Joe Zachary - University of Utah

Professor: Joe Zachary

Department: TBD

College: University of Utah

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• 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:

Joe is a pretty funny guy. He's dangerously smart, his lectures are enjoyable to attend in person, and provides pretty good explanations to student questions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he reduced the workload in his class which I appreciated, but he essentially gave up on lecturing the class and relied entirely on his garbage lecture videos.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• 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:

This class was pretty difficult for me at first, but I grew to really enjoy it. Joe's lectures are all recorded and easily re-watched and the assignments were just hard enough to make me feel like I was actually learning something. Joe also did a great job of handling this course amid the COVID-19 chaos. Highly recommend this professor.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Joe is a solid guy and a good teacher. His lectures are pretty dry, but the way he has the class structured MORE than makes up for it. If you've taken the class previously from other universities, get ready to do 3x the work. Turned me from a passable programmer into a confident one. Try his office hours, he's amazing one on one compared to lecture

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Joe is an excellent professor. He is patient and his lectures are very informative. The problem sets he provides as assignments are very engaging and actually fun to do. You will have to study hard and understand the material for this class, but Joe makes it fun and interesting while doing so!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Be prepared to work in this class, but also learn. Not going to lie, Joe gives a lot of homework that will make you think and work hard. Procrastination is not an option in this class. His lectures are informative and it is very clear that he knows his stuff. This class will make or break your decision to be a programmer.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dude is experienced, but class was tough. During the middle of the semester he stopped offering help on the VERY difficult problem sets which are assigned weekly. He doesn't let you work with anyone and makes you feel backed into a wall. Over 20 hours per week of HW. High GPA for scholarships and engineering school acceptance will be hard to get.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Amazing professor. He constantly was trying to make basic programming techniques very easy to understand and always seemed to care about his students.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS3500
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

If you don't test well, beware of Zachary. I got a 93% average on assignments, got slightly below average on exams and got a B- overall. Tests really matter. And I feel like I understood the material, but the tests were created to be tricky. I did better in 4400, one of the hardest classes in CS, which illustrates the difficulty of his classes.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CS3500
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Joe is a nice guy and a good professor. He records his lectures so you can skip class if you choose. The homework assignments arent too bad if you pay attention in class. The biggest issue with Joe are his tests. They are tough, and full of randomly chosen questions, that dont necessarily relate to his class/lectures. Beware of his tests!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Joe is a great lecturer, and is extremely knowledgeable. But if you're going to take CS 4150 (Algorithms) at the U, i'd be weary. He requires a fairly high test average to pass the class. And weights his tests very heavy. The course load is absurd for Algorithms but it's not his fault. You will learn a lot, but you are going to work hard for it.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very hard class, but extremely relevant and applicable. Tough grading, but great course structure.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This is by far the hardest class I've taken at the U. About 4 tough canvas quizzes per week w/ hidden answers & no score until graded, plus a programming assignment each week which so far have been easy enough. I'm struggling to keep up and have had to re-watch his lectures many times. Joe knows his stuff but he is not forgiving. You'll work hard.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are very dry. You can get away with not showing up because there's an online recorded version that is posted. Utilizes the standard Stanford MOSS software to proof problem sets as many other CS classes do. Problem sets carry the most weight and lots of online textbook work that isn't particularly effective because it gives you the answers.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Joe is a great professor. Problems sets are pretty tough and time consuming, but are very cleverly designed to make you actually use your brain and think carefully about what you are doing. Beware on the exams: anything presented at any point in lecture or in the book is fair game; you'll want to do VERY thorough studying.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures were on the boring side, and his tests were difficult. Weekly assignment are can be pretty time consuming. But its a good class and Joe is nice enough. You definitely get out what you put into this class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• 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:

Definetly one of my hardest courses but one of the most rewarding! Problem sets take around 3-10 hours per week to do but these are the tools to learn from this class. Every concept taught in lecture will be seen on either the midterm and final so make sure you understand everything to the bone. Don't be intimidated to ask questions on pizza.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Good: Organized. Live streamed lectures. Bad: Five+ time-intensive online quizzes per week (hidden answers, hidden score, but unlimited tries). As well as one coding assignment every week, sometimes doable in a night and sometimes almost impossible(nice thing is you know when you pass the graded test cases). Absurdly difficult for only 3 credits.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CS3500
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

My only C's have been with Joe. Good slides and professor is knowledgeable. However, from my experience not helpful one on one. Be ready for heavy assignments every week with no lenience on due dates. As well as extremely difficult exams where you need to know everything (practice exams do not fully prepare you). Professor is not super personable.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CS1410
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

1410 always has a lot of homework. The assignments were engaging and interesting, and he gives you late days and is very accessible and helpful outside of class. His exams are hard, but he gives you a notecard. Youll have to work hard, but hes a good prof

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CS4150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

You know what they say. If you want to take CS4150 Algorithms, take it from Joe, so you won't regret! I can say so far the class is the one I enjoy most during my college study. Homework and programming assignments sometimes are hard but they really help you understand the materials and make you think hard.