Sergey Nikitin - Arizona State University

Professor: Sergey Nikitin

Department: TBD

College: Arizona State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Nikitin is a nice man and knows his stuff, but his teaching is atrocious. He overcomplicates the conceptual and rushes through arithmetic. He tries to compensate by being lenient but this just artificially raises class averages with rampant cheating that I refused to engage in. He also adjusted poorly to COVID-19 Zoom classes.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Extra credit for in class participation if you can solve problems quickly and sit near the front so he can see you. Extra credit for doing extra homework through the online textbook. Goes through what will be on a test the class before and allows note sheets on tests (not on final). Not an easy class but lots of opportunities to make up your grade.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He knows his stuff, but he isn't very good at explaining it. He seems to forget that we're not on the same level as he is & goes fast during lectures. However, he does specifically tell you what will be on the test & gives out a lot of extra credit (extra homework assignments and participation in class). Be ready to do some learning on your own!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I get very hungry in his class at 7:30am due to him dreamily talking about cheesecake and icecream cone. Once you get past that, his lectures are pretty good and he has good test review. He also gives a boat load of extra credit if you are a noob and need it.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MAT276
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I ended the class with 111%, I did not know that this was possible in a math class. He gives you 1 percent added to your grade every time you go to the board to do a problem. Times space continuum, cheesecake, upside down icecream cone. His tests aren't too difficult because his reviews are the tests with different numbers. Overall, he is fantastic

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MAT275
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If you learn by doing problems rather then just watching someone else do them, Nikitin is a great professor. It doesnt feel like a lot of fluff, "okay this is how you do a problem, now you do it". If you are the first to finish a problem correctly and you show him you get 1% EC each time. All webwork is due at the end of the semester. Good guy.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Nikitin's lectures are very dry, and he goes into a lot of theory/detail that isn't necessary. He also really likes problems in "R4", even though this isn't covered in other calc classes. However, there are A LOT of extra credit opportunities and he does a comprehensive review the class before the tests. Pretty easy A if you show up.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Nikitin offers a lot of extra credit, so try to take advantage of that. He also goes over a practice test in class, so make sure you know the content from that.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Con: The lectures are hard to follow and he is not very organized; Most questions on the homework are unrelated to the lectures, requiring students to learn on their own Pro: He provides many EC opportunities; He gives students a heads up on the exams and allows for cheat sheets; Attendance is not mandatory

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I love Sergey. His eyes are like a rolling waterfall of beauty and they make my heart skip beat whenever he looks at me. He also has a charming russian accent and is very difficult to understand. But that's the charm. He's really bad at labeling notes and telling you what he's covering, but he tells you exactly what's on the test so it's chill.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: D-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Taking his calc 3 class is the worst decision you could make. He's not at all linear in his explanation of different topics and never prepares for his lectures. Doing homework and watching videos online will not help you with his exams because he has his own way of making problems. A lot of students cheat during exams and he never seems to care.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nikitin is quite lazy; so he has students go up to the board to solve problems so he doesn't have to do it and offers those students extra credit (if you are that type of student, this class is for you, easy A). If you are not going to go to the board, you have two options. Do very good on exams (he grades hard) or do WebWork and WebAssign (hard).

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Don't expect to learn anything from the lectures. It is nearly impossible to follow along in his lectures and the majority of the material has to be learned through the optional book or by other means. The exams are not too bad because he lets you use a cheat sheet on them and gives a good idea of what is going to be on them. EC opportunities too.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MAT266
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nikitin was a great professor, explained material and answered questions with good reasoning. Massive extra credit. bonus points for going to the board to answer questions (equal to answering an exam question right), EC for doing extra homework. no exam curves, allowed cheat sheets on exams and gave quick exam study guide one class before exam.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MAT266
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Its like reading a 1970s calculus book that gives literal, bland, arduous explanations of concepts by using proofs and thereoms with no creative insight. He's basically that book incarnate. He will teach the proofs that he knows & thinks are best & they will typically not line up with any outside resources. Makes tests very hard. Bad at teaching.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nikitin understood the topic too well to be able to explain it. The lectures were jumbled and frustrating. There is extra credit in class, but most people have online calculators or Chegg to do it for them. He modifies tests to include obscure concepts only he teaches (and knows). He refused to round up my grade by 0.2% for an A-

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MAT266
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's very quiet. Goes over proofs of methods, and gives extr credit to students to complete examples on the board. Which sounds nice at first, but leaves you lost in real life. Lecture is worthless, but he'll deduct total % points from your grade when he takes attendance, but attendance is not part of your grade. Seriously take it at phoenix colleg

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MAT266
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The only way you'll get a decent grade in the class is if you've taken Calc 2 in high school and already have a solid understanding of the material.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His overall teaching skill is not very good but he gives the problems that are going to be on the test and final prior to them. Do homework beforehand so you can do it on the board for extra credit. You have to self teach mostly but make sure you show up because there is some material he teaches that isnt in the book but isnt hard. Not that bad

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MAT267
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This professor speaks very quietly in lecture and doesn't announce what he is doing on the board so it's hard to follow. He grades the exams ridiculously hard. I retook this class with him, my first exam score was originally 84 and dropped to 30 under Nikitin. There is a lot of homework extra credit but it doesn't help make up for the cruel exams.