Fall 2026

Animal Biology

ANIMAL BIOLOGY covers general biological principles including evolution, ecology, genetics, and human physiology.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Sharon Thoma4.1/5Lauren Riters4.0/5John Orrock2.9/5

Summary

1 / 6

The course is content-heavy, requiring significant study time for exams. Reviews describe tests as difficult or confusing, with some noting that attendance is crucial for success.

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 forBOTANY/​BIOLOGY/​ZOOLOGY 151 or 152

BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101 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

Sharon Thoma

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

Raw average: 4.16/5 from 364 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: 4.1/5 raw quality · 3.2/5 difficulty · 23 reviews

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

Sharon Thoma is praised for clear explanations, engaging lectures, and approachability. Reviewers note helpful slides and availability for questions, though some find the pace fast. She is described as a great teacher who values student effort.

Some students report significant difficulties, citing hard exams, annoying quizzes, and heavy workloads. One reviewer calls the class awful for non-science majors, while another reports denied disability accommodations. Others warn that exams are rigorous and require extensive studying.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.57 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=574 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.66 GPA, 30.6% A/AB (n=591 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.68 GPA, 31.9% A/AB (n=426 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Lauren Riters

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

Raw average: 4.15/5 from 52 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: 3.0/5 raw quality · 4.0/5 difficulty · 3 reviews

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

Lauren Riters is approachable with accessible office hours, though her slide-based lectures can be hard to follow. Reviewers disagree on exam difficulty; one found tests hardest ever, while another noted they were not harder but confusing. A recent review confirms her exams are very hard, requiring significant study.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 2.66 GPA, 29.5% A/AB (n=501 letter grades); Spring 2024: 2.69 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=516 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.57 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=574 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

John Orrock

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

Raw average: 2.79/5 from 117 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.

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

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 2.68 GPA, 30.9% A/AB (n=751 letter grades); Fall 2024: 2.64 GPA, 30.7% A/AB (n=642 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.66 GPA, 30.6% A/AB (n=591 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Warren Porter describe him as nice but note that tests were harder than expected and lectures lacked sufficient explanation. Reviewers found the content relied too heavily on pictures rather than verbal instruction.

EMILY STANLEY is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

HILARY DUGAN is recorded teaching in Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN ORROCK is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KAREN LEE MURPHY STEUDEL is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LAUREN RITERS is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHARON THOMA is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

WARREN PAUL PORTER is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011. 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 Instruction174 / 2000
LEC 002Classroom Instruction156 / 2000
LEC 001Classroom Instruction92 / 2000
LEC 002Classroom Instruction77 / 2000

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

Sharon Thoma provides engaging lectures and clear slides, though some find the exams difficult. Lauren Riters offers informative sessions and accessible office hours, but her tests are also noted as challenging.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.57 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=574 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.66 GPA, 30.6% A/AB (n=591 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.68 GPA, 31.9% A/AB (n=426 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is content-heavy, requiring significant study time for exams. Reviews describe tests as difficult or confusing, with some noting that attendance is crucial for success.

Students report frustration with confusing test questions and perceived lack of clarity in lectures. One reviewer cited severe accessibility issues and denied accommodations.

Topics

  • Evolution, ecology, animal behavior, cell structure, genetics, and human physiology

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 · 0.09 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
BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101 · Fall 2026

Animal Biology

Recorded 2026-09-07
BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101 · Fall 2026

Animal Biology

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": "1272:205:019257",
    "course_id": "BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101",
    "course_uid": "course_8c99a612c2020145d67e29b1",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "019257",
    "source_subject_id": "205",
    "title": "Animal Biology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:970:019257",
    "course_id": "BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101",
    "course_uid": "course_8c99a612c2020145d67e29b1",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "019257",
    "source_subject_id": "970",
    "title": "Animal Biology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
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 1Download part 2Download part 3
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "999e2fb2608a58116a0c0881ad9ce9318cb42ae74d47dfa5293f1d6500964f44",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}