Debby Keen - University of Kentucky

Professor: Debby Keen

Department: Computer Science

College: University of Kentucky

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

In class it can be hard to like her, but one-on-one, if you show you are trying, she will help you. She is definitely a hard grader and wants everything to be done her way. The class is just set up to be hard for an intro to coding course. I had a background in coding courses and I still struggled. She has a lot of office hours, take advantage.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Overall, Dr. Keen is a good professor. She is very serious about the class and expected students to spend effort on it. She is very clear about everything and if you dont understand anything, just ask her and she will respond right away. For the tests, make sure to study all the slides on her website and you will be fine.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I'm in my third year here at UK and I took this class as an elective because I was interested in learning to code. She makes this miserable to say the least. I've had to do more work for this class than my upper division level courses in my major. If you do not HAVE to take this class, don't do it.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She gives LOTS of assignments, but the progression of difficulty is at a reasonable and well calculated pace. Just don't fall behind. Her grading is very meticulous, so understanding her expectations was a bit annoying. The TA taught most of the lectures, and he did a much better job of explaining the content than most online resources. Good course

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She is pretty clear about what she wants and how she wants it. Paying attention in lecture will help but depending on how much you know about computers, it is easy to teach yourself. She has tons of stuff to teach yourself with on the class website. Definitely go to open lab. It's 1 point extra credit and you do not have to stay the whole time.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She gave lots of homework, but most of it was easy to do. Don't do projects early because she will change criteria for them as the deadline approaches. She also wants code to be written a very specific way and is sometimes unclear. She does lecture alot, but it is easy to understand and she moves through material pretty slowly.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• 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:

Absolute worst class I've ever taken. 100% due to the professor, not the course. You're expected to know things she never teaches. She is severely demeaning and treats you like you are ignorant and less than if you ever ask for help. Basically, she is an adult version of the dorky kid we all went to school with that was horrible to everyone.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Keen gives lots of busywork, but it will help you learn more and be a better programmer in the long run. CS 115 should definitely be a 4-credit class instead of a 3-credit class for how much homework she gives.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This is the worst class I have ever taken. I never leave reviews for professors, but I just wanted to leave a student beware. Even if your program does exactly as she wants, she will nit pick everything about your program in order to make it her way. Even if it is flawless she will find a way to take off. Get ready for a lot of frustration from her

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Keen truly gave me a love for computer science that I didn't have. She teaches computer science in a way where you know that she knows what she's talking about, but also in a way where you can understand what she's talking about. She makes computer science seem WAY less daunting (but not in a way that makes you feel dumb).

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She is the most boring teacher you will ever have and she often takes her lectures about 10-15 minutes over the time they're supposed to be ended. Despite that, she is really passionate about what she teaches and wants her students to succeed. Study everything for her tests and go to open labs.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Super boring lectures. I basically looked at her lecture power points before exams & taught myself the material & did pretty fine on the exams. Homework is super easy. Majority of the labs aren't mandatory but attending is extra credit. Lab test are hard but you go to office hours the test will be easy

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

she knows the stuff and gives you the stuff. easy. nothing crazy. not interesting but not boring. very simple. good class

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lecture is very dry and hard to pay attention to. The lab exams and the program assignments weren't all that difficult, but the written exams were a pain. For a 100 level course, this was definitely more difficult than it should have been. All in all, be ready to teach yourself quite a bit and become familiar with stackoverflow.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CS100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Keen was very tough, but she knew her material and she made me into a programmer. I have worked now as a developer for over two decades, and I credit her for giving me the basis I needed to survive in this field. She's tough, no doubt, but before you whine about "fairness", knuckle down and learn from her.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

If you don't have to take this class, don't. I have left it feeling like sobbing because she puts so much pressure on students. She crams info into you and expects you to learn with little real instruction. It's hard to take notes and her posted slides are mostly useless. She keeps a spiteful air about her and I was afraid to ask for any help.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Keen comes across as very rude - try not to take it personally. She is very informed in this field and just wants to ensure you develop good habits (incredibly tough grader). *DO NOT* take this course unless you are a CS major/aspiring programmer; it requires previous experience to 'get.' Take something else to fill a requirement or you'll drown.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I wouldn't even recommend Keen to my worst enemy. Lectures somehow slow time down and are super boring. Unfortunately she is the only lecturer for this class, so if you're major requires this class I'm sorry for you. Assignments lack clear, detailed instructions. Easily one of the worst professors at UK. Ask for help, and she'll patronize you.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CS115
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of my favorite instructors this semester. I didn't necessarily pay attention in lecture all that much. However, during lab is when I learned most of my abilities to program. I would definitely recommend. Dr. Keen is the one who inspired me to be a computer science major. Fantastic programmer and instructor.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are super boring but as long as you show up and answer the questions at the end you get attendance credit. However, attendance is mandatory if you want to pass. Labs are optional except for test days but are extra credit if you attend. She is more than willing to help and tests are not too difficult.