003
Ugggh... Zeljka! Where shall I start? Behind those brown-tinted misshapen eyeglasses is the gaze of an evil beast! One girl in our class, on the first day said essentially this: "I heard she's favoritist... so I'm going to suck up"... and she did suck up... and it worked... Zeljka loved her. But those of us with dignity were given the cold stares and told we were wrong constantly. The assignments were indeed changed WHILE we were working on them... we were constantly set back. Taking a class with her was a nightmare... especially because I was registered in Vicente's section and not hers! The icing on the cake was the fact that Vicente had to travel back to Rio, and left the grading in her hands... bad idea. Oddly enough Zeljka is my academic advisor... even though I haven't spoken to her at all since taking this class nearly a year ago... when I pass her in the hallway I don't even acknowledge her presence.. nor does she mine. What bothers me is that I actually went in to discuss my grade and see what I could do to circumvent ruining my GPA, and while Vicente was sympathetic to my concerns, I received only a cold shoulder from Zeljka. No wonder she's a "lecturer" and not a professor.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Jul 2003
I was enrolled in Vicente's section, but since this lab was taught by both instructors there was no escaping Zeljka. Several hours of class time were waisted while both instructors figured out--on the spot--what to do for the day. Zeljka clearly wore the pants in the Vicente-Zeljka teaching relationship, if "teaching" is what they call what we endured. The assignments were constantly modified AS WE WORKED ON THEM, forcing us to repeat tasks and waste time on activities that did not make a difference in the final assignments. The final project was rushed and had little to do with what we had been working on the previous several weeks. I remember that after grades were given on the first assignment, the class spent over 30 minutes questioning Zeljka on her unclear grading. At one point, she couldn't even defend a low score given on a project's layout, citing her reason as something that actually fell under a different grading criteria. It is often said that Zeljka chooses favorites, and while it was not too obvious, there were a couple of groups that consistently scored higher than the rest of the class (and not because the other groups weren't working). Lastly, the entire class was devoted to group work, which irritated me greatly as I did a large percentage of the work...only to be punished with a B- after spending countless hours working so incredibly hard. Verdict: Avoid Zeljka at all possible costs, but kiss up to her (if you don't have dignity enough not to) since you will have her sometime in your CRP career.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Feb 2011
She is like the little woman that creates the costumes in the movie The Incredibles.

CRP 211


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
If you enjoy history you'll find this class very interesting. There is alot of reading assigned for this class but I never read. The criteria consists of a midterm, a final, and a research paper on a city. There was also an extra credit paper based on a guest lecture. The tests are based on the notes you take in class which is basically all the transperencys she puts up. She gives you a final review sheet which has everything on the test. She grades very easily and you should'nt have a problem getting a good grade in the class.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2008
jaka (or however you spell this weird name) sucks


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
Mar 2015
Professor Howard is probably one of my favorite people ever. She is one of the funniest, nicest and cutest people ever and she is always extremely excited about the information. Although she can occasionally be unclear she does her best to present material effectively. Its week 10 and I expect to get an A or B in the class, which consists of 2 quizzes 2 midterms and a research paper. The tests are fair it is crucial to study (especially the pictures) but it is very possible to get a good grade. She is a great teacher!


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2015
I loved this class and professor Howard. It probably helped that I had traveled quite a bit and this caused her to repeatedly call on me or for her to ask me my opinion on the city we were studying. Don't be fooled by her "quizs" study for them like they are tests because anything thats worth 50 points is not a quiz. At the end of the course your final project is either a huge paper or a presentation if she likes your city you chose. I would recommend trying to do a city she will like because the presentation is a lot easier! Sit in the front and speak up in class and she will like you and probably give you a good grade. But don't be fooled I probably studied harder for this class than any other class I have taken.


5th Year Senior
B
General Ed
Aug 2018
Received a B. My mistake was not going to office hours, as I went too late and not taking the quizzes in the beginning seriously lol! I aced the final paper and the final exam after I figured out how to study for it. Besides that have fun and use a lot of quizlet for photo/location identification. Too many people are saying this not a good professor, I beg to differ! She wrote me so many letters of recommendation and going to office hours gives you a different perspective of this teacher. She is going to retire soon, but instead of taking the easy way out she is going out with a bang; handing out a couple A's and B's but lots and lots of C's and some D's & F's haha joke!:) Attendance is mandatory, and you get bonus points for helping her out with connecting her computer to the projector screen.

CRP 212


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Feb 2002
I'm not a CRP major so I suppose it's a little different, but I enjoyed the class lecture. It was two hours long and it's easy to nod-off but she was funny and got the class to get into some interesting coversations. The essay tests suck but the questions are straight out of the study guide and she grades on a pretty decent curve.


Freshman
A
Elective
Apr 2003
Professor Howard was probably my favorite teacher fall quarter. I felt that she covered all the material that we were tested on and as long as you actually paid attention and took notes you'd be alright. She was funny and made the information enjoyable. To me, she was never unapprochable, as long as you actually try and be assertive you'll do good.


