Kersten, Tim  

Dr. Kersten had the greatest ability to always lose track of his lecture and end up talking about the Cubs/Expos game. Hes a cool guy to get to know out of the class, I havent ever seen anyone drink like him

Dr. Kersten is very enthusiastic about his teaching. He get's really into his lectures, although he always goes off on tangents for at least 20-30 minutes everyday. Make sure you read the chapters because the concepts can get difficult. If you don't understand the basics throughout the class, you'll have a lot of trouble throughout the rest of the quarter. The grade is based on 2 quizes and 2 tests, so make sure you do good!!! The first quiz is what screwed up my grade. Overall though, he's a good teacher.

Dr. Kersten tried to make economics interesting but it just isn't possible. The class is based on 2 quizzes and 2 midterms. You screw up on one and your grade is thrown off. It's hard to understand the concepts but if you have to take the class, then Dr. Kersten is the way to go.

Dr. Kersten is a great ECON teacher. He's funny and tries to keep things lively, and about every day he'll go off on some tangent and then say, "Oh, where the hell was I?" He puts extra credit questions on his scantron midterms, so it's easy to bring up your score. Definitely take him.

Dr. Kersten is definitely an interesting lecturer...he can't spell...which was pretty amusing at times and he liked to go way off the subject at hand and throw out random pieces of information that had nothing to do with economics. Basically you have 2 quizzes, a midterm, and a final. The quizzes were actually harder for me than the midterm and final which was surprising. I didn't do to well on the first quiz and unfortunately it ruined my chances of getting a great grade in the class, so watch out! From what I understand he doesn't change his tests at all from semester to semester so if you can get your hands on someone's tests that has had him before it will make it a lot easier, I wish I had! Anyway, Kersten is not that bad of a teacher so if you need the class you might as well take him because he is a nice guy and as long as you study hard for his tests you should do well.

This class was easy. I thought the professor presented the material clearly. The class was based on 2 quizes, 2 midterms and a final. The book that was needed for the class was a must to have. If you don't go to class basically you could read the chapters and if you understand them you'll do pretty good. I thought Professor Kersten did a very good job presenting the material even though he gets side-tracked a lot! But he's a pretty easy and good professor. I recommend taking him.

Dr. Kersten is a very intellegint man. He knows alot about alot, too bad he tries to share all of his knoledge with the students instead of sticking to the subject. He lectures straight out of the book except he fills the lecture with meaningless ancedotes and stories. His tests are easy. Going to class sometimes left me more confused and reading the book clarrified the topic. Skip class read the book and show up for the tests and u will do fine.

prof. kersten is a really good prof. he actually turned out to be my best this quarter. he makes econ interesting and his analogies are entertaining. as long as you read and understand the materials, the lectures make perfect sense and are taken directly from the text. quizzes, midterm and final are somewhat difficult...you must at least do the readings to do well...lectures just tend to be a supplement to the reading however what he lectures about are the key points in the text that will be on his tests! good luck :)

this class is pretty difficult. dr kersten does a good job of presenting the material and he is very funny at times. The class is comprised of two quizzes(combined the quizzes equal the midterm) a midterm and final. his tests(especially the first quiz) are hard. he lectures straight out of the book and his tests are supposed to cover the book concepts. however kersten always seems to find a way to come up with difficult tests. the average grade is a C, there are a few Bs and even fewer As. pluses and minuses are not awarded. the best advice is to know the book inside and out and be prepared to think!

Dude, alright for an Econ teacher, I would say hes pretty good. His lectures are, well weird. The material is straight from the book, if you look at your book while he talks, he says almost exactly the same thing as the book, almost word for word. He's definately extremely knowledgable, and he makes sure that you know he is. Half the lecture is Econ, half the lecture is philosphy, math, history, basically everything else he knows that isn't Econ. I went to class and skimmed the book. You don't really need to do both cause they are the same thing. It's kind of entertaining to watch him go off on all his tangents, but he teaches you Econ pretty well, and its obvious he knows tons about the subject. Make sure you understand what he is talking about though, ask questions if you have to. But NEVER answer the questions he asks in class, no matter how much you think you know the right answer... you don't!!! He will find some way to make it seem like you are only partly correct at most, and then say the exact same thing you said, but in different words. Oh ya, also he doesn't do +/- grading either, unless you "improve" throughout the quarter and end up with like an 89% or something. I would say to take him though, overall he is a pretty good teacher.

