James Clifford - College of San Mateo

Professor: James Clifford
Department: Psychology
College: College of San Mateo
Rating # 1
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC105
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
super hard. especially as an international student, I could not understand almost everything. He uses so hard words and he's assignments are really unclear. The hardest teacher ever I had. Just one Extra Credit Oppotunity
Rating # 2
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC120
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Please do yourself a favor and avoid this professor and his courses by any means. Clifford is the WORST professor I've ever had. His assignments are extremely unclear, along with his grading criteria. Moreover, he doesn't care for his students and refuses to help, even when they reach out. I'm shocked CSM still employs him.
Rating # 3
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC200
  • Grade Received: A+
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
If you don't have any choice but to take his class and still want to pass, here's my advice. 1. try to READ the book 2. USE Quizlet 3. ALWAYS refer to his lectures when doing the critical assignments, I think this is the reason why I got a higher grade on those 4. CHAT with your classmates on Pronto bc emailing him is a waste of time 5. NOLATEWORKS
Rating # 4
Overview:
  • Course: PYSCH120
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Try to take pysch120 is somewhere else if you can. If not, prepare for confusing writing assignments and unclear email responses. He speaks in a very logically and generalizes. Do not skip any assignments bc he post randomly. His lectures/emails/assignments all sound like a textbook. He doesn't teach ways where we actually understand the content.
Rating # 5
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC100
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Had this prof for PSYC 120, too, and my review is the same. Never take his class. Lectures and assignments never make sense. He uses lots of language that is definitely used incorrectly. Also grades tough on grammar even though his grammar is awful. Also, don't try to reach out for clarification because he is not helpful and just rephrases.
Rating # 6
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC120
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Never take class from this professor. His lectures and assignments make no sense and he tends to use big words that I don't think he even understands. He's also a stickler for grammar, but his own grammar is awful, so you can never understand his assignments. He's the only prof who teaches this course at CSM so I am so sorry to every psych major.
Rating # 7
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC120
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Probably one of the worst classes I have taken so far. Basically all of his recent reviews are really accurate. This professor is one of the reasons that has caused me to switch my psychology major. It's pointless watching his lectures because they don't make any sense, so you're probably better off just googling if you need help or read the book.
Rating # 8
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC105
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Do yourself a favor and don't take this professor! His class is a joke and consists of 3-4 hr long DAILY lectures. His lecture "notes" are pages and pages random copy-and-pasted dictionary definitions �� The SMCCD Psychology Department should be ashamed. Wish I could get a refund on this dumpsterfire of a course.
Rating # 9
Overview:
  • Course: PSCH100
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Please listen to all these reviews and do not take his class. He might have been a decent teacher before the pandemic, but his online class is so bad. His class is a mess, there are so many run on sentences and grammar errors on his critical thinking assignments, makes it hard to understand. He also isn't helpful even when you ask. Definitely avoid
Rating # 10
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC105
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
This professor single-handedly sucked any interest I had in the psychology field. His lectures consist of incomprehensible "psychology" jargon and copy-and-pasted definitions. "Critical thinking" assignments are so vague, yet he wants incredibly specific answers. Good luck deciphering his feedback - the man provides 800-word comments of nonsense.
Rating # 11
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC200
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: No
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I hate how this professor grades our critical thinking assignments because he provides general feedbacks to all students. Not a single student got a perfect score on those assignments that are all based on his boring video lectures. He says his reason was because he wants the student to keep improving his/her writing skills. Like what??
Rating # 12
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC200
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
If you're someone who hasn't taken any Psych class before, I think it would be difficult for you to understand his lectures and find it boring. TBH it is! I get why some wouldn't bother to spend an hour listening to his video lectures. 4 quizzes due each month tnx to Quizlet. I only got an A because I always email him questions on critical papers.
Rating # 13
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC100
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
If you want to actually learn, do not take this class. The content taught in this class is outdated and the professor does not actually teach anything. He heavily relies on an online textbook and hour long boring prerecorded lectures that are impossible to sit through. Beware. I have warned you.
Rating # 14
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC100
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Do not take this class. I regret taking this class so much. Professor big red dog does not know what he's doing. Stay away. I hate psychology now. I have learned absolutely nothing this semester. And I have a B. I am extremely stressed from the amount of work he assigns. Strict deadlines. Will not give any extensions.
Rating # 15
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC100
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Super strict about deadlines. Impossible to achieve full score or anything above an 80% on the "Critical Thinking and Writing Assignments." The questions are so vague yet he wants us to have very specific answers. Lectures are prerecorded but super long (45mins each) and hard to pay attention to. Would not take this class again.
Rating # 16
Overview:
  • Course: PSYCH100
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
DO NOT TAKE HIM! His class is terrible. The learnsmart assignments are easy but his "critical thinking" assignments are almost impossible to get a good grade in. So far this semester, nobody in class has ever gotten an A on the writing assignments, only mid to high B's. Lectures suck, his questions are so unclear, feedback is so bad, AVOID!
Rating # 17
Overview:
  • Course: PSCH100
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Clifford's class is online and he relies heavily on psych videos from 30 years ago. He sends a set of q's about the video you watched and it's correlated chapter but the questions are unclear and phrased badly. He replies to email quickly but rarely answers your question. He's made a subject I used to enjoy almost unbearable.
Rating # 18
Overview:
  • Course: PSYCH120
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
He uses a lot of jargon during his lectures that often do not align with the textbook. His feedback is filled with jargon as well and is incredibly hard to understand and apply to late homework. If you need to take his class, I suggest quoting his lectures and the textbook as much as possible in his "critical thinking" assignments.
Rating # 19
Overview:
  • Course: PSYC100
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
The introductory class covered a lot of material and he seemed to kinda all over the place, talking about one thing and then another thing that doesn't seem related. I found it hard to pay attention in his class. He gives out lots of worksheets to do and random quizzes. If you want to actually learn about psychology, idk if this is the class for u
Rating # 20
Overview:
  • Course: PSCYH100
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
I haven't been in this class for too long, and I thought I would like the idea of psychology but now Im not sure. He finds a way to ramble and blend everything together. I think it could be interesting if he wasn't so monotone. Nice guy, when I asked a question he went on and on (a little off topic) so be wise when asking questions.
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