Randy Scovil - Cuesta College

Professor: Randy Scovil

Department: Computer Science

College: Cuesta College

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Randy is an extremely tough grader. His class is the hardest class I have ever taken. Homework takes up all your free time. I learned how to code incredible fast in his class.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Randy's class is by far the most difficult I've ever taken. He's tough and does not make his class easy. He seriously prepares you for the future, but it took me a year of classes with him to realize that. He will tell you frequently to DO THE READING and he is right. He is very inspirational and very interested in seeing where his students end up.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hardest class Ive ever taken but also the most fulfilling. If you show effort the professor will appreciate that. Oh and every class Ive taken after this one is easy in comparison, so thats very nice.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CIS231
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A tough teacher but with good reason. You won't pass his class trying to cruise by, write down EVERYTHING and expect to read book/notes for the rest of your free time. Tough grader that requires attention to every detail on homework. Main problem is he assumes that the students know more than they actually do. You'll either love him or hate him.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CIS232
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He really knows the material well and doesn't understand that his students haven't been programming for 30 years. This can prove to be a HUGE issue if you don't read A LOT. This is because he skips over concepts that he feels like are common sense that are crucial to understanding why to program a certain way. Without understanding, you will fail.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

231 will be really rough. I never thought I'd say this but by the end of 233 you'll really appreciate the hard work you put in and the toughness of the classes. I am confident I wouldn't have learned what I did if I had a different professor. Study hard, read the book, put in quality work on the labs and assignments and you'll do great

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CIS231
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Tests are MUCH harder than homework, don't be fooled. He will expect you to know things that he covers in lecture that aren't in the text. Write down EVERYTHING he writes on the board. He will not prepare you for the tests - if you want to do well, you'll have to spend hours optimizing code on your own beyond the assigned homework.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CIS231
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This professor is very condescending. He talks down and doesnt respect his students. Super difficult and isnt much help if you ask for it.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CIS231
• 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:

Terrible teacher. Terrible person!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Diamond in the rough at Cuesta College. Having had many teachers in technical classes over the years, I can say with certainty that Randy Scovil is one of my top 3 when it comes to RESULTS. When he says that you will leave his class at the end of 9 months (CIS 232 - CIS 233) very satisfied with what you can do, he is telling the truth. #itdepends

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Tips 233: Use YouTube to get an overview before trying to read. He will say "read everything three times before class". If you can do this, good for you. Here's what worked for me: YouTube, read, go to class, re-read and take notes. Lecture is an opportunity to re-inforce what you already learned from the reading. Participate and don't be rude.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CIS232
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

232 Tips: Analyze the code before class (be ready to participate). Being able to explain the code using proper terminology is very important, and will be a reoccurring theme on tests. I recommend printing the source code on the Q drive and taking notes on it. The tests are long, and time is limited, so know your resources before going in to test.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CIS231
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

High marks in all three fundamentals classes with ZERO computer science/programing experience. 231 Tips: Buy book. Take notes directly in the book. Tests are open book/note Use YouTube to get topic overview before trying to read. Then READ! IDLE & Intellij are used Professor Tips: Respect his time Come prepared Tough, but kind grader

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Yes, his fundamentals classes are tough as hell. But honestly, his classes are the best thing to happen to my academic career. He pushes hard and has high expectations, but the experience and knowledge you gain is worth it. Beyond CIS 233, he is evenknown to take an active role assisting in the job searches for students, and is VERY well connected.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The guy changes your life. In the best way.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Current CS grad student with three years software engineering experience reporting in. Yes Scovil is tough and will call you out if you don't know your stuff but his classes were the best CS classes I took at any level. I highly recommend his classes. Just put in the work and you'll do fine. He softens up in his advanced, iOS, and Android classes.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

At first I hated Scovil, thought he was full of himself. But over time, I realized Scovil is the best thing to happen thus far in my college career. Yes, he's tough and demanding. He does it for good reason!!!. He prepares you extremely well for what's ahead for CS majors. I've done great so far after transferring to 4yr school b/c of his classes!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Mr. Scovil know his stuff but: He his very rude to his students in class. Grading criteria is not well defined. Keep your head low, don't ask questions, and hope that he doesn't notice you. Students who speak up in class get shut down by him. It is a shame really. He seems genuinely interested in the subject, and is obviously very knowledgable.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

My gut wants to give Randy a low rating, but I have to give him a high rating when I think about how much I learned in his class. Listen to his lectures, read the book, and invest some time, and you'll do well in his class. It won't be easy, you might hate every minute of it, but the payoff is worth it.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CIS233
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Randy expects his students to be self motivated and hard working. He disapproves of any use of the internet when working on assignments and labs. He expects everyone to learn from either him or the book. Very useful tip: There is a tool in Eclipse that will automatically format your code for you. Having your code properly formatted help your grade.