Senior Year of College...

[Gamingphreek]

You would think that, by second semester Senior year of College, all the bad Professors would be out of the way.... NOPE. I'm a Computer Science Major in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.

This past Saturday night I get an E-Mail that there is a Midterm on Wednesday in my Network Architecture class (SURPRISE!) This was after a week in which the Professor was gone from both classes.

At that time, we had no homework grades back (out of the 2 homeworks that we had completed) and no feedback on them.

So Monday, the only time we have an opportunity to ask questions, rolls around and we ask for solutions to the homework. He says the solutions aren't formalized, but that they will give us feedback.

Tuesday night around 2AM, I receive an E-Mail with the feedback from my homework. My feedback consisted of a sentence saying, "You missed these questions". That's it, nothing else.

I just got my grade back and I got a 59 on the test... I'm aggravated to say the least. I don't even know why I bothered studying...

-Kevin

 

[Matthiasa]

That is why you check the ratings of professors before you pick them.

 

[cheezy321]

Why did you sign your post?

- The Cheese

 

[Red Squirrel]

This reminds me of how much I'm so glad to be done school/college. It's sad that BS like this happens. It's worse then office drama and politics, considering it's your future they're screwing with... at least with real life work you can just shrug it off and move on.

 

[newnameman]

It seems you like to whine about your professors.

 

[Red Squirrel]

That is why you check the ratings of professors before you pick them.

lol which school did you go to where you get to pick your profs?

 

[alfa147x]

lol which school did you go to where you get to pick your profs?

Here at Georgia Southern when we register for classes it has the prof's name next to it

 

[rcpratt]

lol which school did you go to where you get to pick your profs?

Most universities nowadays allow you to schedule yourself entirely, including picking time slots and sections...and therefore profs.

Unfortunately, I don't get much choice either way. Nuclear Engineering, only about 40 kids per year, so just one prof per course.

 

[reallyscrued]

It seems you like to whine about your professors.

The powers of deduction are strong in this one.

 

[Schadenfroh]

all the bad Professors would be out of the way

They are NEVER out of the way, I have them in graduate school. One even opened the class telling how he is going to fail us all and since it is a required class we are screwed. I am waiting for him to email my grade from the midterm I took last week, we will see. There were only four questions (but they were LONG questions and no one was able to finish without rushing like mad) and I know I screwed the last one up.

I have had professors where I do not get any grades back until a month before the final (long after the drop date).

He says the solutions aren't formalized, but that they will give us feedback.
My feedback consisted of a sentence saying, "You missed these questions". That's it, nothing else.

Ack, that guy does sound like an ass. Wonderful feedback on how to improve....

I just got my grade back and I got a 59 on the test... I'm aggravated to say the least. I don't even know why I bothered studying...

In my graduate Linear Algebra Theory class, we would get about 50+ problems to do over the weekend, many of those mind-bending proofs and time consuming number crunchers. We all studied our asses off for the midterm, had nightmares, lost sleep, worked homework problems over and over. I made a 40 on it, I thought I was going to get kicked out of graduate school (B or above average has to be maintained), then I get my final grade for the class and it is a B. One hell of a bell-curve.

Best of luck to you man, sounds like you have an ass for a professor.

 

[Matthiasa]

lol which school did you go to where you get to pick your profs?

One that lets me pick. Not that there is that many to pick from, and often a class is only offered once maybe twice a semester tops. This semester though the only class that was offered more then once that I had is an automatic controls class, and that was only because another major could take it as well.

 

[Gamingphreek]

lol which school did you go to where you get to pick your profs?

Ha I know right. For the earlier classes in Undergrad they'll have multiple sections, but who has multiple sections of Senior level classes.

I have a job (Contract is signed and everything) for after I graduate this Spring. I would love to start it on time and not have to ask for an extra semester for one stupid class.

It annoys me that he doesn't even have the courtesy to give us more than a couple days warning about a midterm exam that is worth 20% of our grade. Moreover, how about some study materials or ACTUAL feedback.

 

[frostedflakes]

The nice thing about stuff like that is that the curve tends to work it out. If all the students were clueless because the professor was gone, they're all going to do horrible on the test. So I wouldn't worry about it, unless your professor is going to be a dick and not curve the test.

 

[Red Squirrel]

One that lets me pick. Not that there is that many to pick from, and often a class is only offered once maybe twice a semester tops. This semester though the only class that was offered more then once that I had is an automatic controls class, and that was only because another major could take it as well.

Interesting. When I went, it was basically "here's your schedule". I could have registered for extra classes if I wanted to, and try to fit them in, but that's as much choosing as we got to do. What was nice though is most of our profs were flexible. If we ended up having like a 3 hour spare, they'd try to move the class so we can leave earlier and not be stuck there for 3 hours extra for nothing.

 

[Gamingphreek]

In my graduate Linear Algebra Theory class, we would get about 50+ problems to do over the weekend, many of those mind-bending proofs and time consuming number crunchers. We all studied our asses off for the midterm, had nightmares, lost sleep, worked homework problems over and over. I made a 40 on it, I thought I was going to get kicked out of graduate school (B or above average has to be maintained), then I get my final grade for the class and it is a B. One hell of a bell-curve.

See this is what I don't understand about the Engineering type majors. Why make everything so stupidly hard that everyone fails and then curve it. All that does is despress/stress out students for no reason.

-Kevin

 

[rcpratt]

See this is what I don't understand about the Engineering type majors. Why make everything so stupidly hard that everyone fails and then curve it. All that does is despress/stress out students for no reason.