This guy knows his stuff, but also knows everything about every other subject so he goes off on tangents all the time. The class is made up of 2 60 point tests (each with 5 e.c q's)and 2 30 point quizzes. His tests and quizzes are relatively fair with only a couple tricky questions. He outlines the reading during in class and his lectures are pretty entertaining. If you can be patient with his tangents I recommend this professor for Econ 221.

Dr. Kersten is a funny guy! Some of the lectures are kind of dry, it's Econ of course, but overall I enjoyed having him as a teacher. His only fault is that he tends to go on some random tangents about really weird things. I found myself listening to him talk about wildebeasts and cavemen, and then 20 minutes into this tangent he stopped and said, "woah, where was I going with this? well, anyways..." Some of the things he talks about are quite amusing! His class consists of 2 quizzes (each worth 30 points) a midterm (worth 60 points) and a final (worth 60 points). If you read the book, listen in class, and do the practice tests in the book, you should have no problem. I got a B on my first quiz, and I didn't study much for it. I just reviewed my notes and did the practice test he handed out (I didn't have my book yet). I studied the book and the quizzes and some of my notes from class for the midterm and pulled off an A. So if you're somewhat motivated to study a little here and there, you should have no problem in this class. If you have to take econ, I suggest you take it with Kersten...he'll make you laugh!

Dr. Kersten definetley knows about economics, but has a tendency to get off topic. If you like hearing little stories about random stuff, hes a good teacher. Our class (ECON 221), was based off two quizzes, and two midterms, all of which were not extremely difficult, but tricky. If you dont study, you probably wont do well, but if you study and go to class, an A or a B is not hard to get.

Kersten is an asshole. He makes stupid jokes and he's basically the only one who laughs. His lecture are directly out of the book, but then he adds his own strange tangents and stories. I DO NOT recommend Kersten as a teacher because he is so boring and weird. If you do decide to take him though, don't go to class. His lecture will only leave you confused and wishing you were someplace else.

Kersten was a pretty good teacher. He's obviously a really smart guy, which means he goes off on weird tangents a lot. The lectures are alright most of the time, a still slow at times though. If you ask a dumb question be prepared for a sarcastic answer. The tests were really easy though. There's no excuse for getting below a B in there.

Okay, let me just tell you now that sometimes this guy gets a little off topic. If you're not paying attention for a second, you will be completely lost. Sometimes you don't need to go to his lectures, but definently read the book. Outline the chapters and you'll be fine on the tests. Go to lectures to clarify, if you need to. After the first test, don't slack off because the second one is a lot harder. Overall, just read the book.

Is this guy RETARDED or something??? Seriously, I think he must have some sort of brain damage. Not only is he way outdated, but he wastes countless hours of students lives babbling about shit no one cares about. I do kinda feel sorry for the guy, but I most definitely would not reccomend him as a teacher.

So Kersten was an alright professor. He rambles on about various random tangents that do not pertain to the material of the class but can be interesting sometimes. He tries to joke around, and I actually found him hilarious but mostly I think it was cuz I felt sorry for him that no one was laughing with him when he'd crack a corny joke. There is no homework in the class. The grade consists of midterms and a final. All multiple choice. If you go to class every day and take notes there is no need to read the textbook. Though it is still helpful to buy in order to clarify key terms and take the practice quizes. Some of the quiz questions in the chapter reviews from the text appear on the midterms. So always take those quizes and take the ones online too. If you do this, this class can be a fairly easy A.

He knows econ, but can't teach it. Kersten is an increadibly ineffective teacher. Half the class never went, and the people who did were studying out of the book. If you want an easy grade take him but be prepared to sit through the worst lectures on campus. If you're really interested in learning Econ, I reccoment another professor.

If you are hard of hearing and need to listen to stupid jokes, this is the man for you. He talks SO LOUD, you have to have skill to fall asleep. He also has many tangents about history and things that don't pertain to anything, but he's just trying to emphasize thing's importance I suppose. He really isn't a bad teacher, and when he actually gets to lecturing, heexplains htings well and writes easy to follow notes on the board. The tests I believe are very fair and esay, I got a high A on all of them. Make sure to take the online quizzes because some of his questions mirror those. No, but overall, he isn't a bad teacher and it's VERY possible to get an A. Lectures aren't necessary if you take the effort to read the book, but I always found it easier to go and not read at all. No homework is nice. Take him, things could be worse.

