Class was an easy A given that almost all grading was completion based. There’s 8 labs total with your lowest score dropped, a few were pretty annoying and time consuming but just work together or go to section and ask your TA and they’ll basically tell you the answer. You have to submit a science communication project (anything oceanography related) at the end of the quarter but you have the entire quarter to work on it (YouTube video, article, comic) and you can work in a group. Honestly, the prof was really hands off and absent from the course since we just watched recycled vids from 2016 and took notes on it so if you’re taking the class to further your interest on the subject I’d recommend taking it with someone else. That said, grading is extremely lenient, you can turn things in a week late (or more in the first half of the quarter) and get full points.

Grade Breakdown:
30% - Lecture and Reading Notes (read textbook chapters and watch lectures to take notes on them)
30% - Labs
30% - 3 assignments (basically taking notes on a YouTube video or answering review questions)
10% - Science communication project

pros:
- work is "busywork" where you just get it done and move on. very easy to get a good grade
- professor is nice and has lots of communication
- i think oceans are cool

cons:
- work is busywork. doesn't feel very engaging even for someone like me who was already interested in oceanography.
- lecture notes and textbook notes feel very very repetitive. almost identical diagrams/content, but you have to take notes and submit both. made the work feel even less engaging.

frustratingly boring (I'm a Poli Sci major if that helps). Sometimes the labs were hard and you basically needed to get the answers from a TA. Overall, the requirements are easy since there are no exams but I probably wouldn't take this class again.

Oops I just wanted to make a correction about my post below: The midterm average was a 77%, not 72%.

Sorry for lack of knowledge if there is an editing button on this board.

Professor is super nice and understanding of current challenges! If you are taking this during COVID, the class is formatted very differently than the rest of the reviews. The two classes a week were just a q and a and breakout rooms to work on homework.There were no exams, which was amazing because I think the material would have been challenging if we were tested on it. It is an easy science GE but has a lot of busy work. Every week you have to do lecture notes and reading notes on usually 2 chapters, 30 pages each. Lab section was optional but found it very useful to attend because the TA could answer questions you had about the weekly lab. At times the labs were challenging but you can work in groups and you will find the answer from somewhere. There is also a project due by week 10 where you have to create some type of informational video, website, etc. It wasn’t difficult at all. Every week you also have the opportunity to watch a ted talk or ocean documentary and write a summary to get extra credit. There were other opportunities for extra credit too. Also, there was a super lenient late policy and you could miss 2 weeks of notes and get full points. In total, you have to do reading and lecture notes (very easy to do them without reading all 30 pages and still get full credit), weekly lab, the project, and 3 assignments (we had to take notes on youtube videos and answer some short answer questions about class material-super easy). There is no reason not to get an A in this class if you just do the work. Only criticisms- professors often sent out information about class assignments and the projects late and I would sometimes finish things early and she would later send out extra information about that assignment. Also, because it’s asynchronous and there is no pressure to learn the material because there are no exams, you will only learn as much as you want to so might not be for you if you are looking to learn a lot. My one main take away from this class is that I am now terrified of global warming!

i took her Fiatlux course ESS 19 last quarter and I have to say that it was a very enjoyable class. I definitely have to disagree with some of the reviews here. Prof. Tripati is very approachable and if you are having problems understanding anything in the course she is more than happy to help! Some people here seem to have painted her as a monster but she really isn't! I would recommend this course for freshmen who may be thinking of taking it next year. There was a paper due at the end of the quarter but it could be about any topic that was covered in the course or even one in which you are very interested to write about.