Western Kentucky University / W / John Wassom

Dr. Wassom is one of the smartest teachers I've ever been taught by. Econ is not my thing, and I thought I would feel really intimidated by him, but he definitely doesn't do that. You only have 2 tests, a couple of homework assignments, and about 4 Wall Street Journal articles that you must write a paper on. He starts off each class with jokes that people send him. Very nice guy, you should take him.

Dr. Wassom was a wonderful prof. The class is all about the Fed Reserve. If you hate the Fed Reserve do not take this course. I enjoyed the class and learned a lot about the Fed Reserve. Wassom is a very smart man. Ask him about his sister, Marylin.

This course centers on the Federal Reserve. If that doesn't interest you, don't bother. If it *does interest you, take the course, but be prepared...

Dr. Wassom likes to give notes. LOTS of notes. And then even some *more notes. You will write a million pages of notes. Most of them are taken directly from the overheads (his handwriting is admittedly horrible).

His lecture style is a bit, umm, different. He can ramble a bit and draw something out longer than he really needs to; he'll stray from the topic every now and then, too. He will sometimes make the same point over an over and over (REPETITION!!). Watch out, because sometimes he will yank the overhead sheet from the projector before you're finished copying the notes. Other times, he'll leave it up there forever.

He has a peculiar sense of humor that I enjoyed. He's very approachable and a very nice person. Caveat -- if you ask him a question, you will get a very long, drawn-out, and detailed answer, but he will definitely give you the complete, thorough answer.

You don't really need the textbook for much. Go in with a classmate and split the cost. He assigns several readings from The Wall St. Journal and other publications. You'll have to read them and (usually once a week) write a summary/analysis of what you've just read. It's easier than it sounds.

Tests are all essay questions. Usually has several 'standard' essay questions along with 2 or 3 articles which you read and then write about. Not too difficult.

All in all, I enjoyed his class. I was turned off by some of the overkill of note-taking and some of his long-windedness. You will definitely be given all the information that you need to understand the Federal Reserve system.

This class is an elective for Business Econ-majors, Econ-Majors, Econ-Minors, Social Studies-Majors, and other Majors. Dr. Wassom is a highly intelligent person, and this class is recommended if students enjoy monetary policy. This class was boring for me, because I enjoy the quantitative side of Economics. Now, I marked attendance as mandatory, because it is when presentations are given. Also, the Wall Street Journal subscription is required, but the campus has the Wall Street Journal subscription, so visit the library and make copies to save money. The final grade is broken into 25% segments: 25% from homework, 25% from WallStreetJournal Articles, 25% from the Mid-Term and 25% from the Final.

Dr. Wassom is the department head of economics. He knows what he is talking about and he's a really nice guy. He tends to start talking about a subject and get off on a tangent for a while which can get confusing, but he's a good professor overall.