Evelyn is fine, but boring. She reads slowly off the slides and that's about it. Makes it hard to focus in lecture so the textbook is a good supplement since most of the content is from there. Takes off random points on exams but overall the ecology exam of 381 was not hard.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Evelyn Howell
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Evelyn's lectures consisted of reading everything from the slides slowly, while providing minimal additional information. Her grading is absolutely random as she would take off fractions of points for no apparent reason, and give minimal justification. She allegedly had a rubric for assignments which seems to be imaginary. Bizarre professor. Avoid.Rate My Professors ↗
Her slides are purposefully confusing just so people do not skip lectures. Her grading is based in nothing, written all in pencil and impossible to read, and you will lose 0.2 points because she feels like it. No study guides or practice exams. She is terrible with technology, boring in lectures, and overall not a good prof. I don't rec. Biocore.Rate My Professors ↗
It is difficult to learn from her slides. They are often loaded with text and it becomes difficult to know what is actually expected from you on the exams. I still suggest taking 381, but it will be a lot of independent work. There are no practice exams available, no note cards, and she usually answers students questions with another question :/Rate My Professors ↗
Prof Howell is such a frustrating teacher to learn under. Her grading criteria is stringent and not based in anything, just her objective opinion of the assignment. Her lectures are boring and are often screenshots of the textbook. She is difficult to access during her office hours and can be condescending to her students during office hours.Rate My Professors ↗
Evelyn was an okay professor. She could definitely use some help with technology as she sometimes messed up her slides, but it didn't ruin lecture. Her lectures were sometimes boring, but the material wasn't too hard and you don't have to read the textbook.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Evelyn Howell
Covers basic principles of ecology, transmission and population genetics, and evolutionary mechanisms including the origin of life and species diversity.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Evelyn Howell provides detailed lecture notes that help with exams, though her lectures are frequently described as boring, disorganized, and too fast for note-taking. While she is generally accessible and willing to answer questions, some students find her grading criteria unclear or harsh, and her office hours can be frustrating. Technology issues and reliance on slides also create learning barriers for some.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Independent Studies
1–3 creditsLANDARC 299 is an independent study course arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Covers native plants as the basis for ecological landscape design in urban and rural settings.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.61 GPA, 81.8% A/AB (n=33 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.67 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2023–Fall 2025 · limited sampleRestoration Ecology
3 creditsRESTORATION ECOLOGY covers the theory and practice of conserving native species and ecosystems through an interdisciplinary lens of ecology, sociology, and humanities.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.58 GPA, 83.3% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.14 GPA, 44.4% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.47 GPA, 72.2% A/AB (n=18 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sampleLANDARC 699 is an independent study course in landscape architecture arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleResearch
1–12 creditsLANDARC 990 is an individual mentored research and study course for completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Independent Studies
1–3 creditsLANDARC 999 is an independent study course offering students the opportunity to explore concepts or issues of interest.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleDirected Study
1–6 creditsZOOLOGY 698 is a directed study course for juniors and seniors involving selected research projects.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | BIOCORE 381 | Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics |
| Fall 2026 | LANDARC 299 | Independent Studies |
| Fall 2026 | LANDARC 380 | Plants for Ecological Design I |
| Fall 2026 | LANDARC 668 | Restoration Ecology |
| Fall 2026 | LANDARC 699 | Special Problems-landscape Architecture |
| Fall 2026 | LANDARC 990 | Research |
| Fall 2026 | LANDARC 999 | Independent Studies |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 698 | Directed Study |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_d30929fd1b02d9f9e6c21ed7",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "eahowell",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Evelyn Howell",
"email": "EAHOWELL@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 43,
"quality": 2.77,
"difficulty": 3.3,
"quality_count": 43,
"difficulty_count": 43,
"profile_id": "rmp:319454",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/319454",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:40:01.303863+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_52a1055a4196c042b145bf49": {
"review_count": 12,
"quality": 2.58,
"difficulty": 3.25,
"quality_count": 12,
"difficulty_count": 12
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.0524399312846335,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_3077433fd67e8f1dd6948eab",
"course_id": "LANDARC 990",
"title": "RESEARCH",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 12,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_525e597f6d25c073e4ae2843",
"course_id": "ZOOLOGY 698",
"title": "DIRECTED STUDY",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 6,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_52a1055a4196c042b145bf49",
"course_id": "BIOCORE 381",
"title": "EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY, AND GENETICS",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.429
},
{
"course_uid": "course_5c8616094bac26f446c6482c",
"course_id": "LANDARC 380",
"title": "PLANTS FOR ECOLOGICAL DESIGN I",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.659
},
{
"course_uid": "course_61d99f8cfc2a7637b6557adf",
"course_id": "LANDARC 668",
"title": "RESTORATION ECOLOGY",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.622
},
{
"course_uid": "course_707033d0eda5a64a2d513242",
"course_id": "LANDARC 299",
"title": "INDEPENDENT STUDIES",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.707
},
{
"course_uid": "course_9fb1b0656986284d11326509",
"course_id": "LANDARC 999",
"title": "INDEPENDENT STUDIES",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 4
},
{
"course_uid": "course_c2c126520d76c72328c80987",
"course_id": "LANDARC 699",
"title": "SPECIAL PROBLEMS-LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 5,
"gpa": 3.909
}
],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/EVELYN_HOWELL"
}