Jim Whitehead - University of California Santa Cruz

Professor: Jim Whitehead

Department: TBD

College: University of California Santa Cruz

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CMPM147
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I came to the class to learn about procedural content generation, and I was able to do procedural content generation when I come out. Very effective an instructor! But I do hope that sometimes Jim can go further than demo-ing in Unity, and give more insights about why he does certain things, and how things work behind the scene.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CMPS171
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Jim was great and was usually always prepared for lectures. He oftentimes went over indie games and how well designed some of them are. This helped contribute to our game's design decisions. He met up with each team each week and gave critical, brutal advice. Not all of it was gold, but he definitely helped us (especially with art direction)

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CMPS171
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is a nice guy, but should not be teaching game design classes. He gives horrible advice that drove our project into the ground. He doesn't understand games at all. If you take any of the senior capstone classes with him, it would probably be in your favor to ignore what he advises you change about your game, which is to say everything.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CMPS10
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Good teacher for Intro To CMPS if you need it for a GE or major. His class was very easy; notes were all online with everything you needed to know. In-class pop quizzes. Fell asleep many times, failed the second midterm, and managed to get a B in the class. Though keep in mind this is more about the history of CMPS rather than programming stuff.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CMPS20
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Jim is a really nice and helpful, teacher. If you need help on the homework or an extension for a week or so, he will definitely let have your time with the assignments. Really enjoyed being in his class. Highly recommended.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Best Class EVER! Got to play video games for homework, the midterms were pretty easy and Professor Whitehead was a very nice and approachable guy. A++++

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Pointless class, dull lectures, don't use book, but an easy A.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

THIS CLASS ROCKED! Jim is a great teacher. He knows what he's talking about. Game demos in/during class completely relevant to lecture, and they are all great games. Jim is obsessed with Shmups, but it makes a good inside joke. I had a great time in this class, and I am trying to be a TA next year.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

GYM is AWESOM!! He let us play games in class and let us joke about his white head! We played on a console pretty much everyday!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• 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:

SO MUCH FUN! Not an easy class, but definitely worthwhile. Lectures were entertaining and relevant to today's gamers. Highly recommended.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy, very cool. obsessed with SHMUPS. the work is easy, the assignments aren't too bad. You can study for the tests for 1 or 2 hours and get an A. Making the video game is awesome, and the top 4 video game creation groups get prizes (Like an X-Box 360 for example). If you ever wanted to make a video game, take his class, especially w/ friends.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This guy wants to make the game design course easy for you, though he doesn't necessarily know all the answers. You can ignore what you get on the tests as long as it's anywhere near passing, the only thing that matters is the final project. You must take that project seriously - it's not "fake" like in other blow-off classes.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CMPS80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Jim is extremely nice and understanding. He's a great guy who really wants to make his class interesting. Those who took 80k and feel he was unclear or stubborn are wrong! His notes spell out what will be on the test, he published study guides online, and encourages discussion on the various topics in class. He even let me make up a midterm!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 80K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Creating video games sounds cool. NOT with this guy. Very disorganized. Very stuborn. His test dont test knowledge. cool guy, but sucks as a teacher. he came 30 minutes late to our exam. had another exam a week before our project was due, and wouldnt push it back becuase he wanted to demo the projects(create video game) for the last few classes.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CMPS183
• 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:

Whitehead is a very clear, concise teacher who really makes an effort to make the material somewhat interesting. He doesn't try to trick you and the class is very laid back and, for an engineering class, really decent.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CS183
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Really a good teacher. He's able to make sense of the many concepts taught in the course and doesn't ask tedious/picky questions on his tests. He requires many readings but that's a very positive thing. He's very effective from a truly educational perspective. Great teacher and person to talk to.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS183
• 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:

One of the better teachers in the CS department

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CMPS183
• 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: Mandatory

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CS183
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Boring. Too much reading for an engineering course