This is an old thread but one I stumbled upon when deliberating whether or not to take the UC-BE Immunology course. I took this class with Dr. Ranes-Goldberg. I have heard awful things about the course as taught by the other professor, however, I can say with certainty Dr. Ranes-Goldberg is excellent. The course itself is pretty rigorous in content so you have to stay organized and do some self-teaching. Dr. Ranes-Goldberg's course commentary is very clear and she has great communication with her students. The textbook is very useful, so definitely buy the book. I didn't purchase the supplementary reading packet (I just avoided all of the discussion assignments that required me to read it).
There are 10 modules most of which have a 10 multiple choice question quiz that you get 60 minutes to complete. I finished most quizzes in no more than 20 minutes after reading the commentary once. Remember - you can look back at the module commentary while taking the quiz. Quizzes are worth 20% of the overall grade.
Discussion assignments are worth 20%. These usually consist of two parts. Part I is researching a topic pertaining to that module and a couple paragraphs about the topic. Part II is responding to another classmate on the discussion board.
There are 2 midterms worth 15% each (30% total).
The midterms consist of 1) T/F questions and detailed explanations of each question (10 Qs), 2) Short Answer questions (10 Qs), and 3) Short essay questions - these are generally 2-4 part questions (5 Qs). You have 1 week to complete the midterm questions after opening the file to see the exam (don't procrastinate! These are not short exams.). They are both open book/note and there is one midterm after the 4th module and one after the 8th module.
The final exam is a 3-hour cumulative, proctored exam worth 30% of your final grade. It is a very similar format to the midterm exams. You are allowed 3 pages front-back of notes which I typed in super small font. I included both of my midterm exams shrunken-down and diagrams of important structures (T-cell receptors, B-cells, etc.), as you are required to recall every important detail of the course and there are a lot!
Overall, Dr. Ranes-Goldberg is very receptive to students. If you have questions she is very quick about answering them and she also grades very quickly so you know where you stand as the course goes on. I personally learned a ton in this class and am glad I took it.
