Fall 2026

Environmental Geology

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY applies geology to problems from intense use of the earth and its resources.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Ken Ferrier3.6/5Matthew Aleksey

Summary

1 / 7

The course features weekly online quizzes with two attempts and mandatory weekly labs. Quizzes are described as tough and sometimes misaligned with lecture content, while labs range from easy to math-heavy.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Not open to students with credit forGEOSCI 100

ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106 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

Professors

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

Raw average: 3.48/5 from 23 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: 3.7/5 raw quality · 2.6/5 difficulty · 19 reviews

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

Ken Ferrier makes geoscience material interesting and digestible, though some find lectures unnecessary or boring; he listens to feedback and cares about student learning.

The course is easy with weekly quizzes and mandatory labs, where quizzes are often difficult or misaligned but allow two attempts, and labs vary from math-heavy to finishable within the scheduled time.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.47 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=188 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.65 GPA, 85.3% A/AB (n=184 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.23 GPA, 61.0% A/AB (n=146 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Michael Cardiff: Ken Ferrier is not listed in the provided reviews, so no summary can be generated based on the supplied evidence.

KEN FERRIER is recorded teaching in Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL CARDIFF is recorded teaching in Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. 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 Instruction22 / 2400
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 302Classroom Instruction4 / 200
DIS 303Classroom Instruction1 / 200
DIS 304Classroom Instruction5 / 200
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 306Classroom Instruction2 / 200
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 308Classroom Instruction3 / 200
DIS 309Classroom Instruction7 / 200
DIS 310Classroom Instruction0 / 200
LEC 001Classroom Instruction105 / 2000
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 302Classroom Instruction27 / 240
DIS 303Classroom Instruction7 / 240
DIS 304Classroom Instruction18 / 240
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 306Classroom Instruction22 / 240
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 308Classroom Instruction17 / 240
DIS 309Classroom Instruction14 / 240
DIS 310Classroom Instruction0 / 00

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Ken Ferrier teaches an easy introductory geoscience course suitable for physical science credits. Students generally find the material digestible and the workload manageable, though some note that lectures can feel optional or lengthy.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.41 GPA, 67.7% A/AB (n=93 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.23 GPA, 61.0% A/AB (n=146 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.21 GPA, 57.1% A/AB (n=70 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course features weekly online quizzes with two attempts and mandatory weekly labs. Quizzes are described as tough and sometimes misaligned with lecture content, while labs range from easy to math-heavy.

Students appreciate Ferrier’s passion and caring nature, though lecture engagement varies. Weekly quizzes are a significant grade component and may not align with lecture emphasis, while labs rely on helpful TAs.

Topics

  • Earth and resource use

Skills

  • Applying geological principles to real-world problems

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 · 0.22 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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106 · Fall 2026

Environmental Geology

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106 · Fall 2026

Environmental Geology

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": "1272:360:008461",
    "course_id": "ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106",
    "course_uid": "course_9583857ad55fe28b37a6eef1",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "008461",
    "source_subject_id": "360",
    "title": "Environmental Geology",
    "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": "1272:420:008461",
    "course_id": "ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106",
    "course_uid": "course_9583857ad55fe28b37a6eef1",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "008461",
    "source_subject_id": "420",
    "title": "Environmental Geology",
    "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
Download part 1
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": "27c457efce3ff01eb90215e598ca1deb4f78551a39dee508a8a18f594df5dc3f",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}