Alexander Litvak - University of Alberta

Professor: Alexander Litvak

Department: TBD

College: University of Alberta

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Over all is a good prof! At the beginning of the class, it was a little bit hard to understand what he said and wrote. If u attend the lecture regularly, then u will get used to it! Amazing lecture, 6 quizzes instead of a midterm helps u to understand this course better!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Overall a good prof. You may struggle with understanding what he said but if you get used to it, everything should be fine. 6 quizzes instead of a midterm is a good way to help you review. The quiz is not hard, just pay attention to some details.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Litvak is an outstanding prof. Don't listen to the hoonigans posting poor rates, they just struggle with understanding his accent. He does post online notes, so whoever says he doesn't is trash and yeah take this prof for an easy A+

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Litvak explains things fairly well and cares a lot about his students. His math 214 class has 6 quizzes instead of a midterm, and he drops the lowest which is fantastic. He does have a bit of an accent, and his letter n looks like u, but once you get used to that it's a fantastic class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH115
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The course itself wasn't terribly difficult, but don't let these other reviews fool you; he's a nice guy and a decent marker, but his accent is completely incomprehensible. I've had profs with heavy accents before and been just fine with their lectures, but I couldn't understand every second word this man said. His notes are also nearly as bad.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH215
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

There were 6 quizzes instead of a midterm. I would recommend doing all of the Stewart practice problems before the quizzes, he uses super similar questions with the exact same format. This class is definitely hard, but if you go to lectures and keep up with the practice problems you will do well. He has accent but it doesn't affect his lectures.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH215
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Litvak is great! Good lecturer. Notes are a little messy but he is patient, kind, and good at explaining things. Overall one of the better mathematics profs I've had. Good class!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH215
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Perfect professor. He is really patient to every one students in his classes and try his best to deal with the question they have. I really recommended this teacher and this replay helpful for your grades.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH215
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Awesome prof, his accent does no harm to him getting his point across. Math 215 could be an extremely tough class with a bad prod, but with Litvak everything seems to just make sense. His notes are awesome, and the quiz rather than a midterm aspect is awesome. I have never felt more confident going into finals.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH215
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I struggled in 115/214, but Dr. Litvak is crystal clear about what his tests look like in advance - he won't leave you guessing and you can actually prepare for the exams. More to the point, he's out to test 215 material, so all 115/214 material you run across is intentionally elementary to ensure you don't get caught up in weeds. Would take again.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: 214
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

You should get language credits for attending his classes with his incredibly strong (russian?) accent. Follows the textbook to a T and has handwriting that borders on cryptic. Quizzes are just recycled drill problems, no midterm. He is a very nice person though, and is always willing to talk about the course, your quiz and problem sets.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

In class quizzes are extremely easy if homework is done, really simple problems testing if you have a basic understanding of the calculus at hand. Final is a breeze if you get the material. Do the drill problems, read textbook/go to class, get an A+. Math doesn't get simpler than this, especially if you were apprehensive after math 115.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Ok so he's not the best speaker but he's the nicest guy when you go up to ask questions and he's always willing to help you out. He follows the book almost exactly and his test questions are exactly like his practice problems so I don't see why people complain. Do the work and ace the class. easy.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This prof was terrible I generally enjoy math but I could not understand his words nor his writing, all his "r"s and "n"s look the same making series impossible. He also gave very little part marks, and in my opinion allocated his marks poorly. The only thing that helped me in the course was the textbook, which taught me everything since he did not

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH214
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very difficult to understand (strong accent) and his writing on the board is very messy. No online notes. So basically, you can't understand him, nor can you read his notes. You're screwed.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH117
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Had him for both MATH 117 and 118. Accent takes some getting used to, but writes everything he says on the board. These are not easy courses- plenty of drill problems are necessary for success. The people who dislike him seem to be lazy; he genuinely cares about the grades his students get, and will not tolerate less than maximum effort.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH118
• 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: N/A

Comment:

Avoid this professor. Don't pay attention to the people in upper-division classes. Regardless of how bad the course was, regardless of how many mistakes Litvak made... he's irresponsible, and he doesn't care. He left the class in the hands of a doofus for a week before the final, came back and started ripping on us for not learning the material.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH117
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Well, he's a really nice guy, approachable. I wouldn't recommend math 117 for anyone who doesn't have to. If you know the notes and homework quizes are easy and fair. It seemsiIn class we went through the notes too fast, it was near impossible to keep up with writing notes while trying to understand the concept.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH127
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Litvak makes frequent errors in his prepared proofs, uses obscure terminology, jumps from topic to topic like a well-caffeinated terrier, does not have consistently-stated expectations and is prone to angrily ranting at the class for performing poorly on a quiz (i.e. blaming his poor instruction on the students). Avoid this professor, period.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH215
• 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 a good prof; his explanations were generally really good, although he did like this theory. The quizzes were also pretty easy if you knew your stuff, so do a few of the drill problems. He cut out all the useless stuff, which was awesome.