Paul Safonov - St. Cloud State University

Professor: Paul Safonov

Department: TBD

College: St. Cloud State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: IS356
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

My group worked with a company for a group project, and I got an internship there after the class. Very useful course! Would take Safonov again.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: IS356
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

he is the most unorganized person. you have to PAY attention to follow what is going on. I used youtube a lot.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tough class for beginners, but Safonov brings his fun teaching style and makes programming really interesting. Just take his hilarious 20-dimensional array example))) Look forward for more classes with him!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I took IS 250 with him and the class was terrible. We are currently 1 week from finals and he just graded our first test and said that more then half the class is failing. If youre new to programming DO NOT take it with him. he does not listen to students. He was 10 mins late to class everyday. I promise you will regret taking the class with him.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: IS356
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really nice guy but the course wasn't super helpful. He gives a group project that comes with a ton of work. Other homework assignments are reasonable and cover some good material. Lectures were often meandering and unplanned. To his credit, the course covers a lot of material. But it often had a pretty unorganized feel to it.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: IS356
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A lot of ppl bash Safonov, but I think he's a good prof. The class is a midterm, a final, 1 group project that lasts all semester, quizzes every few class periods, and homework. It seems that some students don't take his due dates seriously. The grp project is kind of annoying since it's the entire semester with different milestones. Hilarious dude

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• 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:

IS 250 is very hard for beginners. I absolutely needed to visit the tutor for almost all of the C# projects. It's worth it though and this class taught me a lot of programming. He expects the student to know it kind of on their own. Study a lot and become a favorite of his, it's beneficial!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• 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:

Good professor. Clearly understands what he's talking about although sometimes he can go too in depth into something when it's not necessary. Make sure you read the textbook and put effort in and you'll be fine.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

took with this professor he was alright but in the beginning of chapters he will skips some parts of every lessons. there are 11 quizzes and 2 exams and questions are from the books in chapter review. there are 6 projects and its very hard to do if you are beginner you need to work with a group but don't copy from your classmate or friend.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Discussions in class are really useful. He tries to explain in several different ways, until we get it. Very intense class, great instructor.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very intensive class, hard for beginners. I liked his way of analyzing our mistakes. Participation is important. Programming was alien to me at first, and I almost decided to quit. But did well, because I put tons of time and effort, thanks to him pushing and believing I can do it. Look forward for more classes with Dr. Paul

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: IS445
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great class on using MVC, C#, ASP. Class was half time in a company, which was a great experience. Very hands-on, learned a lot!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Paul has great sense of humor, he is very personable an approachable. I like his discussion style, makes us involved. He has helped me a lot in his office when I came with questions about a project.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took this professor and he was alright, you just have to read a lot and be prepare for each chapter quiz. His teaching is kind of confusing and kind of hard to follow for me. I believe you just need to read to understand what he talks about. Otherwise, go to tutor (a must) if you really need help with the project like me. Exams are medium.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: IS356
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have taken all but one class with Safonov. I really enjoy his classes, you have to do your work but if you do it will be easy. Don't buy the book, you can find an old version somewhere online for free, you'll only need the book for Exams which are open book. He is very unorganized so it may take some getting used to, and you often stay late.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: IS459
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great class about sustainability and how IT can help it. Learned a lot! Had a chance to visit to the City of St. Cloud and meet with mayor. Cool prof and nice projects. A little hard to understand some topics, but overall very good.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Makes you work for the grade. If you don't read the book or if you skim over it you wont pass. Overall good class just unstructured at times. Don't take if you aren't ready to go the extra mile for your grade

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: IS356
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, great class! He is very helpful outside class too. The group project is a semester long project though , which is annoying

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is nice. He knows the material. With that said... Take this professor if you: -Have solid coding experience -Will use tutors frequently -Do not like yourself -Have -A LOT- of time to teach yourself He does not know how to teach intro material to intro students, does not grade anything himself, seems to be just collecting a paycheck. Beware.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: IS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Went to his office to get help, was glad I did! Very approachable and knowledgable.