Howland, Jim  

Very laid back teacher. A good teacher to take to get through English 149. Not much work required in this class besides showing up to class. He also can help you look for what you want to do out of college.

An excellent professor. This is definitely a class you need to participate in. He doesn't come in with a lesson plan, he bases his "talks" off of your questions. Take advantage of his time and wisdom. Definitely use his office hours.

Keep in mind that this intructor is not a professor, he does not have a PhD. He is rude, chauvinistic, crass, and very unprofessional. He gives Cal Poly a bad name. It is embarrassing to think he is affiliated with our university.

I do not recommend taking any class from this man. If you have any self-respect at all and want to keep it, stay away from him. He is rude and he is never clear, he tries to trick you not teach you.

Where do I begin with this jackass? I have never viscerally disliked a professor the way I dislike Mr. Howland. He is pretentions, condescending, and he really doesn't teach you anything of real value that you cannot get from a "how to write a resume" book that buy at Kinko's. The time that he doesn't waste dealing with trivialities, he spends trying to impress the class with how clever he really isn't. For lack of a better word, his grading procedure is re-goddam-diculous. He will fail papers that are perfectly well written and intelligent while he gives "a's" to papers written by retards. Let me give you an example, we were given an assignment to write a memo to someone you know and give them a business proposal. This idiot in the class wrote a memo in friggin' ebonics to his drug dealer friend to start a crack ring or something, and he got an "a," while other people wrote perfectly acceptable papers and received a "c's" and "d's". Howland's warped justification for this is that this person who wrote the ebonics memo, had a "backnote" explaining how his friend was a drug dealer and how this way of writing would be best for persuading him. This is so ridiculous an argument it's laughable. First of all, the name of the class is "Corporate Communication," not "Cheech and Chong 101," so there's no excuse for giving that crack paper a higher grade than others. In case you don't know where I am coming from with hall this here's my backnote to you, Howland: I think you're a stupid douchebag.

THIS CLASS IS A MUST TAKE. Don't listen to these other people. I had Jim last quarter and he is by far the coolest teacher I've had a Cal Poly. I got a bad grade on every assignment, yet I still earned a B in the class. Sounds wierd, I know, but if you put forth some effort, learn from your mistakes, and turn it all of your assignments you will have no problems with this class. Go to see him at his office hours at least once a week. Be straightforward with Jim and in return, he will be the same with you. He is extremely intelligent and offers you information that will prepare you for the real world...no other course, book or stupid midterm (no tests in this class) can give you what Jim does.

Hands down the best, most useful and thought provoking class I have ever taken!!! Ask Cal Poly for a refund if you don't take Howland b/c you won't get your money's worth. THIS IS THE BEST CLASS I WILL EVER TAKE. People are starting to catch on about how great Jim and his class are... so be prepared to take a priority if you want his class. And with that... you have to WANT his class because it's a love/hate relationship and will throw you outside your comfort zone.

Jim has high expectations from his students in their work and in life. Take a advantage of his office hours! Ask for extra handouts that will help you with interviews and assignments. Never forget, specifics sell!

You have to take this class before you leave Cal Poly. You learn so much. This isn't a normal english class, in fact it's not an english class. It's a class about life in the real world. Participate in class discussions or you'll never get an A in the class. Go to his office hours and you'll learn a lot there too.

The class is not that great. Don't believe in all the things he said. If you believe it, then with all the businesses that he said he participated, he should be hanging out with the Waltons family right now. There are few lectures that you might get a little useful information. Otherwise, just hit up any career website and you can get more information that he can cover in 10 weeks. Most of the assigments, just go up the web and type in a type of format that he wants, and then just replace your name and role, and badaboom, 10 mins assignemnt. Good luck, and let the REAL REALITY be your GUIDE.

I am a military verteran coming back to school. I have never been treated more unprofessionally in my life. I am not some 18 year old freshman who misses class every chance he gets. I am married with children and should be treated as an adult--NOT A CHILD. His brash comments and intorable rudeness is unforgivable. I dropped his class for another english class that was offered. DO NOT TAKE THIS MAN. He is terrible.

