Hoover, Benjamin  

Hoover is the worst professor I have had. He has no personality and is very hard to approach.All all of the quizzes and finals are short answer only. He only accepts answers that are the specific words that he wants, and he addresses what he wants in a really unclear way in class. I went to his office hours once, and he was actually very nice, but I don't understand his grading policy. You can answer a question correctly, but if it's not the specific one or two words he is looking for you'll end up bombing all of the tests.

Dr. Hoover is an extremely intelligent and very sensible professor. He only tests on what he gives you in class, which is super nice. The tests demanded a lot of information out of you, but if you study exactly what he gives you, you'll be prepared. He can get a little boring while he lectures because he's in his scientific mode but he's way more chill in lab.

Hoover is very thorough with the course topic and every single tiny detail ever imaginable pertaining to plant propagation, but it is exhausting. There is so much insignificant information that the important stuff is lost. He is boring. A super nice and extremely smart guy, but he has an extremely boring way of presenting information. He also expects you to regurgitate the information as it was presented to you word for word and the truth of the matter is that some of this information is pointless. It is raw information with no vehicle for reinforcement or emphasis on it's urgency. Be prepared to study a lot if you want to get a good grade. This class is 100% memorization.

Very clear expectations. I don't understand why anyone would struggle with the material. Easy labs and easy tests. Just review for 20 minutes before YE quiz for a B

This class is extremely difficult and requires a lot of time to study. You get 18-20 plants per week (almost 200 plants total) that you need to memorize the common and scientific name of, and know some things about each plant. Tests and quizzes are short answer, and he lets you use your notes for the pop quizzes. Midterm and final are very difficult since you are not allowed to use any notes and he asks very specific questions about one specific plant. I will most likely have to retake this class next year.

Hoover is a very smart and nice guy who clearly knows a lot about the subject he is teaching. However, I feel that his grading policy is way too tough. He expects you to memorize minute details, and attendance is practically 80% of your grade. He has 4 quizzes throughout the quarter, and does not tell you when they are, and INTENTIONALLY gives them on days when the most amount of students are absent. His quizzes and tests will also contain questions about little details that you would only know if you showed up to lecture and payed attention the entire time. Realistically if you are expecting to get a B or higher, you must attend every lecture. Throughout the quarter you will learn 18-20 new plants every week. In lab, you will have to be able to memorize the botanical (latin), as well as common name for each plant based on looking at it. Each week is cumulative, so by week 5 you will have to be able to ID roughly 90-100 different plants. It is difficult, but definitely doable, just a lot of memorization. I enjoyed the lab for this class, I had Professor Hoffman. Every day you will walk around campus and learn each weeks new plants. Lecture with Hoover can be boring however, and like I said earlier, he takes attendance very seriously, and he will take your absences very personally and your grade will begin to suffer.

He;s the fucking best. I love him. so much

Dr. Hoover is great. From all the classes I have taken with him I have gained more knowledge of horticulture and other things than from any other professor or class in the HCS department. From horticultural production techniques, I have learned so much about horticulture. From experimental techniques and analysis, I feel like I have learned more about stats than I ever did in 218; he really puts it into laymans terms very well and helps us understand the importance of certain techniques and the whens and whys of using certain tests. I now feel much more equipped to design and run an experiment on my own. Anyone who gives Dr. Hoover a bad rating is honestly probably not putting in enough effort. His classes are very fair, and he is never trying to trick people. His classes require hard work, but it is worth it, as the knowledge provided is what we are here to learn. The work is challenging but it is very reasonable, and the secret to success is going to class and paying close attention, as well as taking good notes (on what he says and writes). He is also a shy and slightly awkward person, but dont let this discourage you; he cares about his students and would love to help you if you are stuck or have any questions about anything horticulture/stats related.

I learned that if I were to take up hunting, I should shoot deer, not bears, because a bear will hunt me back if I successfully wound it. Fascinating! I didnt know that the key to production and operations management was so brutally simple!