Swadener, Susan  

Food Science and Nutrition

3.86/4.00

29 evaluations


FSN 201


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2009
Lectures are all powerpoints that can be found online. They are boring, but it\'s best to go to class because some of the things she lectures about in class show up on the tests. The tests are fair and there are 3 projects during the quarter. Very interesting and enjoyable class. Swadener is a good professor.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2009
Such a great professor. She was very nice and addressed any problems I had. The class was really easy, if I would have actually attended more classes then I\'m sure I would have gotten an A. Take any class from her if you can

FSN 210


Freshman
A
General Ed
Dec 1999
She is awesome. The lectures sometimes lag, but the material is really interesting if you're into your personal health and wellness. She curves all of the tests and gives study guides for all tests. She really wants you to do well and it's totally possible. TAKE THIS CLASS W/SWADENER! YOU WON'T BE SORRY


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2000
dr. swadener is very good. the lectures get long in the 2 hour classes, but she is very easy to understand. she is very knowledgeable on the subject. she gives study guides and almost all of them pertain to just her lecture material. she tells you to read the book, but i never looked in the book but once...her lecture material is sufficient. the key is just going to class. great professor.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
May 2000
Dr. Swadener is an excellent teacher. There ae only two midterms, and she gives you study guides for them. The classes can get long soemtimes (2 hours), but she gives you a break which is nice. She is also very helpful in explaining certain things, and she is generous in her grading. All you have to do is the work, and you should get an A! I would deffinately recomend her.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Nov 2000
Take FSN 210 as your GE for the E category. You will learn so much. The project was very helpful in realizing the nutritional content of the foods I eat. If I had put more time into reading the text, I would have gotten an A. I was close. Dr. Swaderner is a really fair grader. She wants you to LEARN the material and apply it to your life. I recommend her for this class because of her knowledge of the subject.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Dec 2000
This porfessor is well prepared for the class, almost to well prepared. You start this class hoping to learn alot of useful facts about nutrition, like does mixing foods with different nutrient values counteract the nutrients? Is milk really full of useful calcium? She teaches by the book. She doesn't really shed any more light on to the class that you couldn't get from the book. She is nice and she lets students take advantage of that in grading. Overall a good class, but could be so much more...


Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2001
Dr. Swadner is a great teacher, bottom line. She turns what could be a very long boring class into somewhat of an enjoyable lecture. She gives you review sheets for every test. You find the answer on that review sheet and study it, you will do fine on the tests. The projects we do are all extremly easy with exception to 5 day analysis which isn't hard, but can be time consuming and it is easy to make mistakes on it. She is very easy going and will help you any way. I recommend that you take this teacher.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jun 2001
Dr. Swadener is a very good teacher. Basically the class is about nutrition and that's it, and during the class you become to notice that she is a dietician so all of her lectures are just facts. For the projects you have three, label reading project, fad diet, and a 5 day analysis of your diet. Then on the other hand you have the review sheets for the test which are awesome...so really you don't even have to show up for class just show up for the days she gives you the sheets and you are good to go for each of the tests and if you do the review sheets in full then you are basically garunteed a A or B on the tests which is comforting. So if you don't know what to take for the E Category take this class and this teacher and you will learn so much and you will not be disapponited at all.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2001
Dr. Swadener was awesome! Since I'm a nutrition major I found a fundamentalas of nutrition class to be very interesting, but I think that it's a very practical class for anyone. She emphasized that this class was important not just for our grade but also for the "test of life," which is very true. There are two midterms that are 50 multiple test scatrons covering information from her lectures. Each of these tests was worth 100 points, but sometimes she will curve the tests if the students didn't to very well! You could probably skimp by if you only heard the lectures, but it's much easier to understand and follow if you read the book! Notes are very important in this class, as are listening skills. The first "project" was a label reading project that was worth 20 points and only took about 15 minutes. The second project was a mini research paper on a fad diet. We were able to choose any diet we wanted to analyze, and then applied the diet to our everyday lives. The most important, and most interesting, project was the diet analysis. We had to write down EVERYTHING that we consumed for a 5 day period and enter it into a computer program. From there we had to analyze our diet, hense diet analysis! I loved this assignment because we were able to take everything we learned from the classroom and apply it to our everyday diets and see what we needed to work on! Oh, and the final was also 50 multiple choice questions that totaled 100 points. So, the midterms were worth the same amount as the final! :) My biggest piece of advice is not to procrastinate because it will bite you in the butt! I highly recommend this class and this teacher for anyone, even someone who is NOT a nutrition major. Trust me, there's a lot out there that people should know but they don't!