This man is absolutely despicable. He is rude, unprofessional, inappropriate, condescending, and just plain mean. He takes no responsibility for his actions and behaves in a manner that reflects negatively on the university. I think Cal Poly's administration should be embarassed to have this man on their teaching staff and I would suggest that they fire him as soon as possible (actually, I did that at the beginning of this quarter, but sadly, he's still here). He seems to think that talking down to students will earn him more respect as a teacher. Go to this link: http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/experts/communications.html Notice anything missing from Jim Howland? I'll save you the time: He is the only one without a Ph.D. and the only one who has not written a book. Personally, I would expect someone who clearly thinks that highly of himself to at least have the credentials to back it up. And for the record, I think all of the evaluations that say good things about him or his class are from Mr. Howland, writing about himself. There is absolutely nothing good about this man.

Pay attention to what Howland says because it will help you later in life. He frustrates those who think they already know everything there is to know. English majors have a hard time because they are accustomed to many words when Howland expects effective documents(few words). Get over yourself and realize that you will run into people like Howland frequently in life and running away is not the way to handle them. I dont see how a PhD has relevence to whether someone can teach or not; many people do not have a PhD and they teach effectivly. Participate in class and be ready to learn. If you are too dense, get out while you can.

Howland? Is that you? It must be, because no former student of his would have such complimentary things to say about him or his useless class. Howland's class is NOT "thought provoking" and it is certainly not a "MUST TAKE." Unless you enjoy wasting your time and being treated like an idiot by a sanctimonious jerk. I could go on and on about why I despise this man, but he is not worth my time. And anyways, the person at the bottom of the page already summed him up perfectly: "a stupid douchebag."

Here it is, another rating... yes, Cal Poly has problems with fucked up profs. Why the academy wants to put assholes at the helm is beyond me. Why anyone would choose to take a class from this dickhead is beyond me. Think of eng 302, Speech majors. Dont fuck yourself over with this legendary dickhead. Have you heard of Mark Roberts? Wiser choice.

Complete douche bag! He failed me knowing it was my last four units needed for Poly. This arrogant prick was just bitter he was born a mole man. I crashed the class two weeks late with his guarantee that I would not have to make up those two weeks, he lied. Throughout the quarter you will quickly find out that he gives everybody Fs on their assignments. Apparently his style of motivation. Again he is a complete douche bag. I think he was the fat kid who got beat up his whole life and since he was too big of a pussy to become a cop he became this douche bag teacher instead. This is my first post in my five years here because I have never been so appalled by this low quality level of education I received from his class. If you want a good grade, be prepared to kiss his butt and learn about his many failed business ventures that he continues to claim as examples of his genius. If you hear anything over the wheezing from his fat face try to ignore it, take whatever grade he gives you, keep your pride and dignity and leave his class with a big middle finger aimed right at this fat bastard.

Howland's class is odd. He gives you an F on nearly every assignment, but you can still pass the class even if you get 6 F's out of 9 or so assignments. He does not now how to encourage students. This is his main flaw. Getting every paper back with a big F on written on it does little in the way to motivate a student to try harder on subsequent assignments because no matter how much effort or time you spend on an assigment, chances are you will get an F. This makes his class unpleasant. His assignments are not very hard, but they are tedious. He is not the most evil person in teaching as everyone makes him out to be, he is willing to hear your arguement of why you should pass the class. His teaching style is different, it may be affective for those who find it motivating to get F's, but for most students I have talked to who took the course, his style is not motivating, encouraging, enjoyable, nor worthwhile. What you learn in the course can be read in any "Corporate Communication" hand book. Although, you do learn that your entire life education is nothing more than something that can be learned in 3 weeks, according to Howland. Overall, my opinion is to avoid this course, your time will be better spent elsewhere.

Sack up and take Jim! If you are willing to learn, this course (which isn't a typical college course) will change your life. Don't treat it like a normal class- but rather as your segue into "real life." It's not about grades (g'pa) and it's not about what Jim wants. Let reality be your guide. Ask questions. Jim is a resource, not your enemy. Have fun!

Howland is the most confusing teacher ive ever had. First of all he is rude, and could care less about teaching. He makes that really clear throughout the quarter. The only time he is helpful is in his office hours sometimes. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! You will get F's the entire time and never know how to improve what you are doing. This is the most time comsuming class ever and you do not get rewarded at all!!!

