"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for making such a difficult course more enjoyable. I actually learned something!!! You are an excellent instructor who brought the concepts and the math down to earth in order for the "normal" person to grasp. I appreciated that. Thanks for changing my mind about statistics and inciting a greater appreciation for it.

P.S. You remind me of that young curly haired kid (mathematician / geek-a-zoid) on the television series called "Numb3rs". You should watch it sometime. He is brilliant, by the way! :) "
Course: Quantitative Methods for Decision Making

"He knew everyone's name by the end of the first week which made us feel like he cared. I've never had a professor that could remember names."
Course: Human Resources Management

"Dr. Miller has been the best professor I ever had in my college career. His care for us students and the material he covered was unsurpassed. I hope as I get farther in my major I run into more teachers like Dr. Miller."
Course: Human Resources Management

1. "Dr. Miller is a great professor but I think he should have more quizzes in the class so we can raise our grades and force us to keep up with the reading."

2. "Professor Miller is an extremely knowledgeable and highly skilled educator. He has the ability to shine a fresh perspective on a topic that I otherwise would not have given much consideration. He is obviously passionate about his field, and it shows."

3. "Professor Miller is a very intelligent man, he also has a heart! Excellent teacher."

4. "He is a great instructor! I was dreading taking this course but he related the materials to real life experiences and made it easier to understand. By far one of the best instructors I have had."

5. "I really enjoyed this instructor. It is easy to follow him during the lessons. He provides feedback on alternate assignments which is great! He grades very quickly. Almost all assignments are returned graded within 1 day."

Course: Research Methods

"Dr. Miller said only what we needed to know and didn't stray. Very cool teacher."
Course: Advanced Statistics

"Dr. Miller is very organized and very nice. He is willing to work with students if they have a problem. It is obvious he likes his students and wants them to learn."
Course: Advanced Statistics

"The teacher was the best teacher I've had in my college experience. Really well-prepared, made a somewhat boring class interesting. Great interaction with students. Everyone was involved in the class. I would highly recommend this teacher to other students."
Course: Graduate Research Methods

"Dr. Miller is an excellent choice for teaching this course. He is extremely knowledgeable about the subject matter. I would take more classes from him!"

"Dr. Miller is a marvelous instructor and you are fortunate to have him as faculty at WIU. It is my hope that he stays for a very long time! He is actually the best online and overall instructor I have ever had at WIU. I wish that he was the measuring stick for hiring all other faculty. He explains everything well, knows everything that he is talking about inside and out, is able to transition easily through slides, and talks intelligently. Mike sends feedback in an extremely timely manner, and provides excellent insight, thoughts, and provokes additional thinking on our part to make things better the next time."

Course: Graduate Research Methods

"Michael Miller was by far the best instructor I have had. He responded to any and all questions in a timely manner. He gave extensive feedback on every assignment including our final Thesis Proposal, which most teachers would have considered the final and never given any feedback. He made sure that we learned what we were supposed to not just completed work for a grade."

"Mr. Miller is a very knowledgeable and professional individual. Provided clear instructions and presented the course material clearly so that each student understands what the course objectives are. Learned a lot from this instructor and also the course. He took a difficult topic, particularly to learn in an online environment, and turned it into something interesting, manageable, and applicable to business applications."

Course: Graduate Research Methods

"Dr. Miller has been the most helpful instructor that I have had in all my academic career. I appreciated his constructive feedback. Great class!"

"Dr. Miller demonstrated exceptional expertise of subject matter. Dr. Miller did a great job of teaching a somewhat boring subject and added many interesting examples and stories to add to the discussion and keep students' interests. I was very impressed with Dr. Miller. He was very personable and did a nice job reviewing assignments and letting students know what was expected of them. Overall I thought Dr. Miller did an outstanding job teaching the course and I would definitely encourage other students to take one of his courses. I know I will if given the chance. Thanks Dr. Miller!"

