Vix, Marlin  

Vix is a cool dude, most definately not the country-bumpkin sort that one would expect to find in the ag dept. He has a tendency to go off on tangents, but overall he is a good prof. He has a sincere interest in the students, and is very fair, almost to a fault. I would recommend him highly!

Vix was very fair and even entertaining at times. He had some really "interesting" ideas about life in general and he usually mentioned something everyday. He was also very personable. The best part of the class was spending a day out in the field with an agribusiness professional. I would recommend him to anyone.

I just recently changed my major to Agribusiness, so this is actually the first AGB course I've taken here at Poly. I had no idea what I was getting into, or what to expect. I used to be a Biochemistry major, and I really didn't know what to expect from the Ag professors. But, Mr. Vix eased all of my worries. He's so nice, and he always has a story to tell! He gives you study guides before every test, and the stuff he gives on the study guide is exactly what is on the test! You have to complete a sales presentation, and follow an agribusiness professional around for a day. All in all, I enjoyed the class (even though it was 8 in the morning!)

This is a wonderful man who teaches for all of the right reasons. You will fall in love with this class and you will enjoy every moment.

Two words : Awsome teacher.

He was very funny but he would go off on crazy tangents he was fun to listen to I didn't go to class very much and as long as you get the hand outs and do the reading this class is pretty easy to pass

VIX IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take him for every agb class you can. All you need to do well is GO TO CLASS. We did 5 pt assignments every day that add up at the end. Do all the assignments, there is rarely hmwk but do it if there is. He is an awesome guy who will keep you intertained for the whole class, and he usually lets you out about 30 minutes early. HAVE FUN!

Funny guy - he has really random stories, however. They often have nothing to do with the class, instead you'll learn a lot about his children. But 202 is a really basic class - nothing is hard. Have fun on the job-shadowing assignment and the sales script. Vix is good for 202, but don't take him for 312 (take De Yong instead - he actually knows something about ag policy, unlike Vix).

Vix is a great teacher. One of the coolest professors I have had. The first test is kind of hard and after that they are pretty easy. I would definately take him if you can.

This class was great. Generally homework is easy, but make sure you put some time into the two major papers he assigns. If you don't go to class you cannot pick up the homework assignments from him, you have to get it from someone in the class. He accepts no late work for any reason, it must be turned in at the same time as everyone else, so get a partner you can rely on to help you out. Other than that though, you don't miss much if you don't go. Tests are HARD. They are all fill in the blank with no word bank and I had an extremely difficult time with them because I just can't be given a definition and be expected to come up with the word that it applies to. The best part of the class was seeing what he would wear every day to class. He has the neatest outfits and all ways dresses to impress. He tells tons of stories, and they don't really relate to anything in particular, but they are nice to listen to. I would recommend him, he's just a cool guy to know I think.

Vix was awesome! Even though its kinda a pointless class, you still need to go. There is a lot of "busy" work that you do everyday to turn in. You dont really even need to read the book. He gives you the study guide and you can just look up the key terms. He has a great personality.

Class is easy, the 'ol boy is cool too!

This class was absolutely ridiculous but it is a major course so I had to take it. I really wish it wasnt required. Its basically all about communicating effectively. The books were stupid. I didnt read either of them. There were 3 tests (based on material in the book but he gives you study guides) and 2 projects. One of the projects is completely made up, the other is like a job shadow. This class was 4 days a week for 1 hour but it was still easy for me to zone out. Vix is an okay teacher but I will never take him again unless I absolutely have to.

He is an interesting man that has a lot to offer in the way of knowledge. an neat course that teaches real world skills, not only for future jobs, but just for day to day relationships.

This old man is the shit. I hate anything ralated to AGB but he made it worth while. He is pretty chill with grades and homework. There's something about this guy that makes me take him again for AG401.

Vix is a great teacher, dont get me wrong, but he isnt the best at explaining tasks and assignments. He leaves it up to you for the most point and at times it can either boost you ahead, or really screw you over.

