Zaven Altounian - McGill University, Montreal, QC

Professor: Zaven Altounian

Department: Physics

College: McGill University, Montreal, QC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHYS141
• 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: Mandatory

Comment:

B- average in the 1st year physics course. are u kidding me. this guy was dead set to fail all of us from the beginning.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Altounian is a pretty bad prof. His slides are good but he does not explain topics well. He is quite boring and pretty much nobody pays attention in class. When 75% of the class gets a clicker question wrong he doesn't even explain. He basically never answered peoples questions in class. Fair exams.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• 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:

I wasn't expecting much after having Ragan but he wasn't too bad. He explained concepts well and was somewhat funny and interesting. That being said, he's really sassy to his students in general and hates answering questions. The spring 2012 final was fair but fairly challenging. He doesn't curve marks.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Ragan sets the bar so high in first semester, I wasn't expecting much from Altounian. Was I ever wrong. Altounian is a clear, fair and caring professor. He connects with his students and really wants them to learn. Thoroughly enjoyed the course. All evaluations were fair.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

An excellent professor - clear, helpful and very fair. Pay attention in class and study past exams and you will learn a lot and do well. Prof. Altounian teaches in a very understandable way. I wasn't expecting much from coming from Ragan's class but was really surprised by how great of a professor Altounian was.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Really mean prof doesn't like answering questions and has a very intimidating attitude. Refused to record lectures or give a midterm. However he makes up for his flaws by giving the fairest exam I have seen at McGill so far

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHYS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really picky and harsh on the marking scheme. Notes are good, but he seems to have a very "I will fail all of you" attitude when it comes to exams. Just be prepared.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's not bad as a teacher, but as a person, he is rather condescending and rude. Unfortunately, he refuses to record lectures, but his slides are decent.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really disappointed me this year he started off well then cancelled our CAPA assignments and made our finals worth 90%. Also gives pop clicker quizzes, which is annoying because I find it easier to study at home, so I missed out on some marks. Doesn't record lectures and seems intimidating

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• 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:

Great prof, very helpful. His lectures were very clear, and he explains things very well, don't be afraid to ask questions.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHYS142
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He doesn't record his lectures, and there was no midterm. His slides are very good. His final questions were not bad at all, but the grading is absolutely brutal. Dare to forget a unit, or do a simple mathematical error and be thankful if he gives you any credit fo the entire question. The labs were horrible: very little time to do so much work.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHYS142
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He wasn't necessarily bad, it's just that when he explains something or works out an example problem in class, he assumes everyone gets it the first time around, which can make it seem like he's rushing through the material. After seeing the exam, I wish I'd done more textbook problems.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His class was really boring and it's a pity he refuses to record it. Thankfully the slides were very detailed and the textbook was concise and easy to get through. The exam questions are very similar to those you find in the textbook - do the chapter summaries and you'll be fine.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Some people say that he's not a good teacher, but Prof. Altounian is extremely helpful when you do approach him and ask questions. He takes time to thoroughly answer your queries and does his best to make somewhat boring lecture materials fun. In addition, he has rly cute accent and is just like any grandpa ;)

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHYS142
• 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:

i just dont think hes a good teacher, very boring, and doesnt explain things well

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• 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:

I'm surprised to see good ratings about him..I enjoyed PHYS 101 and was lookin forward for 102, but this prof is just terrible. He refuses to post recordings and doesn't like to answer questions. I learned the entire material from the textbook and found him absolutely useless. The labs were unfair as well..the TAs need to be trained seriously!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• 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:

Didn't like it one bit (although I don't like physics in general). The prof is a genius and probably thinks everyone else is smart too so he'll ask difficult questions and expect most of the class to answer correctly. Him saying "this is obvious right?" demonstrates this.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHYS142
• 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:

He's a really great Prof. His class is so interesting. The grading wasn't fair, because there was no midterm and the final was 75% out of the course grade. Assignments are really good practice for the final. TAs aren't fair at all. They're really bad in grading both the lab and the final.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHYS142
• 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:

Kind of useless and unhelpful. Raise your hand to ask a question he doesn't like, and he will stare you down, change the subject, and move on. Not a happy man.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHYS102
• 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:

horrible prof, rushes through complex topics and forces students to answer each others questions. just failed me for a summer course bc i studied his 'practice exam' inside and out which had nothing to do with the actual final. lectures went from decent to pretty interesting at times, but he was too much an ego trip the whole class. horrible exams.