McDowell, Jim  

Professor McDowell truly wants his students to succeed both in his class and in life. He has plenty of relevant experience in the accounting field. The coursework can be challenging, but he takes the time to go over all of the homework before turning it in. His tests are generally much easier than his assignments. If you can take his class, DO IT! This course convinced me to pursue a concentration in accounting.

He really cares about his students! If you need help, he is always willing to help you out. His coursework can be tough, but it's definitely worth it. He's been my favorite teacher in OCOB so far! Take his class for 214!

Best professor I've had thus far at Cal Poly. He truly cares about his students and will go out of his way to help you out. He had everyones name down by the 3rd week of class, which his something that many professors never even attempt. Very clear homework policies and the tests are fair. Our class loved "Jimbo" and I personally loved the fact that he would mix in some real life insight into our classroom discussions. Down to earth guy who I would recommend to everyone.

Jim McDowell is an amazing BUS 214 teacher. The homework is not super difficult and practically every problem is solved in class the next day. The tests are extremely fair and he does a great job at explaining all the material. Jimbo cares about all of his students and is honestly one of the best professors I've had at Cal Poly.

Professor McDowell is the best professor I have had at Cal Poly up to this point. Student success is his number one priority, and it shows in how much time he devotes to the class and office hours. He has a ton of real-world experience in every facet of accounting and finance, and brings this knowledge into his lectures. If you have the chance, take McDowell for 214.

He is amazing. Take him!!!! He really cares. Just be prepared to go to class everyday.

Professor McDowell is the best teacher I've had throughout my entire schooling career. He truly cares about each one of his students, and makes every effort to make sure that everybody understands the material. I came out of this class with a very strong fundamental understanding of accounting, which I know will help me down the road tremendously. If you invest your time by going to class and doing the assignments, this class is an easy A. McDowell is just such a down to earth guy and very easy to talk to. I wasn't even considering going into accounting, but after having taken this class I might declare it. Overall this is an excellent course taught by a great guy.

Hands down one of the best teachers I have ever had in my life. He is so great at teaching not only about accounting but also gives helpful life lessons during the class. Be prepared to work hard and to go to class every day.

Hands down one of the best instructors I've ever had. McDowell is great at conveying the material effectively and keeping the homework tied to the lecture/chapter. He is passionate about his job and makes financial accounting as interesting as it can be. Do the required reading and homework and you will do well.

Oh Jim...

This class is 100% what you put into it. McDowell was one of the kindest, smartest professors I've ever had at poly. He truly cares about his students and makes an effort to make sure everyone understands the material. His tests can be hard, but I have always felt prepared for each midterm. Take McDowell and you will actually learn to appreciate accounting

Professor McDowell is by far the best professor I have had at Cal Poly and I don't say that lightly considering I haven't had a problem with most of my professors. He is such a kind individual and truly wants to see his students succeed as individuals and in school. He makes all the course material relevant and communicates it in a way that everyone understands. He is truly an amazing professor. The best part of class is when he acts like your dad and gives life lessons. The course consists of 2 midterms and a final. READ THE CHAPTERS AND TAKE NOTES. You get points for going to class so its a gimme. Do your homework thoroughly too or the exams will be difficult. 100000/10 would recommend this class!

Professor McDowell is one of the BEST professors I've had at Cal Poly. He knows how to explain things very clearly and will make sure you understand everything. He engages the class and made it interesting to go to (even for my 8am class). He gives 2 midterms (20% of your grade each), a final (40%) homework (which he goes over in class before you turn it in (10%)) and attendance (10%). If you show up everyday and do the homework, there's no reason why you shouldn't get at least a B. His tests are all multiple choice and very self-explanatory. I would absolutely recommend him for BUS 214 and I will be taking him next quarter for BUS 215 as well!!!

An absolutely amazing professor!!! Definitely take him if possible. He is so nice and intelligent! Not only does he want his students to succeed in financial accounting, but also to learn real life lessons and knowledge that will benefit them in the future. He knows the subject extremely well and makes the class very understandable. If you put in the time and the work, you'll get a lot out of this class.

Great teacher. Very knowledgeable and makes the material super clear. But you HAVE to put in the time during homework and readings. Wish he'd use PolyLearn though.....

Professor McDowell is GREAT! I absolutely loved being in his class. He has so much real world experience that lends incredibly well to what he is teaching. It is definitely not the easiest class in the world and he's not the kind of teacher to just handout good grades. He really cares about his students and wants them to really get the material. His passion for accounting is very obvious in his teaching. I was never bored in his class as he kept us constantly engaged with his stories and examples from his own businesses. He is also INSANELY encouraging. I think I had him tell me I would make a great CPA almost every class. I really came out of his class understanding the material and now I am declaring Accounting as my concentration because of my experience in his class! It is really important to stay on top of your reading/notes prior to lecture because it will make the lessons make sooo much more sense and the in class exercises will be easier to get through. make sure you are doing the homework too. He does collect it and grade it but doing the exercises (especially the excel questions) make it a lot easier to understand the processes and help with studying for the tests. I would absolutely recommend taking his classes. You will have to work hard but he makes it easier to understand and just an overall great experience!

