Seiver, Daniel  

I honestly never had this guy as a teacher but he plays ball at the gym and sometimes you can catch him wearing his Washington Wizards jersey backwards. No idea if it's on purpose or on accident. Alright talk to ya later.

This guy is seriously one of the worst teachers I've ever had in my life, I had no trouble in any of my other classes except for this class. His lectures are super boring and it doesn't even seem like he was that confident in his knowledge. The whole entire grade is based on 2 midterms and 1 final, which are made up of 10 (easy seeming questions) that he grades ridiculously hard. This guy probably hasn't even looked at the book hes making people buy!! He told us our final was on chapters 21 and 22 of our book and in the book chapter 21 and 22 were microeconomics and completely not about what he was lecturing on. He also provides some example questions for exams, but states "There will be no questions close to these on the exam" well thanks that is really going to help me. He also definitely plays favorites with people he likes in class and gives stupid little nicknames to girls. Just to give you a taste of how bad his lectures are half the class is asleep every time and the majority of things he says are not important. One class he took 35 minutes to explain how behind we were in class. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS FOR ANY REASON!! Take a different professor or a different GE requirement at all costs.

Where do I even begin with this one.. Die-hard Republican. Seiver calls himself "Doc" although he does not have a PhD. He is extremely insensitive to his students and comes off racist at times. His lectures are super dry and for the most part, he just talks about his career at SDSU and how he enjoys Thursday's Farmer's Markets. Exams are not straight-foward. He sucks at explaining topics and if you don't have good reading comprehension (you will definitely be teaching yourself everything in this class) you will fail the class. He did Gangnam Style in the middle of lecture once.... scarred for life.

Grades like a bitch. Minuses an insane amount of points in comparison of the extent of the mistake. Horrible at explaining lessons. Rambles on and on. DONT TAKE HIM!

Seiver's class should be taken by Econ majors. If you don't like Econ, you won't like his class. Yes, maybe he does go off on random tangents, and yes maybe we do know a bit more about his personal life than is necessary (he likes almond milk not regular milk). But you will do well if you just listen to his lectures. He has optional homework that counts as extra credit, and then 3 tests, none of which are cumulative. The tests are all obscure statements that you have to back up with econ knowledge, but if you listen in class then you know what will be on the test...the things that you discuss a lot! Its all about real world application of economics and if you don't think like an econ major it might be a struggle. But he's an interesting teacher, who seemed fair and impartial to my class.

First to dispel a few comments on here. He is in fact a PHD in economics (from Yale), and he is not by any means a die hard Republican. In our class he admitted that he considers himself to be a moderate, and in my opinion his views reflect that. His lectures can be dry, especially to someone who isn't interested in economics, but he does a fairly good job of staying on topic. I had him for micro and this class is tough!... If you are looking for an easy elective, or are a business major looking for an easy micro class don't take him. You're grade is based off 3 tests (2 midterms and a non cumulative final that is essentially another midterm). The tests have 6 essay questions and 4 equation or graphing problems with a 75 minute time limit. Also you can get up to 5% extra credit from doing the Aplia assignments which unfortunately don't help much on the tests. His grading is picky and he will mark you down for little things. My advice for people taking this class is to read the textbook, go to the lectures and take good notes because he will test you on stuff that is not always in the book. Also study the graphs! because he loves them and you will often need to show a graph on one of the essay questions even if it is not specifically asked for. Overall I think he is a much better professor than many of these reviews give him credit for, though I'll admit he does have his flaws. As someone else said before this class is good for econ majors. If you take his class seriously you should be able to get at least a B and you will learn a lot.

In this class you have no control over your grade, only he does. When I doubled my studying, I still received the same grade. His tests are completely open answer examinations; He decides how many points you earn per problem. What determines a 6 point answer vs. a 7 point answer? Easy questions are worth just as much as hard questions, so points are not distributed equally. I would walk out of his tests feeling confident because I knew the answers to all of his questions and felt that I had answered them to the best of my ability. When I would get my tests back, I would see that he had made massive point reductions for minor mistakes. (-4 points for saying yacht "industry" instead of yacht "workers"). Answers that show an A level of understanding of the topic will still receive C grades because of wording that Seiver doesn't like. He would go on random tangents during his lectures about farmers market and yogurt. There would be one question on every exam of something that he barely went over in class to "test us and throw us a curve ball". I know of a few students who stopped attending his classes after the second midterm because there was no way they could bring their grade up. I tried everything I could to bring my grade up. His office hours were no help, the business school tutoring was no help. You are helpless to Seivers academic opinion of you in this class.