As many people will tell you, ENGL 310 with Jim is one of the most valuable classes to take at Cal Poly and I strongly recommend it. I can pretty much guarantee that you will get frustrated with the class and with Jim more than a few times. He seems very good as dodging questions with complicated answers that make you forget what you asked in the first place. My advice is that if you have a question you really need answered, go to his office hours. If nothing else it will score you some points. One of the major lessons of the course is learning how to "cut the crap" out of your writing and get to the point. This made me wonder why the man who preached this to us all quarter also gave us a 10 page syllabus designed as a "contract" on the first day of class. He tells you to read and understand the entire thing. If you're like me you won't listen, but it will save you a lot of trouble later if you actually do read it a time or two. He also tells you to hang on to the textbook at the end of the quarter. I think he must have some kind of deal with the author because the book isn't that great, and he tells you himself that the examples in it are no good. Lets see what else.. Try not to miss class. Jim isn't one of those professors who doesn't notice if you aren't there, and in the end your attendance and participation will help you out. Most importantly, just hang in there and remember its only a 10 week course!

What you need to know is what you want to get out of English 310. If you come to class ready to learn, keep up with the reading, and ask a lot of questions, English 310 could be the most valuable class you take at Cal Poly. Take Jim

Ever heard the saying, "those who can't do, teach"? That is Jim Howland. Jim Howland is rude, unhelpful, pompous, and condescending. He always talks about "goodwill" and "giving value", but does not practice what he preaches. He is blatantly insulting to students in class. He treats everyone as if they are in kindergarden, and structures his class to penalize genuine effort while rewarding mediocre, sub par performance. He espouses to have some ultra progressive grading system, and that he takes a different approach to grading - which he claims is to our benefit - that is honestly, bullshit. Half of his material is irrelevant to communication. He is a dinosuar. A relic. A quack. If I learned anything from his class, it is that he is the perfect example of what not to do in corporate communication. Do in the workplace, what this man "teahes" you in class, and I you will be in trouble. Howland talks about "Letting reality be your guide" (By "reality" he, like other academia hermits, means outside of school - i.e. the "real" world). But, when I introduced my "real world" experience - experienced gained from several years employed in a local corporation - Howland failed my assignments, never giving specific and/or valid reasons or comments/criticism for improvement, other than writing "Bozo" on my paper. I am not kidding. Jim Howland is unprofessional to the core. If you, like me, work, or have any type of obligations outside of school, or other classes, that interfere with attending class or being on-time EVERY SINGLE DAY, do not expect Howland to be understanding. If your schedule conflicts with his office hours, do not expect him to be accomodting. And even though he knows he is not available for every student, he will only answer certain questions in office hours, and he will penalize you if you cannot work around his fucking schedule. It is unrealistic and absurd. This class is seriously a joke. Take one look at his syllabus (a.k.a. the "contract") and the arbitrary weight he gives to assignments illustrates the idiocy that is Jim Howland. Your final is worth between 0.6% and 50%! - And guess who determines how heavily to weigh the grade? And he gives NO explanation as to how he determines to ultimately weigh your grade. He rewards idiots and fails those who do not kiss his ass. He is sickening. Why Cal Poly requires this course is beyond me: It is a retard's guide to sending e-mails, memos and letters. Jim Howland should be fired. DO NOT ENROLL IN JIM HOWLAND'S CLASS unless you are a masochist. Jim Howland is a worthless excuse for a professor at this so-called institution of higher learning.

