TEACHING
California State University - San Marcos (Spring 2026)
Financial Institutions and Markets
FIN-331 FINMKTSINST - (20165)
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The course was a valuable learning experience for me. 4.71 out of 5
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Required assignments contributed positively to my learning experiences in this course. 4.65 out of 5
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The course materials and content were easy to find. 4.93 out of 5
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The instructor encouraged me to take an active role in my own learning. 4.71 out of 5
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The course objectives and requirements were clearly outlined in the course syllabus. 4.87 out of 5
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When I sought help from the instructor, I received assistance from Fariba Gholami. 4.90 out of 5
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The instructor was available either electronically or in person. 4.77 out of 5
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The instructor was prepared to teach for each instructional activity. 4.84 out of 5
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The instructor clearly defined and explained the course objectives and expectations. 4.81 out of 5
Students' Reviews:
What course components helped you learn or increased your interest in this course? Please focus your comments on the course materials and not on irrelevant factors such as the instructor’s appearance, gender, accent, likability, etc.
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I like how interactive the course was. The Professor always made sure to make the class interactive.
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The course Canvas folder was organized and easy to find all of the resources I needed
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I think that the professor reviewing the materials often helped me remember the material and keep it fresh.
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What helped me the most was publishing the notes she wrote for every lecture and sharing it with us. It helped me review for
exams a lot more easily. -
I liked her lessons and lectures they were very informative and helpful.
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I liked how this professor would do a kind of review of what we learned from last class as a refresher before moving
on/continuing the topic. It helped retain information better. -
Class participation
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I liked the presentations at the end. All were very helpful and insightful
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The case studies that Mrs. Gholami had us do in class were helpful in getting us to discuss and actively think about how the
concepts were learning are applied to real life scenerios. -
The Case Study's helped me grasp the concepts better
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The professor's lectures as well as her caring demeanor, it's really nice to have teachers who are passionate about the subject
matter. -
All, she was an extremely good teacher
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How she went over the material
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Notes were super helpful in making me prepared for the test.
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The class sessions were good, as well as the group assignments we worked on Case studies
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Professor made material engaging and easy to understand
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the case studies and handouts were very helpful.
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Review of the Material
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The lectures and the notes
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I appreciate the time the professor took in providing concise notes for each chapter on top of having all PowerPoints and class
notes for each chapter available on canvas. -
Not only were the lecture slides available, but so too were the instructor's written digital notes after a lecture. This allowed for a
comprehensive understanding of what topics required further studying. -
The way she presented the work.
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Lectures
California State University - San Marcos (Spring 2026)
Financial Institutions and Markets
FIN-331 FINMKTSINST - (41809)
-
The course was a valuable learning experience for me. 4.69 out of 5
-
Required assignments contributed positively to my learning experiences in this course. 4.72 out of 5
-
The course materials and content were easy to find. 4.86 out of 5
-
The instructor encouraged me to take an active role in my own learning. 4.62 out of 5
-
The course objectives and requirements were clearly outlined in the course syllabus. 4.79 out of 5
-
When I sought help from the instructor, I received assistance from Fariba Gholami. 4.83 out of 5
-
The instructor was available either electronically or in person. 4.62 out of 5
Students' Reviews:
What course components helped you learn or increased your interest in this course? Please focus your comments on the course materials and not on irrelevant factors such as the instructor’s appearance, gender, accent, likability, etc.
-
The in person lectures were very informative.
-
The review before every class really helped my learning.
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The information about the Fed and understanding of the economy.
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Professor would take notes with us in class and for me that is what I thought helped me throughout this course. I saw the way
she thought of the material and made a mind map to help better engage with the material when I was taking notes. Constantly
asked if we have any questions and hit them right on the nail when she answered. The professor would also do a mini review
session at the very beginning of the course to ensure we grasp the main points from yesterday’s session. -
I loved how we went over course material from other lectures at the beginning of new lectures. Quizzes helped reinforce concepts
and were lecture–related, making it more engaging. -
The lecturing style helped me learn a lot and I was able to retain valuable information. Not only that, but this professor makes
everything easy to understand, she is an excellent professor and very nice. -
In class notes that were explained in depth and in class case studies we did throughout the semester.
