Chuck Nelson - Rock Valley College, Rockford, IL

Professor: Chuck Nelson

Department: Computer Science

College: Rock Valley College, Rockford, IL

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Chuck is very lecture heavy, he will also go through different examples with you line by line. C++ is not an easy course. Do not go in thinking this is an easy A. Communicate with him and go to his office hours so he can see what you need help with. He uses the same book between intro and advanced. You definitely get what you give.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CIS240
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Programming exams are paper and pencil.... Is there anything else that really needs to be said? The guy is stuck in the stone age and his lectures are him reading off his powerpoints.... Ended up having to learn code on my own and didn't bother going to his lectures. Such a terrible professor... Even though I've taken him twice now.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If you're intuitive and good at programming you'll succeed. It's an interesting subject and got me interested in C++. However it is likely that you'll struggle if you're not good at problem-solving. It's very hands-on, sometimes we complete programs in class and turn them in. The best advice is to study examples carefully easily and do exercises.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CIS277
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Midterm and final only tests. Open book plus 1 8x11 paper. Let's you turn stuff in late (for a lower grade). Will help if asked. If you don't get it with him teaching it, then you need to choose a different career path. He DOES make it cleareasy compared to other teachers (like at NIU). Not his fault you don't studyget it.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

2 tests plus final. Open book plus 1 8x11 paper. Let's you turn stuff in late (for a lower grade), but that's better than 0. Will help if asked. His lectures EXPECT you to read the book first. READ THE BOOK. Watch videos. He isn't a 2nd grade teacher here to hold your hand. Programming isn't for everyone, so stop acting like it's his fault.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CIS240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This teacher was not good. He expected his students to already have a strong programming background. He will help if you ask, but he has an easy way of making you feel stupid. I do NOT advise taking this professor.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

C++ is a difficult subject in itself, and explaining it is even more difficult. I plan on going in the field so I went to every after school session to get as much help as I could. Reading the book at least somewhat is crucial to getting a good grade. thenewboston.com has video tutorials to help some too. You get what you put in!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Programmings not my thing, and I didn't quite get it. Despite that, I still got a B. Even if you completely blow a homework assignment, you'll probably get a 50% on it. That + the fact that 70% of your grade is tests/quizzes/attendance + the fact that tests & quizzes are online...anyone could at least pass. Easy. (Don't know an answer? Google it!)

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He was willing to help...and I needed it.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CIS277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Need strong background in programming.Lectures were horrible and many times only intros to the subject while the homework needed 400 lvl comprehension.I despise the book used and the timeline in which things were taught.I learned very little in this class.Many mistakes on homework assignments.Due dates questionable.Tests were junk.My worst prf. yet

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CIS275
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Emails aren't the best option for contacting him. Phone him during office hrs, or show up to them! You might not always understand the lectures, but he's very willing to help you 1 on 1 if you need it. You will get out of his class what you put into it. Maybe even a little more. He's pretty lenient on grading, and anyone could ace the tests.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

In his intro C++ class right now. He follows the book, which teaches things in a really weird order. If you have no prior programming experience, this could make the class pretty challenging. Nonetheless, he's a pretty good teacher. Also, tests are online, no time limit. Homework is hard sometimes, but hes VERY lenient on due dates and VERY helpful

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Online Course. Rarely ever responded to e-mails for clarification on assignments, assignments were very hard to understand and while he made himself available after hours .. he was extremely difficult in reaching. I was forced to drop the class because I didn't want to fail.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Seems to get a lot of bad reviews and I'm not sure why. Took the 8 week summer course and got an A. He was very helpful. All you have to do is keep up with the assignments. If you don't want to do that or you have difficulty thinking outside of the box, then computer programming is not for you. Doesn't matter if Mary Poppins is teaching it.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CIS277
• 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:

He is a very nice guy and a decent teacher, but has some problems. He is very disorganized and constantly has problems with Ednet conference access and sending out emails. He takes forever to grade and return assignments. He grades pretty easily. Both his intro and advanced c++ courses are fairly easy if you keep up with the work.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Intro to C++. It was a hard class for me since I have no programming experience. The professor was very helpful. He stayed after class and explained what went wrong with my programs. I asked a lot of questions and survived the class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He was willing to stay late after class to help better understand the material, yet he was running late for an appointment

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He was willing to stay late after class to help better understand the material, yet he was running late for an appointment.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He was willing to stay late, well after class to help me better understand the material, yet he was running later for an appointment.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CIS276
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Internet Class, professor ROUTINELY lost assignments and I had to prove that I had previously sent them in. I don't think he has actually updated any of his references of what page the assignments are on for two or three generations of the book to read.Email requests take days, if you even get a response, completely unacceptable for internet class