I took this during winter quarter 2021 for a GE. The first 3 lectures or so were over zoom and attendance was tracked. However, then the class switched to asynchronous lectures so obviously attendance didn’t matter anymore.

It’s required to do the readings before every lecture but I stopped doing them because they could get super long and they’re covered in lecture anyway. Even though there’s math mentioned in the readings and lectures, there was never any math in the midterm/final so I just didn’t worry about it. The exams are based on the lecture slides so as long as you know those I think you’ll be fine. I definitely thought the exams were fair.

After every lecture there is a short open book lecture quiz that are basically just taken from the slides, these are really easy and just to pad your grade a little. Discussions are mandatory but I didn’t really find them too helpful

There are 2 papers, one op-Ed and one policy memo worth 30% of your grade . I thought these were graded pretty easily (but that depends on your TA) and there are lots of examples and guidelines provided. There’s also more than enough time to complete them imo. There isn’t a big workload for the class, just go to lecture, do the lecture quizzes, and the papers and exams

Overall I thought the class was interesting and not too hard for a GE at all. The prof was super nice and accommodating throughout the entire quarter too. Sometimes lectures could be a little boring but I do think I learned some valuable things lol. I’d recommend this class!

Professor Christensen does a great job at teaching this class. In the midst of all the COVID panic, he has been more than understanding and accommodating. You really get the impression that you can come to him if you have a problem. He teaches the course material really clearly and is always receptive to clarifying something. The tests are not necessarily easy, but they are also not crazy hard. The key is in the wording as some of the questions can be tricky. The other assignments are pretty fun and easy to do as long as you pay attention to lectures and do most of the readings. There is also a manageable amount of reading.
That being said, he did not round my 89 to an A so keep that in mind. Make sure you do that extra credit!!

Content:
This class focused on how we can change people's decisions for the better. Professor Christensen does use some math at times, but this math is not necessary for understanding (though it does help make things a little clearer). A large portion of this course was on policy implementation--while it was not exactly what I had expected, I enjoyed the class nonetheless. We considered how people might react to policy differently based on the situation and how best to tailor said policy to a given scenario.

Grading:
Professor Christensen distributes the grade relatively evenly across multiple sections, helping to reduce the stress caused by a single assignment or exam. Starting early on the two papers does help because you can discuss ideas with your TA (mine was Laurelyn, who was extremely helpful) to help focus your paper. The exams are not too difficult, but do pay attention to details and the careful wording of the questions on exams.

Overall, this class was an exciting class with Professor Christensen helping us understand the material and ensuring that we had a place to talk if we ever felt uncomfortable. I enjoyed this class and wish I could have taken it in person because it would have been that much better. Do be prepared to learn a little about policy implementation and how that affects people's decisions; a willingness to use math can help make the material more easily digestible.

This class isn't hard. I could have gotten an A in non-COVID times, but alas.. I didn't really enjoy this class as much as I thought I would. It's essentially political science, and I've just switched from poli sci, so maybe that's why.
Anyway, the lectures were very clear and easy to follow, but on 1.5x speed. The pre-recorded lectures are good quality, but unfortunately I found the pace and volume to be very sleep-inducing. I couldn't make it through a lecture without a break or other distraction. However, when I did pay attention, I understood everything. But usually I preferred to just read the slides myself without the lecture.
Super easy quizzes, just make sure you understand all of the slides and you'll be fine.
There were a TON of readings, so much so that scared me into not doing them. They were interesting when I read some, tough.
The policy memo is why I have a B; it was my first kind of paper like that and I didn't do well. The op-ed is a lot easier, though.
Overall, not a good choice for a GE unless you just want political science. But easy and interesting depending on your attention span.

I took this class as a last minute GE because I thought it would be interesting. I found it incredibly boring, but at least it was easy. I had to put the professor on 1.5x speed because he talks so slow and I never did a single reading but still managed to do fine. There are two big papers-- the policy memo and the op-ed, both of which I found incredibly easy and we had plenty of time to do them. We also had a midterm and final. This class was really easy but soooooo boring that I wouldn't recommend it.

This is one of the most organized and interesting classes. The slides are very well explained and the quizzes show exactly what is reviewed during class. If you start the assignments on time and learn how to skim the readings to complete the weekly quizzes on time, this class is a breeze and easy A.

This is a great GE to take! The material we covered was very interesting and actually very applicable to real life. Professor Christensen is a very clear lecturer, and his slides are easy to follow. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an "easy" and interesting GE!

I actually really liked this class a lot. The work material was relevant and engaging to real-life. I began to slack off post midterm thus the A- but the only tricky thing about his exams was the wording. Read the questions carefully

This class was average, I’m taking it for a Public Affairs requirement so it doesn’t matter either way, but I wouldn’t say this class was amazing but it wasn’t horrible. Prof was organized and I appreciated the CCLE layout and generous time to complete weekly quizzes! The midterm and final were unnecessarily complicated and the teaching staff didn’t really provide much info on the structure of exams so we really went into them blind (not knowing how many questions, what type of format, etc.) It was relatively easy to get an A as long as you kept up with lectures and did decently on the writing assignments (a policy memo and an op-ed which are the quintessential public affairs writing assignments).

<3 professor christensen <3

I took this class as a GE and seriously CANNOT recommend it enough: it's perfectly structured, incredibly engaging and relevant, will make you feel big-brained without running you into the ground with unnecessary reading and work. I feel like I learned so much in this class. dr. christensen was incredibly clear in all of his lectures, exams are very fair and ask you to apply course concepts in a reasonable manner. the class is well-paced and informative. it's a yes from me!

there are two main writing assignments that are pretty interesting to complete, a policy memo (15%) and an op-ed (15%). lecture and participation are worth 20% during covid-19. final is worth 20% and the midterm is worth 30%.

take this class!! you won't regret it