If you are attempting to maintain a decent GPA, avoid Seiver at all costs. Possibly one of the most confusing and un-clarifying guys I've ever met, Seivers econ lectures quickly turned into the worst part of my week. He is unreasonable in grading and completely subjective. Why I recieved more points on a question I clearly got wrong than on a correct response b/c of 'vocab choice' is beyond me. The one time I went to his office hours he spent the entire time talking about everything but econ, and was very unhelpful. From my micro class of maybe 30 people, at least 5 are retaking the course with another professor to replace our miserable grades. DON'T TAKE HIM.

This class was pretty straight forward and easy. Seiver does a great job lecturing and then if you read the book it helps you understand it even more. The final is not cumulative and there's only 2 midterms and a final..I got a 99% on the first final and 100% on the second. Idk why people think this class is so hard...it's probably because students are lazy and don't read...he also gives you EXTRA CREDIT 30 POINTS WORTH if you do online quizzes each week. The questions on the test are just based from lectures and the reading..I highly recommend Seiver. I am putting the least effort into this class and I'm doing the best in this class. Just READ and you will be FINE.

Dont let the other polyratings fool you. Fall was his first quarter at Poly. I had him winter quarter and i absolutely loved his class. His midterms are straight forward, his lectures are easy to follow, and it is a very enjoyable class!

This was my first solid A I received at Poly. Seiver gives you every opportunity to get a good grade. In his class you can earn up to 46 points of extra credit that is worth the same as 46 points on a test. The way to get a good grade is to study midterms from past quarters he changes them around but they are pretty much the same. I never missed a class because I genuinely enjoyed his teaching. Also I would advise not missing because of the extra credit trivia you can earn when your name is called. Wish he was going to teach in the fall for macro! If you don't get a B or higher in this class you honestly didn't try...

Seiver did explain concepts very clearly. During class, he would ramble on and go off topic making it hard to understand main ideas. His tests were more based on little details, so that he could see who was paying attention to the side notes. A lot of students did not show up to class because of his off topic rambling. Because of this, he became very bitter and unreasonable half way through the quarter. Some of the questions on the (very short) tests reflected this as he asked about random unimportant details. Don't take his class if you don't have to. If you do though, read the side boxes in the book and take detailed notes during class.

At first he seemed like a fairly chill guy, but as the guy before said, he did become bitter half way through due to the lack of students coming to class. I was out for almost a month for medical issues and got no help from him upon returning. If you are a DRC student do not take this class, he will not extend time even though it is needed, including the final! Tests were 10 essay questions in 75 minutes, you do not receive the full two hours NO MATTER WHAT. DO NOT take this class if you can, find a better teacher if you want to enjoy macroeconomics. If you are stuck with him, go to class everyday and read the side notes.

Uncompromising, ridiculous man. Be prepared for 3 outlandish exams that have barely anything to do with the material, which reflect your entire grade in the class. You can buy a computer package for $120, where completion of a 30 point quiz counts for 1.5 EXTRA CREDIT POINTS. Doesn't even make a difference in your grade. I thought he was completely unapproachable, and not made you feel stupid even when you did ask questions. Students did so bad on the second test that he had to ADD 34 POINTS TO EVERY STUDENTS GRADE. That is clearly not the students failure to learn the material, it is the professors lack of ability to teach and write appropriate tests. If you can avoid taking Seiver, absolutely take that opportunity. Extremely upset that he was brought to Cal Poly to make our Economics department even worse.

His handwriting is awful. He goes on a lot of tangents that are not on the tests. Plus side: no homework, just extra credit quizzes you do at home on your computer. Showing up to class was a waste of time. I skimmed the book on my own and got B's on all his exams.

Seiver was an average professor at best. I personally didn't find his class too hard, but I never really knew what to study for his tests. However, I generally found a way to do really well. He is a pretty cool guy, but he doesn't really seem to care about any of his students whatsoever. He seems to believe he is the greatest professor that has ever lived because he taught at SDSU. I still liked the guy because he gave a lot of extra credit and even added 16% to one test that everyone didn't do that well on. For some reason everbody complains that his tests were unfair, but those were the students that didn't go to his boring lectures. I sat through all his borning lectures and I ended up with an A. I find it hilarious that all the people that complain about his class never went to class! He doesn't test on concepts as much as he tests on what the US is doing economically right now. Overall not too bad of a class

I would not recommend taking Seiver at all. He's a nice enough guy but his class was just awful. He took a subject that I actually wanted to learn and was interested in, and made it pretty boring. His lectures dragged on, anything he writes on the board makes no sense (he abbreviated everything and has horrible handwriting). His grades are based on 2 midterms and the final, plus some extra credit. I aced his first test, but the class was all downhill from there. His second test covered material he hardly focused on or didn't cover at all. Most of the class failed this ridiculous test. I went into office hours to talk to him and while he was friendly, he did not help me understand the material/know how I could've possibly known all this random shit (I did all the reading, went to every class and paid attention, and did all the extra credit, and studied for hours). Bottom line, take someone else if you can.

