William Leonard - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: William Leonard

Department: Electrical Engineering

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECE202
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His class is set up so you won't fail-you are encouraged to retry homework and projects until you get them perfect, and you get to drop one component of your grade (a test, attendance, homework). His lectures are interactive and engaging-you walk out of every class having learned something. He is willing to adjust the course/tests to fit the class.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Amazing professor, above and beyond to enable you to excel. I found the class to be incredibly difficult, but everything I needed was there. It was extremely easy to know what I needed to do, where I stood and where the resources where at any point. He is very accessible and provides excellent feedback.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECE211212
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I owe my degree in EE to him

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECE211212
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ignore every negative review you've seen. This guy cares more about a random pro-active student's success more than their own parents do. Due dates for assignments are non existent if you speak with him. Once let me submit an assignment for fall semester after New Years Eve. If you are balancing a difficult semester, put the work into Bill's class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECE211212
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Best in show

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECE211AND212
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is the man. He replies to my emails at 3 am and he is willing to meet with me at any time. I just need to email him or walk in. I would have dropped out of college if it was not for him. He is your go to guy. He is always on your side.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECE212
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Leonard is a nice professor, but I still hate Mastery with a passion. The course material isn't particularly difficult, but it takes up a huge amount of time, more than any other class I've taken at Umass. You take a test, sometimes two, every week. This is in addition to labs and computer exercises that take hours. The class is really annoying.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECE212
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Part circuits professor, part academic adviser, part therapist. Bill Leonard is an amazing professor. Yes circuits is a pain but he gives plenty of opportunities to get a good grade. He is also the go-to guy for any questions an ECE undergrad might have. Also incredible at answering emails; I once emailed him at 2 am and got a response by 2:15!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ECE212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His grading system is ridiculous, getting 9 of 10 on all his modules is a C . Not to mention you have to get things in exact precision, so if you have a rounding error anywhere, you're screwed, time to re do the entire thing. To get a higher grade you have to take harder modules and perfect those. His class will take all your time

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECE211AND212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Most work heavy class I've ever taken, that being said Leonard is an incredibly professor and you learn a ton. Mastery is hard but I find myself missing it occasionally.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Leonard is a great teacher, but mastery sucks. Mastery requires a lot of work with mastery attempts and computer exercises due weekly. Try to figure out what works for you early on. Going to lecture is helpful only if you stay on the early due dates. I found mastering the practice before making a mastery attempt was a good sign for mastery success.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Bill gives you every chance to succeed. You just have to work for it. The mastery system of 211 and 212 is his creation and he's always working on improving it. Always available for help and always responds quickly to emails. Works hard to help students learn.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• 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:

Lectures are i-clicker questions. Discussion is supposedly time for you to ask questions but not many people do so it is basically useless. You have to take these tests every week and his "perfect" system consumes your workload. I noticed that I had less time to do work for other classes because of this class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ridiculous mastery system that requires perfection in order to pass. Talks down to students who aren't doing well in his class and tells them to switch majors.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• 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:

Lectures are clicker questions, not lectures. Mastery is extremely unconventional and discouraging.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECE212
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I once sent Bill Leonard an email at 2 am. He replied back by 2:15. Hardest working guy at UMass.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Best teacher I've ever had. His system will seem strange and scary, but I have never learned more in such a short period of time. It can be a lot of work, but it is extremely rewarding. Everything is explained so clearly, and he is very ready to help anybody who asks for it. He makes you work for your grade, but you will be glad he did.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Leonard is hands down the best professor I've ever had. He's got the perfect mix of being an awesome teacher, teaching you lessons outside of course material, inspiring course interest, and making it challenging. He's got it all down to a perfect system, and he's at the helm running all of it.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECE211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Leonard is the man. He is a visionary in the world of teaching, as this class is structured like nothing you've ever seen. In that sense, it is near impossible, and honestly one of the hardest things I've ever done. But you learn the material so well. He is always there for you. He has helped me so much, in this course and beyond.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: 211
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Leonard is a great professor, His class is extremely time consuming.