Paul Gray - University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA

Professor: Paul Gray

Department: Computer Science

College: University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CS3140
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Classes may not be "Easy", but if you need help and make an honest effort, Dr. Gray will go out of his way to help in anyway possible. Easily one of the best and most helpful professors in the CS department at the University. Enjoyed the classes so much, I took every class possible with him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CS3470
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He lectures off of the slides which come from the book. He is hilarious and relates concepts and gives examples. The amount of material covered is ridiculous, i felt overwhelmed and lost most of the course. Little to no homework. It's also important to go to class, most of the grade you receive is from the tests so study hard.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CS1160
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Took intro to C++ with Dr. Gray and it did not seem like an intro course. He expects you to know the basics and have prior experience coding already. His doctorate is in mathematics and every assignment and problem was creating code to solve a complex math problem. Asking him for help rarely helped in explaining complex assignments.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CS3140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Not a bad guy, but I received little benefit from his class. He doesn't provide his slides, goes way to fast covering them, rarely teaches from the book and by test time you are scrambling what the material will cover. The same is true with the assignments. He assumes a high level of knowledge on topics many of us never even encountered before.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS1160
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Rediculously hard class. Taught stuff professional programmers dont know. Dont take his class if you dont have any programming experience. He was little to no help. Assumed you should just know the answer. Made the programming about solving math problems.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CS3470
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Course was quite difficult, but if you make an honest effort to learn the material, he can be accommodating. Lectures can get a bit 'jokey' and I think it detracts too much from learning. Material in the textbook will help you, but to do well you really need to have a LOT of background in the nuts and bolts of networking.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CS01
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Doesn't work with you. Assumes you are on his level of expertise. Tests and projects are ridiculous... He is too smart and assumes we know what he does. Hard to learn when he can't teach.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS1160
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Do not take his class without any prior knowledge in the subject. He assumes you know a lot already. He is a hard grader. Gives little for partial credit. Sometimes none.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: INTROCS
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very challenging, but learned a LOT!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CS1510
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Gray is a very intelligent individual, However he does not teach his intro course to programming as an intro. The class is severely hard and stressing. A great deal of my class mates and I routinely spent 8 or more hours per week doing one post lab. There are several jumps where you understand everything to being completely lost.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CSCS
• 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:

His classes are HARD. You must be willing to learn new things. Some work has to be done outside of class making it too difficult for some. He's practically available 24/7 by email/class website. He is EXTREMELY smart at what he does.

Rating # 12

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

OPERATING SYSTEMS: Dr. Gray has immense CS knowledge and can amuse students with ?Gray Tangents?, his rants on topics. Despite his efforts, material is often beyond comprehension. Just because he is exceptional with this topic, doesn?t mean the AVERAGE student is. About 25% of the class had deficient grades and will need to re-take. Use caution.

Rating # 13

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

THEORY OF COMPUTATION: Dr. Gray is gifted in CS skills and tries to make class engaging. Should you be an AVERAGE student, you will FAIL his class. He?s challenging, wanting students to overcome mental obstacles. However, his expectations are too high. About 30-50% of the class will have deficient grades of Ds or Fs. Use caution when registering.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENVTCCAPS
• 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:

Took him for a last minute capstone class. Great guy very knowledgable and excellent lectures/discussion. I was not even interested in this type of subject but I found the class very interesting! Would definately recommend for capstone Environment Technology and Society!

Rating # 15

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Horrible teacher. Very confusing with his lectures, likes to go on tangents a lot, tells dull jokes. When you ask Gray questions, he will give you very vague answers that leaves you scratching your head. I dont know why everybody likes Gray so much, but he is not a good professor. U must know your stuff about computers before taking Gray's class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: OS810
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

all i can say is WOW.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS188
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Excellent when he chooses to be; he doesn't seem to be preparing like he used to. Always busy, will help but you might get a sigh or an eye roll. Parallel had very little direction and we accomplished very little in a semester. On the other hand, if you want to talk after class about Linux, he's your man.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CS143
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great for Linux gurus but has a difficult time staying on topic and does not explain things well. I passed OS by reading the textbook constantly. He pretends to be very busy but chats on IRC a lot of the time. Answers e-mails minimally and usually not willing to give straightforward help on assigments. He does a better job in classes he likes.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

great professor, probably my favorite. his classes are difficult but he is very clear and treats students with respect.

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Excellent Prof. Really cares about students, works hard to involve, and educate all students. Brilliant man, amazing linux skills. A "must-take" prof for any serious CS student. You will learn as much as you want, and definately get the grade you earn. Grade on how hard you try on top of raw scores.