I do not recommend Seiver. I do not doubt he is a smart professor and knows what he is talking about, but the problem is he has a hard time translating what he knows to his class, especially if you have no prior knowledge of econ. What bothered me the most is he doesn't really care about the students. If you talk to him, he tends to talk over the top of you and never really get to what you are asking about. I also felt like his tests weren't fair. Your entire grade is based off of 30 questions broken up into 2 midterms and a final. He likes to ask very specific questions that may not have even been discussed in class and he is a very picky grader. I have never stressed about a class as much as I did for this one.

This guy is horrible. If you take this class do not expect to receive over a C if you do not know a sufficient amount of info about the course before hand. His tests are ridiculous. I would leave the class and feel like I nailed a test. You know that feeling... But I would get it back and receive a D this happened every single test. He would mark off 5 points for making simply a wording error. and if you do not cover EVERY SINGLE LITTLE detail in your answer then you will get below 10 points on the question. I clearly understtod the material but made minor very small mistkaes which destroyred my grade. SO I figured to go into office hours. And this guy did not want to help me. I asked him you know what should I be studying on the tests and how to go about things in my study habits to improve my score. ANy other professor would get get interested and want to help you. His answer will be and always will be read all of the chapters of the book, and cover all the information we covered over the last 4 weeks. That helps me a lot!! I would come in over and over and he will not help. Take him and be in for a very troublesome expirience like all of us in my class were.

I really don't understand why everyone bashed on this guy. Yeah, his lectures sometimes seemed like went on for hours, but he was a quirky guy at times and he made the class enjoyable. He gave the class a lot of extra credit because we did so bad on one test. He didnt have to do this, but he kindly did. This boosted my grade a lot. I'm not an econ/business major, but I did fine. I would just study his lectures and do all the questions at the back of each chapter (like 6-10 questions per chapter). That's what I did and I did well on all 3 tests. I would take Seiver again for any class.

I guess most people that gave this professor a negative grade are butthurt that they received bad grades. For starters, one previous evaluation claimed that Seiver "doesn't even have a PhD, yes wants students to call him 'Doc.'" Any simple google search of the guy would show that he DID in fact earn a PhD FROM YALE. Now, as for the class... I thought it was fairly easy. No homework aside from EXTRA CREDIT online assignments (which add 5% to your grade!), and the tests were all lecture based. Admittedly, the second of the three tests was a bit more challenging (my only B), but he recognized that students had trouble and gave everyone an extra 32 points! THAT'S ROUGHLY 16%! And yet people still complain... I would highly recommend Seiver. Nice guy, easily approachable if you don't stumble over every word when you talk to him, and a fairly easy class (I studied at most 1-2 hours before every test + online extra credit).

Seiver presents the material extremely clearly, and simply paying attention in lecture and taking a few notes, then reviewing them for 20 min the night before the exam is all that's necessary to get an A. Never taken Econ in my life, and this class was a breeze with zero homework.

I think Professor Seiver is a pretty good teacher. He knows a LOT about econ, there's no question about that. He pretty good at explaining things. However the notes he writes on the board makes absolutely no sense half of the time. I recommend taking your own style of notes based off of what he says like I did. I never needed to visit his office hours to get help so I don't know much on that matter, but even without attending his office hours, I was able to do well in his class by studying with other students. The homework is all for extra credit. I hardly used the book except for the online exercises which IS the extra credit. If you come to class prepared to learn, you'll do fine with Seiver. If you space out a lot and rely on what is written on the board to learn, you'll fail this class.

Seiver is so bad. The grade is based ONLY on the 2 midterms and 1 final which are all 200 points each. Each test is 10 short answer questions and he grades harshly. He asks really random questions on the exams. His lectures are literally the most boring thing I've ever sat through. I'd rather do calculus than go to his class. His lectures are always way off topic- like he told us about his near death experience, his workout schedule, etc. I got C's on the 2 midterms and somehow got a D+ in the class. I honestly don't know how because I felt like I did well on the final. You better be awake during the lectures if you even bother to go because if you go and fall asleep and try to copy all the notes up on the board, the won't make any sense because he writes random words up there- not even concepts- just one word terms. Don't copy his notes on the board- just take notes on the important stuff that comes out of his mouth. That's my best advice. The 30 points of extra credit is a joke because if you don't buy it with the book, it's like 110$ by itself. So I didn't buy the extra credit because I borrowed just the book from somebody. This class was horrible. Happy I passed, but should've been a C. Oh well. Do not take Seiver!