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Class discussions, the study guides for exams (very helpful for review), case studies that demonstrated real–world examples,
and lecture notes -
I enjoyed this class because Professor Gholami makes us take notes everyday, encourage us to participate, and get us into
groups for a final project. Everyone in the class was corporative as well and it made this experience very pleasing. -
The notes and lectures were easy to understand
-
Professor Gholami took the time to take her own notes and then provide those notes to us during lecture. The effort she put into
the course was evident, and it really shows that she enjoys what she's doing and wants us all to succeed. The course materials
she provided were very helpful and clear. She made the concepts very easy to understand. Additionally, Professor Gholami is very
open to feedback and I appreciated that she took my feedback on using OneNote. -
The importance of this class itself interested me since the beginning.
-
The quizzes that we did after each chapter really helped my learning in this course.
-
The parts of the course that helped me the most were the clear lectures, real–life examples, and the way the materials connected
directly to situations we might experience in our careers. The assignments and discussions also kept me engaged because
they pushed me to think beyond the textbook and actually apply what we were learning. -
I would say the case studies helped me more to learn about the topics in the course, it caused me to think more about how the
topics are applicable in the real world with the real world scenarios. -
I really liked the case studies because I felt like they were a really effective way of applying what we learned to the real world
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I liked how Professor used real world examples.
-
The case studies were especially helpful because they let us evaluate a company in general and apply the concepts directly,
which made everything much easier to understand. The quizzes were also very helpful for checking what I actually understood,
and the in class notes on the screen made it much easier to follow along and stay organized during lectures. -
Using the internet helped alot.
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The in person notes/lectures was very accurate.
-
Very interactive
-
The way the professor taught her lessons by writing the notes with us. It helped to not feel rushed taking notes like it traditionally
is from a powerpoint. -
The additional notes were helpful in understanding the material further. The prof also made the material easy to understand and
how it all connects together during the lectures. I also liked doing the presentation and writing assignment -
The notes on each chapter that the instructor uploaded prior to every lecture
-
The lectures were interesting, she tried to help keep us engaged
California State University - San Marcos (Fall 2025)
Financial Institutions and Markets
FIN-331 FINMKTSINST - (43994)
-
The course was a valuable learning experience for me. 4.84 out of 5
-
Required assignments contributed positively to my learning experiences in this course. 4.93 out of 5
-
The course materials and content were easy to find. 4.89 out of 5
-
The course objectives and requirements were clearly outlined in the course syllabus. 4.79 out of 5
-
When I sought help from the instructor, I received assistance from Fariba Gholami 4.89 out of 5
-
The instructor encouraged me to take an active role in my own learning. 4.54 out of 5
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The instructor was available either electronically or in person 4.78 out of 5
Students' Reviews:
What course components helped you learn or increased your interest in this course? Please focus your comments on the course materials and not on irrelevant factors such as the instructor’s appearance, gender, accent, likability, etc.
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Our class case studys helped apply our lessons to real life past or potential subjects.
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I thought the group project was super helpful for deep diving into the material. We obviously covered insurance companies and
risk, but I felt like when I had to present on it, it made me watch a lot of videos and really understand it. -
The instructors way of teaching and engaging
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Some course components that helped me learn or increase my interest is how easy it is to understand the way our professor
teaches the material. She explains everything clearly with visual notes and proper representation on the whiteboard which makes
it smooth to follow along. She also always reviews what we have learned to help give us a better understanding of what we just
covered. -
the homework and the engaging class sessions
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The active participation in class helped me learn and so was the professor’s clear breakdown on the subject helped.
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case study let us can discuss each chapter questions
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Our professor didn't use powerpoint, she used the whiteboard which felt much more engaging.
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The material that I learned was surprisingly interesting to learn.
Stocks Market -
The course was taught smoothly and by hand, so everything was clear. Many subjects were reviewed and talked about more than
once. -
My professor explained complex information thoroughly and several times over to engrain it in my brain.
