Super easy A, going to lecture isn’t required and all test questions are found in the textbook. Both the midterm and the final were pretty much exactly the same as the study guides she posts on CCLE. As long as you get a good group for the final project (16 page paper, but double spaced and in groups of 5 so it’s super easy) this class is a breeze

I will discuss the overall class and professor (positive and negative). The Assignments/Exams/Group Projects are a total of 1000 points:

!! PLEASE READ TO THE END IF POSSIBLE !!

Positioning Statement - 100
Creative Brief - 100
Press Release - 100

~GROUP WORK~
Market Research Survey - 100
Group Written IMC Plan - 300

~EXAMS~
Mid-term - 150
Final - 150
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TOTAL: 1000 Points
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Negative: I will be 100% honest, she is not the best professor I've had since I came to UCLA. Based on the earlier reviews, they said that she is nice to everyone. Yes she is but to a certain extent. A couple of students went to her office hours (which would be on Mondays & Tuesdays but in this case, the assignment was literally due on that Monday). I was present at that time because I also had questions to ask her. She gets mad at us because we are asking questions at the last minute. Well 1) You should have changed the time for your office hours to a different day if YOU knew especially that we were going to ask questions before turning in the assignment. 2) You can't get mad at us for asking questions. We are STUDENTS and you are the PROFESSOR/LECTURER who clearly has more experience that we do. The Appendix (located in the syllabus) tells us the directions to each assignment. So, it's like she hands the syllabus to us and says "Good Luck!" I know we have our assigned groups to help us but at the same time, you should be the one clarifying!! Clearly, this shows that she EXPECTS us to be experts on "Integrated Marketing Communications" when we have at least 20% of knowledge about the subject. ANOTHER problem I had was the lateness of responding to emails. (Also, that she doesn't want to help us anymore.)

This is one of the emails that she sends us: (This was on a Thursday, a few days before the IMC Plan is due)

"Hi Teams - I wanted to let you know that I am no longer previewing IMC Plans in depth. I may be able to answer a few questions here or there, but that's it. I also wanted to share that you should all be reviewing every section with every member of your team...Bounce your questions off each other -- work as a TEAM. Ten sections need to flow and you should all be helping one another.

I am getting the impression that many of you may be working in silos. I know you guys are crazy-smart, yet I find myself course correcting many more students than ever before in previous quarters, even over Zoom, with this exact same project. Are you all truly reviewing every briefing document and PowerPoint deck and taking to each other? I have given you all the tools and know-how."

Is this really how she is going to treat us?? I know we have a group of 5 for each team but some tend to do it at the last minute with their parts so that is why those who do it early, can ask if it's fine on how we wrote our parts FIRST. You have to find a group who is willing to cooperate and do things EARLY. This is my problem, if you are not willing to help us clarify (since the syllabus/appendix "supposedly" does, then what does that say?? My THIRD problem, she acts like a rebellious teenager in office hours. Or better yet, she has a two-face. During lecture (2 hours 50 minutes long on Mondays every week), she would put a smile on her face and ask students if they have questions about a certain assignment. Now, I'm like, "hmm, that's weird. A few minutes before lecture, in her office hours, she sounded really mean and rude to them, and why are you being nice all of a sudden?" This is how she was acting throughout the whole quarter. My FOURTH problem is the grading. She thinks that because she's a know-all, she grades us harshly. Some comments are even vague. Better yet, I've gone to her office to fix those mistakes before turning it in and I still get low B's (or lower) for those assignments. So, what am I doing wrong or what am I not understanding?

MY LAST NEGATIVE COMMENTS: Overall, I feel like she needs to respect her students, be CALMER during office hours, and should be willing to help students with their assignments. The majority of our work is individual. I feel like it should be more about GROUP work. This whole quarter made me feel more lonely since it was all INDIVIDUAL work. Thanks to others who were willing to help me (and they were from other groups), I couldn't done any of this without them. They are like very supportive and I couldn't be more grateful for that friendship.

On the Side Note: I've had better professors than her who would make FLEXIBLE arrangements to office hours, answers your questions ON TIME (In minutes) and will do so for the remainder of the quarter. Comparing her to others, I would say they are the BEST and would love for you guys to take their classes. They are (Political Science Department) Sasha Issenberg, Kye Barker, (Comm Department) Dee A. Bridgewater.
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Onto the positive comments>

POSITIVE: The structure of the class fascinated me. I loved how every assignment capture the overall theme of Integrated Marketing Communications. For example, my favorite was the Market Research Survey in which you and your team must come up with at LEAST ten questions so that you can get others to take the survey (you need the statistical data afterwards for the IMC Plan). The other assignments, I feel like should be clarified more but they were good too. The Press Release was based on you creating your own like Covergirl or Nike's examples. With the product that you and your team have chosen, you are to make your individual Press Release. (I was confused because she told us to focus on the slides, but the syllabus gives exact details on how to do the assignment). The exams are fairly easy because she gave us the study guide for the chapters she assigned us to study on. This also applies to the Final exam.

Thank you for those who were able to read my long comment/review about her and the class overall. I hope this comment also tells her what to improve for the next quarters!!