Mr. Vix is overall a great guy. You\'re always laughing in class and having a good time. His ways of teaching are a little old school, and a lot of time you have no clue what is going on. There are 2 midterms and a final exam. The tests are terribly hard but definitly follow the study guide to prepare for these! A few projects are given throughout the quater which weren\'t to hard, but often got confusing on what exactly you were supposed to do. In the end though, I would definitly recommend Professor Vix. He is one of the most caring professors here at Cal Poly.

This class deals primarily w/ communication and leadership skills, which are valuable to anyone and everyone regardless of major. That being said, Vix went about it in a very strange manner. He's a funny guy, full of stories, but also beats around the bush. He gives you enormous amounts of useless handouts and his lectures are off topic, sporadic, and just hard to follow. Moreover, his tests barely reflect his lectures and the book(s). He doesn't use Blackboard so you have no idea how you're doing in the class, even if you go to see him he's vague (he told me I had an A and would receive an A). The class consist of 2 Midterms, a Final, and class activities he uses to take attendance. Not an easy class, but not a difficult one either, it's just sort of... there.

Honestly, I really respect him. Hes funny and seems like he loves doing what he does. His classes were interesting and you will usually learn something. That being said he never went on Blackboard as others have said he said I would get an A in the class but arbitrarily gave me a b+. I like him, hes a good teacher but dont expect him as an easy A class. Dont trust what he says your grade is.

I've taken Proffesor Vix for two classes and I think he presents the class material very well. He seems very enthusiastic about his teaching and has a some real experience in Agribusiness. The tests are a combination of short answer and multiple choice. They're pretty long and you have to the class reading and take good notes. If you can do that, then you should do fairly well in the class.

Mr. Vix comes off as a very funny , easy to get along with professor. After a few weeks in his class you will find that is not the case. He plays favorites with students most indefinately. If you visit his office hour just once you are most likely going to get a better grade than the person who doesn't. Also if you screw up just once, he is very unforgiving and holds it against you the rest of the quarter. He only likes to spend his time on students HE has things in common with. So if you aren't like him then don't take him.

Dr. Vix was one of the nicest teachers i've ever had at cal poly. He is also one of the funniest, craziest, and weird humor teachers i've ever had also. I will never forget all the funny funny jokes he cracked during class. For advice to do well in his classes- read, go to lecture no matter what, and he gives study guides for the tests and it's really nice. There are two midterms and the final. He gives the option to retake the midterms at another time and it's really nice and convienent. And the last rating the person made a comment about going to his office hours, go at least once because i do think it will make a difference in your grade and he wants to know his students also. One of the funniest things this teacher does is, if you walk in class late be ready to go up to the front of the class and get the handouts and embarrasss yourself. He does not like people being late and he makes you pay for it. Don't be late. Overall a great teacher and take him if you have the oppurtunity to.

Professor Vix is definitely one of my favorite professors thus far at Cal Poly. He adds just enough humor to every class to keep it interesting without compromising the learning environment. There were some sessions that I feel he could have better prepared for, but overall, 301 was interesting and he helped to solidify some confusing topics. I definitely recommend him.

Marlin Vix is very funny and seems to be a good person. The tests are slightly difficult and he throws in a few homework assignments so make sure you go to class! Plus, he doesn't like it when people don t show up on fridays!

I thought that the first test was pretty straight forward but there were a lot of areas that were not covered in his review for the test. The projects were easy and he was pretty funny but i thought some of the test questions were unfair and graded very hard.

Awesome professor! I had him for 202 also, he just got better. Great class, two midterms and a final, final isn't cumulative. Learned a lot, made me sure I wanted to be a marketing concentration! A few group projects, but just time consuming not too hard, you show up, take notes, and laugh at his jokes and you get an A!