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As simple as it sounds, her writing on the whiteboard impacted my attention in class a lot. Her writing the course material made
me follow along much easier. -
the teaching style was very helpful in retaining information compared to other professors reading off slides
The notes on canvas. -
In class lecture were great!
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Mrs. Gholami was very good at getting us involved in the lessons and would be very thorough with her explanations of the subject
matter. -
The class sessions
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Learning the different factors of Finance and being able to piece all the sections together.
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I really liked the lecture style, I liked how it wasnt a slide show but the professor writing on the board.
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The notes and assignments were helpful.
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All of the material was easy to access on Canvas & easy to understand.
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The chapter notes provided by the professor were very concise yet detailed. It made it easy to absorb the knowledge that we needed.
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The weekly assignments and notes posted on Canvas for each chapter helped immensely.
California State University - San Marcos (Fall 2025)
Financial Institutions and Markets
FIN-331 FINMKTSINST - (41809)
-
The course was a valuable learning experience for me. 4.69 out of 5
-
Required assignments contributed positively to my learning experiences in this course. 4.72 out of 5
-
The course materials and content were easy to find. 4.86 out of 5
-
The course objectives and requirements were clearly outlined in the course syllabus. 4.79 out of 5
-
When I sought help from the instructor, I received assistance from Fariba Gholami 4.83 out of 5
-
The instructor encouraged me to take an active role in my own learning. 4.62 out of 5
-
The instructor was available either electronically or in person 4.83 out of 5
Students' Reviews:
What course components helped you learn or increased your interest in this course? Please focus your comments on the course materials and not on irrelevant factors such as the instructor’s appearance, gender, accent, likability, etc.
-
The in person notes/lectures was very accurate.
-
Using the internet helped alot.
-
I would say the case studies helped me more to learn about the topics in the course, it caused me to think more about how the
topics are applicable in the real world with the real world scenarios. -
The additional notes were helpful in understanding the material further. The prof also made the material easy to understand and
how it all connects together during the lectures. I also liked doing the presentation and writing assignment -
The notes on each chapter that the instructor uploaded prior to every lecture
-
The information about the Fed and understanding of the economy.
-
The lecturing style helped me learn a lot and I was able to retain valuable information. Not only that, but this professor makes
everything easy to understand, she is an excellent professor and very nice. -
The parts of the course that helped me the most were the clear lectures, real–life examples, and the way the materials connected
directly to situations we might experience in our careers. The assignments and discussions also kept me engaged because
they pushed me to think beyond the textbook and actually apply what we were learning. -
I liked how Professor used real world examples.
-
Professor would take notes with us in class and for me that is what I thought helped me throughout this course. I saw the way
she thought of the material and made a mind map to help better engage with the material when I was taking notes. Constantly
asked if we have any questions and hit them right on the nail when she answered. The professor would also do a mini review
session at the very beginning of the course to ensure we grasp the main points from yesterday’s session. -
The in person lectures were very informative.
-
The review before every class really helped my learning.
-
The case studies were especially helpful because they let us evaluate a company in general and apply the concepts directly,
which made everything much easier to understand. The quizzes were also very helpful for checking what I actually understood,
and the in class notes on the screen made it much easier to follow along and stay organized during lectures. -
The importance of this class itself interested me since the beginning.
Class discussions, the study guides for exams (very helpful for review), case studies that demonstrated real–world examples,
and lecture notes -
In class notes that were explained in depth and in class case studies we did throughout the semester.
-
Professor Gholami took the time to take her own notes and then provide those notes to us during lecture. The effort she put into
the course was evident, and it really shows that she enjoys what she's doing and wants us all to succeed. The course materials
she provided were very helpful and clear. She made the concepts very easy to understand. Additionally, Professor Gholami is very
open to feedback and I appreciated that she took my feedback on using OneNote. -
The lectures were interesting, she tried to help keep us engaged.
-
The quizzes that we did after each chapter really helped my learning in this course.
-
The way the professor taught her lessons by writing the notes with us. It helped to not feel rushed taking notes like it traditionally is from a powerpoint.
