What makes a course earn top marks from students?

It’s a variety of elements: an innovative curriculum; a lively teaching style; or a professor whose heart is clearly connected to the classroom and who provides excellent student experience.

Here are some courses that earn “best in class” ratings from students.

Course: SPM 300 Name Image and Likeness (NIL)

Taught by: David Meluni, professor of practice

We are so lucky to have professors with incredible experiences and foresight about what is next in the industry. NIL has taken over the college athletics scene and knowing how to navigate and understand these rules, along with real life applications, puts us at a huge advantage in this space. It’s an engaging, hands-on class environment and super fun to be a part of! — Ava Brown ’27, sport management major

Course: BUA 400 Ethics in Analytics  

Taught by: John Petosa, professor of practice

The best part … was the professor’s passion for shaping us into ethical business leaders who think carefully and thoroughly about the impact we will have in our careers. The class worked as an open forum where students with different areas of expertise and early-career experience shared their perspectives on a real-world challenge, helping us see how far a leader’s influence can reach. — Subhin Park ’29, finance major

Course: BIO 216-217 Anatomy and Physiology

Taught by: Vera McIlvain, associate teaching professor

Professor McIlvain is extremely intelligent and receptive to students; she gets to know them and their career aspirations and supports them in whatever way she can. I am now a group tutor for A&P because I enjoyed this class so much and wanted to keep it in my life. — Sophie E. Konidis ’27, biology major

Course: ASL 101 American Sign Language 1

Taught by: Michael William Mazzaroppi, access coordinator, Center for Disability Resources

[This] is my favorite class I have taken in my one and a half years at Syracuse.  [The instructor] makes learning a difficult, unique language an engaging, fun and enjoyable experience by sprinkling in his own humor and energy into instruction. He shows a deep level of care for his students. — Matthew Crisafulli ’29, visual communications major

Course: NSD 222 Introduction to Culinary Arts 

Taught by: William Collins and Yalonda Bey, assistant teaching professors

When I enrolled in Intro to Culinary Arts for my first semester on campus, I was just looking for something fun to do, but I left with lifelong skills and a newfound relationship with cooking. — Ally Price ’28, political science major

Course: NSD 201 Professional Baking

Taught by: Mairead Keirnan, culinary operations manager, and Yalonda Bey, assistant teaching professor

The reason I joined this class is because I wanted to try something new, get out of my comfort zone and because I bought a new oven and didn’t know what to bake. So, this was the perfect class! — Thow Po ’27, biology major

Course: IST 195 Information Technologies

Taught by: Jeff Rubin, interim dean, professor of practice, senior vice president for digital transformation and chief digital officer

IST 195 is a great learning opportunity to understand the fundamentals and advances in technology. It is extremely interesting  [to learn about] what is possible for the future. — Nina Soltis ’30, applied data science major