Comments:Physics of Acoustics - I have found all of my Baylor professors to be very helpful and encouraging, except for this class. Dr. Olafson was very unapproachable, laughing at questions and unable to explain his own work. We had weekly definition quizzes that he merely graded on feeling; exact book and note definitions were counted incorrectly. He also grades his tests very harshly, enjoying failing his students. He was never available, even saying to email him if we were coming to finals office hours because he was not going to be in the office unless we needed him, even saying “hopefully” none of us would need help. Class averages were barely passing, and after he would add about 20 points to everyone's averages to raise the overall average, even though he claims he “does not curve”. This class covered very challenging material that required well-thought-out instruction to grasp the concept, but that was not the case. Taking physics in high school did not help with this course.  - Grade In Class:C

Comments:1408 - Very hard to understand. Laughs at questions asked. Pretty rude and unkind, not super available for help. Very confusing grading.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:PHY5340 - Dr. Olafsen has a very deep knowledge on Stat. Mech. I believe he's been teaching the class for a very long time and has written a textbook on the subject. He's very passionate and makes the effort to pass on all that he knows. The homework problems were doable for anyone who attended classes. In this class, there was a lot to cover and because of that he had to rush through a few topics. Other than that he knows the stuff and has a genuine desire for his students to know it too.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:physics of science and so - this man made me wanna drop out. he was not empathetic to people who aren't professional physicists. he seems to hate students and he cannot comprehend how students may not grasp a concept. hes nice enough until he starts teaching. I went to the tutoring center for this class, and had a tutor, who when he found out i had my man jeff, gave me the dean of the departments email and said to email her stat abt him bc hes a horrible teacher. i cried abt this class so many times  - Grade In Class:C

Comments:PHY 1408 - This class was without a doubt the worst class I have taken during my time at Baylor. I have grown to have high expectations of the professors that I have at Baylor, as all of my past professors have proved themselves to be respectful, caring, and kind. I have seen just the opposite from Dr. Olafsen and his class. He has been condescending and rude to students and was completely unapproachable outside of class for help. He additionally does not teach the course content, rather gives you links to YouTube videos; therefore the class was entirely self-taught, and on top of this he had such specific ways he wanted people to solve problems. If you solved it a different way to get the correct answer and it wasn't his way, it was marked completely wrong. His grading is extremely subjective, and that makes it very hard to score well as you aren't expected to give just a right answer, but rather what HE thinks is a right answer. I promise you will understand what I mean if you end up taking him (just trust me for your sake please). Even if your answer is correct by the standards of the textbook, but not how he likes it, he loves to take points off. He prides himself on his ability to make difficult tests that are impossible to get a 100 on and nearly impossible to get an A (as said by him in class), and this is not the outlook that I would expect from a Baylor professor. I expect a professor to be willing and able to be available to students and someone who wants their students to succeed. Dr. Olafsen had an attitude of wanting his students to fail. If you have a professor that does not believe you can get an A in his class, he will do everything in his power (which he has as a professor) to prevent that from occurring. I genuinely feel the odds were stacked against every student in this class. This class was an absolute waste of my time and money, and I am very disappointed in Baylor University for keeping such a professor.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:1409 - DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF. Worst mistake of my life. He made a boy cry IN CLASS.  - Grade In Class:D

Comments:PHY 1430 - Physics 2 is a lot of work in general, but it has to be to learn. Dr. Olafsen can have an attitude at times, but overall he is helpful. His class is hard, but he pushes you and honestly it helps a lot. It is a lot of work, but the format is a flipped classroom. Homework consists of watching the lecture online and taking notes, and ending with 5 mastering physics questions that don't take too long. Class consists of working problems and sharing answers on the screen. While a wrong answer can be traumatizing because he will make you show it, the trauma helps you learn from your mistakes. One complaint is that I wish the homework lectures were actually him talking. They are always youtube videos which is a little frustrating because it can get confusing. I will say his grading is a bit scary. He gives 50s, 60s, and 70s as 70s, 80s, and 90s, which he is honest about. However, at the end of the semester he will add the 20 points to make it what it's supposed to be. The weekly quizzes are pretty challenging, but nothing devastating. While I wasn't a fan of him at first, I don't think his rating is fair. He clearly loves physics and knows a lot about it. This can sometimes make it difficult for him to put it into words that college students will understand, but he is willing to help. I was the worst student in the class but then made the highest grade on the first exam because he pushed me harder than anyone. It was frustrating and I often felt targeted or singled out but it helped me in the long run.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:PHY 2190 - This class was only required for physics majors, but every single one of us dreaded it. Olafsen has zero teaching ability and will not hesitate to take major points off on writing for minute things, then proceed to not explain at all how to fix your mistakes. The comments left on your writing are vague at best, and illegible at worst. If you actually want to fix your mistakes its expected that you bring your already graded writing to him on your own time during his office hours. This wouldn't be so bad, if his office hours were than thirty minutes a week. And even if he was available, you probably would not want to confront him outside the confines of class anyway. The only comfort in this class was the 1 hour meeting that insured you had free time on Wednesday and Friday.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:PHY 1409 02 - TL;DR: Because of his attitude towards his students and wildly unfair grading policies, you should avoid Jeff like the plague. Your GPA will thank me later. Lectures: Fairly dry (but hey that's physics, baby) but very informative. Dr. Olafsen clearly has a passion for the subject matter and it shows in his lectures. This passion is also his downfall because he routinely spent most of the class doing proofs and deriving equations instead of doing examples, explaining things more deeply, or generally doing anything to help you understand the concepts. Sometimes he will do a live demo and it's pretty cool to see the concepts you are learning about in action. Some people say that he is condescending to students, but I didn't personally see anything like that in my class. I wouldn't put it past him though. He seems like the type. Homework: Not much to say here. Mastering physics sucks but if you have chegg you'll be just fine. I recommend quickly burning through the assignments with chegg for an easy A then going back to practice later because you cannot afford to lose any points on your HW average in the long run. There are usually 1-2 homework assignments due per week with some exceptions in the case of holidays, upcoming tests, etc. Quizzes: At least one quiz per week, sometimes two if it's the week before a test and he wants to give them back to you in time to study for the test (a rare, and ultimately meaningless, courtesy from Dr. Olafsen). The quizzes are over textbook content and previous chapters so don't expect to do well on them if all you do is pay attention in class and take notes. They are pretty hard, but Jeff does give a lot of partial credit, so unless you turn it in completely blank, you will get some points. Expect an average of 5/10 - 7/10 on these bad boys. He also may or may not drop one at the end of the semester depending on how cruel and spiteful towards your class he's feeling at the time. Tests: Literal hellspawn. This dude puts essays on his physics test. That is not a joke. The tests are very difficult (class average was less than 50% on all 3 tests). They are a pretty even mix of true/false, multiple-choice, short answer, and that essay I mentioned. The tests aren't based on the quizzes or lecture questions because that would make too much sense. Don't expect any freebies. Similar to the quizzes, partial credit is awarded, but it's not enough to save you. The problems always have some kind of twist or complication that makes them so much more difficult than they should be. I'm a fairly smart dude, but his tests made me feel like I got dropped too many times as a kid. I know physics is hard, but it really is ridiculous. General grading structure: Absolutely atrocious. My man Jeff spends the whole semester telling you "not to worry about that silly little number" that is your grade. He makes it sound like getting 50% on his test is good and that he will just give everyone a big curve at the end so that you all pass. What he gives you is a dropped quiz (if he feels like it) and a curve to your TEST average. This is what he did for my class at least, so I cannot definitively say that this is what he will do for yours. It is impressively disrespectful that he keeps your grade hidden from you until it's too late. By the time you know what your final grade is going to be, it is far too late to drop the class. He is also very stubborn and dislikes students trying to negotiate for better grades. I genuinely have no clue how a grading structure like this is allowed at an accredited university. It's just so frustrating how he tells you not to worry about your grade like its some trivial thing that students can afford to not care about. He is the exact reason you SHOULD worry about your grade. Concluding remarks: Take anyone else. Take it online. Take it at another school. It's not worth the headache or emotional strain. Learn from your fallen comrades in this rating section and find another way to get your physics credit. Good luck. I hope this helped.  - Grade In Class:C

Comments:1409 - This guy is a decent lecturer, one of the better ones in fact. However, he enjoys failing his students on a regular basis. The quizzes he hands out are merely symbolic in nature, as the quiz average was anywhere between a 3-4/10. The tests have averages anywhere between 40-35/100. He is ruthless when grading anything, especially if you get the answer right (which isn't the way to get full points to answering questions). He's very bias with his students, towards the ones he does like and towards the ones he doesn't like. I don't understand why Baylor allows professors like him to teach anything. I came to Baylor to earn a good education and he is not an example of what Baylor represents in its core values, its students, and those who follow God's teachings. I'm not the first bad review this man has gotten nor will it be the last. Avoid him at all costs if you take pride in your education.  - Grade In Class:D

Comments:1430 - Jeff possesses a patronizing demeanor and does not treat his students fairly. If you have to get in this class, recognize it will be a ton of work and he probably won’t come through. He will leave you guessing until the very end and seems to take pleasure from being the architect his students’ Pain.  - Grade In Class:C+

Comments:1430 - I am no stranger to difficult classes at Baylor. I have fought like a Norman in many of my classes and come through. However, this class, despite constant effort, is systematically set up to be unfair. And the class was replete with lies. He enjoys having low test averages and enjoys the perks of being a hard professor. He admittedly said "I'm the Professor, of course I cheat". He is not an honest man.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:1430 - I'm an above a 3.9 student at Baylor and in the Honors program, so when I say that this class is by far the most challenging and unfair class I have taken throughout my undergraduate career, it should speak volumes about both the course and Jeff Olafsen. For starters, the workload of this class (to at least get a B+) is that of around a 6 hour course--not a four hour course. The class is made up of lab grades, homework, quizzes, and tests. Some of the homework is mastering so it's not too bad, but the take home sheets he gives are. The quizzes are also ridiculously hard to do well on as are the exams. The averages for the exams were all 50 or below and the quiz averages hovered around a 50 for the entire semester. This stems from Olafsen's nitpicky (and unfair) grading scheme where points are arbitrarily deducted at his discretion. I had quizzes and test problems where I got a 5/10 with the right answer--garbage. He also keeps you in the dark on your grades until the end where he then curves, so the whole class is built upon how you do compared to the average student. Jeff is a ridiculously tough and unfair grader who fails to treat his students with adequate respect and constantly finds ways to assess them unfairly with his grading. He is out to destroy GPA's--don't give him the opportunity to tank yours. Again, he is truly a professor that lacks proper compassion, respect, and the desire to fairly assess his students efforts and quality of work, so, do yourself a favor, and avoid taking him if possible.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:PHY 1430 - Dr. Olafsen is not a good choice for physics 1430. While his lectures are interesting and very well explained, they do not do justice to the difficult questions that will appear on the tests. Every week he assigns online homework and a homework sheet due on Friday, as well as an in-class quiz every Friday. The homework and quizzes are extremely difficult, and while sometimes they can be done, his grading is so nitpicky that hardly anyone can ever get a perfect score, even with the correct answer. The three exams are ridiculous. He makes them so insanely difficult to the point where they do not test knowledge or how much work was put into studying, they simply test how well you can adapt to his difficult grading style (in addition to an essay question on each exam). The class averages for the 3 tests were all below a 55%. He also is no help during the semester regarding knowing what your grade will be, because he doesn't curve until the end so you have no idea whether or not you will even pass the class. He can be extremely sarcastic and rude when students ask him very reasonable questions. Physics is hard no matter who you take, but if you can, avoid Dr. Olafsen.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:1409 - I don't know why Dr. Olafsen has horrible ratings because he is such a sweet professor who clearly explains physics. I don't understand math or physics at all, and he works problems step by step in class and makes sure everyone understands. He had our names memorized by the second class day and he likes to call on people to work problems, but he teaches really well and the problems are straightforward. His tests are pretty difficult but are always a mixture of multiple choice, true/false, and free response. He does have essay questions on his exams but if you study for the tests you'll do fine. He curves at the end but don't rely on that to boost your grade too much. Overall, I would definitely choose him as my professor again!  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:Physics II - Professor Olafsen is a pretty good teacher, but I have seen him be quite disrespectful to other students, both undergrads and grad students. His behavior is unprofessional and I would avoid him if possible. It is possible to get a good grade in his class with a lot of work, but it is nearly impossible to predict your grade, since he makes the curve at the end.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:physics 2 - Jeff's lectures were great. had lots of energy made funny corny jokes, and ran through everything in the book pretty much. his tests were created in hell. i don't understand what the point of making a test everyone will fail is. he's going to put everything you don't know on the test and after a while i just stopped caring about his tests and made the same grades as when i studied hard for them. if you want an A, DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY, if you want to just squeeze by with a B, take him. if you can kill a curve, high five.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:physics II - He is very sarcastic and makes you feel like an idiot a lot. I honestly came out more confused than i went in. He puts essays on his test... enough said for physics. When you get 50s on your tests hes just like "dont worry about it" and you're thinking "but im going to fail" he pretty much keeps you in the dark until your grades come out  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2435 - I got all A's til the final which sucked which I got a D on. He promised a big curve for our other tests so I didnt study much for the final then he didnt give us a big curve and I got screwed by the final. He did not teach well at all and was slightly irritating.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2435 - A REALLY cool guy, good sense of humor, but i just hated the subject matter, and i just hate physics as a whole. But he is way better than Vasut. He promises a huge curve, but gives a little curve at the end.   - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2435 - He gives really hard tests and then talks about a big curve for the tests but the curve is a lot smaller than he says at first. He also gives difficult CAPA homework.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2435 - He's a good teacher compared to the other Physics II teachers. He doesn't have any kind of accent (he's from Kansas), he's down to earth, and pretty smart. Most of class is spent on proofs, but he does get to some really interesting stuff as well. Every so often he'll do a demonstration, and those are awesome. His tests are really difficult, but he says he scales the grades at the end of the semester, so don't worry too much about C's on the tests, because it'll probably end up as a B+ or A. The homework is on CAPA is is really difficult. There's almost always one that's nearly impossible.   - Grade In Class:B+