Course: Graduate Research Methods

"Dr. Miller was always quick to respond to all of my e-mails. He was also very patient with me in this course. Numbers and I do not get along. If I had to take another stat class, I would like for it to be taught by Dr. Miller."
Course: Quantitative Methods for Decision Making

"Dr. Miller was very professional. He was encouraging, non-intimidating, and took his job very seriously. His feedback was thorough, thoughtful and prompt and course expectations were clearly specified in the syllabus. I would recommend Dr. Miller as a professor to others seeking to take RES 600."
Course: Graduate Research Methods

1. "Michael Miller is one of WIU's biggest assets. He devotes an incredible amount of time responding to students on the discussion board. I seriously doubt there is anybody else out there who devotes this much time to teaching a WIU course. He is extremely organized and just a wealth of knowledge. I respect him very much and WIU should keep him around for a long time if possible. This man is approachable yet extremely intelligent. If every professor was as good as mjm, this university would make a run to the national college rankings. Excellent job Dr. Miller!!! Superb!"

2. "Dr. Miller was a delight. He kept the class lively and interesting. I was amazed to find out just how much he knows about just about every topic imaginable."

3. Professor Miller is an excellent instructor. His passion for learning and research are contagious. He made learning very exciting, interactive, and real-world relevant."

Course: Graduate Research Methods

"Once again, Dr. Miller has proven his brilliance as an instructor. It had been 20 years since I had had any math courses and because of that, I rearranged my schedule so as to have Dr. Miller for this course. I based my decision on student critiques involving this course with Dr. Miller as the professor. Given Dr. Miller's level of expertise in this subject, he was able to come down to his students' level, many of whom were in the same boat as me, and was patient and thorough while teaching us this rather difficult course. The beautiful thing is that Dr. Miller is just as comfortable and adept at teaching statistics as he is teaching about brain function and structure. I know because he was my professor for this class as well as one on the "Biological Basis of Behavior." I know, without a doubt, that I never would have done as well in this statistics class if I had ended up with another teacher. Dr. Miller is, quite simply, a brilliant man and a wonderful human being."

"Dr. Miller does an outstanding job of explaining challenging material. He also set speed records for assignment grading and feedback, and in general gave 110% to this class."

"He made this class interesting and far less intimidating than I'd been told it would be. He used real-life examples to help us all to make sense of what he was teaching, and didn't let us panic!"

"Professor Miller did a great job teaching statistics. This was a very difficult course for me and Professor Miller was always available and very helpful!"

"Dr. Miller is the best one! The lectures were structured so well that I had no need to use the textbook to complete my assignments. He makes extrimely difficult material so easy to understand. The students and the WIU are fortunate to have him. I would love to take some other courses with him."

"Dr. Miller is one of the best instructors I've ever had. I postponed taking this course (stats) due to its reputation and the fact that I dropped it once since I was not grasping it. Dr. Miller presented the material in a manner that I could understand and he made sure not to move on to the next point in his teaching until we understood the material just presented. He welcomes questions and involves all class members in discussions/polls. He is the absolute best at responding to emails and grading assignments. In all, I have truly enjoyed this class and feel that Dr. Miller goes above and beyond. I thank him for his excellent teaching!"

"Professor Miller is the finest teacher that I have ever had in the academic environment. He uses a keen sense of wit, sharp intelligence, and a teaching style that takes the student into a comfortable learning environment. My apprehensions about the course materials covering "statistics" were tempered down quite a lot from the very first class by Professor Miller's teaching style. He presents the information in terms that any student who may have trouble understanding the concepts presented in the text, can readily understand those same concepts and principles in the professor's straight forward explanations and everyday examples. I have learned a great deal about this subject and owe that achievement in great part to Professor Miller. This is a great teacher, that others should emulate."

Course: Quantitative Methods for Decision Making

"Michael Miller is one of the best Faculty members I have come across during my educational journey as a student. Professor Miller's dedication, knowledge and personality undeniably increased my understanding of the subject matter. He is truly a valuable asset to Western International University. Thank you!"
Course: Graduate Research Methods

"I do not enjoy the subject of psychology at all. Dr. Miller made this class understandable to me and applicable. He is very well versed on this subject. Communication was always prompt and grades were also. He is an absolute asset to your faculty."
Course: Introduction to Behavioral Science

While I certainly believe that one can learn as much from criticism as they can from praise, I wish this student would have detailed the "couple of instances" to which they refer that were not properly outlined in the syllabus. This comment truly intrigued me given that the syllabus is no fewer than 12 pages long, I provide examples of all major assignments on this Website, and I address the assignments and expectations in the live sessions and discussion boards. It is especially interesting to me that the two Graduate Research Methods comments directly before this one were literally from the same section of the course. Now what's up with that? Simply put, it just goes to show that you can't please everyone. In the words of Abraham Lincoln: "I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."

