Alan Rea - Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

Professor: Alan Rea

Department: Business

College: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CIS2600
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Docrea is great! Really cares about his students, however he is a tough grader. With that said, there are opportunities for extra credit and you should have no problem passing if you study and take notes. He is no easy A, but it's doable.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CIS3660
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

You're just about to take the first exam, you've done really well throughout the class so far. Good grades on your assignments and a strong understanding of the material. Then you look at the exam. It's like you're staring at a test bank for an entirely different class. You can expect A's on assignments and C's or D's on exams.(Any class w/him)

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CIS2610
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is the best CIS class I've taken. Actually the best class I've taken at WMU period! You get to design mobile apps for Android. The professor is a nice guy, but he is a tough grader. Also he doesn't teach you how to do everything. I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with Android Studio before you take this class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CIS2610
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Doc Rea is awesome. He can be a bit of a tough grader, but I think that's necessary for a coding class. Your code either follows the guidelines and standards clearly defined or it doesn't. He goes over the assignments in class. He literally codes the assignment in front of you want explains what he is doing. Take good notes, screenshots, etc

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CIS2610
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Rea is a very tough grader!! Even if you do the majority of the assignment correctly and your code works, you will NOT receive an "A" or "B". There is a expected "pop quiz" at the beginning of every chapter and an midterm exam that has multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false and essay. I would not recommend taking his class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CIS2600
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Rea as a person is a great guy, he is funny and an entertaining professor. However, he is an extremely tough grader. His programming classes are introductory, but he expects you to already have programming experience in order to atleast pass each assignment with a "C." His classes are hard and you really have to work for it for a decent grade.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CIS3900
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Doc Rea is a nice guy and definitely knows his stuff. The problem is, that he flies through the material and isn't clear on his expectations for assignments. If you are a moderately experienced programmer then you'll love this class, but if you are new like me, then you will quickly fall behind and spend countless hours just trying to just keep up.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CIS2600
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Docrea demands you to learn. He's trying to prepare you for an actual career - go into this class with that in mind. He's very personable, will help if you ask, has great stories, and is an extremely smart man. He grades hard! Show that you put real effort into your work, make sure you put comments into your code explaining what it does!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CIS2600
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class was really hard for me because it went so fast. I think he assumes everyone already knows how to program and that's why he don't have better examples. He is a nice guy overall, but the course for me was just a NO, never again!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CIS2600
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

So, Alan Rea is a nice person. But when it comes to teaching... no. just no. He provides little to no support, that isn't all his fault- the university has nothing set up to support biz CIS students. Get ready to ask the smartest kid in class for help. Also, unless you LOVE programming and already know it fairly well DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT take.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CIS2610
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Rea is a really nice guy. He makes it enjoyable to go to class. He is a very tough grader though and he will make you work for it. His tests are pretty brutal too. This business mobile programming class was pretty fun though, you learn how to make android apps. Be ready to work hard though. All in all I would say he is worth taking.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CIS2800
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Doc Rea doesn't sugarcoat things for ya. Follow the guidelines he lays down and you'll survive the class. For those of you that have a problem with day dreaming - lose it. He drops a copious amount of clues as they relate to exercise and lab assignments. Thanks for the honest semester, Doc Rea.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CIS2610
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Docrea is a great professor and one of the best I've had at WMU. He relates well to students and will always help if you ask him for his assistance. Most of the labs are straight from the book, with somethings that you have to figure out on your own. Add extra stuff to the labs so you get a grade better than a C.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CIS2800
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The class average was an E on pretty much everything. I don't think he understands how badly that looks for him.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CIS2800
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I enjoy learning PHP, but this was an extremely difficult course at times. I don't agree with how he handles major exams. The average was a DC, and the exam guides are extremely generic and vague. Quizzes are hard! Quiz average is a DC. It sounds like this isn't the first class where his finals/quizzes are a DC average. I hope he curves!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CIS2610
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Honestly, one of the toughest classes i've ever taken. He's a very smart professor but, when it comes to TEACHING, he falls short. Over half our class FAILED the midterm and he didn't see an issue with that. He expects a lot from his students- thats fine, but he doesn't realize that most of us know very little about coding. I would avoid.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CIS2800
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is the worst CIS professor I have had at WMU. He does not explain his assignments in enough detail for students to understand them. When you go to him for help he basically puts the life jacket on you but leaves u in the deep in ocean . The tutor for this class SUCKS! For this to be a beginning programming class it sucks! No study guides!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CIS2800
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you're not passionate about programming or learning a new language, you shouldn't take this class. It will be a struggle at first, but once you get the basics you will slowly but surely become more advanced. Teach yourself, it helps a lot in the long run. Make sure to document everything, it counts for a lot.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CIS3900
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Doc Rea is probably my favorite professor at WMU. He is an extremely hard grader at times, he really makes you work for that A, so when you finally get one it's well worth it and you feel appreciated for working so hard. If you are ever confused on how to code something in one of his classes, he is usually pretty helpful. The book comes in handy.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: INFA650
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Alan Rea's teaching style is not very reasonable. He lacks clarity for assignment expectations and his grading standards are unreasonable.