Ralph Howard - University of South Carolina

Professor: Ralph Howard

Department: Mathematics

College: University of South Carolina

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH172
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Solid professor, but somewhat confusing. Makes at least one typo/mistake per class and goes back to correct it. Typically works through one or two long problems on the whiteboard in each class. Every class ends with a quiz, but he's good about doing group quizzes (basically guided lecture notes with him) if he didn't finish teaching the material.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH172
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Howard is a really caring guy but this class is dense. There is a quiz every day and the exams are pretty hard. He does not post grades in blackboard and his class notes are super hard to read. He does type and post them at night though which is great. This class is not an easy A.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH122
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Gives partial credit. Would recommend for MATH122.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH172
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Howard is a decent math professor, but he makes a lot of mistakes and the way he teaches is confusing. This made the class difficult for me since I already struggle in math. You have a quiz every class and it helps your grade if you take all of them and do well on them. The exams are for the most part fair.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH122
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

very nice man but he makes mistakes often. can be difficult to understand but if you tell him youre confused he slows down. grades fairly and gives partial credit. would recommend for an easy business calc class. daily quizzes are based on homework.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH172
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Super easy class with minimal effort. He is always willing to help and the homework is not required. Daily quizzes are easy and boost your grade. Exams are graded fairly and are just like the homework.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MAT172
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Ralph is one of my favorite professors from USC. Hes super sweet and caring and truly cares how his students do. He can be disorganized and there are quizzes every class but if anything isnt understood by the whole class, he does class quizzes and helps a lot. Test are just like the quizzes. You can tell he loves what he does and makes math easy!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Howard is a super nice guy and super sweet. He also gives partial credit on his tests. However, his lectures are not so great. He makes TONS of mistakes. There is TONS of homework, and I mean TONS. The hw is also graded for accuracy. This was by far my most difficult class all semester. There is a lot of outside learning.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Ralph is the best math teacher I have ever had. Thank god for blessing this planet with Ralph Howard.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Super nice guy, but makes mistakes all the time in class and his lectures aren't really helpful. At least 1/4 of the class had dropped before the second test. Very giving on tests lots of partial credit, but overall you are learning the material by yourself.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH554H
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If you want an easier upper-level math experience, he's the one to take. As others have said, he's super dyslexic and constantly makes mistakes, but he's really nice. He posts all notes and helps out as best he can, but don't expect lectures to be very helpful. Reading the notes and figuring things yourself out is key.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ralph assigns a large load of homework. He also occasionally makes it due at unreasonable times, and there are times homework is randomly picked up all at once after a few times of not collecting work. He is a picky grader, very difficult to understand during lecture, and his handwriting is difficult to read.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Ralph Howard does his job by conveying a standard and getting it across to his students, but it comes with a cost. Aside from constant errors in his arithmetic, inability to hear students from across the room, being super unorganized, the list goes on, he is a teacher at most. i would not recommend him to someone who did not take ap calc previously

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH172
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

prof Howard, i love this guy, very kind and caring. hes a little disorganized at times but so am i so no judgment. class is super easy too, never paid attention and barely studied for tests, easy A. quiz every day tho so make sure to go. if you take him make sure to what his favorite type of corn is. he knows so many types of corn its crazy

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MAT172
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

The quizzes and exams are super easy and exactly like the problems we do in class. You don't even have to show up to class or study to make an A.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I loved him!!! I am a math major, but Ive never been good at proofs (which is pretty much all of 300). He made the material so easy to understand, and he spent time explaining every class. He also has a lot of quizzes (one every class but theyre not bad) plus the textbook is free! awesome!!!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH554H
• 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:

God bless this man. He made the hardest math class at USC doable and he is so respectful and caring of students' needs. He is super flexible with exams if you have some extenuating circumstance, and he truly cares that you learn the material. He wants us all to do well, and modifies grading schemes at the end to our favor. Best math prof yet

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MAT172
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

He's disorganized, but I still managed to understand him better than other math professors/teachers I've taken. He gets that he's teaching to bio-centered rather than math-oriented students, which really helped me understand how the equations taught work. Gives quizzes almost every day, but goes over material right before. Wants students to succeed

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MAT172
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

He gives quizzes every day that are super easy so it boosts your grade. He's a silly man and makes a lot of mistakes on the board, but doesn't mind if you correct him. Only gave 3 tests, they were pretty easy. Minimal studying is required unless you struggle with math. The book is helpful for practice problems. The homework isn't required.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH574
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you think that he is unfair with assigning homework, just ask him to move it. He seemed really unorganized and unprepared for our lessons. Go to class and do your homework, test questions can come directly from assignments and lecture. He makes mistakes on the board often, just ask him to clarify. The textbook was absolutely terrible.