Williams is a GREAT professor. Compared to the rest of the econ department, I think he's one of the best. The material might be a bit tricky, but his tests certainly are NOT tricky. He expects his students to understand economics at a sufficient level--and why not?? He teaches an upper division class. I was profoundly interested in his class. It's true, he's late sometimes, and that's not very professional. (i now know that he's late because he's running to campus from his office in century city.) He did however hold a very beneficial review for us before exams. This is not a bad class and he is a very reasonable man. I'm not sure what grade discrepancies people are talking about; but if there were any, it might have come from a course GRADER and not Williams. And so what if he doesn't have an office at UCLA, he still devotes time to office hours.

ok..i do not even understand how Williams can even be a PROFESSOR. i mean he is knowledgeable but when it comes down to transferring the knowledge to his students, i would give him a "F" for that. CONS for his class: miss class several times like what others said, late for class many times, talks extremely fast like he hasn't talked before or something, usually unavailable to students who need help. get this: HE DOESNT EVEN HAVE AN OFFICE AT UCLA. his office hours are RIGHT AFTER CLASS AT THAT SAME LECTURE HALL...thats it!! students who cant stay after class probably have emailed him n stuff but I DOUBT he made a reasonable attempt to answer students' questions. i feel extremely bad for students who are trying to track him down because of grade discrepancies. (THANK GOD I WASN'T VICTIMIZED BY THIS). i know so many students who emailed him like 20+ plus time to look at their final exam cuz they believe they have been graded unfairly. and guess what? HE IS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. THIS CLASS IS NOT INTERESTING AT ALL, INCREDIBLY BORING, AND IS JUST A WASTE OF MY TIME. ok ok..PROS FOR THIS CLASS: i attend class because of my friends. that's it. yea i know that is stupid but i had a great time talking and giggling with them the ENTIRE QUARTER. even though i put in NO effort into this class, i bullsh** my way through the exams and did fairly well in the class and im so thankful for that. I would not recommend ANYONE to do what I did unless you are a good econ bullsh***er. Williams, along with his horrific teaching skills, made me realize more how much i hate econ. I think I might have chosen the wrong major. i dont know...BUT future students, AVOID WILLIAMS AT ALL COST. dont be afraid to ask around for prof recommendations!!

Econ 170 is an interesting course in my opinion....just not with Professor Williams. It's not that he doesn't know the material, it's just that he doesnt' really care about students. Perhaps I'm being a little too optimistic here, but Williams failed to show up to 4 out of the 20 lectures during the quarter (~20%), TWICE without a substitute. To add to that, his lectures are poorly organized and cause more confusion than clarification. He has only a general idea of where the lecture is going but doesn't have any plan to get there. Two days prior to the midterm, he decides to post the homework so that we would have some clue as to the types of problems we would face on the midterm. One day prior to the midterm, he posts another homework that we need to know. The grader then procedes to deny partial credit. When you want to talk to Williams, he's not around. Let me just put it this way: Professor Williams is like a typical student who doesn't care about classes or learning and who may not be very organized--except he's the professor. Please take caution when enrolling for this class under Williams.

Unlike previously stated, Professor Williams is not a fair grader and is nowhere to be found-ever. The TA totally misgraded the exams and although Professor Williams said he would handle the situation he did not. I got a 99 on the midterm so I am being objective and am not upset about my poor score as previously stated by someone else. Instead of taking responsibility for his class Williams has chosen to dissapear and ignore all email and attempts to reach him. It is not his fault that the TA is a horrible grader, but it is his fault for running away from the problem and leaving students no option but to receive whatever incorrect grade they may get.