Thomas Willey - Grand Valley State University

Review your college professor, faculty and staff

Thomas Willey - Grand Valley State University

Professor: Thomas Willey

Department: Finance

College: Grand Valley State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

Course: FIN321
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Super nice guy but he struggles to teach. He assumes everyone knows everything, even though this is one of the beginning classes for a finance degree. He doesn't respond to emails fast but super helpful if you go to office hours. He wants his students to succeed but doesn't know how to get there. Extremely test heavy, final was 35% of our grade.

Rating # 2

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dont take Willey for 422. Course is made up of a fingame simulation, 3 cases, midterm and final. The lectures are absolutely pointless. Buy the textbook as youll need to teach yourself the material to do well on the exams. Exams dont relate to what is taught in class, use his practice exams. He put no effort into this course whatsoever.

Rating # 3

Overview:

Course: FIN321
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This professor struggles to teach. He assumes all students he has already know all the material, so lectures are nothing but going over problems in the back of the book. And most of the time he goes over it too fast and we never get to see how he got the answer. Uses no technology and mumbles. If you take his class, get ready to teach yourself!

Rating # 4

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This course was a step back because we did not use excel enough, but he does all the work on the board well. If you practice what he teaches you will do well in the class. Ask for help often with the FinGame or your grade will drop. He wants the best for his students, and makes class interesting.

Rating # 5

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Knew what he was talking about and was nice, but the speed of lecture and lack of explanation left you lost. Exams were hard only because you didnt know what was on them. He would provide 5 or so practice problems that would rarely matchup with the 8 problem exam. The only way to study correctly is if you reviewed all the cases.

Rating # 6

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The class is based off of four cases, participation, your performance in the FinGame simulation, and two exams. Lectures felt like a waste of time because what was covered in class wasn't always featured on the two exams. Make sure you study hard for exams and ace each problem. He will only give you half credit even if you make a small error.

Rating # 7

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Willey is difficult to follow in his lectures. He moves quickly and doesn't take time to properly explain concepts. Lectures ended up being a big waste of time. Don't worry too much about lectures though, you can do all assignments/exams without attending a single lecture and pass no problem. Not ideal for a capstone; didn't learn much at all.

Rating # 8

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Willey rambles a lot during lectures. The class is the Fingame and case studies. 2 exams. Midterm and final are hard. His lectures do not help you understand the material at all. Take advantage of participation points offered. You wont learn much, but doing the work can get you a B. Study hard for exams. He is a nice guy. Very confusing though

Rating # 9

Overview:

Course: 422
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

First classes I couldnt understand what was going on. After a few classes you get the hang of the class. He goes very fast and it's hard to actually learn a lot. The papers were direct and fairly easy. The assignments he gives you everything you need to answer without much thought. Exams are tough even with the review bc it does not always match

Rating # 10

Overview:

Course: FIN321
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Super scatter brained professor. Understand all the concepts but has some difficulty driving home the ideas for students to understand. I honestly when to class just to hear is crazy analogies. Take him for FIN 422!

Rating # 11

Overview:

Course: FIN320
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is a nice guy overall. His lectures don't interact with students. His exams are hard and class average was C after curving. I don't think he is a great professor, but if you can study by yourself, you'll like him and his lectures very much.

Rating # 12

Overview:

Course: FIN320
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Definitely knows what he is doing but does a horrible job of actually teaching the subject to students. He just flashes through problems on the board and people sit there and watch but don't really learn. Very willing to help if asked however

Rating # 13

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

It's hard to understand what he teaches, very confusing and hard grader. You won't learn anything and he is using a stupid grading scale. Don't take him for your capstone class!

Rating # 14

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Smart guy who interacts well with the class and keeps coursework interesting. He speaks so fast though that it is hard to keep up with his lectures at times. His exams are basically take-home because he gives you the same questions a week prior. Challenges you to work with classmates on cases and exam material though. Great professor

Rating # 15

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 1.5
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Terrible. He uses cases and basically gives all the answers in class, so you learn nothing. Awful at getting back to you on emails. Has the dumbest sayings ever that he constantly repeats in class. If you want to actually learn something, take someone else!

Rating # 16

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Flys through material. Has a lot of interesting sayings but it is impossible to take notes or learn anything. Exams are all take homes and you can work in groups. Easy grader on written work. Not hard to get a good grade but you do not learn much. Nice guy though, wish he would slow down, he knows his finance...

Rating # 17

Overview:

Course: FIN321
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.5
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Nice as hell, but oh boy he talks very fast. Exams are ridiculously hard. Wouldn't recommend if you needed a good grade in the class. Not sure why he has a smiley face rating.

Rating # 18

Overview:

Course: FIN320
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Willey goes super fast thru the material and he uses acronyms, but if you ask to slow down he will. He goes thru a lot of example problems so you definitly need the textbook becaue homework is due every week. Overall Dr.Willey is a GREAT professor and recommend to take him. Also do project at the end of semester, it is easy and helps out alot.

Rating # 19

Overview:

Course: FIN320
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He moves very quickly through lectures. Writes almost everything in abbreviations. Nice guy. Need textbook because you do homework out of it about once a week. Quizzes are pretty hard, but he is reasonable at throwing out questions that a lot of people got wrong.

Rating # 20

Overview:

Course: FIN422
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Wiley is a great professor who does a good job of keeping lecture interesting.

Add Your Review Below:

Search Professors:

Welcome:

Before signing up for classes every students should gather as much information as possible to make a decision on which professors as well as which courses to take. This website will help you make this decision easier.

Here, the students can rate, research and cross-reference the overall performances of the professors to select the best ones, and always be informed and up-to-date with what’s important.

Join the fun! Visit all pages and get all the information you need to choose the best class and best professor that you’ll enjoy listening to and learning from.

Our Friendly Sponsor:

Schools:

Our Friendly Sponsor: