Comments:FDM 3320 - Took him in the summer of 2026. Self-paced. So everything I say here will apply to that. IDK what fall/spring semester looks like or how different it is.... Would recommend taking him in the minimesters though. Shafer is cool. Def a big video game nerd though, so if you're not into that, that may be a bit of a drag... Assignments are pretty easy. He just had us do quizzes that I think were max 5 questions per unit. You do two essays: one on any piece of media you want, and then a Media Company Profile. It's very detailed in the rubric (history, contributions, a few things that relate to the class content). I will admit: I chose a rather specific company, so that made my paper harder than say like Disney (He has expressed he gets tired of Disney papers lol.) I'm not sure what its like in fall/spring semesters, but in the summer, he releases midterm and final review guides that literally go through EVERYTHING (yes, everything) he talks about in his lectures... I just copied and pasted and took notes while watching the vids off that and did just fine. ALSO: For the summer class, it was open note tests... And you had access to the internet. (Hint hint). For certain things I did not wanna listen to him talk about or the documentaries... I looked the answers up... Only real "complaint" I have with him is lowkey some of the content (video games; he just rambled about his interests. Nothing wrong with that, but not super necessary... Could be my bias of not being a big video game person.) and his talking pace (weird, IK). He was hard to keep up with in the videos to the point I had to rewatch it... Got irritating. He is a nice guy and responded rather quickly in the summer through email. IDK if I'd really take another class with him though, NGL. Oh yeah: Don't get the textbook. Really. I didn't buy it and got an A. He says everything you need to know.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:FDM 3321 - Easiest professor I've ever had! put in effort and you'll see results. he plays videos in class to explain terms, at first I thought it was just a way to while off time, but it helped a lot in remembering material for the midterm. Awesome guy overall!!!  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:3320 - Super nice guy, and he really shares his enthusiasm for the material. Fair grader, decent workload. A really decent course overall. Look forward to working with him in the fall.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:FDM - I had Shafer for Business of Media, Media and Society and History of TV & Radio. some of my favorite classes at baylor. you learn without it feeling like a chore. he takes attendance but he doesn't count it against you if you miss unless you go over to like 11 absences. never any quizzes or homework really. theres papers but they are more than manageable and easy stuff to write about despite the length. exams are super easy. he puts the questions that will be on the test word for word on the study guide weeks before the midterm or final. he doesn't use all the questions, but he doesn't put a ridiculous amount of material not the study guide thats not necessary. he only puts like 15 questions and he uses like 7 or 8. he uses blue books on the test where u have to write out the answers, but he grades pretty easy as long as he can tell you know the material. TAKE HIM you won't regret it.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:Business of Media - Dr. Shafer has a natural curiosity about the world around him, which helps since he is part of the research efforts in the FDM department. He is so chill that I accidentally called him dude maybe more than once....oops! But seriously he is very interested in the material he teaches and it shows. He views his students basically as peers, which is awesome from anyone with aPhD. He is a big believer in team projects, he just wants us to know how to work well with others I think. Most FDM professions require massive team cooperation for success. He prepares his students well for life after college. I love this Professor and so will you!  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:3321/3352/4340 - I have taken three classes with Dr. Shafer - History of Radio & TV, Media Programming, and Media & Society. I got an easy A in every class. I also helped him with his video game research during Spring 2014. I keep coming back to Dr. Shafer because the man is a brilliant thinker who doesn't give much of a workload. He is funny, understanding, and extremely helpful. Plenty of extra credit opportunities. You will watch South Park at least once in class. You have to write one massive paper for class, but as far as hard work goes that's about it. His tests are easy - he posts all of the Powerpoints online and every test question comes from them. He asks big questions and really encourages you to think critically of things, so his classes are a great combination of fun and thoughtfulness. You will learn some really interesting things without having to work your ass off - which for someone like me is perfection. Dr. Shafer is the best prof I've taken in the FDM department, period, in terms of teaching great classes. Media & Society in particular is one of the most fascinating classes I've ever taken. In other words, I love the man and I love his classes, so take him!  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:3320/3352 - Dr. Shafer is a fun professor and knows that learning is more important than making a good grade. His classes have very low workload except for the research papers that you have to write for both of these classes. It may take a good amount of time to write them, but he doesn’t grade hard on them. Just make sure that you are straight to the point, no flowery garbage like you would have in English papers. His exams are mostly based on lectures. I only missed a few questions all semester because they were from the textbook. He is very laid back and easy going so no need to sweat. He also loves the show, 24, which is pretty funny to see him talk about that in History of Radio & TV.

FDM 3320 (Business of Media) is pretty easy as long as you pay attention in class. It sounds intimidating, but all he has you do is one major paper with a presentation, a midterm, and a final. The written exams are all open ended. He gives you the questions to these exams ahead of time so that you can study and prepare to answer these questions on the day of the exam. The questions stay the same. You just choose to answer like 5/10 of them; something like that. Not bad at all! The book helps to answer these but if you pay attention to his lectures, you should be able to answer all of the test questions. The book is not required seriously. I never read for his classes and still made an A easily.

FDM 3352 (History of Radio & Television) was a fun class, although it is at 8 AM. At least there isn’t a screening time for this course like History of Motion Pictures with Kendrick. However, this course is all based on lecture. I didn’t crack open the textbook for this class either. He has you do two papers, a midterm, and a final. The written exams are all multiple choice, true/false, and matching. He tries to not trick you on these exams at all so it’s pretty straightforward. Just pay attention in class. If you miss a day, don’t panic. Just look over the PowerPoints, and you should be able to still make a good grade! The hardest part was attending class for the entire time of the semester because it was at 8 AM. Getting up to go to a class to learn history is not that exciting. Don\'t miss the opportunity to get to know him though. He has some pretty cool connections with people in the world. Plus, he loves video games.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:3320/4340 - Awesome teacher all around. Interesting classes. Light and fair work load. Shouldn't be too hard to make an A and enjoy the class at the same time. Had him for three classes now... (History of Radio & Television, Business of Media, and Media and Society).  - Grade In Class:A