JIMBO!!! I had McDowell for my first accounting class ever, and he really sparked my interest in accounting. His class is fairly structured. On the first class of the week, we go over the material, and on the second day, we go over the homework and do some practice problems. Jimbo always answered questions thoroughly and was so nice in office hours. He genuinely cares about his students, and always checks in on how we're doing. His dad-like advice was enduring, and he was very thoughtful. We had two midterms, homework, and one final. All was very fair. He even had a review session for the final which was super helpful. Take Jimbo if you get the chance. You won't regret it.

McDowell knows his shit and is a fantastic teacher. His class isn't that easy though. Two midterms, final, and homework assignments once a week determine your grade. Don't miss class or you'll get super behind. Read the book and take the homework seriously and you should do good. His tests are pretty difficult and are formatted differently than the homework so that is a struggle but if you read the book thoroughly you should be good. Super nice guy who wants to help out his students and really knows what he is talking about. Would recommend for sure!

Mc Dowell is probably my favorite professor I've had so far and I loved every day of his class! He is super supportive and caring of his students and will go out of his way to help you understand and do well in the course. Definitely take his class if you got the opportunity, he's amazing and made me love accounting!

Great professor.

Knows how to teach the class

He is very strict, but he genuinely wants everyone to succeed. As long as you do the reading and homework, it will not be an extremely difficult class.

Professor McDowell was a fantastic Financial Accounting teacher! He can teach the material very well and he definitely outlines the tests pretty well! He sets his class up with a lecture of the chapter for one class then group work the next class which was really helpful until the end of the quarter which was crammed. Now the thing that bugged me about his class was that he ALWAYS "randomly" called on the same groups and had a clear favoritism towards a couple students. It was very annoying to hear the same people over and over again and literally hear him praise them. Also he make little to no accommodations for students :/ His class is definitely not an easy A, you really need to read, do the homework and go to every lecture to get a good grade.

McDowell reminds me of more of a dad than a professor, he is super knowledgable in his realm and wants his students to succeed. Although, this class is no joke. If you fall behind on the reading the class will pass you up. The homework is time consuming although you go over it as a class the next day. The midterms are also quite challenging yet there is usually time for review! Put in the work and you will get the grade you want. McDowell is great!

Wow. Jimbo is the most conceited asshole I've met in education. He teaches at most a quarter of the chapter he is supposed to cover each lecture and spends half the time talking about his past or nonaccounting business topics that he has no business teaching. He also loves to ask the class questions then yell at everyone for being too loud when we answer. If you have a choice, steer clear. What a waste of my time and money to have this waste of a professor's salary blow hot air for 40 hours.

Absolutely amazing! I love his class. I already took accounting classes before and kinda of had an idea what financial accounting was about, but he definitely clarified many parts of the material that I was confused on. Definitely dummy downs the accounting so we can understand. Midterms, multiple choice and true/false, were fairly easy as long as you study and work for them. I am looking forward to taking "Intermediate Accounting" with him!!

Professor McDowell is awesome, and I definitely enjoyed 214! McDowell knows how to make accounting interesting and engage the class through his lectures, I am truly impressed by his presentation of the course material. With that being said, however, it's super easy to fall behind and get lost, so it is imperative that you keep up with the readings, take good notes, and do the homework. He didn't do reading quizzes with our section, so you have to hold yourself accountable for not falling behind with the readings. If you can't figure out debits and credits, the class will be nearly impossible, as it is a major part of each chapter! There are two midterms, a final, and weekly homework assignments, so I'd say that this class definitely requires dedicating a fair amount of time beyond the class lectures. I don't think that it's terribly difficult to get an A if you really put in the time and effort, and reach out to McDowell when you need help. Best of luck!

I took Prof. McDowell for BUS 214 and 215. I have to say that he was EXCELLENT for 214. I would give him a 10/10. However, for 215, he seems to have lost a little charm. He lectures well but he races through the examples and the practice questions. He had finished the problem by the time me and my peers had time to even read the question. He is a down to earth guy with a lot of funny idioms and definitely wants his students to succeed. I highly recommend him for either class, but be prepared to work your ass off. Every grade I get in this class I earn.

Good ol Jim. Seriously love this guy. He makes me laugh literally every class and actually cares about his students asking about their day and just being hella chill. The course material is fricking hard but he helps you as much as possible and answers all your questions. Just get a good group of students around you to help you out. You have to try in this class but it shouldn't be hard to get away with at least a B. Great Professor take him. Also barely any homework, just a crap ton of reading lol but you have to read a lot with this subject anyways. Love u Prof!!!

