Spring 2005

This class is my best class in SPP so far! Thanks.
This is a great course and Fetter is an excellent instructor He did a good job delivering the materials and concepts within the time constraints of one semester. Frankly, I think the class should be offered for two semesters for first-year environmental policy students and should perhaps replace some other quantitative portions of the case. It's simply more relevant to environmental policy students.
I thought this was a great course. Prof. Fetter did an excellent job. I learned a lot over the course of this past semester.
Level of detail I good for policy oriented course. I'm interested in a more in depth class if available. It complements other courses, that deal with international environmental problems a policy or international relations perspective.

Spring 2004

This is an enjoyable class. I found it easier than I thought after I took Prof. Fetter's class of statistics. Problem sets are interesting and difficult enough, but there's an obvious gap between problem sets and quizzes. Overall Prof. Fetter teaches well, but I wish we could learn more then we are learning and deeper now.

Great course, very much appreciated Dr. Fetter's objective and analytical view point.

I found that the overlap between lecture, homework and quizzes was often faulty. I could come out of class feeling like I had a good understanding everything and struggle with the homework. Quizzes depended on the subject matter. A lot to cover in one semester over a variety of topics.

Great course but connections to policy could be more explicit. Policy discussion overlapped significantly w/PUAF 740. Great presentations; textbooks, especially Turro, didn’t add much to the class.

Too fatalistic--not enough practical advice regarding how we, as policymakers, can guide energy policy in a more sustainable direction.

I think it's a mistake to have a class in our curriculum focused solely on environmental problems, without being accompanied by a class on environmental solutions. It's probably unfair to expect Dr. Fetter to cover both, and yet to solely focus on problems makes for a depressing class, and makes it feel like a field where we can't contribute. The "tool kit" analytical tool box is heavily quantitative, and yet if you master all these tools you still couldn't solve many problems where we have to address human behavior. I think this class could use a forum to propose new policies and test these ideas. That said, I believe Dr. Fetter has made an amazing effort to raise our awareness and analytical ability.

I am a science major, so this was definitely a different take on things than I am used to. Overall, I think this was a beneficial class. I thought Dr. Fetter was great. His enthusiasm for the subject helped the 3 hours go by faster.

Dr. Fetter is a great part of the MSPA community. He often interacts outside the classroom with students. A lot of information was covered in the class, but it gave a good overview of the problems and got us to think!

There was too much emphasis on math and not enough on knowledge of the subject in grading.

I had a very difficult time following the laser pointer during lectures. Also had problem with electronic access of class notes since files so large. May want to split them into more smaller files. Problem set over spring break caught me off-guard and was troublesome, would have been nice to know about it in advance.

Considering the wide variation in student backgrounds, Prof. Fetter does a great job in finding what may be the middle ground. But then we have the problem sets and quizzes appeared to be impossible for someone with no physics, chemistry or calculus.

I am grateful I had a friend in this course. The ability to work together on the problem sets was invaluable and definitely contributed to my success in this course. I had not taken a math class since high school and it felt good to know the quantitative abilities of my brain still worked.

Class sessions could be better used by explaining theories and problems--so much info just presented through powerpoint is hard to follow. Material more in depth than I'll ever need--makes it hard to even get the basic points.

I won't enjoy the class as half as I am now without Fetter.

Spring 2003

This is one of the greatest courses offered at MSPA. Prof. Fetter is always so well-prepared, and enthusiastic--that's just amazing. He deserves to be rewarded for offering 2 great courses - this one and PUAF 610.

I found the class very interesting. I had fun figuring out the equations. However, I'm not sure if I will use all of this in my future career--especially chemical equations. It seems like something I should leave to the experts, or become a true expert in it myself. But we shall see.

Great class! Material was presented in a clear, organized way. I only wish there was a follow-on course to cover some of the topics in more depth.

Dr. Fetter expressed at the beginning of the semester that the course may be starting to be unnecessary because of technical student backgrounds. With a technical background, I found the course to be very beneficial. The course covered the topics in greater detail than previous courses and integrated the material well. It also taught a valuable analytical method to approaching environmental problems. I enjoyed this course very much.

Clearer phrasing on questions in problem sets.

I really struggled with the math in this course. Going to the help sessions (which I did 75% of the time) did help, but I still have problems with the problems until I get a small hint, then I can do them. I doubt very much that I will need to do math in whatever job I land after grad school--if I do than I'll be in over my head and will have made a mistake in my job search. I feel better prepared to understand quantitative aspects of global environmental problems, but not to do the calculating myself.

This is a great class--a bit hard--well really hard--but very good and relevant to environmental policy. I say this even w/my utter disdain for PUAF.

Discussion session should not be early mornings! Bad timing! Needed more discussion sessions, or one at night--feedback on homework would be really helpful! Think MSPA students need to know the details involved in environmental problems, but maybe not as in depth as we went in this class.

In its current form, this class does not achieve its mission. As I see it, this class is supposed to educate us on a variety of global environmental problems. However, Fetter's approach is to do this with math and science alone. For students without a math or science background this class is too hard and they learn very little. Students that have a math or science background already know what's being taught, so they also learn very little. Prof. Fetter is a very nice man and incredibly intelligent, but he has difficulty reaching students w/o his background. I'm at the School of Public Affairs, not he College of Engineering. The course should be so that it has instructional educational value for all. 

The class was for lack of a better word, fun. I enjoyed very much learning about environmental problems from a scientific perspective, and I feel the skills I've gained will make me a much more qualified analyst.

I'm not sure if the math is necessary or just thrown in to make it a "quantitative" course. Instructor is very good, though.

Great class, maybe a more standard text in addition to the other two for people to work on science problems (to gain familiarity with problem-solving strategies).

I totally loved this class--one of the few that actually teaches you something at PUAF. But I think you went a bit fast at times--else--keep it up. Good luck and thanks.

Valuable course. I enjoyed Prof. Fetter's knowledge, enthusiasm and humor, but found that we covered so much so fast, it was hard to follow. The slides are a great resource, but it could be more helpful to work out more problems directly in class--I was not able to make the TA sessions and really could've used them to understand the calculations.

I liked this course, I think the amount of information is a little overwhelming. I have a science background and I struggled a little, so those without a science background must be very overwhelmed. I would have liked to know what was expected a little more clearly.

Fall 2000    

Steve was an encyclopedia of info. And was a extremely effective communication. Great job presenting complex issues in a non-cynical manner. I found this class very relevant to my work and the basis of lots of good discussion.

An outstanding class. Immorally practical - I am using the material daily. A closer connection to the readings might be helpful.

The course needs to be taught on a graduate level. It is not. Problem solving needs to integrated with regulatory approach. Grading my own homework is not helpful. And doesn't show me how the mid-term or final will be graded.

An invaluable course whose content will certainly provide value in any professional position.

Very useful course - very effective teacher

Working on team would be good once in a while, to change the format of the class a little bit.