Junior
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2005
Get on her good side right away, contribute to lectures and ask questions. Right away she learned a handful of names of the people who were involved in class. I didn't do much if any of the reading but I went to every single class meeting. The tests were all short answer with a complete essay. The key is showing up for class. I liked her but the class was scheduled at 2pm (nap time) and I did nod off a few times. I liked it, but I'm glad I am done.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2007
i dont know why everyone said she was mean, she turned out to be a very understanding and clear professor. lectures were boring but straightforward so it was easy


Junior
N/A
Required (Support)
Feb 2009
ok- Im only halfway through the quarter. I havent even taken the midterm yet, but I find Ms. Howard to be an excellent professor. I dont know how the test will be, but as far as the job she's doing in presenting the material- Id say she's great. Clear and concise, yet elaborate enough in her presentation so you get good real-life examples, and great information in a way that at the very least maintains my interest. I've read some of the poor reviews, and heard a couple kids whining, but I dont get it... She's funny, informative, interesting, and seems like a reasonable professor from what ive seen so far. Dont necessarily trust the bad reviews. I give her an A so far, and im a tough grader.


Senior
A
Required (Support)
Oct 2010
I couldn\'t stand this class. It was so incredibly boring and she did nothing to keep my interest. I text messaged the entire class. I hated this class so much that I didn\'t pay attention and didn\'t study so obviously I deserved the D I got on the midterm. However, a lot of the questions were really unclear and the class complained about a lot of them so she gave us all extra points to add onto our grade. I freaked out because I got a D and for the final we could take a comprehensive test that would cancel out our midterm test or a final that only covered the second half of the quarter. I chose to take the comprehensive one and since the midterm was so confusing she made the comprehensive final super easy. In fact, the final that covered the second half of the quarter was harder. I shouldn\'t complain, but I don\'t think I deserved to get an A in this class and I don\'t think I have ever hated any class as much as this one. I don\'t remember a single thing from that class. I heard Wack is better.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2011
Zeljka Howard is one of the best instructors I have ever had. After reading these reviews and taking her class (as required) I watched for the signs of favoritism and incompetence, but what I saw was an incredible lecturer who knew exactly what she was talking about. Sure this is a difficult class. There is a tremendous amount of information and an A is going to take a lot of commitment and work (on the part of the student), including asking for additional clarifications outside of class. She doesn’t treat her class like a group of children. She treats her class like a group of adults who have a job to do, and in my experience, she acts more like a boss than a friend, which is what the pansy instructors do to be perceived as “cool.” I didn’t come to college to make friends with instructors who never matured past the age of 25. Zeljka Howard is an incredible instructor for students have a strong work ethic and who want to use their brain to learn something.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2012
Zeljka was an amazing teacher. I don't agree with her being "unprofessional". She was definitely prepared for all of her lectures, and had answers to most of the questions we had. She knew what she was talking about, and she provides many information that could be hard to understand at same time. Her grading on the midterms could be little un-fair based on her "favoritism" but if you went to her office hours and ask her, she'll definitely reconsider your grade. Do your readings, go to her office hours for clarification and you'll be able to get an A.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2015
Overall, I was disappointed by Howard's class. I took this class for my major and entered very excited because the topics take you around to examine cities all over the world, but she presented the topics in a very dry manner. She is terrible with technology and all of her video clips are at least 20 years old and difficult to hear at times. Your grade only consists of 2 tests, 2 quizzes, and a final project. She never posts any of the grades online so it was very difficult to discern your grade independently. Some students in the class loved her because she was "cute" but it seemed that she definitely picked favorites and called on them the most, or at least she made the effort to learn their names. The final paper is very vague but makes up a substantial part of your grade, and she picks a few students, who mostly seemed to be her favorites, to do a presentation instead of writing the whole paper. She never went into more depth on the paper after talking about it on the first day of class, but I recommend not putting it off until the last minute like many students did because it takes quite a bit of research.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2019
Howard is a nice old lady who definitely knows what she is talking about and is very passionate about it, but she does not try at all to make the material interesting or engaging nor does she care to accommodate or change any part of how she teaches. She is "stuck in her ways" so the key to getting an A is becoming very familiar and interested in subjects she enjoys, ask questions and talk to her about it (suck up to her). Her grading scale is not clear and when asked about it she responds without truly clarifying the initial confusion about the requirements of the assignment. Her class is boring unless you enjoy history a lot and most people fall asleep or play on their phone. To give a specific example, often times she gives assignments back (after several weeks sometimes) and there are no helpful comments if you are lucky enough to even get comments. The weekly homework and few assignments given are easy enough as long as you write a ton (quantity over quality), include a personal story (which she loves), and throw in a couple vocab terms. She has 1 midterm and a final both of which are crammable and have a combo of MC, short answer, and a couple essay questions.

