Fall 2026

Introduction to Environmental Science

Introduction to Environmental Science covering Earth's interconnected systems, natural services, and environmental challenges.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Nick Balster3.3/5

Summary

1 / 6

Reviewers consistently describe the workload as heavy, citing long readings and weekly quizzes that function like exams with tight time limits and high point values.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
SOILSCI 250

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: 3.20/5 from 64 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: 2.0/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 6 reviews

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

Nick Balster is criticized for outdated teaching and confusing lectures that fail to prepare students for difficult weekly quizzes and exams. Reviewers describe the workload as excessive with little relevant learning, noting a lack of grading curves despite high difficulty.

Some students find Balster passionate and caring, appreciating his effort in creating materials and willingness to award points for justified quiz answers. These reviewers recommend the class, though they acknowledge the quizzes remain challenging and the workload is significant.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 2.89 GPA, 45.5% A/AB (n=66 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.17 GPA, 53.7% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.07 GPA, 52.3% A/AB (n=65 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

NICK BALSTER is recorded teaching in 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.

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 Instruction67 / 1000

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

Reviews of Nick Balster’s SOILSCI 250 are sharply divided. Some students find the course useless and difficult with irrelevant content, while others praise his passion and care for student learning.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.17 GPA, 53.7% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.55 GPA, 72.1% A/AB (n=43 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.07 GPA, 52.3% A/AB (n=65 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Reviewers consistently describe the workload as heavy, citing long readings and weekly quizzes that function like exams with tight time limits and high point values.

Experiences vary significantly; some students feel they learn nothing relevant and find the teaching confusing, while others appreciate the professor's passion and willingness to award points for justified answers.

Topics

  • Interconnected Earth systems and material/energy exchange
  • Natural systems and ecosystem services
  • Environmental challenges and human solutions

Skills

  • Discuss Earth as an interconnected system of material and energy exchange
  • Provide a broad overview of basic environmental science concepts
  • Explore natural systems, services, challenges, and human solutions

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

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AB
B
BC
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D
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Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · 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

1320 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
SOILSCI 250 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Environmental Science

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": "1272:908:025422",
    "course_id": "SOILSCI 250",
    "course_uid": "course_04ccf69fb33982ff8a62a49f",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "025422",
    "source_subject_id": "908",
    "title": "Introduction to Environmental Science",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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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.

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Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d670b7c04e09d8787c4947c1e43c7086b8cd359faade71daf15ba8d5032e9629",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}