Professor Seiver is a great professor. Anyone who's written a bad review for him doesn't understand what's expected of them in college. He's very well educated and clearly knows what he's talking about. There are no hidden secrets to getting an A in his class. He is straightforward in telling you what needs to be done to be successful in his class. Go to class, read the book, and answer the review questions at the end of the book and there's no reason why anyone should get any grade other than an A!

Seiver wasn't such a bad guy like many of these reviews make him out to be, I think many people don't put in the time to read the book and learn the material. He also gives a lot of extra credit (5% grade boost for aplia and about 2.5% for trivia). The extra credit wasn't at all necessary but I found it helped cement the reading and gave me practice with calculation problems that are on the test. Truthfully though, you don't have to read as long as you pay real good attention in class. Much of what is on the test is more what he specifically covers in class rather than the book. The second test was significantly tougher than the first but the third I thought was much easier. While he may ramble A LOT it's not always a bad thing because some of his stories are pretty funny and he has a lot of interesting life experience. Since this was my first economics class I can't compare it to other classes but this is probably more difficult since the tests have no multiple choice but I think he makes that up with all the extra credit. No homework other than the readings. Study, Pay attention and go every lecture and you'll be more than fine. I got a 96, 98 and 97 on the final and came out with a 103% in the class!

I am dissappointed in students lack of recognition of the value of this man. He is a published economist, with his PhD from Yale, and is personal friends with the new FED chair, arguable the second most powerful person in the world (Now a woman, Yellen). Sure, his tests were not multiple choice but macro is about the ideas and the graphs. I learned not Econ that semester than my whole life. This guy is the type of professor that gives a business school credibility, rankings, and attractiveness to employers. Shame on those who take grades too seriously and not the bigger picture of academia.

When teaching, he would go on tangents and not describe things clearly. In Econ, it is very important for graphs to be very clear and specific. However, Seiver decided to draw all of his graphs on top of each other, furthering the confusion on my notes and thus my studying guide. It has been 2 years since I had him so yes, he may have changed but very unlikely. I am only posting this because I thought he was not asked back to teach but unfortunately saw him teaching a class today.

Painfully boring class. Dr. Seiver is really bad at writing and drawing graphs on the board but refuses to use power points in class. He does post powerpoints on poly learn which are a lot more helpful and informative than any of his lectures. He isn't actually friends with Janet Yellen, but he sure does like to name drop her in his lectures. There are two midterms and one non-cumulative final that are comprised of short essay questions and calculation/graphing problems, no multiple choice. Try to pay attention in class because he likes to make test questions out of topics he discusses in class that cannot be found in the textbook. There is extra credit but you have to pay for it.

Everyone gives this professor a bad rap. All you have to do is read the textbook and attend the lectures and if you're not a complete idiot, and likely you're not cause you go to poly, you'll do fine in his class. I recommend doing all of the extra credit he offers as well as study for tests because there are only three.

I'm a graduating senior, and this class was so ridiculously hard for me. The exams are 10 essay questions and that's it, without any sort of study guide. It's such a struggle because I feel like I'm studying every single little detail we discuss in class just in case one of the test questions is on it. Seiver is pretty old so he knows the material really well, and sort of just talks as if he's telling a story. The problem with this is you don't know which words or concepts are really important and which ones are just added details. I've pulled all nighters for both midterms and I've worked my ass off for this class and I'm in danger of failing. A lot of what he talks about isn't in the book so definitely don't skip this class. Also a lot of the graphs he does in class are way simpler than the ones on the test. Seiver seems like a good guy and is probably a good teacher for a more advanced econ class, but for someone like me (a COMS major whose econ class in high school was a literal joke) it's been pretty rough trying to understand.

Seemed like a really cool guy outside of class but the lectures were painfully boring. Nearly had to write down everything he said because it might show up on the test. 3 tests each with 10 free response questions. Definitely wouldn't be my first choice for this class.

This class was by far my least favorite class I have taken here. Although he is quite knowledgeable about Econ, he fails to show the material clearly. During lecture he writes random words on the board; meaning they are not key words or concepts. This made it extremely difficult to study for tests. His tests were not especially challenging, but he graded very hard on them. Each test has 10 questions (6 written and 4 calculation/graphs), that are worth 200 points. I felt as if I went wrong on a very minor detail, i would get at least half of the points marked off. When I went in for office hours to ask questions, he was not approachable and did not help in any way. If you want to have a class where enjoy coming and don't feel judged when you have a question, take a different professor.

