Geoffrey Decker - Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

Professor: Geoffrey Decker

Department: Computer Science

College: Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CSCI360
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mr. Decker is one of the most caring and best professors in the CSCI Department. He is always available through email or through office hours. CSCI360 is known to be a very difficult class but Decker made it very manageable. He really cares about the students understanding the material. If you pay attention and learn, this class is a breeze.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CSCI360
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Mr Decker might be the best CSCI professor at NIU and genuinely cares about his students. I had to miss the midterm due to a funeral and he was very accommodating. Extremely helpful during his office hours. If you have the option of choosing, absolutely take him for 360. The class has a terrible reputation but it was painless with Mr Decker.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CSCI470
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Easily the best professor in the Computer Science department! He really cares about his students and their success, and encourages students to see him outside of class if they need extra help. The way he taught the subject was great! He actually writes out the code in class and explains it, instead of just showing a powerpoint with a snippet.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CSCI465
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Mr. Decker was an excellent teacher, he really cares about his students and makes sure to try and explain things to the best of his ability. I can definitely see how the homework may have been difficult for some, but I'm pretty good at programming so my opinion on this subject may not be the most helpful. Overall great teacher and class!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He often went over things very similar to the assignment in class, take notes and it'll be easy to do the JAVA assignments. This was my first time ever coding and I had a very easy time because he took a long time setting the foundation. He went over the same things multiple times usually, which got a little annoying. Overall it wasn't too hard.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He can sometimes be inconsistent in his directions, saying one thing in the assignment notes and something contradictory in class. He also has his own methodology of doing programming and life will be difficult for you if you deviate from it in the slightest.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I had him last year and he was the most down to earth professor I knew. He teaches at a slow pace so everyone can understand. He is easy to approach if you have any questions. The class does involve using Java, so as a non-major make sure you can access the online drives. The work is simple if you do you take notes. It gets repetitive but he's good

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: 465
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

he's pretty all over the place but its at least entertaining. He's not afraid to admit when he doesn't know what he's doing or when he's confused. When he does get lost he has a good way of working with the class to figure it out and I found his approach helpful.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Started off really cool, but was inconsistent. He's a great teacher as far as clarity but was not the most understanding. Took it way too personally when people missed class. Yes its important to teach students responsibility but when you work 24 hours a weekend one of the shifts being Sunday 3-11 it is nearly impossible not to miss A.M class.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 465
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

One of the hardest classes I've taken by sheer time spent, but Decker is patient and explains things. He is very kind and patient in office hours. Decker is good at teaching what he knows, but he is unsure about thinking outside the box or trying new things, and doesn't know C(++) to compare ideas. He cares about internships, unlike other NIU profs

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CSCI465
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Excellent teacher, he is very lenient when it comes to due dates on homework. Probably the best CSCI teacher I've had at NIU, he teaches based on real life experience which is great.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CSCI465
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

One of the best teachers I have ever had. Very nice, funny, and informative. Extremely helpful and will answer any questions you have.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Decker is a great teacher. He really cares about students' success. He is fair with grading and goes step by step in each program. He has weekly quizzes, and programs due each week. Tests and final are fairly difficult. Overall, best teacher for a java programming class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CSCI465
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I had Decker for both 360 and 465, the two most unbearable CSCI courses at NIU. Despite this he was a very knowledgeable, interesting, and enthusiastic teacher. He was also funny and got all the information to the students in an organized fashion. I'd recommended taking any course he's teaching if you can.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CSCI460
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Makes the class fun and interesting. My favorite CS teacher at NIU by far.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CSCI465
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He's a nice guy that will help if you need it. You'll learn what he's trying to teach if you pay attention.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Very nice guy and EZ A.DONTMISSCLASS.Eventhough you get an assignment every week,he pretty much shows you how to most of it in class.Which is why you want to attend every class.Healso gives ALOT of extra credit for attendance and other things.I had a little problem with one assignment and was amazed by how quickly he responded and how helpful he wa

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

this course wasn't hard. there is a lot of busy work involved (wayy too many assignments if u ask me). he wasn't a hard teacher, the class is really boring tho... he gives a lot of extra credit!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CSCI465
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Geoffrey is the only person at NIU that can make a semester of COBOL tolerable.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CSCI210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He does nothing. He makes his TAs do all the work. He doesn't teach. Nice guy, but horrible teacher. I wish I would have taken it with a different prof. I got a good grade, but everyone does. He doesn't like to grade so if the TA doesn't do it he gives them an A.