I indicated I'm a senior although I'm a 48 year-old-male who graduated from Cal Poly in 1982. I also played football at Cal Poly, and was in several theater productions. I was raised in California, and now live outside of Nashville, Tennessee. I had English 310 with Jim Howland. Took it my senior year. Had to, but didn't want to. First day in the classroom I thought he was nuts. For the first several weeks I hated him. In fact, I set the record for the most consecutive "F's" on writing assignments. Finally received my first "A" from Howland in the eighth week. Through 2004 I still had the record. Maybe I still do. (I'll call Howland and find out.) Received an "A" for the course. What happened during that eighth week and thereafter is that I "GOT" Howland. I "understood" what he was doing, and it made all the difference. While other students in my class were constantly complaining about him and his methods, I sat there spell-bound because I "got" Howland. I "understood" what he was doing. And I'm a better person for it. What Howland does better than any other instructor is that he "raises the bar" for his students' expectations and performance, because if left to our own device, we students tend to "lower the bar." After Cal Poly I went to work for a sporting goods company. Was promoted quickly through the ranks because of the communications and writing skills I learned from Howland. Was promoted to vice-president at age 30. Became self-employed in 1993 and have been since. My average annual income for each of the past 12 years has been $200K+. Jim Howland is one of the major factors for my success. No other instructor was a competent, honest, enlightening, blunt, sincere, as was/is Howland. No other instructor prepared me for the "real world" as did Howland. I can still hear him saying over and over, "Know your objective. Get to the point. Write like you speak." The fact is that the majority of today's students DO NOT communicate as effectively as students did 25 years ago. The fact is that the majority of today's students are NOT as as disciplined as students were 25 years ago. The fact is that the majority of today's students have been "sheltered" by their parents and high school teachers (as a result of "political correctness" and the "preservation of their little kiddies' self-esteem"), with the results being that today's students aren't half as "tough" as students were 25 years ago. On top of that, too many of today's students "take it personal" when criticized by Howland. What a bunch of little brats and cry-babies! Howland knows this, perhaps better than any instructor at Cal Poly. Do you want to succeed in business? Do you want to succeed in the work force? Do you want to become an effective writer/communicator? Do you want a taste of the "real world" with all of its warts and ugliness? If your answer is "yes", then get a spine and some thick skin and take Howland's course. You'll be a better person for it. Howland will make you "think." He'll make you "rationalize." He'll make you "sweat." He'll make you mad. He'll push you. He'll make you "expand" beyond your own self-imposed limitations, real and imagined. And in the end, you'll do as I did and so many of his students have done, that being that you'll look him in the eye and say a heart-felt "thank you."

God, where to start? I have never posted a comment on Poly Ratings before but I am making an exception for Howland. He is an arrogant prick who does not have a PHD, yet believes he is God's gift to students. If you can get out of his class DO IT, if not prepare yourself to see an "F" on 3/4 of your assignments. He does this to "demonstrate" how effort does not matter, only results. The catch is that he spends the entire class period talking about his personal experiences as well as what he decided NOT to lecture on that day. (This does not prevent him from expecting your hwk to reflect those lectures.) Howland does not believe in half-credit; it is either great or an F. He also loves to write demeaning comments on your paper, such as "Bozo." Have fun.

LRBYG This teacher makes himself available to students in his office hours daily. He also is willing to walk you through step by step of any problem you have with your work for class. One of the best teachers at Cal Poly... oh yeah, and show up on time for the quizzes

People that have anything crass to say about Jim are the ones that got there egoes shattered in his class. His grading is unconventional and freaks out alot of people. You think your failing but end up with a B. He's not out to fuck anyone over. He just wants you to get the point, and most of all be successful at whatever you do after Cal Poly. Take this course if you want to really gain something and need a reality check into what the real world really is, not that shit on MTV.

Best class I have ever taken anywhere. I have been to three colleges now in my long education career. Howland is one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is truly giving back in a field he is passionate about. Howland will clarify anything to anyone. I am surprised to hear people say anything different. Very accomodating I thought. You are fully in charge of your grade in this class, which is nice. He doesnt grade you on what he wants, but on effectivness of the document. I suspect the Ebonics paper mentioned earlier was HIGHLY effective. You have to relearn everything you know about writing papers, but once you do, your papers will truly shine in the real world, and make you tons of money because everyone else will be full of useless bullshit, whilst you, thanks to Howland, will convey information quickly, succinctly, and effectively. "Nobody wants to read what you write, including Howland": remember that and you will get an A in this class. Expect to get F's on many assignments. Learn from your mistakes, get a couple A's and your golden! Truly a fun, mind bending, interesting class. Thanks Howland

The first year Vince Lombardi coached the Green Bay Packers, many of the players hated him. Some quit. Why? Because he was tough, and he made the players do things that they wouldn't have done left to their own device. Such is the nature of human beings. Howland is cut from the same mold as Lombardi. He's one tough S.O.B., but boy, is he fair. Moreover, he prepares you for real life. Prior to taking a class from Howland I had heard things about him, good and bad. People either love him or hate him. I do believe that those who hate him have some issues, just as those who hated Lombardi had some issues. Lombardi whipped the Packers into champions, year after year after year. Hell, the Super Bowl Trophy is named after him! Howland is the Lombardi of the classroom. I wish all profs were like him.