Marlin Vix is one of the most pompous, arrogant, idiotic fools I have ever had to take a class from. I am evaluating him long after the quarter when I took his class. I will never forget the first day of class when he was making a joke about Ethiopia and hunger and Oprah (which was in pretty bad taste) and a young man in the front row raised his hand and says "excuse me, have you ever been to Ethiopia?" and Mr. Vix says "No..." and the young man says "Well, I am from Ethiopia, you must be referring to the famine in the '80's...COME ON MAN!" I was so embarrassed for everyone in the room. It was no way to start out the quarter, Vix had what was coming to him. I really don't like the man and I had no respect for him after that first day. I don't advise you take his class, it was a load of bull and memorizing meaningless lists. Very boring.

I have been out of school for a while now and in the produce industry. I can tell you that in your career you will look back on a few individuals in your past and realize that they really had an impact. Marlin Vix was/is an excellent instructor and it is shared by virtually everyone in the business that I know and we were fortunate to have him as an instructor. Really, if you have a problem with him then you are the problem ... guy was challenging but fair and funny as hell. He is going to be retiring soon and if the students of today are like the previous idiot that evaluated him, then your life post Poly is going to be loaded with some serious rude awakenings. Marlin is an icon in the department and throughout California Agriculture. I suspect that those of you that are enrolled and don't know shit about ag like the previous dipshit will never really respect or get what you have available to you in Vix. But he is the best at what he does hands down and I owe allot to him! If you don't take him before he leaves, it's your loss!

This is the second time that I have had a class with Marlin. He is a great guy. He covers the information clearly and doesn't give a lot of assignments (only two short papers). He is good about curving test scores, he wants the students to do well in his class. One warning though: he grades papers harshly; make sure you proof read, he does not like spelling or grammer errors (grammer is a component of the final grade on your paper). Despite this I would recommend Marlin for any class.

Vix does not present the course material very cleary. He pretty much just talks throughout the whole class and then gives handouts as you are leaving. The handouts are the only thing that his uses for the tests. All the conversations in the class are pretty much for your own betterment. His midterm is really hard (because he does not explaing what he wants you to learn at all) but you can take it during dead week if you don't feel like studying.

I had Marlin for 312 and 301. He teaches 312 differently than others. He uses it more as a forum for current ag issues not as a history course. This makes the testing very hard because some topics are not covered through discussion as thoroughly as others but are tested the same amount. Test material is strictly from the handouts which often do not make it into a class discussion. There is also a quiz on formulating farm subsidies which you need to remember formulas for--most don't do well. Read your handouts over and over to study. 301 was a class where memorizing terms is key. Reading the text is not necessary but purchasing it is so that you can look in the glossary for term definitions. For 301 there are some difficult hedging problems that one can only master by making photocopies of the originals and practicing over and over. Make sure to pay attention to your commodity trades because this can help your grade a lot. This professor does have his own life going on which can interfere with class causing him to let you out of class a lot early or talk off subject for an entire period. His lecture is never boring, he is a self proclaimed snob, spelling and grammar is very important to him, and he does not like it when girls wear pants that are too tight or whose bellies stick out of their shirts no matter what shape the girl is in. If lecture is too unclear going to office hours is very helpful and always more informative than what was learned in lecture. It helps with this teacher to have a good repertoir with him. He is very fair in grading, does curve a little, the grade you earned is the one you will get. If he likes you it will not make a big difference but could mean a B- instead of a C.

Vix is, overall, a good guy. The ag policy class is interesting but I felt it focused too much on ag policy history and not enough on current agri-political issues but that's just me. Vix, though, is a good teacher. He keeps the class interesting, holds group discussions, covers some interesting topics, etc. The only complaint one might have is that it is hard to predict what will be on the midterms. But if you have a choice between Vix and someone else, choose Vix.

Potential for an interesting class. But, Vix should just stick to golf. It was so boring. Topics were mundane and tedious also very unclear to the majority of the class. No one really understood what was required. No one was motivated or enthusiastic (just following the lead of the teacher) and it was a waste. Spend your time exercising your brain in a more stimulating class. And its not an easy A either. I received full credit on everything, never missed class, participated in discussions, and did a kick ass project and only got a B.