CRP 410


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2002
I have had a few classes with Zeljka, 201, 203, 211 (I believe) 410, and now 411. Never once has she been tolerable, although 211 was okay. I have never been on her good side (an essential). She has four major flaws. One, she loves to hear herself talk. This means that you spend virtually no time working on projects and most of the time listening to her ramble. Two, she has no clear concept of what she expects from her students on projects which can be the most irritating of her traits. Three, she is unapproachable so be very careful when the time comes you need to speak to her. Finally, I have never come across a teacher where her favorites were so obvious and greatly coddled. I guess I should say that they often end up doing more work, but in my case I would have like to be involved in this extra work, however that was given to only the elite and the people who she decided would fail unless they worked their asses off. Towards the end she bitched and moaned about the quality of our work and how much work she was doing which probably was true but I has little sympathy after she wasted nearly a month and a half of this quarter assigning us mindless work that didnt really add to our finished product. Becuase of this I saw for the first time our finished product when we presented to the county, that was a little unsettling. When you worked on something and you basically know the same as the guests who come to see what we've done thats not a good feeling. Finally a word to the wise, dont get on her bad side cause you'll mean nothing to her and very little will make up for it. If you dont want to work stay in the middle, but if you need that grade speak up and kiss ass. Also as someone said before be very careful about approaching her, she does not respond well to criticsm even if she asks for it and in my experience has been unwilling even to go over past projects so "I could get an idea why I wasnt doing as well as I expected and how to improve. Without wanting to be obvious, I will just say that from then on I was on her really bad side. And it has taken about 2+ years to get to the bottom of the middle group where I have noticed you stay mainly below her radar screen. You wont have a choice wheter to take her or not, but dont mess with her, she can be a mean bitch and you will pay dearly every time you have to take her again. Many say time heals all wounds, well thats bs as concerned with Zeljka. When it comes to her good, bad and middle groupings her memory is amazing.


5th Year Senior
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2003
This is a lab course with 15 hours a week scheduled in class. Yet, somehow Zeljka manages to waste a collosal amount of time in utterly useless lectures that convey material of no intellectual import whatsoever. If you like once or twice a week to listen to an old serbian lady ask questions like: "Vvvvaat is infrastructure?" (bored student)- "Ahhhh, water,sewer,etc." No Shit. Tell me something I don't know. This class is a total waste of time. It's sad that so many CRP students have to have half their weeks schedule ruined with rote, process driven assignments that offer nothing to professional development.


Senior
B
Required (Major)
May 2010
If you get her for 410-411 get on her good side and kiss butt it is the only way to get an A. In 410 she delegated \"special tasks\" to everyone in the class, but only 3 people ended up having to do their tasks b/c most of them were BS.. (Graphics, GIS, Etc). I picked up graphics and had to put maps, posters, PowerPoint, and report formats together for the entire class, this would have been fine if it was reflected in my grade, but of course it was not. She also likes to talk if you can try to do work while she goes on and on, she leaves very little time to do actual work during lab time. One last thing, if she hasn\'t got a definite project at the beginning of the quarter you will spend the rest of your quarter debating what you should do. This class was supposed to be a capstone it really was just another CRP 203.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2012
Zeljka pushes students to do their best work. The class is really what you want to make of it, though. If you try hard then you will earn her respect and trust (and better grade). She genuinely cares about her students and takes the time to get to know them as people out side of school too. She seems a little scary at first, but is really very sweet and a great professor. The time frames can get a little messy, but that is reflective of real-world planning practice. I feel much more prepared for a job now.

CRP 411


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2008
Zeljka knows her stuff! As professional Planner, she has much "hands on" experience that is accurate and informative. She is a GREAT instructor for students who want real-life procedure methodology. For students who are more interested in design, I would suggest a different instructor for the community planning courses, as Zeljka does change the plans as work progresses. Although this is how Planning really does happen, some students get upset with this way of doing things.


Senior
N/A
Required (Major)
Mar 2011
One of the most unprofessional teachers I have ever had the displeasure of having. She grades based on how well she likes you--no, she really does. She picks her favorites within the first week of class and keeps those favorites throughout the entire 410-411 experience. She treats the remainder of the class like they are incompetent shitheads and always discredits their value to the class. The favorites can end up doing much smaller, less quality work than some of the others and they will always end up with an A while those who actually worked their butts off and produce quality work, she gives lower grades to because she thinks the work HAD to have been produced by one of her favorites and nobody else. This year was particularly bad when she decided to choose one favorite and make said person into the dictator of the class, who treated the class disrespectfully on an almost daily basis. If someone were to go to her with a problem with this set up, she would wholeheartedly defend said favorite. I have NEVER dealt with such an unprofessional and biased teacher, EVER. At this stage in my academic career I was not expecting the immaturity level in who I thought was a professional in a professional environment. I have never ever complained about anyone like this in my entire life, but her way of making others feel like utter crap and her obvious favoritism just takes my breath away, and I feel compelled to evaluate her here. Please, make your choice wisely when registering for this lab. In other words, be forewarned about Zeljka. The only positive experience I have gained from this is that now I have experience in dealing with the most ridiculous (and I mean this in a BAD way) behavior of someone who supposedly (but undeservedly) has authority over me.

CRP 515


Graduate Student
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2004
Professor Howard is awesome! She's friendly, funny, and approachable. The assignments are challenging, yet enjoyable.

FR 760


5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2016
he sure does like his women, wet!!