-
Very interactive
-
I loved how we went over course material from other lectures at the beginning of new lectures. Quizzes helped reinforce concepts and were lecture–related, making it more engaging.
-
I enjoyed this class because Professor Gholami makes us take notes everyday, encourage us to participate, and get us into groups for a final project. Everyone in the class was corporative as well and it made this experience very pleasing.
-
The notes and lectures were easy to understand
-
I really liked the case studies because I felt like they were a really effective way of applying what we learned to the real world
University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley (Spring 2025)
Financial Institutions and Markets (Online course)
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Evaluation Score: 4.87 out 0f 5
Students' Reviews:
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I’ve had a great experience with this course, and Professor Gholami has been excellent. I would suggest incorporating lecture videos with examples for math-related concepts, as I’m a visual learner and would have benefited from seeing those topics demonstrated more clearly.
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Professor Gholami made the course interesting and easy to understand.
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Made online classes in a great way for students. Super nice, would definitely recommend this professor for this course to future students.
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Professor Fariba Gholami provides all the information needed to follow class activities for each week.
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Very insightful, great support! Would recommend it again!
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Very nice and helpful professor. Thank you for a great semester!
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Your class was very straight forward and easy to digest. I like that you meet with us on a one on one follow up with how the class is going. You are a very sweet person, and it was nice taking your course.
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GREAT INSTRUCTOR
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Good professor
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Great Professor!
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Great Professor Learned alot from her
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Great communication
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Great Professor.
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Great Teacher
University of Texas– Rio Grande Valley (Fall 2024)
Introduction to Finance
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Evaluation Score: 4.76 out of 5
Students' Reviews:
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I possibly got the best intro to finance course available for this semester; Ms. Gholami's style of teaching was perfect in my book.
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Post more on blackboard
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Professor Gholami did an outstanding job teaching this course. Their engaging lectures and clear explanations made complex topics easy to understand, and their passion for the subject truly inspired us. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from such an excellent educator!
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Professor Gholami made the course interesting and easy to understand.
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She is great at responding and helping when you do not understand.
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She was extremely knowledgeable and was helpful with any assignments I was unsure about. She was extremely kind and I enjoyed her way of spreading out the assignments, exams, and quizzes throughout the semester. She was understanding and worked hard to help in giving her good learning experience.
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Very nice professor that cares for her students. Gives a lot of opportunities for redemption and teaches in a way to make hard lessons easier. Must be given a raise at once!!!!!!!!
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I really enjoy prof Gholami, but I feel like a lot of times the class was just lecture, whereas we couldve been a bit more involved when learning equations, by the prof maybe giving us like 5 minutes to work out the answer.
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Enjoyed this class
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Great Professor!
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Great Teacher
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Great class, great teacher
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Great communication
University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley (Fall 2024)
Business Statistics
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Evaluation Score: 4.69 out of 5
Students' Reviews:
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I think there can be some more leniency when it comes to attendance. I understand wanting to a good attendance from students to ensure the most effective learning, however I think many things happen that do not always allow a perfect attendance. I don't think attendance should affect an overall good grade.
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Instructed the material very well
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The instructor was available and answered all questions I had, I did not like the online portion of the course it was terrible, I would have preferred the instructor to prepare the course and taught herself, but overall it was good.
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Professor Gholami's class was very insightful for me. I liked the way she reviewed our lessons in detail, and she was always available for any questions related to her class. Overall, I enjoyed her course!
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This is a heavy technical course, which makes it difficult to engage and retain students. I would suggest a slightly different approach to the lecture style as it can often leave students disinterested and leave the session with no benefit. A more interactive environment could help the students better understand their course material. Math is not difficult at all but can be tedious and repetitive. The course lecture format could use a more interactive touch.
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While this class can be very confusing in certain chapters, the teacher does a very good job in explaining the work and helping you if you have any questions. I’d highly recommend taking this class with her!
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an understanding teacher who will reason with your situation as well willing to help me whenever I had any questions with the assignments.
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Good Professor