A good professor. The class however is quite unique. Dr. Howland will treat you like a real professional with a Technical Writing job. Students are expected to take the initiative and plan, develop, and execute real projects for real customers (i.e. software manuals, technical brochures, etc...). Prof. Howland will be there to guide and direct you but be prepared to come as close to working in the real world as a class will allow you to.

I took this course as part of the Tech Writing certificate program, and began the class with real enthusiasm about the opportunity to do "hands-on" work in an English class. He makes big promises about the value of the class and brags that "those who don't take 311 at Poly are losing out." I gave him the benefit of the doubt, despite my general feeling that a good class with a good teacher doesn't need to be "sold" to a class. Students can usually recognize a good class as soon as the teacher starts teaching. Here is where one of the biggest problems with the man arises. He DOESN'T "teach." I think a teacher should inspire students to learn on their own, should actually make themselves unnecessary for a student's future learning. Howland, though, does NOT inspire. He threatens, he abuses, he yells, he intimidates, and, unfortunately, he shows his incompetence from the first day. Don't get me wrong. Learning "by doing" can be a really good way of learning. But disregarding one's role as teacher for what he calls his role (a consultant) is totally irresponsible. Instead of using class time to teach, he wastes it doing "group work" so that he doesn't have to do anything. Shouldn't the group work and projects be done outside of class so that the teacher does SOMETHING, ANYTHING USEFUL in class? I honestly don't know how the University rationalizes continuing to pay this man...he doesn't do anything! And unfortunately, whenever he does open his mouth, you wish he hadn't.

Professor Howland is supportive, interesting, competent and caring. To me, hallmarks of a good professor are whether he/she is well prepared, cares that what is being taught is practical, is able to say "I don't know but I'll find out" and starts innovative classes. This describes Professor Howland. In 319 the workload was reasonable (though if you aren't self-disciplined you may find a crunch when your project is due). The class itself is extremely useful in the "real world" regardless of your major. One of the bext classes I've had.

Wow was I fooled. Howland starts off the class describing how low the standards are in this class and how easy it is, and then he basically slinks off behind the computer screen and ignores any student's questioning later in the quarter. Lucky we had a great student aide who actually knew what he was doing with Framemaker, because Howland definitely did not have a clue. Be prepared to figure things out for yourself and have no idea what is going on in class.

Howland's classes and teaching methods aren't for everyone. His focus is on technical communications, and those not in the tech comm program probably won't find his classes as beneficial as those who are. He is always willing to talk about the tech comm industry and will give you advice if you ask for it. Many classes are centered around what you want to learn, so you have to participate and tell him what it is you want to know. If you don't tell him, he might put up a bunch of overheads that seem unrelated. You might wonder why you learn FrameMaker (honestly, I had never heard of it), but it really is the program that technical writers use, so you get a leg up when you learn it. He gives you lots of time in class to work on your project and is willing to come help you if you have problems. I never had to go to the lab outside of class time and there really isn't too much other homework, so the workload for the this class is pretty low. His standards are also pretty low (you may miss 20 out of 80 points on a quiz and he'll still turn it into an A), but if you put in extra effort above the minimum on the little design assignments, he'll definately bump you up. Overall this is a really low-stress class. As he says, its a class to take when you're taking a lot of units.

He pretty much does whatever he feels like in class everyday. The design discussions were pretty decent but he's lazy and it shows. He just pulls from his archived "mind puzzles" to prompt in-class "discussions" that he claims will make us better designers... Mmmhmm. The reason "discussions" is in quotes is because this class, like most, has its front-of-the-class-I-need-a-life hand-raiser. She's middle-aged and seems to think the class is all about her. She says a lot of unintelligent things and then proceeds to question aloud why more people don't speak up in class. Well, Howland seems to like this and her so it's a big negative element in the class. Also, I have no idea what grade I'll get. We had an oral midterm which was beyond lame -- it was a bunch of puzzles...yet again.

What the guy/gal below said. Amen. I too took this class and have long since graduated from Poly, but I was cruising Poly Ratings for a kick and thought that I should pipe in and let you know how much of a joke this prof is.