McDowell's class is challenging. However, he is one of the most respectable professors I have ever had. He treats his students like adults and is really willing to help especially in office hours. He says very funny sayings too that I have never heard in my life such as: Let us get out of the trees and look at the forest I'm smoking a different brand We're drinking from a firehouse here. I hope you're thirsty We really stubbed our toe You go home and there's not enough beer in the fridge Why don't you reassemble the womb Some of this information is about as exciting as watching paint dry; it's not titillating Business is like a greased fire pole; if you aren't climbing up, you're probably slipping down

Ahh this guy is a total dad. Great guy to talk to about life with and a pretty decent teacher. It was his first time teaching 215 and I could tell it was hard for him but overall I think the dude did his best. He whips out so many dad phrases that just make you giggle your heart out too which is nice.

Love this guy as a person, but I've got to say this is probably the hardest class at cal poly and I'm not sure he recognizes that. I've never gotten a C in my whole life and I got a C+ this quarter. He reads off the powerpoint provided by the publisher, and although he knows his stuff I wish he did more problems and showed us before giving us problems we don't know how to do right after lecturing. Again, great guy who wants you to well, but I put a ton of work in this class and still I had an incredibly hard time with the tests and was often surprised to see things I didn't think we had been taught

McDowell isn't a bad guy. He seems to care about our success but at the same time he seemed to get irritated that our class wasn't picking up the material as well as he'd have liked. He would even put 100% of the blame on the class for any poor performance. You can also tell this guy is a stringent rule follower. He has zero tolerance for student excuses or difficulties. If you miss an assignment you will not get a second chance (no matter what), and if you're a couple minutes late to class there's a good chance you'll get marked absent. Despite him being such a hard ass (which I'm sure he's aware of but always defends by saying "this is what it's like in the real world") he isn't a terrible teacher (although sometimes he goes through problems faster than you can keep up and expects you to have a much deeper understanding of the material than he teaches) That being said, his lectures are ONLY supplements to the textbook. BE SURE to put in work. You can't just "get a feel" for the concepts and expect to do well on the exams especially because on the exams you will be given a short amount of time relative to the amount of problems given (this is where I struggled most). If you put in a good effort you will probably get your B but getting an A is definitely not easy. Just remember your excuses are useless with this guy and if you want an easy A it won't be with McDowell.

Love this guy as a person, but I've got to say this is the hardest business class I’ve taken at cal poly and I'm not sure he recognizes that. I've never gotten a C in my whole life and I got a C+ this quarter. He reads off the powerpoints provided by the publisher, and although he really does knows his stuff and is successful, I wish he did more problems and showed us before assigning us classwork problems we don't know how to do immediately after lecturing about concepts. Again, great guy who wants you to well, but I put a ton of work in this class and still I had an incredibly hard time with the tests and was often surprised to see things I didn't think we had been taught

First off, I want to say that accounting is definitely not my thing; I'm not very good at it and was dreading taking this class. That said, McDowell ended up being a good choice of professor for this class. He's a hard professor, but he's fair. Don't go into this class expecting an easy A, but if you put in the work, you'll do well. McDowell isn't very accommodating (e.g. doesn't give out powerpoint slides so you have to attend class, only allows a few excused absences, no electronics whatsoever in class, makes you buy an expensive e textbook as well as the hard copy of the book). The class is set up so the midterm is worth 30% and the final is worth 50% and the remaining 20% is homework. If you're not a strong test taker, this class may not be for you, but his tests are not unfair and pretty accurately reflect the material on the practice quizzes / study guides he gives out. A B is definitely doable, an A will require a little more work. Overall, I wouldn't necessarily recommend McDowell, but if he's your only option he's not too bad.

PROS: Professor McDowell is a solid professor. That about sums it up. CONS: The connect software for homework was somewhat ineffective at teaching concepts and reinforcing what was learned in class and was nothing like the tests. Also, the class was boring, half the time I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and I think it was McDowell himself because managerial is not a boring subject in my opinion. HOW TO GET THE A: Getting an A in the class is pretty easy. It really is a show-up, read, do homework, practice a little bit and ace the test. I understand that for some, managerial accounting can be hard to understand in which case I would talk to the professor. Otherwise, I think it is easier than financial for sure. Do the quizzes that he gives you and do the foundational fifteen again before the tests. Also, you need to actually read the textbook, because a lot of the test are annoying true/false questions that rely on solid conceptual understanding.

Some of the reviews make McDowell sound a little rough. I have to say the class was super straightforward and McDowell does a good explaining things. He wants all of his students to well and that is clear. I enjoyed his class this past quarter and would definitely recommend him for BUS 215

Such a dad. Professor McDowell is not only great at teaching accounting, but he also offers his students life advice and genuinely wants us to succeed. I did not expect to like accounting, but he gave me an interest in it. Coming to each class and taking notes is key to getting a good grade, as he doesn’t use PolyLearn to post his lectures. Take McDowell!! This was one of the best classes I’ve ever taken.

Fuck this guy. Id like to stick my tounge up his ass.