Seiver is an interesting guy. He is a little out of touch with the students but he tries not to be -- and this can create some humorously uncomfortable moments in class. He does not necessarily come off as approachable, but he definitely warmed up as time went on, especially if he seemed to like you because you showed up or asked questions. I'm not quite sure why people hate on his lectures. Although they sometimes went off on tangents and did not cover all the material in the chapter, I felt it quite easy to follow his thought process when he was speaking about something. He also clearly loves his economics (almost as much as basketball) and is a very smart man. As far as tests go, they were hit and miss. Some questions were hard, but usually (at least on the midterms before the weirdly specific final) they hit on the overarching topics, usually one for each chapter covered since the last test. Was he my favorite professor here? No. But did I feel like I got considerable value out of this class, and that's really all I can ask.

Server definitely knows a lot about Econ, he's just terrible at teaching it. His lectures are incredibly boring and he tends to drift away from the subject matter in rants and raves about unnecessary. I swear that I've heard his story about how he is loosely associated with Janet Yellen (she was a TA for one of his classes. Whoopi...) at least a dozen times. His midterms are all conceptual questions and often have little to do with the lectures (more about the textbook readings). I actually found myself doing better on questions based on topics covered in lectures that I DIDN'T attend. He is a very bad professor. I don't care that you went to Yale, it doesn't better MY understanding of Macroeconomics.

Professor Seiver is terrible. he drifts off from material and does not teach what is necessary. On top of that his test are difficult.

By far one of the worse professors. I struggled every class to stay awake and retain some information. Took me the whole quarter to figure out how he teaches. Write down everything he says, that is usually on the tests. The three tests are free response 10 questions each and he gives partial credit. If you have the chance by Aplia!!!!! It will save your grade at the end of the quarter

He's an average guy and most of the reviews on this website are exaggerated. He's a little different but I believe his heart is in the right place and his ability to answer questions does border on purposefully going offtrack but he's quick to help you if you visit office hours and seek out additional help. I got a D in this class because I missed one of the midterms and was unable to make it up and suggeted to take grade forgiveness with him. I probably will get an A or B when I take it again with him since he was fair about it and the person who suggested I just retake it.

This class wasn't very difficult. I sat in the very back and never participated in his lectures. The book was more helpful than his lectures because he only writes singular words on the board. Do the Aplia extra credit. People don't like him because he makes you apply the material rather than just memorizing the material. 3 non-cumulative tests. 10 short essay questions each. Covers mostly the main material in the book. Occasionally had a more obscure question that could be answered with a little thinking.

I loved Doc. He was my favorite professor this last quarter. Yes, his tests are difficult and sometimes it takes extra work in order to understand the material, but he does a really great job of conveying the information. For all the people who are frustrated that he only writes singular words on the board - learn how to take better notes. He was one of my favorite lecturers because of this. It made it so much easier for me to take notes, because I could really focus on what he was saying, rather than focus on what he was writing. I would TOTALLY recommend taking Doc.

This class is not hard if you just try to understand the material. The lectures can be boring, and I fell asleep for most of them. I still managed to hear his most important points in lecture because he emphasized them. I read the chapters for midterms and did the extra credit aplia as well. I just listened in class, and took notes maybe two or three times on a graph he said was important. I got an A and didn't put too much work in. I really think anyone could get a B or an A with just a little work

First off, Seiver is super intelligent and you can learn a lot from his class, even beyond what is printed in the textbook. His class is perfect for auditory learners. All of his midterms and final are basically just material he said in class, not necessarily out of the text book. For the most part, if you remember his rant in class on a certain subject, you can easily get 100% on the test. If you take him, DO NOT DITCH. His tests are designed to focus around content he said in class that wasn't in the text book. His class was great, I'd recommend

Professor Seiver is incredibly knowledgeable and teaches because he wants to, not because he needs to. While his lectures may be boring sometimes, he wants to make it entertaining. He works to learn his students names and gives everyone lots of opportunities to succeed. Do the reading and the aplia and you can do really well. Although his tests are all short answer he gives partial credit on almost every question. Would highly recommend taking his class!

People complain about Doc because they don't like his teaching style or because he's a little outdated or because he takes Econ "too seriously" which are all fair critiques however I aced this class without paying too much attention to it outside of the class itself. Go to class. Do the aplia it's worth extra credit and will give you an upperhand on the number problems on the exams (if you don't want to pay for it get the free trial and do all the assignments at once). He genuinely tries to connect with his students and though he may fall a little short it does show he is invested in you genuinely learning the material and applying it to your life. I recommend him.

Seiver will destroy you. Walking into a Seiver midterm is like playing roulette and betting all your money on black, except thats just question 1. Gotta roll another 9 times before you're done. That said, Seiver himself is a wonderful teacher, just with brutal exams. So be aware, he is going to teach you like no other, in terms of upper division econ I can't think of anyone else on par except maybe Zambrano. But he will beat you into submission if you want that A.