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2002
Dr. Swadener is the BEST teacher I have ever had. She almost always kept my attention. Her lectures are interesting and she is very enthusiatic when talking. The powerpoint presentation is VERY EASY to follow. She gives out a study guide before her tests and final. You do not even have to open your book because of the material is on the overhead-projector. Swadener is very nice to all her students and is willing to answer any questions. I would have gotten an A if I actually studied for the exams, so it is very easy class. Take Swadener for 210 and any other class she teaches. I DEFINATELY recommend her.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
DR. "S" IS A WONDERFUL TEACHER WHO KNOWS HOW TO EXPLAIN THE MATERIAL, AND REALLY HELPS THE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND IT. SHE WOULD GIVE US STUDY SHEETS THAT HAD QUESTIONS ON THE TEST, AND PRETTY MUCH HELPED US EARN A'S. HER CLASS WAS A LITTLE BORING BECAUSE OF THE LENGTH OF THE LECTURE, BUT SHE WILL ALWAYS ADD JOKES AND STUFF TO KEEP YOU IN THE TOPIC. SHE MAKES HERSELF AVAILABLE TO HELP STUDENTS OUT. TAKE SWADENER IF YOU REALLY WANT TO LEARN AND GET THE GOOD GERADES!


Freshman
A
Elective
Mar 2002
Dr. Swadener explains everything well and is really easy to follow. The class is interesting and real mellow. She is extremely nice and wants her students to do well. I give her a 10 out of 10.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Apr 2002
She was always energetic and had a really positive attitude about everything. She clearly wanted to help us understand things and made it easy to do so. Also, her study guides are great for tests. I'd definitely reccomend both her and the course.


Junior
B
Required (Major)
May 2003
I totally loved Dr. Swadener's class and her lectures. She is a fantastic source for knowledge and experience and she is just so nice. I would insist on you taking her (Gollnick is really great too). Dr. Swadener is completely helpful and approciable. 210 is a great all around nutrition class and I learned a lot from it. It is not difficult to get a good grade, but there is a lot of information as there should be. Take this class!


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2009
An all-around great professor. Her lectures are interesting and easy to follow, and she's just got so much enthusiasm! Her exams are straight-forward, and she grades fairly easy on the various projects assigned throughout the quarter.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Feb 2009
I love Dr. Swadener!!! Yea 210 is a pretty basic class that everyone should be able to get a good grade in, but regardless, she is an amazing person and very real. She has a great New York accent and is so fun to talk to, especially outside of class. She is very helpful and knows what she is talking about when it comes to nutrition. I suggest getting to know her and taking her whenever you can.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jun 2009
7 am class, and I still learned a shit load of valuable information. When it comes to taking a nutrition professor, I'd take Swadener. She's interesting, has valuable projects, and the exams aren't that bad at all!


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2010
Dr. Swadener is extremely passionate about both the subject and students. She really gives students the tools to succeed in her class. She gives real-life examples that she sees as a Registered Dietitian. There are three projects, all of which are very easy and straight forward. Tests are difficult, study more than what is on her study guides. The final is not cumulative. Overall, a really great instructor.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2010
I loved Swadener. She made nutrition SO easy to understand. She graded a little hard on the diet analysis project we did, but the midterm and final directly corresponded to the study guide she gave us. I feel like overall the class was pretty easy, especially compared to the other nutrition teacher who I heard was horrible. The lectures were boring at times, but Swadener used class participation a lot which kept me interested. I would definitely recommend Swadener if you don\'t want to work too hard.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2011
excellent professor


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2013
Dr. Swadener is super nice and really easy to talk to especially in office hours. If you dont understand the material she will sit down with you and show it to you in the book and also explain it in her own words. The class can be a little boring at times but she tries to make it interesting. There are three non cumulative tests which are not hard since she gives you super helpful study guides. There are three projects that are not that hard just follow the instructions. Overall super nice and I would recommend her!!


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2013
Really enthusiastic teacher, you can tell she loves this subject and has a ton of experience to draw on. Her tests are always 50 multiple choice in FSN 210 and she gives you an excellent study guide. She presents the material in an intriguing way; definitely recommend her!!


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2014
I highly recommend her for FSN 210! Although some of the material in the text was a bit challenging she always did her absolute best to make her lectures interesting and to simplify some of the more complicated concepts. There are only 3 tests in this class (including the final) all non-cumulative and multiple choice, for which she gives very helpful study guides. There are 3 projects in this class and they are very simple and easy to get an A on, as long as you follow instructions. Wonderful overall :)


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2014
Dr. Swadener is the absolute best! She is so experienced and related it so well when she lectures. Her tests are easy because she gives a study guide which pretty much mirrors her tests. The final is not cumulative although it is the hardest test of the year, in my opinion. The projects are pretty simple if you follow the directions. Dr Swadener posts all her lectures on polylearn so you don't even have to go to class. However, I respected Dr Swadener way too much to skip her class constantly. Take Swadener if you have the opportunity!


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2014
One of the sweetest professors of Cal Poly! Her lectures can sometimes get boring but she tries her best to make it applicable to daily life. Go to her lectures because although she puts her power points online, some of the questions that show up on her tests aren't on the power points! She normally skips break and lets the class out 30 min early. Love this class!


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2015
She is very kind and funny. She has a new york accent and keeps the class interesting. You learn a lot and she always wants you to succeed


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2015
Super easy class. She gives you study guides for the tests and the tests are straightforward. The final isn't cumulative so it will be super easy. Overall great teacher and easy class! I hope I have her again for future courses.

FSN 310


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2015
Extremely easy A. I ended with a 98. Some homework assignments and a 3 page research paper but they were all very easy. She's fun and knows her stuff.