I recall a passage in David Burn's book "Feeling Good" which laid the groundwork for cognitive-behavioral therapy in which he challenges the belief that people should, in order to develop some sense of pride or satisfaction in their work, be concerned with outcomes as they pertain to someone else's opinion. His argument is that we should focus on processes instead of subjective outcomes. The point being that striving to engage in a good and consistent effort is the only aspect that we can control. We cannot control the perceptions of others and therefore should not use those perceptions to fuel our self-worth.

(The typos and misspellings were in the original response.) "Assignments were all crambed in one weak. This was very difficult to cope with. Needs a better allocation of assignments so that it is not frustrating for the students & also not overwhelming."
Course: Graduate Research Methods

Hmmmm......Let's take a look at the syllabus to see when assignments are due:

• Assignment 1: Due week 3
• Assignment 2: Due week 5
• Assignment 3: Due week 6
• Survey Development Project: Due week 7
• Assignment 4: Due week 7
• Quiz: Due week 8
• Research proposal: Due week 9

Gee, it seems to me that assignments were not all 'crambed in one weak' after all but, hey, what do I know, right? Pardon me if I come across as condescending but perhaps it would not have been so 'overwhelming' if they had taken the time to actually read the syllabus or access the My Assignments area of MyWIU to see when assignments were actually due. Further, let's keep in mind that this is a graduate level course that should, ipso facto, contain a higher degree of rigor.

I admittedly would never consider myself to be a Pollyanna but I honestly believe in the merits of thoroughly critiquing assignments which will eventually become a formal research proposal. My argument is simply that it's far better that people learn of their errors in a classroom environment as opposed to an applied setting. Besides, I don't bother scolding people -- I merely send them to timeout.

As for the 'expanded vocabulary' I would strongly encourage this student to invest in a good dictionary. True, as a communicator the onus is on me to convey information effectively and not come across as a pedantic inkhorn that engages in sesquipedalian commentary (Oopps!!! There I go again....sorry.) However, it seems to me that graduate students should possess an 'expanded vocabulary'. Further, what's preventing a student from asking for clarification on what might be, to them, an esoteric or arcane term or looking up said term in the textbook or dictionary? Do I not engage in similar activities myself when I am confronted with an unfamiliar word?

I find it sadly ironic that there are individuals that will pursue an advanced degree and literally take offense because they might actually have to engage in effort in order to learn something. It seems rather contradictory to me but, alas, perhaps Sir Joshua Reynolds had this in mind when he commented in the early 19th century that "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking." (Such a compelling quotation that Thomas Edison had it posted in his lab.)

"This is primarily a research methods class not a statistics class and one quiz he gave was primarily math, and not having had statistics the math was rather hard for me so I found that quiz to be invalid for this class."
Course: Graduate Research Methods

This commment really disturbed me. It's not the critical aspect of it that did so as I can handle that. What is disconcerting is that it comes from a graduate student (i.e., someone that has already obtained an undergraduate degree) who fails to grasp the inherent relationship between descriptive statistics and research methods. What, I might ask, is this student going to do with their data for their thesis after they have collected it if, in fact, they have don't grasp the need to analyze it via statistical procedures? I suppose they can simply stare at it and, potentially, tell their thesis advisor and anyone else that might ask that they don't need to apply any statistical concepts or activities as doing so would be 'invalid'. Secondly, let's take a moment to examine some of the topics for this class as specified in the syllabus, textbook, and live sessions: "Data preparation and description. Exploring, displaying, and examining data", "Analysis and presentation of data", "Inferential statistics", and "Descriptive statistics". Hmmmm.... it seems to me that statistics was in fact addressed quite thoroughly in this course and, get this, it turns out to be related to research methods after all. Gee, wait until I tell Mom! Given that I covered the characteristics of each assignment during the first session and again over the course of the class, what was stopping the student from asking about this particular assignment at any point given their belief that it was 'invalid'? Thirdly, it's rather sad to contemplate the labeling of topics that happen to be 'rather hard for me' as 'invalid'. This is especially the case given this individual is pursuing a graduate degree.

