Pollard, Richard  

Statistics

3.67/4.00

21 evaluations


STAT 217


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Apr 2003
Professor Pollard did a great job in lecture. I was able to understand everything perfectly and rarely had to read the book. It definitely helps to reinforce your understanding of the topic though if you do complete the reading assingments and the homework.

STAT 218


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
Dr. Pollard is a very nice person and fills his lectures with lots of examples. But, I did not find him to be that good of a teacher. I walked out of lectures very confused a lot of the time. The quizzes are very easy as long as you do the homework, but some things on the tests come as a surprise. He was helpful in his office hours and is a very understanding person, but I just did not think he communicated the information well enough for the tests.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2004
Stats is boring...there's no doubt about that! But I understood all of it at least with Pollard who really does a great job in presenting this info clearly. He is in love with minitab so get to know that well. His tests are straight-forward, the final was pretty hard however, but other than that, he's a great guy and made it an easy to understand class. I would take him again.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Nov 2004
he is sooooooooo boring, omg so boring. hes like a calculater zombie. but hes nice, class was easy. Dont raise your hand cause he wont see it, he goes into stat mode and becomes seperated from earth. if youve never taken stats this class is easy and straight forward but if you have ever taken math you will sometomes wonder if you are in 5th grade math again.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Jan 2005
Pollard is a good statistics teacher. He gives good notes and tells you exactly what sections and what types of problems will be on the midterms. He also drops a quiz which a couple problems straight from the homework. He grades fairly and doesn't penalize you if you made an error but had the concept right. He also has some Minitab assignments but they aren't too hard to figure out. His midterms were fair and were not that hard. His final was long and cumlative but it wasn't too hard if you studied. His class can be boring at times but overall he did a good job teaching it.

STAT 251


Junior
A
Required (Support)
Oct 1999
Probably the best Stat teacher at Cal Poly. He simply lectures the material in a logical understandable manner. You will learn pretty much all you need to know from his ability to lecture well. Time saved not reading the sorry text!!! A great benefit. Tests are straightforward and fairly easy when you get right down to it.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2000
He is the best stat teacher.. he explains everything so clearly and slowly that you will understand everything. He is also very helpful in office hours. I know of some students who went along in STAT-252 and still went to him for help. Take him. He's a great teacher..


Freshman
A
General Ed
Apr 2000
incredibly fucking easy


Junior
B
Required (Support)
May 2000
Dr. Pollard is quite simple the bet Statistics Professor at Cal Poly!. His simple straight forward technique make the material easy to understand and logical. Theres no need to even read the book. I've been told that the whole stat department is horrible, which is probably true with the exeption of Dr. Polard. If you must take stats take this guy.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Jun 2000
For the first time, I did not sit dumbfounded as the teacher completly went over my head with the mathematical lecture. This professer is a true professor. He is there to teach and does a very good job of it. He teached the essentials only and then specically quizzes and tests on the exact type of questions you learned. I wish all classes and teachers were as straightforward as this. I am not the best at math and either I get it or I don't. I got it and you will be lucky if you see this mans name in the schedule- and if you do JUMP at the chance!


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
This teacher is the best! He lectures well and if you are going to take stats this is the man to take. His midterms are the same every year except he changes the numbers around, so find someone that had him before and study off that.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
Professor Pollard is extremely knowledgable and organized. His instruction was always clear and I never had any problems having my questions answered. I could not recommend a better stats teacher.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
Professor Pollard is great, and I would recommend him to anyone and everyone. Just be careful-- a lot of his test questions are about the broader concepts, not just their application, so make sure you really understand what's going on, not just how to do it.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Apr 2001
Never in my life have I been presented math-type (I say this because I am NOT a math person) information is such a clear, helpful manner. Although attendance was not required, this class was ALWAYS packed. Professor Pollard's lectures were straightforward, time-efficient, and something I refused to miss. I never even bothered to read the next book, everything I needed was in my notes. There were no big surprises on the tests, either. Attend class daily, stay caught up with homework, and this class is a breeze.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Moderated Comment
Mr. Pollard comes off like a mal-nourished Somolian child, but however hes a real cool British guy. ... Real easy class if you try. ...


Junior
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2002
I was dreading taking Stat 251. Fortunatley I took an early priority(which you almost have to do to get into one of his classes) and was able to have Dr. Pollard as a teacher. Dr. Pollard IS the best teacher in the Stats department. He is clear, helpful in office hours, and never did I come out of lecture confused. The midterms were similar to the homework problems, and I thought the final was not bad at all(even though it was 40% of our grade..just a lot to study since its cumulative)!. My friends that took other professors for stats 251 were struggling and hated stats. I came out of Pollard's class with the a concrete understanding and liking for statistics(which I never thought would be possible)! If Pollard is teaching anything(he is a part-time professor) and you need the class don't miss the opportunity to have him as a teacher. I can say that he genuinely wants all of his students to do well. You won't regret it..I didn't. P.S. If you plan on taking him, take the priority to get his class because he had 35 students trying to add his class on the first day. Nobody dropped, so he didn't add any (not even the first person on his list).


Junior
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2003
Easy as all hell. The only thing remotely difficult was having to wake up at 7 am and attend the damn class. The Final was tough because it was extra long and extra early, plus i didnt attend class for 2 weeks prior to it. Oh well i guess thats why i got an A- and not an A.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Jan 2004
professor pollard really knows his stuff. he offers tons of good examples, draws all his quiz questions from the homework, and is pretty helpful during office hours. i honestly didn't expect to get a C in this class, especially because of all the help i sought out and because of my grade entering the final. so beware-- if your grade is borderline entering the final, study your ass off. i thought the mid-terms were kind of tricky, with the second one being much easier than the first. at times it was hard to follow dr pollard. he spoke kind of softly and didn't seem all that animated. however, i'd still recommend taking dr pollard's class any day. the guy really DOES know his stuff.

STAT 252


Junior
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2004
Pollard is a good one to take he is soft spoken and easy to fall asleep to though. I really did very little and got a C+ so I can't complain. He is an interesting guy in a wierd way. It sounded like he was the best out of the 252 teachers from talking to students of other teachers.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Support)
Apr 2006
Pollard's class is definately boring. Half the time, you tune him out cuz he's sort of zombie-like. Yeah he knows the material well but its just really hard to stay focused and pay attention. Its pretty laid back, but be prepared to read the stats book on your own and figure out what he was talking about from class.


Freshman
B
Elective
Mar 2007
wow. super easy. i got a b+ with very very little effort. my roommates had other teachers for this class and would be doing hw for hours weekly. this guy gives you all the steps to get the answers in class, just right the steps down and you just have to get the numbers. it took me 10 minutes a week. tests are not hard at all. this guy is legit. nice accent too

STAT 312


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Apr 2004
Pollard is a cool british professor from Fiji. He breaks everything down so easily that it is impossible to fail. He sparked my interest in obtaining a minor, and the way he does things is pretty simple. Theres nothing else to say - take this guy, you'll be sure to earn an A, B, or C... i half assed and i came out with a B. it'll be pretty hard to fail this class.