Fall 2026

Plants, Parasites, and People

PLANTS, PARASITES, AND PEOPLE explores the interaction between society and plant-associated microbes, covering topics like the Irish potato famine, pesticides, and genetically engineered organisms.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Aurelie Rakotondrafara3.8/5

Summary

1 / 7

The workload is generally light, consisting of weekly quizzes, three midterms, and self-directed lab assignments. Reviewers note that attendance is mandatory for participation, but the exams and quizzes are considered straightforward if students review the material.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
BOTANY/PLPATH 123 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.88/5 from 16 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.2/5 raw quality · 2.3/5 difficulty · 11 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Aurelie Rakotondrafara is frequently praised for her passion and enthusiasm, with students describing her as engaging and helpful. Reviewers note that she explains concepts thoroughly and maintains a welcoming attitude, making the course enjoyable for non-science majors.

Some students criticize her delivery, claiming she reads from a script and provides poor explanations of concepts. Others find the lectures redundant and unhelpful, suggesting that the online format and self-directed labs require significant independent effort despite the easy grading.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2021: 3.70 GPA, 85.2% A/AB (n=135 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.58 GPA, 76.6% A/AB (n=137 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.72 GPA, 86.7% A/AB (n=120 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Caitilyn Allen's historical reviews describe engaging lectures that connect biology to social contexts, with accessible office hours. Reviewers disagree on exam difficulty, with some finding them easy and others difficult but fair. Several note graded participation and time-consuming lab reports. Conversely, Ann MacGuidwin's historical reviews cite disorganized lectures, unclear test questions, and a difficult group project.

ANN MACGUIDWIN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

AURELIE RAKOTONDRAFARA is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CAITILYN ALLEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DOUGLAS I ROUSE is recorded teaching in Spring 2007. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction89 / 1360
LAB 301Classroom Instruction10 / 180
LAB 302Classroom Instruction11 / 180
LAB 304Classroom Instruction14 / 180
LAB 305Classroom Instruction12 / 180
LAB 306Classroom Instruction12 / 180
LAB 307Classroom Instruction6 / 180
LAB 303Classroom Instruction8 / 180
LAB 308Classroom Instruction16 / 180
LEC 001Classroom Instruction43 / 1360
LAB 301Classroom Instruction5 / 180
LAB 302Classroom Instruction7 / 180
LAB 304Classroom Instruction4 / 180
LAB 305Classroom Instruction6 / 180
LAB 306Classroom Instruction6 / 180
LAB 307Classroom Instruction10 / 180
LAB 303Classroom Instruction4 / 180
LAB 308Classroom Instruction1 / 180

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Aurelie Rakotondrafara teaches a highly accessible course that reviewers describe as easy and enjoyable, particularly for non-science majors. Students frequently praise her passion and the digestible format, though some note the content relies heavily on high school biology review.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.82 GPA, 93.2% A/AB (n=117 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.40 GPA, 67.0% A/AB (n=109 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.77 GPA, 83.8% A/AB (n=117 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The workload is generally light, consisting of weekly quizzes, three midterms, and self-directed lab assignments. Reviewers note that attendance is mandatory for participation, but the exams and quizzes are considered straightforward if students review the material.

Experiences vary regarding instruction quality; some students find the lectures redundant or poorly explained, while others appreciate the self-directed labs and TA support. The hybrid format and mandatory attendance are cited as specific structural elements affecting the student experience.

Topics

  • Irish potato famine
  • pesticides in current agriculture
  • economics and consumer preference in crop disease management
  • release of genetically engineered organisms

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.19 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
BOTANY/PLPATH 123 · Fall 2026

Plants, Parasites, and People

Recorded 2026-09-07
BOTANY/PLPATH 123 · Fall 2026

Plants, Parasites, and People

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:208:015771",
    "course_id": "BOTANY/PLPATH 123",
    "course_uid": "course_5f5ed7de88af3629fa7ac938",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "015771",
    "source_subject_id": "208",
    "title": "Plants, Parasites, and People",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:766:015771",
    "course_id": "BOTANY/PLPATH 123",
    "course_uid": "course_5f5ed7de88af3629fa7ac938",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "015771",
    "source_subject_id": "766",
    "title": "Plants, Parasites, and People",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "63a32514bc2df51522011ba8913929d2d049ac4d760b4f6cb9cb530e8f4368b5",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}