Dr. Walrond is an absolutely excellent teacher! His class goes by very fast and you have to be willing to put in the extra time to read his objectives online and more. I also found the book helped me a lot in clarification of some of the systems we went through. Basically, before you take this class, you should know that you HAVE to have time to study for this class. As long as you can keep up with the material and know most of it really well, you should be fine. I put in a considerable amount of effort and got a B, so be prepared to work hard. However, classes are fun and Dr. Walrond has a lot of enthusiasm for this course.

Pros: he definitely knows a lot about the class and is very helpful when he's needed. videos lectures so you can rewatch them.

Cons: terrible handwriting and he teaches very quickly. class is incredibly hard

I know a lot of people have said similar things, but I'm just going to reiterate what really helped me in this class, because it is definitely challenging: Take good notes. You must engage yourself in the material if youre going to learn it. And don't just draw all the crazy diagrams; make sure you write notes that you'll understand 2 weeks later before a test. Definitely sign up for BMS 200; the TA's sum up everything really well. I bought the book online for 15 bucks, but never opened it, and if you really want an E-book, I'd reccommend splitting the cost with other 1 or 2 other people. (Everyone pitches in, and you all share the same username/password. Saves some money). Also, Miller and Clay usually teach sections of this class, and they teach very differently from Walrond, so make sure you adjust. Study Miller's questions on past tests, because he uses questions over and over, or changes them slightly. Finally, what helped me the most was making notecards before every test. My notes were jumbled and all over the place, so re-writing different concepts and diagrams on notecards REALLY helped. And then you'll have all the notecards for the final. This class is absolutely amazing so have fun!

My biggest piece of advice for this course is to know the material in and out. Walrond doesn't have very straight forward questions on the exams. My problem was that I could always eliminate all but two of the answers. From there it was a 50/50 shot. I guess I just chose wrong. Also, I had a private tutor Walrond himself suggested to me. Pretty awesome guy but I still got a D in the course. All while dropping a lot of cash in the process. While Walrond is the main Prof. for this course he is by far not the best. Dr. Bowen was sweet. His reproduction unit at the end of the semester was very educational. Also, make sure you need this class. I needed seperate courses for both anatomy and physiology. Not a combined course like this. So in short I took the class all for nothing and I have a four credit D on my transcript. Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into kiddos.

Dr Walrond gives you every opportunity to succeed in his class, you just gotta take them all and put a lot of effort in. I took the recitation, which helped a lot, went to the extra credit tutor/study sessions, watched the online lectures after I went to the normal lecture. I reviewed my notes, studied tests given earlier semesters, read the book, reviewed the e-book. On the first day of class, someone behind me said, "Well here goes my GPA!" and I thought, "Hell no, not mine!". I got an A+ in the recitation class and an A in BMS 300. You can get an A too, if you stay up with the materials, don't miss class, watch the online lectures, go to recitation, go to study sessions and what I think is most important is to get the old tests from the Testing Center and learn how Dr. Walrond tests. That was probably the best thing I did that helped me the most. He often asks very similar questions. Just be careful, he will ask nearly the exact same question that he did on a previous test, but change it every so slightly so that the answer is different. Read each question carefully, don't rush!! This messed me up a few times. Dr Walrond talks pretty fast and his writing is hard to read, but he is a nice guy, really knowledgeable and will help you if you go ask him questions after class. When you take this class, don't be scared, be fierce and be prepared to hustle for your A! You can do it!!

Pros: Great teacher, curves exams around 5-10 points each. The extra credit can give you up to 12 points added onto tests grades so high B could still get you an A

Cons: Tests very difficult

I got a 65% on the first exam by only going to lecture, then started watching the lecture online in addition to going to class. When I watched the lectures online with my notes in front of me I was able to understand the material much better. Got A's on the rest of the exams and he replaces your lowest grade with the final. YOU CAN DO IT!

