Jack W. Osman

Great teacher...he wont be around for much longer. I think he has one, or maybe two semesters before he retires...take him if you can.

His lectures can be a bit boring (the subject matter isn't exactly sex education...tax policy can't be easy to teach). Prof. Osman knows his stuff, and goes over the material three or four times before a test. So in a few words it's easy to do well in his class. There is no hw, no papers, just a few tests.

It's too bad that Prof. Osman is retiring in the next few years. SFSU will be losing a good asset. He knows his subject and draws wonderful graphs on the board to hihjlight important areas. When you take his class be sure to draw the graphs just as he did on the board and know the subtle detail, you will be expected to draw and explain them on his essay formatted tests. Prof. Osman sits during a great portion of his lectures because he has a back problem. He talks way too much about Strawberry Ice Cream and the San Francisco Giants (I had the unlucky chance of the Giants going to the World Series while he was teaching our class...he wore the same Giants tie for about a month). When he talks about averages and margins he will talk about baseball till you are sick. But despite these quirks, prof Osman is a great teacher who is extremely knowledgeable, teaches his subject well, is available for office hours, and will give you a good base for your future studies.

Dr. Osman is more or less in semi-retirement and teaches only during Fall Semesters. I found him to be an excellent instructor, very well-organized, and an interesting speaker. He stresses the practical applications of economics and is willing to give his students extra assistance if they stay after class or they come to his office during his office hours. (His office hours are rather limited, but if you come to see him, he will gladly assist you.) I needed extra assistance because I am somewhat behind in my math studies. He was very helpful and spent time making sure that I really understood the concepts. He has a very positive attitude toward his students and will work with folks like me whose math skills are somewhat "rusty." He loves his subject and is a very good teacher, especially for reentry students who need a little extra tutoring.

his scantrons and essays require a lot of studying. His lectures are very dry and boring,......

The class takes a lot of studing and hard work,.......but if you spend time with it, he's passable.

his personality is outstanding, and he makes many dumb jokes that no one laughs at.

I won't kid you, the class was a little hard. However, it was my experience that he explained the models thoroughly and you would be expected to explain them back on the exam. The exams were straightforward, covered the basic material in the textbook, and a finer point or two from his lectures. I thought he explained the fundamental topics well and if you went to lecture, you would know what would be on the exam.

There were two midterms, 3 quizzes (drops one quiz), and a final that was comprehensive. The midterms and the final had multiple choice and some essay-type "explain the model of pure competition" kinda stuff, which are hard if you didn't study, although I will say it again, he does explain it in class. No real trick questions, if you studied, you did well. The quizzes were all multiple choice and were basically just testing whether you are keeping up with the readings, straight out of the workbook-type questions.

He was available in his office for questions, fielded questions during class, and would really take time after class to explain stuff if you had an advanced or "in the real world" kinda question.

Overall he explains things well, if you go to lecture you will know what is on the exam, but be prepared to work a little if you want a good grade.

Dr,Osman is one of the better teachers in the SFSU system. I wish his test were easy and of course open book but one can not have their cake and eat it too.I encourage all students that are interested in taking Dr,Osman to take his classes. He will challenge you and in the end you are a better student for it.

Dr. Osman is pretty fun to listen to, however whatever he lectures are hardly related to his exams (especially multiple choice questions). He is OK., but if I were you I would not take this class from him. There are 3 quizes, 2 mid-terms and a final at this class. The book certainly helps. In fact I mostly used the text book to study for the exams because he does not cover his outlines in class.

The instructor is nice and easy to talk to, if you have any problems. He does outline his lectures, but he usually never finishes the things he outlined, or if he did, he went through them really quickly. He did 1 chapter a day and expects to be in sync with his lectures. The hard thing about this class is an exam or a quiz had at least 5 chapters! There were 2 exams, 1 final, and three quizes. He did give a review for the second and final exam, but he gave them like two days before the exam, so the exams were still significantly hard.

The class was so lost as to what was going on in the class. The whole class almost dropped the class. More poeple would have dropped the class but he held up the 2nd midterm from being returned after the last drop date. OF the students left in the class, I would say that about 75% are recieving a grade of a C or worse. He is inconsistent and is always talking about something in his lectures that have nothing to do with the test. He handed out a second test with an incorrect question on the test, a 2nd time after it was brought to his attention several times before. Also, the whole class is about to linch the one person who seems to somehow score perfect on all the tests when the next person to that score is at least 20 points behind. He is a nice guy but not a good teacher. I would not recomend his class to anyone.

Dr. Osman does a very good job teaching economics. I see several reasons for this. First, Dr. Osman always speaks very clearly in a way that is easy to understand. His lectures are always constructed in an organized fashion that provides a base for the discussion that lets the student take notes that cover the issues without adding superflous information. He always alots time for questions and issues for the student to consider and learn from. He also stablishes a good learning envirionment where all students feel respected and the students respect him. Dr.O's tests are a good example of a look at important questions without cleaning out our brains. Overall his class is very thorough and easy to learn in. I would recommend his class to any econ student with no hesitation.