I really don't get why Seiver gets such a bad rap. He's a funny guy and clearly knows what he's talking about. The class is 3 200 point midterms. No hw, no quizzes. If you took decent notes on what he lectures on in class you'll be more than prepared for the midterms. I probably studied a total of 5-6 hours for this class all quarter and came out with a B+ and know plenty of other kids that did too. He does go off on tangents sometimes but he will never ask you something on a midterm that he didn't explicitly write on the board during lecture. He usually curves his classes a little at the end too.

Honestly screw this guy. I hated every minute of this class. He makes fun of people who don't share his opinions (despite him being wrong multiple times in the past--he admits to it), is boring to listen to, and wastes time. There were several lectures where we spent about ten minutes on actual material and the rest of the time of anecdotes that were unrelated (alien abductions, etc). The worst part is that he doesn't let you use your phone, sleep, or work on other material (EVEN IF IT'S FOR HIS CLASS!) while he lectures on about his own personal "hit list" from the Great Recession. The tests aren't as awful as people say, but it really is like rolling the dice with what he'll ask you. If you have the choice, wait and take someone else because Doc is more annoying and obnoxious than Soldati.

Professor Seiver was a great professor for Money, Banking, and Credit since he had a masterful understanding of the financial system. His lectures are always insightful although he easily goes off on funny tangents. His tests are always short essay questions with calculation and/or graphing questions. Most of the short essay questions are based off of lecture and material posted on PolyLearn. The test is designed to show that the student can use critical thinking and analysis to answer questions. The textbook is boring, but reading it will help with understanding the concepts. Even though I was a history major taking the class, the concepts and lecture were understandable, and most people will probably benefit from learning what he teaches. Going to his office hours for questions helped simplify and understand complicated concepts in the book. Although I have only met two other economics professors, Professor Seiver is the greatest and most famous economics professor.

I was excited to take this class when I was signing up, but oh boy was I wrong!! Seiver is not a great teacher at all!! He lectures using only some graphs and his horrible writing. He expects you to know your stuff before even taking the class. He dumps a huge load of information on you without highlighting the real important concepts that you need to know. His tests are ridiculous! There are a total of 3 each worth 200 points AND THEY ONLY HAVE 10 QUESTIONS ON THEM. Think its bad yet? Well it gets worse... All of the tests are short essay questions or graph/calculation problems. Studying for this class is horrible as you can imagine because you don't really know what to study and focus on and what is not important. I DO NOT RECOMMEND taking this class.

Avoid if possible. He's a character and I hated every moment of being in his class. Chicken-shit chalkboard notes, and treats the class like an audience.

this class was terrible. I should have listened to these reviews before me instead of ignoring them and taking the class anyways. Keep in mind the person that wrote this review 1. went to EVERY class. 2. read every chapter and assigned reading MULTIPLE TIMES and took notes. 3. did ALL the practice problems at the back of each chapter before every exam and STILL got a B. I was lucky with a B because a lot of smart people in my class ended up failing with a D or F simply because the "wording" of answers did not match what he wanted, even though the concepts of their answer were right. The grading of his tests are ridiculous(there are 3 worth 200 points each). You will come out of these tests thinking you did well ( the tests seem easy) but when you get it back you will be shocked at your grade. Seriously don't take this class. I wrote this review not to rant but honestly to save future students from making the same mistake that I did. This class will ruin your GPA and cause you a ton of stress.

A knowledgeable man but a poor, poor, very poorly designed class. Slides are never reviewed in depth and textbook content is almost completely separate from lecture material. The tests are another issue. 10 short answer questions that focus narrowly on a specific point rather than a generalized, holistic concept. I read every chapter and took notes on them thoroughly yet the tests are still extremely difficult. No study guides either, so you better understand every little detail and minor concept in each chapter (which he most likely will never mention/teach about in class because he goes off on tangents and does not provide clear notes on the board).

Seiver is the worst professor I've ever had. He is the only professor I've ever met who truly enjoys failing students. I am a finance student taking this econ class, and feel very comfortable with the topics he is going over. It seems like no matter how hard I study, and how well I understand the material, I will not get anything but a 60% on his exams because I chose the wrong word--despite my obvious understanding of the concept he is questioning. I have never felt so passionately that a professor does not belong teaching at Cal Poly, and plan to sit down with the head of the Economics department to get a second opinion on my exam answers, because I am so confident that Seiver's grading is complete horse shit. If nobody enrolls in Seiver's class, maybe we can work together to get him fired. Please do not take Seiver's class; for your own good, and for the greater good of OCOB.

