John Noga - California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA

Professor: John Noga

Department: Computer Science

College: California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: COMP482
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Your grade might as well be on the moon, it takes him FOREVER to grade ANYTHING! Excellent lecturer, very funny, has in depth knowledge of the subject. You can expect him to push you to the limit to learn and face his exams. Tough grader, but if you want a professor to challenge you in this major and feel worthwhile, take Noga.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

No homework, project is not hard but he will not give you good grade at all. Hard exams. Bad feedback, and do not want to help you. His lecture is funny but hard.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: COMP310
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Brilliant, to-the-point, witty lectures. Makes effort to help students understand the material. Course grade is entirely based off of two midterms and final. Homework is assigned and not graded; answers are not provided. Exam questions tend to be few and difficult. Grades were posted 5 weeks after we took the final, zero feedback or communication.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: COMP424
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Not a very hard class, basically a more in-depth Security+ class, but Noga makes it fun. Major complaint is that he takes absolutely forever to get your grades back to you. We never got a single grade back until he turned in grades (a few weeks after the deadline mind you). Class is participation, 2 exams, and a project.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: COMP615
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Terrible at giving back feedback. Makes excuses about not reading e-mails. Other profs have clever ways to get past spam, I don't know why Noga can't. Has office hours, but he takes on too many courses so there are a lot of people. Test are hard. Nobody finished. Curve is not generous when anything below a 3.0 is bad for graduates.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: COMP310
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Awful professor, probably the worse I've had so far. No feedback on exams during the semester. Does not respond to emails. Fall grades for course are still not posted, despite the Spring semester starting in a week.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: COMP310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is a tough grader and you don't know that till 2-3 weeks after the semester is over. I got two midterms weighted at 30% each one final weighted at 40%. No hw is assigned so you better make your own and spend tons of hours practicing. You will never know if you are doing something correctly or not since there is no graded homework or tests.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: COMP610
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, well versed in what he teaches and he relays it properly. On the down side, he does not grade anything on time, ever. I'm already past my finals and no one even got their 1st midterm's grade, which makes life hard in terms of how he grades your answers so leaves you lost a bit if it's the first time with Noga.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A great professor who is able to relay information quite well. His lectures and examples helped with the homework and exams, and would make sure it is understood by the students. Overall a solid lecture, only issue with him is that he gives zero feedback throughout the semester, but you will learn a lot.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: COMP110
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I love showing up to his class. I am shocked about these other bad reviews about him. I don't know how he teaches in the other classes, but he actually does explain it well for my class. You need to at least practice programming at home because it isn't something you can learn from a book. He is also funny. Maybe he isn't the best, but he isn' bad.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Noga is a really amazing lecturer. I would say that most of the computer science concepts I know are thanks to his class. His projects are usually designed really well, and are a good learning tool. His exams are tough, but he gives plenty of partial credit. He is however a slow grader, and don't expect to get anything back.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: COMP610
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a decent lecturer, but isn't great about giving feedback and answering emails. Not bad, but not great either.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy, always willing to go out of his way to help students. His lectures aren't as forthright as I would've liked, but he gets the main points across and breaks concepts down as needed. He takes a while to grade things (it's over a week since the semester ended and we still don't have final grades), so don't expect feedback. Tests were tough.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His lecture are straightforward but you must be in class to understand it because the book is dry. The test are hard and the homework will takes hours to complete.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: COMP310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Noga is really funny, although sometime his sarcasm seems a bit dull but it might be because i took the course over the summer and classes were 1hr and 35 min. I would definitely take him again, he doesnt test you on material he didnt cover and is fair.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: COMP182
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Projects were not difficult if you read the book slightly and have a decent grasp on basics. Tests & exams were straight forward and only difficult, again, if you hadn't at least skimmed the chapters and/or had a decent grasp on the material. Overall, good choice.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great Professor! But, the only downside is you will not your grade, til basically you see it on the portal.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: COMP310
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took the class over summer, he didn't grade anything until the last week so there was NO feedback loop. Doesn't really follow the book, but the book is a good reference. Absolutely 100% you must review his review-sheets, the tests are very similar. Homework helps for tests too. Class is not as hard as algorithms, pretty manageable.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: COMP496ALG
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Noga is an excellent professor. Spends a lot of time explaining problems during lecture. Quizzes are based on the HW. MidtermFinal are based on the review sheets he gives the week before the exam. He is kind of lazy so expect to see quiz and midterm grades weeks after you take them. Take this class instead of 482 with Dye if you can.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: COMP310
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Smart guy, always there to help if you have questions, subjects is interesting but requires time and practice, his quizzes are basically the hardest question from homework, midterm and final are fair and doable. really enjoyed his class.