"in-flexible"? "rigid"? Hmmmm...If I am to interpret this to mean that I align with all university policies regarding the structure of this course and the requirements for the thesis then I am indeed "in-flexible" and "rigid". Guilty as charged! Too bad this represented an anonymous response because I can't point out to them that "in-flexible", "now" (should be "not), and "suppose" (should be "supposed") are misspelled. Oooppps! There I go being "rude" again!

That's not "how it is suppose (sic) to work"?

Really? I wonder what this individual would suggest? Perhaps there should be absolutely no policy whatsoever and people just got A's merely for signing up for class.

"I will never recommend this professor to any of my known friends."

I'm flattered! Gee, wait 'till I tell Mom! I am curious, however, about their use of "known" friends. Is that to say that they have some "unknown" friends, too? It must feel odd, say, getting Christmas cards from people you don't know. "Gee, this must be from one of my unknown friends."

"I have heard he has failed many students for their final thesis, that is ridiculous."

I agree, it is ridiculous. However, I also believe that it is "ridiculous" that some graduate students (fortunately, an extremely small minority) submit documents that contain a nimiety of typographical and grammatical errors and register for RES 785 when they know full well that they have made far too little progress on their thesis. (Ideally, one should not enroll in RES 785 until the first three chapters are, for the most part, completed). I also find it "ridiculous" that said individuals cannot format their documents properly notwithstanding the ready availability of countless APA editorial format sources, to say nothing of the fact that this represents a requirement throughout the entire degree program with this being the very last class. It is even more "ridiculous" that said students do not align with the requirements specified in "Graduate Applied Thesis Guidebook" even though I address the fact that their thesis will be graded based on these requirements time and time again. It is also "ridiculous" that some students claim complete ignorance when the topic transcends into the area of research methods and (gasp!) statistics despite the fact that these topics represent the core of any thesis. I could list countless more "ridiculous" issues but do not wish to belabor the point.

"It takes alot of hard work and time to complete a thesis"

Another interesting comment. This individual strikes me as someone that has had far too much exposure to the self-esteem movement. Perhaps they were given a trophy for finishing a 50-yard dash five minutes after everyone and felt that they had earned it because they were the "last winner". Yes, it does take "alot of hard work and time to complete a thesis" but that represents only a part of the equation. A quality thesis requires the demonstration of independent thought and application of competencies acquired throughout the graduate degree program.

"He had the syllabus wrong. We were having a date of 29th as final submission at first, in the midst of the course he learnt it was his fault. Can we be strict now?? what do we do..we had to rush up on our deadlines."

The great Supreme Court justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, once said "The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye, the more light that is shown upon it the more it will contract". I do not wish to imply that this individual is a bigot but the same processes are at play here. Yes, the final date of the class was indeed incorrect but it was reconciled very early in the course and not "the midst" of it. Crucially, however, no one was forced to "rush up on (their) deadlines" for the simple reason that the course still met for the required 16 weeks. But, hey, it's not like I should expect this individual to examine the evidence by properly perusing a calendar before submitting their judgment, right? I suppose I should feel flattered that this student believes that I have the power to decide the number of weeks that a course meets.

"I just hope to pass if nothing else in this course after I got to know about him from others."

I would love to be privy to some of these conversations. I wonder if they are something along the lines of "Whatever you do, don't take Professor Miller. He will actually make you earn your degree!" or "He forces people to actually align with the rules and regulations of the university! That is so unfair!"

For what it's worth, the following represent comments from other members of this very same course.

1. "Dr. Miller is the BEST! He has challenged me throughout the course but I know the end product, my thesis, will be of the highest quality. He is amazing and WIU needs more instructors like him."

2. "Mike is by far one of your better instructors. His knowledge of research and his ability to share that knowledge made this course invaluable."

3. "He is very knowledgeable in his field and speaks and relates well to the class."

4. "Instructor was very timely in getting feedback to me. Very much appreciated."

5. "Great instructor. He provided that little extra incentive needed to get the job done. Would gladly recommend this instructor to everyone!!!"

I find it continually interesting to contemplate how individuals can experience the same exact situation and yet formulate entirely different perceptions of it.