Kersten seems like a really nice guy. He seems incredibly intellegent, but I don't think that he's a very good teacher. I think he assumes that everyone should know what he's talking about all the time. He is hard to follow, and it is incredibly hard to decipher what notes should be taken, because he is constantly going off on random tangets that are/seem irrelevent. All of his tests included many subjective questions, and the whole class is based on 2 quizes, a midterm and a test. The tests are very hard, especially because the lectures don't always match what the book is talking about. If econ is interesting to you, and you don't like a lot of homework, this cloass is for you. But if you are like me and like some extra points thrown in the mix, I wouldn't recommend Kersten because the tests are hard and your grade is based on the tests alone.

i only went to this class because i had a class immediately prior to his. he is pretty unprepared when lecturing. if you can read the book, lecture then becomes optional. it wasn't a pain of a class, but it's a dry, dull, and boring topic...so what do you expect? there are worse professors, so if you take him, it's all good.

WORST TEACHER I have EVER had! I am not exagerating at all. He rambles on about whoknows what and then 2 hours later you are now dumber. He is a terrible econ teacher, Take ANYONE ELSE! I am Warning you. BOYCOTT THIS TEACHER. He isn't mean, but he shouldn't be allowed to teach. Send someone in to screen this guy! His tests suck, and thats all you are graded on, 2 mids and a final. Enjoy!

All i have to say is this is the stupidest fucking teacher that i have ever had!

WOW, how loud does this guy talk. my first advice is to sit in the back so you don't lose your hearing. he is a RAMBLER. i bet we could have finished this class after 8 weeks if we didn't have to listen to his weird stories all the time. the key to doing well in his class is to study the summaries in the the book because that is basically the tests. he gives 2 quizzes(60), a midterm(60), and a final(60) (180 points total for the class). study quiz 1 for the midterm, and study quiz 2 for the final. this class sucks because it is so boring, but just do those things and you are set.

Dont Take him for Macro. He's usually a history of econ teacher as he says and he means it. Thats all he talked about. He had very messy overheads which was the only source in class that actually had to do with the class. His grading scale is fair but you have to just read the book because going to class is just frustrating

I really like his class. The tests, there are only 2 quizes, a midterm and a final, are not that bad. His lectures do get off topic quite often but they are semi relavent, mostly history things. He is one of those teachers who you can tell knows a lot about a lot of things. I would take him again for another econ class.

Kersten was very knowledgable but boring as heck. He really likes to laugh at his own jokes which arent very funny. however, his lectures are pretty straightforward so if you do the reading and listen in class, you should be fine. the tests are all multiple choice with extra credit and they arent very hard. he isnt a terrible teacher but if you have the choice, take a more interesting teacher.

I only went to the first day of class, the four test dates and got a B. His lecture on day 1 was the most dredful thing i ever listened to. reade the chapters and most importantly do the tests at the end of each one. If you do the practice online quizzes the book gives you there is no way you can get below a B. Dont waste your time!!! if you take kersten dont sit through his class you could do so many other useful things like plant a tree or sleep or anything. His class is just a waste of time

Kersten is probably one of the best lecturers, although, what he lectures on isn't always about macroeconomics. He is usually a history of econ teacher and a lot of the time he goes in that direction. He knows exactly what he is lecturing about, he doesn't have any powerpoints, he has notes that I never saw him look at, and he rarely pauses to think what to talk about next. Only about 1/2 of the students attended his lectures. His grade consists of 2 quizzes, 1/6 of your grade each, and two tests, 1/3 of your grade each. He doesn't curve or anything. The textbook he uses has tons of online study help, so if you're willing to put in the study time you should do well. But know that if you screw up on the first quiz, you'll never get those points back. I'd recommend Kersten if you're looking to learn, but definitely not an easy grade.

I really liked this teacher. He thikns he is so funny and always goes off on tangents but his class is easy. All you have to do is do the practice quizzes at the end of each chapter and online and you'll be fine. I never went to class, just read the book and I was fine. The whole course grade is just 2 quizzes, a midterm and final. Take this teacher I recommend him because the class is easy.

He was the worst teacher I have ever had. He couldn't understand how anyone did not understand Econ as clearly as he did. He was rude to me when I asked for help. He made me feel like I better not show up to his office hours. He goes off on tangents in class for about twenty minutes at a time. The only good thing for this class was he didn't give any homework. I would never recommend him to anyone.