Many people rave about Dr. Walrond, and I can understand why. He's a very likable professor and really is enthusiastic and tries to break down things in a very simplistic manner. That being said, this course and his style of teaching is very geared towards visual learners, as well as the vast majority of psychology majors taking the course. For me as a biochem/premed major, this was very frustrating as he would kind of fumble his way through a lot of the more chemistry/biochemistry, and often times would be incorrect in some of the material. His diagrams are pretty messy, which made it pretty much essential for me to read the "optional" eBook. I found that the tests were mostly geared around the eBook even though he claims the lectures are sufficient.



Overall, not a difficult course and Dr. Walrond is very nice, but I'm not sure I would take him again if I had the option as I didn't learn anything from his lectures.

I cannot say enough great things about Dr. Walrond. He is enthusiastic and energetic, which was very inspiring to me. I feel the reason a lot of my peers didn't do well in the class was because all they did was draw the pictures he drew and then listened to what he said. People don't realize that what you really need to write down is all the verbal stuff he says inbetween drawings, because that is how you will be able to put together systems and tie everything together. No, your notes shouldn't be neat and perfect because you will be writing fast, but that allows for you to rewrite your notes following the lecture so as to repeat the lecture in your head, and do it soon so you can decipher what you had written before it's out of your mind. If you really pay attention to and write down what he doesn't put on the board, rewrite your notes, and go to tutor sessions, I guarantee this class will go well for you.

Dr. Walrond is EXCELLENT! He is probably one of the best professors at CSU, hands down. The class is difficult, but Dr. Walrond presents the material in an easy to follow way and walks you through everything step-by-step. Although he doesn't dumb anything down (although he may skim past some things), he is very easy to understand and is always willing to sacrifice lecture time or meet after class to clarify. When I registered for this class to fulfill my Psychology requirement, I was afraid from how challenging I heard it was and because I have a weak stomach for health material. Before I was even registered, I went to his office to talk to him and he happily talked to me about the class, helped my fear of the material, and explained that he was always willing to help if I needed it. Overall, excellent...just go to the help sessions and recitation, study, and go to every class and you'll do well with him!

Overall Dr. Walrond is a nice guy and does whatever he can to try to help the students learn. His lecturing is subpar however with lots of messy drawings on the board, that you spend so much time trying to copy down in class, that by the end you haven't been able to listen much, and looking back on the notes you have uninterpretable garble.His main strength is his enthusiasm and willingness to help the students out. He videotapes every class, so that you can replay each lecture, but the lectures aren't a whole lot better the second time you watch them. This instructor gets a so-so grade from me. I can see why some people like him, but I thought his teaching practices, and difficult to read on-line notes made for a class more difficult than it needed to be.

Dr. Walrond is the near-perfect professor. He has a voice that makes you think you are watching the discovery channel, and it really does help you listen. He covers a lot of material, and be prepared to know everything to a point. The tests are quite detailed, but everything that is on the tests has been covered in class or is on his lecture notes, so GO OVER THEM! Also, get the tests from test file, for there will be about 5-10 questions from previous exams. He really expects everyone to know how the body works, and once you get out of the class you will. People have said that going to the tutoring sessions and the recitation has helped them, but I went to neither and did perfectly fine. Just study, study, study and you will be fine.

You can read the other reviews to hear why Dr. Walrond is a great professor to have, especially for anatomy.I just want to warn students who will be taking the class to buy the textbook rather than the online E-Book. The switch was made this semester to the e-book because the RamCT notes were supposedly getting to be on the verge of plagiarism.HOWEVER, the e-book costs $120 for the semester, while a new textbook costs $180 and can be sold back! I was extremely frustrated to find that the e-book was the same as the notes on RamCT used to be, and then Walrond ended up posting all of the notes on RamCT for free anyways!!So don't waste $120 on some disorganized, hard-to-follow-and-navigate notes. I wish that I had kept the textbook!

Pros: He really cares about ensuring that the students learn his material. He knows a lot about the material and I honestly wished he had taught the entire class throughout the semester. Videos of the lecture are posted online so if I missed a day I could catch up, but they're really secondary to the classroom itself. If you find a good spot it's easy to get what you need for the exams and studying is a breeze.