-Kevin

"If I can get them depressed, then I'll have done my job."

 

[Hacp]

In my graduate Linear Algebra Theory class, we would get about 50+ problems to do over the weekend, many of those mind-bending proofs and time consuming number crunchers. We all studied our asses off for the midterm, had nightmares, lost sleep, worked homework problems over and over. I made a 40 on it, I thought I was going to get kicked out of graduate school (B or above average has to be maintained), then I get my final grade for the class and it is a B. One hell of a bell-curve.

Best of luck to you man, sounds like you have an ass for a professor.

That is why you hire a tutor to teach you everything. Then, you can ace the course and fuck up the curve for everyone

 

[Schadenfroh]

That is why you hire a tutor to teach you everything.

I do not think that there are tutors for those kind of classes, unless the tutors have PhDs in mathematics. The graduate linear algebra theory class that I took was nothing like your typical undergrad 300 level linear algebra class, at least it was nothing like the one I had before taking it.

See this is what I don't understand about the Engineering type majors. Why make everything so stupidly hard that everyone fails and then curve it. All that does is despress/stress out students for no reason.

-Kevin

No kidding. I was so depressed last semester that my productivity died and I did not give a crap about my research because I thought that I was doomed and that it did not matter.

Hopefully, he will publish the grade distribution. Just stay ahead of the class' medium and try not to think about it.

But, it is not just engineering.... I was a biology major / chem minor before switching to CS as a junior. The biology and chemistry classes are the same way at the higher levels, at least at the university I was attending. The 350 level OChem class was a self-esteem crusher and I was in shock when they handed me a B (87) at the end of it after failing an exam.

 

[Gamingphreek]

The nice thing about stuff like that is that the curve tends to work it out. If all the students were clueless because the professor was gone, they're all going to do horrible on the test. So I wouldn't worry about it, unless your professor is going to be a dick and not curve the test.

Well what I'm worried about is that this class is a joint Undergrad/Graduate course.

Thus, given I am an Undergrad, I am already at a wee bit of a disadvantage. Additionally, from what I understand Graduate students have significantly more time than Undergrads - so while I and the rest of the Undergrads may have studied all we could, the Graduates could have studied a lot more.

In my OS class (OS is said to be the hardest Undergraduate Class) we had 2 weeks warning, multiple sets of notes and feedback. Furthermore, upon receiving the test, it had a complete breakdown of each problem and what we did wrong.

-Kevin

 

[rcpratt]

Well what I'm worried about is that this class is a joint Undergrad/Graduate course.

Thus, given I am an Undergrad, I am already at a wee bit of a disadvantage. Additionally, from what I understand Graduate students have significantly more time than Undergrads - so while I and the rest of the Undergrads may have studied all we could, the Graduates could have studied a lot more.

In my OS class (OS is said to be the hardest Undergraduate Class) we had 2 weeks warning, multiple sets of notes and feedback. Furthermore, upon receiving the test, it had a complete breakdown of each problem and what we did wrong.

-Kevin

In my experience, joint undergrad-grad courses or grad courses that undergrads often take are almost always curved more or graded easier than undergrad courses. I've taken 3 or 4 now and although the content is difficult and I struggled a fair bit, my final grades in those classes are usually higher than regular undergrad courses.

 

[Matthiasa]

Interesting. When I went, it was basically "here's your schedule". I could have registered for extra classes if I wanted to, and try to fit them in, but that's as much choosing as we got to do. What was nice though is most of our profs were flexible. If we ended up having like a 3 hour spare, they'd try to move the class so we can leave earlier and not be stuck there for 3 hours extra for nothing.

Ah yeah see that would have been better... I'm graduating at minimum a semester maybe two later then I was initially planning on due to all sorts of scheduling conflicts... and the initial reason for that was some class I took so that I was going to be able to take the following class this semester but then they thought it would be cool not to offer it. That class of course then has 2 classes after that I wanted to take and those are only offered every other semester. One of which had all of 2 people in it this semester.

Dumb them listing incorrect semesters and years classes are offered.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

The problem is your major. I've had quite a few professors at three different universities teaching computer science who truly didn't care if you learned or not. If you learned anything it was in spite of the professors. They took the position that, there were so many students waiting to get into the program, you were on your own. They had bigger fish to fry like their own research projects or writing books. The attitude was so pervasive that it was accepted by most students as the norm. Oddly enough, the computer engineering professors regularly reached out to help struggling CS students.

 

[xanis]

There are shitty professors in every year, at every school. It's unavoidable. I had a teacher this past Thursday answer a question with, "figure it out yourself".

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well the thing is the Professor is extremely smart and a very nice person in general.

He is just too busy for this class. He showed us his E-Mail Client one day in class - he wasn't lying when he said that he gets 2000+ E-Mail's per day.

He is regularly late for the class and has had to be absent for some Research event or another 3 times this year already (Class is 2x a week and we are only half way through the year).

We were supposed to have upwards of 5 homeworks and 2 projects by now - As of right now we have a singly homework and a single project. It's going to be great knowing that everything in the course is going to be weighted enough that any given assignment could fail me if I screw up...

I took the course because Networking is a critical part of Network Security. Furthermore, like I said, the Professor is really bright and I felt that I could learn a lot from him.... Turns out, it looks like I should have just taken a crappy easy class and not bothered as of right now...

-Kevin

 

[Schadenfroh]

he wasn't lying when he said that he gets 2000+ E-Mail's per day.

Angry CS students in command of a botnet seeking vengeance?