He is pretty straight forward. The class is out of 180 pts. He has two quizzes, 30pts. each and the midterm and final are 60pts. each. He does not curve either. He doesn't require attendance but I went to class anyway because it saved me from reading the book. He does talk about random things and goes off on tangents about history, engineering, math, or whatever comes to mind. I definitely recommend him if you are the kind of person that does well taking tests because there is no h.w. to boost your grade.

Kersten is an overall good guy that knows his econ. Theres no homework, 2 quizzes, a midterm, and a final. The class is basically straight foreward.

Kersten is awesome for 222. After the first few classes only about 10 people showed up regularly. Go to class about half the time just to make sure you're on track (he follows his syllabus: 1-2 easy-read chapters/week). His lectures are straight from the book. Trust me, just read the book and DO THE PRACTICE QUIZZES at the end of each chapter. His midterms are pretty much verbatim from those. He doesn't ask pointless, minute detail questions. It's all about the obvious main concepts, and if you don't get those you probably shouldn't be in college. All my friends took him after me and did great.

I didn't really study; tests and quizzes were almost all on fridays (I had better things to do thursday night) but when I actually did study....and I realllly did for the final, I must have done something right because my grade impossibly went up to a B (from a C?). you really never have to go to class; sometimes its completely pointless for the first hour anyway because he'll go on and on about a coin or some random bit of info that you'll never actually have to know. just do the quizzes at the end of the chapters, skim over them a little, and do the quizzes online. half of the questions are the same as those!!! like word-for-word the same. kerstens a pretty cool dude though, too bad i think he just retired :)

OK. He's a nice guy and tries to be funny which makes you think his tests will be easy. WRONG!!!! This is the first D I've ever gotten. His tests are half multiple choice, half essay. The multiple choice are extremely specific. Like you better know EVERY detail of what happened in all of the economic history of the world. For his essays he will pick two subjects that you need to thoroughly expound upon...neither of which he thoroughly covers in class. Interesting class, unreasonable tests.

Someone below said that you better know everything about economic history for his tests, and they were definitely right. The stuff you learn in the class is cool but the tests are ridiculous. Kersten is like a machine because he can remember dates and information off the top of his head during his lectures, but his downfall is that he expects you to be able to do that on the tests. His tests are 50% multiple choice and 50% essay and there is one midterm and one final. Everyone in our class did horrible on the multiple choice because the questions are so specific. Kersten gave the option of an only essay final because enough people complained about the multiple choice. Your lecture notes only amount to about 40% of the test and the rest is from the book or from stuff he thinks you should know but he never talked about. The book is horrible because it's not like a normal textbook. I took this class to fulfill my econ minor and I don't recommend this class to anyone. Everyone in this class studied so long for the tests and received mediocre grades. ONLY TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU HAVE TO!

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ARE REQUIRED TO.

I had Kersten for Econ 222 and Econ 322. I really enjoyed both classes. He is just a straight forward guy who teaches a straight forward class. He doesn't deal with busy work or homework or anything like that...he lectures, you can go to class if you want, and then you take a test. This method of teaching is what I would expect from an upper division college course, so i enjoyed it because it didn't require much more besides going to class and reading the book before tests. He is a nonchalant guy who just likes to shoot the shit. You can get him going on a tangent very easily, which is entertaining a lot of the time. Still, he manages to get the material across very effectively and concisely, which i appreciate. I recommend this guy. If you're a real college student and can handle your shit, you'll have no problems with him at all.

Dope professor, definitely knows his stuff. If you know to get the notes, and you study hard for the two tests you'll do fine.

His lectures are pretty dry, but economic history is tough to keep interesting. But, it's obvious he is very knowledgeable. His tests are essay and based entirely on his lectures, and, after a huge cramming session, they're not to bad. Just keep in mind that your grade is based on 50% midterm and 50% final, so don't screw up.

This guy is alright. You have to read the books to get the multiple choice, and if you don't enjoy economics and history, tough shit. If you can stay interested he is a pretty good lecturer. Don't mind the angry pissed off business majors who actually had to study for his tests. Unless you are a crank pissed off business major, in which case, again, tough shit.

During this entire quarter all I could think about was how this professor reminded me of that small little dog that runs through the back of scene 23 in The Incredibles by Pixar. Seriously, if you look it up you will only be able to see it...