MICROBIAL GENETICS & MOLECULAR MACHINES examines modern microbial genetics and molecular processes.
The exam material is reported to expect too much from students, with unclear study indications provided by the instructor.
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MICROBIO 303 or concurrent enrollment or graduate/professional standing
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Katrina Forest is criticized for assuming students are experts by exam time, leading to unfair exams with unclear study expectations. Reviewers report that the material covered on tests exceeds what was taught, resulting in low average scores and high difficulty.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2016: 2.69 GPA, 29.5% A/AB (n=78 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.31 GPA, 40.0% A/AB (n=55 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No reviews exist for current instructors Katrina Forest or Leah McKinney. Historical reviews for Briana Burton describe her as a clear lecturer and skilled scientist who modified assessments for fairness, though some students found her uncaring and unresponsive outside of office hours.
BRIANA BURTON is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
KATRINA FOREST is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 61 / 70 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
A single review from 2016 advises against taking the course in Spring, citing unfair exams and excessive expectations from instructors Katrina Forest and Leah McKinney.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.26 GPA, 47.2% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.34 GPA, 61.7% A/AB (n=60 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.26 GPA, 44.1% A/AB (n=34 letter grades).
The exam material is reported to expect too much from students, with unclear study indications provided by the instructor.
Students found the exams unfair and the instructor's assumption of expert-level knowledge to be disconnected from reality.
– average GPA
Approximate 80% prediction interval
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.
Through Fall 2026
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.
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.
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Microbial Genetics & Molecular Machines
Recorded 2026-09-07[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:192:001619",
"course_id": "MICROBIO 470",
"course_uid": "course_50097f4cc0aabc7da8a401b4",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "001619",
"source_subject_id": "192",
"title": "Microbial Genetics & Molecular Machines",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
}
]Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "16063f10713ace1c71c632ee862654f54ac4ebceb0d2a2bfc6515d9300ec5e2d",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}