James Archibald - Brigham Young University

Professor: James Archibald

Department: TBD

College: Brigham Young University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECEN425
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I have taken a few classes from Dr. Archibald. He is just the best dude ever. Very understanding and dedicated to the success of every student. Told us that his students are "the best part of his job." Very challenging, and for idiots like me, the tests are near impossible. But, you will learn a lot from him. Hope he has a wonderful retirement!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECEN330
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Loved taking 330 from him thought the class was great. lectures were on point and informative

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECEN323
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Archibald teaches the concepts of computer architecture very well! This class is probably my favorite class in college so far. As long as you read the book and put in efforts finishing the labs, you will walk about with tremendous amount of knowledge and renewed perspective on computer systems. Highly recommend!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECEN425
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Archibald is a good guy. He is a good teacher as well as Engineer. Stay ahead on the labs and be friends with the TAs. If you have good programming practices under your belt, you won't fail.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECEN425
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have very average feelings towards Dr. Archibald. Not too bad and not too good

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECEN424
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Does not allow research or collaberation. Wants you to learn the hard way.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECEN330
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

So for the programming projects they are really really strict on the coding standards (no joke). Plus it's not very clear on what the coding standards are so often I was docked for stuff I didn't even know about. I barely got an A but I got frustrated a lot. Plus the tests are hard and its really hard to know what to study for the them too.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECEN330
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Archibald gives useful information in lecture, but the tests were unnecessarily difficult and didn't seem to be related to the reading. Labs are graded harshly on a coding standard that will lose you 30% of your grade on every project even if you are sure you got it right and your code works.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ECEN324
• 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:

Awesome teacher. Spends class talking about the most interesting parts of the text. Expects you to pay attention and keep up on the reading. Not a class to fall behind in though.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECEN324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Super laid back. Really great guy. Very willing to help out in any situation if you take time to get him involved. His lectures are good if you take the right approach. He won't teach you things you can read out of a book. He likes to show real world examples of things you were supposed to read about and then discuss them. Great class!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: REL122
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He was an enjoyable teacher. Very fair in his testing, and not too demanding. He took all of his test questions directly from the Book of Mormon, he didn't test on mere opinion alone. Class was usually spent in discussion with all of us, not just the teacher rattling on. I would recommend taking the class from him.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECEN425
• 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:

324 is pretty tough from him, but 425 isn't so bad. The tests are easier, and the labs were not bad at all. If you are willing to spend a little time to think through problems, the labs can be quite fun. Dr. Archibald also got to know the students better in 425 than he did when I took 324. Good class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECEN324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Excellent professor. Subject is by nature very detail-oriented, which is reflected in the exams. Essential to carefully read the textbook (fortunately the book he uses is excellent). Labs are challenging but also very engaging.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECE324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Tough Course! But all the 300 level engineering courses are equally difficult. so you really got to work hard for it. Lot of Stuffs to read. Attending lectures will help a lot. He's very helpful and Grading is curved so sometimes 60 can be a B+.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECEN425
• 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:

I like the materials he taught but the discussion in class sometimes frustrated me. I have no idea what's the right and what's wrong after class. I have to read the textbook to clear my mind. Other than that, he is a very nice and cute professor in Engineering building.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CS324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Do not take this as an early AM class. It's difficult to stay awake. He's funny, but his exams are difficult. I'd also recommend working in groups to get the labs done.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: EE324AND425
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tough tests but very available and helpful. If you have trouble staying awake for power point, you're in trouble.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECEN425
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Awesome teacher. He explains things very concisely and is easy to listen to. People complain about his tests but the truth is that they're good assessments of your learning and are graded fairly. I loved both 324 & 425.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CS324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's a good teacher, but the lectures weren't very interesting. I had a hard time staying awake. The labs are hard but doable. Expect to spend a lot time figuring out how to do them. Homework wasn't bad, but took a long to be returned. Tests were very hard, but a 70 can be an A. He is a fair grader.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CS324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Class isn't the most exciting but he does a good job as far as the subject goes. Very willing to work with you. I missed a test and he allowed me to make it up with no penalty. Very structured class and the labs are a lot of fun although a little difficult.