:)

Professor Feramisco is overall nice, but she is not my favorite professor. She definetly plays favorites, and it was sometimes hard to communicate with her. In both her feedback after assignments and office hours, she was vague. Many of us were confused, and when we would send her emails, she either took a while to respond or sent out a mass email that said she would no longer be accepting questions. She always blamed us or the class group chat for our confusion, rather than her vague instructions which was discouraging. This pandemic has been stressful, and you can tell it also affected her. She snapped at me in office hours once just for asking for clarity on a question, and I almost cried (granted it was during midterms week, and I was already stressed and emotional). Her lectures are easy, just a recap of the textbook, but very long. While the content was easy to grasp, this was my most stressful class as I had to make sure every assignment was catered perfectly to her preference. Otherwise, she took off lots of points. Also, she once made a brief ADHD joke, which rubbed me the wrong way, but I know it wasn't mean spirited. The content I learned will definetly be helpful in the real world, but I probably would have enjoyed this class more with a different professor who was more detailed.

Overall, this class was an easy A. Professor Feramisco was an okay lecturer who got the job done. Her lectures were kind of boring, but they were the basics of communication that most people should know through common sense, so I often found myself not really paying attention and just going on my phone. Her lectures require participation, but unless if you're stuck in groups to present a mini presentation, they don't require you to put much mental effort in.
Her class mainly consists of giving 4 different speeches and 1 written analysis paper.
The first speech is a Introduction Speech (5-6 minutes recorded) where you literally just talk about anything that you think represents you.
The second speech is an Informative Speech (5-6 minutes recorded) where you give random facts about a topic of your choice.
The third speech is a Persuasive Speech (5-6 minutes recorded) where you persuade someone to believe your case about a topic of your choice.
The fourth speech is a Ceremonial/Special Occasions Speech where you give an award to someone in your class and give a speech accepting an award.
The written analysis is a 4-5 page analysis of a speech (you're given the Youtube video links to 2 different speeches to choose from) and rate how well the speaker presented it.
The professor grades super easily, so if you just do the assignments, you'll have an A in the class.
I thought Prof. Feramisco genuinely tried to connect with students and often asked us about updates on our lives during remote learning. We even had a "bring your pet to class day" where you could show your pet on camera, which was a wholesome moment in the class. Totally recommend this class!

The class material was very interesting, especially for those looking to go into marketing. However, professor Feramisco had very specific expectations of assignments and would only give feedback before the submission sometimes. Occasionally, when she would review assignments during office hours here comments were dismissive, she would simply say "it's good," or if she graded it, "I gave you feedback already." The problem is her feedback is very unclear and she has favourites in the class. She includes examples in her slides that she does not even like/use herself.

This class was one of the most useful, interesting, and industry-applicable classes I've taken here at UCLA. However, there are a few things you should know going into the class:

BASICS:
Exams - 1 Midterm, 1 Final (not cumulative) about 75 questions in 90 minutes all from textbook readings, not difficult at all and reasonably written, each worth 150 points
Assignments: a few independent assignments to turn in worth 300 points
Group project: you brainstorm and market a product with a group of 5 students and turn in group submissions, total worth 400 points
Participation: Attendance isn't factored in to your grade but she definitely encourages participation and seems to play favorites with those who speak up more

CONS:
- Not the most flexible or understanding, often got exasperated with students asking questions and would send rant emails or blame students for things out of their control
- Unclear instructions and isn't super inclined to clarify them, which really shows when she grades
- Tough grader, she really goes through each assignment and docks points even if you followed the syllabus completely. This is where you really need to go to office hours and ask her what exactly she wants out of each assignment. Beware she might be impatient with you

PROS:
- She clearly knows her material very well and is a very experienced marketer, no-nonsense and gets down to business teaching you things that will actually help you in the real world
- Even though she docks points frequently, she provides constructive feedback that actually helps you improve your marketing skills
- Super interesting class content and guest speakers
- Very engaging project structure and class design
- Great networking experience with students who want to pursue marketing or a similar field

Overall, I would still take this class again no hesitation. She can sometimes be a frustrating instructor but she means well and truly wants to help students be good marketers. Definitely go to office hours, ask questions, and engage with her because she has a wealth of knowledge and that way you'll get the most of her experience/class. Don't be afraid to run your work past her or ask for clarification because you'd rather put up with it in office hours than have points deducted from your grade.

Professor Feramisco is a really nice and supportive professor. The class requires you to write and deliver four speeches in total, along with one written analysis essay. Since it was online, you were required to upload a recording of you delivering the speech. If she can tell you put in the effort, you will do well in this class. Attendance is graded, so you need to show up. She has mini group presentation assignments in class that started out stressful, but eventually became fun as you get to know your classmates. This class is not difficult, and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to take COMM1.

Best class i’ve ever taken. do the work and you’ll get a good grade. professor very helpful and nice

This class was very simply structured and relatively easy even if you struggle with public speaking. There are required speeches every two weeks that can be prepared for in less than five hours or so. Professor Feramisco creates a safe environment where literally every student in class no matter their level of shyness actively participates. Overall, happy I took this class! It helped me decide I wanted to switch my major from mcdb to comm even though I am intimidated by public speaking :)

I took this class in Spring of 2022, and I would suggest this class to anyone interested in developing their public speaking abilities. Though I personally took it as a prerequisite for the communications major, this course definitely teaches important real-world skills and I learned a great deal from this class. In regards to the professor, Feramisco is by no means a harsh grader, but she isn't easy either. You get out of this class what you put in, and if you complete the assignments to the best of your ability, you'll most likely receive an A.