Cons: The class is hard. It's a lot of material, but that's not the teacher's fault. In fact, Dr. Walrond as always willing to answer my questions. It is true that his handwriting is a bit difficult to read at times, so I hope you're not super anal.

Best class I have ever taken in my life. Walrond is the best teacher for the job.

Dr. Walrond is by far my favorite professor at CSU. He explained things clearly and his material was very interesting! I looked forward to this class. The class is pretty difficult so i suggest going to the tutoring sessions and all of the reviews. Having a study group would be helpful too. The first test is easy, but they get harder after that so don't feel like you don't need to study if you get an A on the first exam. Dr. Walron was 100% available to help students outside of class and he is SUPER flexible with his test dates (he let my friend take her's a day later because she called and said she wasn't ready yet.) He is an amazing teacher and I would recommend his courses to anyone.

TESTING PARADIGM IS FLAWED

Professor Walrond is a great educator and very enthusiastic about what he teaches, but his testing methods are tragically flawed. This is supposed to be an introductory class to give students a general overview of the systems of the body. For comparison, think of this as being what a general practitioner knows. When it comes to testing, you are expected to have a specialist's in depth knowledge of each system. I came away from the final feeling as though I learned nothing at all this semester even though I know the opposite is true. Be prepared to spend many, many hours studying for this class with the very real risk of none of it paying off.

Walrond was a great professor and I enjoyed this course. It is a lot of work and the material can be difficult, but if you go to the lectures and utilize the online notes and practice exams you will be fine. Signing up for an optional recitation is helpful. Also, the test questions often come from old exams. I wouldn't recommend buying the textbook though, because the information supplied in class and online is sufficient to study from. Sometimes Walrond's notes in class are scattered and hard to follow because he draws a lot and doesn't use many words - but the online notes clarify them. I found the course to be pretty interesting and I was rarely bored.

A great professor at CSU - he's obviously taught this class many times and his lecture material is clearly organized. Don't bother buying the book, or the online application thing. Merely GO TO CLASS, GO TO CLASS, GO TO CLASS and take extremely good notes. Oh, and TAKE THE RECITATION COURSE - it's so so helpful, and the TAs have lots of great tips on what to study. Be sure to start studying several days prior to exams because the amount of material on each exam is significant. Warning- the final is incredibly difficult, and killed my grade. And beware that Walrond's exam reviews aren't very helpful if you don't have specific questions to ask him.

Not meaning to sound like I'm tooting my horn here, but as an honors student I rarely have to study very hard for tests and I still get A's.THIS CLASS WAS AN EXCEPTION.After getting a B- on the first test, I dedicated the rest of my semester to bringing up my grade. I studied ridiculously hard, but still could never get over a B on any of the tests including the final. Go to class, sign up for the recitation, study a little bit every day, GO TO OFFICE HOURS. If i had done more of the last two, i think i could have pulled off an A. Go to class, i cannot stress this enough. Plus watching him lecture is sort of like watching the discovery channel :)

Walrond is an excellent and enthusiastic professor. I took this course with him, Clay, and Miller, so make sure you know what they want as well. With Walrond, you don't really need to read outside of class, but I would highly recommend going to the TA tutorials (every week) and signing up for BMS 200 to clarify what he talks about in class. If you can understand his notes and how they all fit together and talk to the TA's so you know what he will most likely test you on you are solid for the course. He repeats his illustrations a lot so it helps everyone understand what he is talking about, and of course, it's all from memory. Outstanding class.

Pros: GTA’s teach the class, basic review of what Walrond teaches, 14 quizzes (1 each week, drop the lowest 3 scores)

Cons: Only quizzes for grades, if you fail quizzes, you fail the class

BMS 300 all over, in a simpler format. 1 quiz each week, 10 questions, opens on Tuesday, closes the next Tuesday. I’d open it the day it opens, print out the quiz, keep it with me all week and fill in the answers and Professor Walrond talked about it in class, then finish it over the weekend and submit it. Extra credit is offered, easy to get an A. Don’t miss class, participation counts towards grades (miss 3 classes, percent drops…). Easy 1 credit GPA booster.