I just finished Organic Chemistry 1 from UNE Online yesterday. I'll try and give you my honest take on it with info I was looking for before I took the class.
Course Info
Course: Organic Chemistry 1020 and 1020L (lab portion)
Instructor: Dr. Polly Ellerbe
Time Taken: August 3rd to November 6th, 2016 (13 1/2 weeks)
Book:
Essential Organic Chemistry (Bruice), 2016 with Solutions Manual, Model Kit, and Online Pearson Access (extra practice homework)
Format
Lecture:
13 chapters of material, with one quiz per chapter
Mid-term exam after 6th chapter
Final exam after 13th chapter
Lab:
9 labs conducted through a virtual online lab (free with the class)
9 quizzes, one for each lab
Why I took this class
I work full time banker's hours, and my local community college didn't offer Organic Chem at night. UNE was the only option that I could find that was completely online with the lab. Lots of the other courses mentioned here require at least some in-person time. UNE was completely flexible within the 16 week time frame. After checking with the veterinary college I'm applying to and making sure they accepted this class, I enrolled.
Good:
With all the terrible reviews I've read on this thread and elsewhere online, I expected this to be horrific. All in all, I think, given my options, I would take it again. The new book, published this year, was actually very good. I went through every chapter, did every practice problem, and did most of the practice tests. I feel like I learned what was in the book very well.
The biggest "good" part of this class was my instructor. Dr. Ellerbe was absolutely awesome. Every question I had, every issue I had, she responded quickly and never dismissed me or my concerns. My #1 recommendation would be to take this class with her if you are going to take it with UNE.
There is also a generous curve applied to the end grade. I had an A in my quizzes, a B on my midterm, and a C on my final. Even with that, I ended up with an A in the class. I had an A in the lab portion without the curve, so I don't know what the curve would have been there.
Bad:
The biggest issue was the match-up between what you learned in the book and what was in the weekly tests. MULTIPLE times, I was asked questions on the tests that were NOT taught in the book. Other times, the tests wanted you to remember obscure details from week's prior in order to get the question right. It was extremely frustrating! The saving grace was my instructor. Every time I brought up a discrepancy, she went and checked the book and learning materials. The majority of the time, I was right, and she would give me points back on questions I had missed. A few times, she pointed to where I missed it and filled in my knowledge gaps. We came to the conclusion that, while the textbook had gotten an update, the tests had not, and that was causing the discrepancy. Frustrating to pay so much money for them to be lazy and not update their content!
The lab is pretty easy to conduct, but the quizzes are all over the place. Sometimes, they would be straightforward and test on what you did in the lab (i.e., how long did such-and-such reaction take to complete?). Other times, they would test "concepts" you were supposed to magically learn while doing the lab. Again, my instructor was very helpful in correcting my grade when I was "cheated" on points due to test errors.
Oh, and the lectures? They simply regurgitated material from the book, but in even more boring, monotone form. Maybe they would be useful for people who learn best by hearing, but for me, they were a waste of time.
My suggestions to do well
- Read all the way through each chapter. Do all the questions, even at the end of the chapter.
- Try the lecture, but if it's not helping you, skip it. I didn't listen to any after week 2.
- Do the corresponding labs before you take the weekly quiz. They sometimes help cement ideas from the chapter in your brain.
- Take all the time you need on the quizzes. They're open book with no time limit. There is no excuse to do poorly (at least on your part!).
- Get ahead in the class and take the extra time for your midterm and final.
- Keep in touch with your instructor and talk through any issues. The worst they can do is ignore you, but at best they will bump your grade up when deserved.
I hope this helps someone like me (well, me 3 months ago anyway). I am glad that I took it through UNE and will be taking the second semester through them as well.
