I recently finished (11/1/15) UC Berkeley's online Introductory Biochemistry course (MCELLBIX105) and would strongly dissuade anyone from taking this course. Although there are 4 professors that teach it, I can only comment on the one that taught mine, Rebekah Marsh. She is by far the worst professor I have ever had. Her assignments are vague, however, her assessments and grading are extremely detailed and overly harsh. No matter (1) how much information I included; (2) how many outside sources I cited; and (3) how thoroughly I formatted my responses in the assignments, she consistently deducted points citing random, specific requirements. Her favorite phrase appeared to be: "This also needed to be discussed." My impression is that she had a specific grading rubric in mind; however, she was not willing to share it with the students before hand.
For example, the written assignment for module 2 was: "Describe how a linear sequence of amino acids gives rise to the three-dimensional structure of proteins. Detail the significance of this structure, how it may be modified, and the results of such modification." After submitting a 10-page end-of-term quality paper, Dr. Marsh's assessment included deducting 32 points at random for "missing information," as follows:
"Thank you for submitting the Module 2 assignment. The M2 assignment was~~> “Describe how a linear sequence of amino acids gives rise to the three-dimensional structure of proteins. Detail the significance of this structure, how it may be modified, and the results of such modification.” It was easy to read. You did describe the importance of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure for a protein. You did discuss how the primary structure of a protein is stabilized with peptide bonds; more discussion was needed in regards to what a peptide bond is/the structure of the bond (-5 points) and character of the peptide bond (-5 points). Be able to discuss and draw the reaction which occurs when 2 amino acids interact to create a peptide bond for the Midterm & Final Exam. You did discuss how secondary structures are stabilized and the structures which can and do form. In regards to tertiary structure, more discussion was needed in regards to the structure which form at the tertiary level (-2.5 points). Partial credit earned as the regions within tertiary structure - domains - were discussed. There are multiple types of interactions involving the interactions of the side-chains in the tertiary structure. There can be up to 9 different types of interactions involving the interactions of the side-chains and two types of interactions were mentioned: hydrophobic interactions & disulfide bonds(-7 points). Interactions which can and do form at the tertiary level include: Hydrophobic interactions, disulfide bridges, salt bridges, ionic bonds, metallic bonds, covalent bonds, polar bonds, van der Waals and hydrogen bonds are forces that stabilize and contribute to tertiary structure. In regards to quaternary structure, the structure was nicely discussed. The same interactions which appear in the tertiary structure are present in the quaternary structure of the protein. No quaternary interactions were discussed (-10 points). In regards to the second part of the Module 2 assignment, you discussed three ways how the levels of protein structure are affected when a protein is modified. You did discuss modifications (i.e. methylations, phosphorylations or acetylations), mutations and conformational changes. There are also other ways in which a protein can be modified and then the level of protein structure affected: denaturation/renaturation (-7.5 points). Thank you for submitting the Module 2 Assignment.
Score: 68/100"
Two of the written assignments, the first and another one later on in the course, were actually sent back to me by the professor asking me to include additional specific information and re-submit them. In both instances, the information was already in the paper, leading me to wonder if the professor had even read the assignment. By about the 3rd module assignment, I learned to basically paraphrase entire chapters of the textbook. Each subsequent written assignment submission consisted of between 17 and 20 pages, and my grades improved so that I went into the final exam with a 92%.
As for the course format:
- Students have between 90 and 180 days to complete the course.
- It consists of 11 modules, with module 6 being a 90 minute online, open-book mid-term.
- Each of the other 10 modules has reading assignments, 1 online classroom discussion question response (at least 250 words), 1 response to another student's discussion question (at least 25 words), and 1 written assignment (no stated minimum length, but required 15-20 page response to receive 90-100%).
- A 3 hour closed-book, proctored cumulative final.
- Course grade consists of:
- 10% mid-term exam
- 20% discussion assignments
- 20% written assignments
- 50% final exam, however, you must pass the final exam with a score of at least 70% to pass the course.
I am 50 years old and have taken more than my fair share of science courses, both in the classroom and more recently online. Final grades in all of these courses have ranged from 95% to 100% - all solid A's...except for this course, which I failed. The average score for my class on the final exam was under 60%, meaning that a majority of the students failed the class. (FYI, each class section consists of 70-100 students.) In addition, the administration at UC Berkeley will not intervene on a student's behalf and will only recite University policy in their response.
Please do yourself a tremendous favor and
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE! There are so many other viable online and in-class options, that even if you decide to relegate my above recount to the ranting of some disgruntled aberrant student, why would you even take that chance. For many of you, the satisfactory outcome of this course will have a significant impact on your academic future...do not assume that you will fare any better.