Frankly, the negative reviews on here for this class are overblown. Seiver's lectures are definitely pretty shitty (no structure, terrible notes, he jumps around randomly, lot of bad 'alternative facts' jokes) but if you do all the readings and practice problems his tests are honestly not even that bad. Yes, he docks points if you don't answer very specifically using the terms he wants, and yes it's ridiculous that they are 10 short-answer questions worth 20 points each. But I found no difficulty whatsoever in answering his exam questions - the right answer for them is very obvious if you have any understanding of the material beyond a surface-level skimming. Three of the questions on his first 2 exams were basically gimmes. He literally had questions were the answer was subtraction or multiplication of two given variables. Look - I didn't read any of the chapters till the actual week of the midterms. I averaged a 94 on the first 2 exams. This class certainly isn't a cake walk, but people here bitching about how hard it was are either incompetent or lazy.

As a finance student taking this class, the first exam was nothing to really stress about. However, the second midterm and final were difficult. He gives three exams all worth 200 points and they are formatted the same: 6 conceptual questions and 4 math/graph. Each exam has about 6 chapters or so of information, which does not seem like a lot, but there is an overwhelmingly amount of information to know. Doing the end of chapter problems really helped, but there is still so much he can ask. His lectures go the full two hours and he does not let you be on your phone or laptop so they are a very long two hours. It is a very difficult class and not one I recommend taking unless you have to. You will have to put a decent amount of time into studying for his exams.

Doc Seiver is a genuinely cool guy. He does his best to explain the material you need for the test in a manner that you'd understand. HOWEVER, the class is no joke if you're not an Econ major, or just never really clicked with the material, like me! His class is very informative and I learned a lot, but the material is still challenging. My best advice to you, is learn the material every which way you can, because his tests are the only grades you get. His exams are 10 short essay questions. He wants no bullshit, just to the point. But he also wants you to add any topic that remotely corresponds with that question in your answer. And his grading isn't fair. One person will get 5 points out of 20 for question, while the person next to you practically puts the same thing (or sometimes less than you did) and gets 15...come on Seiver! Anyways, what you should know is, he's a really cool guy, super smart, not the easiest class in my opinion.

My first C and I never thought I'd be so happy to get it. I read every chapter and took VERY detailed notes off of what he said in class. I studied more for this class than all of my other ones combined. But if you don't know a lot of stuff about something he mentioned for a few minutes or even seconds in the class you won't do well. He has a big ego, but he's a chill dude and a good professor. The test questions and how they are graded sucks. Avoid if possible

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. There is no homework or ANY outside work for that matter. Your ENTIRE grade is based off of 3 exam scores, all being 200 pts. If you do bad on one, you are basically SOL. Seiver provides no extra credit or any opportunity to bring your grade up. That being said, his exams are very misleading and some of the topics discussed in lecture that you might think would be on the exam... think again because they probably won't be. His lectures are very unorganized as he goes off on tangents constantly, and then you will be left confused as to what is actually important information and might come up again. Seiver is by far one of the worst professors I have ever had.

This is the second time I've taken this class. I failed the first time because I never showed up to class. All of the content is in the book, but if you go to class and take good notes, the scope of what is necessary to study is significantly smaller. I've gone to every class this quarter and I should end up with a B in the class. I'm not a fan of Seiver's no electronics policy, as I know a lot of students the use of technology can be far more effective than paper and pen. However, this policy forces all the students to pay attention (unless you fall asleep). TL;DR: If you read the book, go to class, and take good notes, you'll do fine.

Seiver is a smart guy. Never miss his lecture if you want to do well. seriously...

Solid class. You'll be challenged but you'll learn a lot. The book is far more difficult than the lectures so read that and you'll do fine.

READ THE BOOK. That is the biggest piece of advice for this class. Read the book and take notes. He draws questions directly from the reading. I had a solid A in the class going into the final and totally bombed the final and ended up with a B+ in the class. Totally my fault. Overall, I learned a lot in the class especially about the housing market collapse. Server can be a little frustrating at times, but tolerable once you get to know him.

Doc's class has definitely been the hardest class I've taken yet. You really need to know the material inside and out for the tests. If you think you can get by with reciting information given to you like most other classes, you probably won't pass. That being said, I've never learned so much in a quarter. If you apply yourself and make this class a priority, you'll be alright. However, if econ is not your major or you want an easy class as your 300 level support course, I'd recommend looking elsewhere. He admittedly makes this class hard and challenges students who, as shown on polyratings, get upset when they don't do well in a class. I thought his class was fair, and while the tests don't always have questions on all of the main topics, every question is something that can be answered by the slides that he presents or well taken notes. Long story short: Hard class but worth taking if you enjoy learning and applying yourself

Docs seems like he'd be a cool guy but is absolutely TERRIBLE. He doesn't speak very loud (and mumbles) so it was always a struggle to figure out what he was saying. He doesn't believe in teaching with power points but will expect you to recall a graph that he showed one time in class. He writes nonsense on the whiteboard and expects you to understand that the chicken scratch has some type of relevance to whatever he's spewing about that day. All his exams are free response, but if you don't answer the question the way HE believes then you're wrong. I went to his office hours once to ask why I got questions wrong on the exam and he told me that I WAS RIGHT but it wasn't the exact answer he was looking for so he wouldn't give me back points. Overall can't lecture for shit and makes a really simple class way more complicated than it needs to be. There's no assignments which is chill be for sure isn't.

Hardest class I've taken at cal poly yet. I got an A in Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting and did more work in those two classes combined to get a B in this class. He's a very hard grader and will take off points wherever possible. That being said, you learn a ton and its a really interesting class. If you want to learn about how our economy works and how the Fed controls it and what happened in the 08-09 recession take this class, just be prepared for a shit ton of work and the possibility of a bad grade.

I've seen so many negative ratings for Seiver on here, it makes no sense. He is an incredibly intelligent professor who does a great job of explaining material. My guess is that most people on here didn't go to class, because he includes important facts in his lectures that aren't in the book. The tests are fair and pretty easy. Just read before class, pay attention in class, and study a moderate amount before his tests. It's that easy. I got a 96 in this class as a Freshman without putting in an insane amount of effort.

Doc is probably one of the best professors you will take at Cal Poly. The class format is 3 tests, thats it. All equally weighted. But he does not put anything on the test he doesn't talk about in class. Write down every single thing he says in class and study what the book says about those things and you will get an A. Also I've never learned more in a class than this one. It actually makes you smarter so take it.

I am an A student. I currently have a 4.0. But I have never worked so hard in a course just to try to figure out what I am supposed to be learning. The lectures are VERY unclear. He consistently rampages about himself and the things he is involved in outside of class. The only points are exams, and even though I attended every class session and read all the chapters in the text I left every exam feeling as though I had bombed it. Additionally, when you go to office hours to try to clarify the already confusing lectures, he interrupts you and never clearly answers the question you are trying to ask. You are lucky to be able to ask your question in its entirety without him going off on a tangent. He does grade the exams fairly, and it is possible to earn a fair amount of partial credit for wrong answers, but preparing the exams and attending class is extremely stressful. This course would be useful and interesting in the hands of any competent professor, but it just isn't when taken with Seiver. All this being said, he is nice, approachable, and extremely intelligent, but I wouldn't recommend his class to many people.

I don't understand why there are so many negative reviews here. He's actually pretty clear in his lectures, and the material is usually interesting and relevant so it's not hard to pay attention. Literally just take good notes and study them before the tests. He doesn't ask insane questions and he's a nice grader. If you don't do well on tests generally maybe don't take this class, since like other people have said your whole grade comes from 2 midterms and the final, but otherwise I'd definitely recommend it.

All you need to do for this class is pay attention and take really detailed notes! It wasn’t bad at all and I actually prefer a class like this where you’re only graded on 3 tests because I was able to focus on just studying. I would low key record his lectures and just re-listen to them and re write my notes to study. I did just fine in the class. His tests are fair and no surprises at all. Don’t buy the book. You will not need it at all. I learned a lot in this class and appreciated that he was very clear and concise on what he was lecturing.

Alright here's the deal with Seiver's Money Banking and Credit class: it's not a walk in the park. That being said, you will get a good grade if you do three things 1: read the book 2: pay attention in lecture 3: actually go to class *gasp* sounds like so much work. In reality if you manage your time effectively and do what you are assigned to do, the work load is more than reasonable and you will do well in this class and learn something that actually is really important and is an application of many ECON and BUS classes. His lecture style isn't for everyone, I'll grant that. He does go off on tangents and sometimes makes some jokes that are just painful, but at the end of the day, Seiver is a great professor for this course. This class is exactly the workload a 4 unit course should be, and if you are Business Finance you should ABSOLUTELY take this class. Finance at Cal Poly has devolved into technical bullshit that is mostly outdated or useless unless you want to impress Investment Banker interviewers, while this class is the application of everything you learn in intro finance courses (342, 431, 439) to the economy at large in a way that is intuitive and leaves you feeling like you actually know something. This is the only course I have taken (along with Gorman's 342) where I felt like I ACTUALLY LEARNED. As far as classes in OCOB, I highly recommend this one, even if it's just auditing the course I think it's an extremely important section of knowledge to have. Knowing what the Fed does, how it works, and how it impacts the economy and businesses and people is extremely pertinent to our lives and if you take this class you'll actually know what's going on.

FUCK THIS GUY!

Read the book, go to class and pay attention, and read the articles he posts on poylearn. If you do those things and have half a brain you will be fine. He's a cringey funny teacher that makes a 2 hour class go by quickly. This was the most valuable class I have taken at cal poly and you will learn a lot about what the Federal Reserve is and why it is important. The tests are all very fair and only go over what he covers in class.