Mike Kowalski - University of Alberta

Professor: Mike Kowalski

Department: TBD

College: University of Alberta

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: STAT265
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Taken while the pandemic in spring term, and super intense. around 1 hour video to watch per day, plus 1 hour online class meeting, 20 mins of homeword divided into each day. He has office everyday and reply email on time. Every single concept is well explained and tons of examples along with the def. Very smart guy and good at teaching!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: STAT252
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Good dude. Goes fast, but does a lot of review before exams too, so you get a second run of everything. If you want to rock this course, you really need to know how to read the questions correctly so you perform the proper F-test. Writing down different variations of how the questions can be worded can be as valuable as the formula sheets.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

goes through lectures fast but his exams are exactly like the ones he puts up for practice I would highly recommend him if you're going to take stats

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: STAT266
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really stupid class, writes notes on iPad but doesnt post them. Homework is long and tedious, pointless course.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

People love to blame their prof why they did bad in STAT151 but Mike is honestly one of the best profs I've ever had! He provides so many example problems and gives you all the material you need to succeed. To do well in this class you need to DEEPLY UNDERSTAND the material, which means you need to try. If you fail this class it isn't his fault lol

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His practice questions are misleading for the exams, he rambles and teaches too fast. I don't recommend this prof if you're not good at math.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

For those who struggle with math related subjects, do NOT enrol with this instructor. He's not thorough and teaches as if everyone is familiar with statistics. IMO he makes simple concepts complicated. You might get a silly look for asking a valid question! Find someone else if you can, seriously.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He assumes all students have a background in stats and goes super fast in lecture. Instead of explaining he completes questions and moves on to the next leaving most people confused. His blended learning portion of the course wasn't the worse but it definitely was not easy. Overall would not recommend his class to anyone not a math/science whiz.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

One of the worst professors I have had to deal with. Teaches using 15 minute videos, jumps straight into examples without any background information or explanation, and can be defensive when answering questions and makes you feel stupid. Clearly not a good professor and makes the material seem so much harder than it actually is. Choose another prof

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: STAT265
• 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:

Clear explanations, plenty of extra notes digging into the formula from other perspectives, like Bernoulli. Good choice

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SCI151
• 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:

Mike is a dry lecturer, but explains things reasonably well. He gives pages of practice problems (SCI 151) out which are almost identical to the exams, so as long as you go through the practice problems you should be good to go

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I took Mike's class because I was told the blended learning version of STAT 151 was much easier. One week into the class I was lost. Teaches as if he expects the entire class to be experts in statistics and made the material way harder than it needed to be. If you need to take STAT 151 choose another prof.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is a really nice guy, fast on email's and very accessible outside of class. 4 midterms(7.5%) each and a final worth 50(%).. if you put the effort in, the other 20% of the grade be an easy 95+.. The final was very easy, but the content can take a while to grasp up until the final. Interesting and engaging lectures, made stats very interesting.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• 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:

Great lectures, great office hours, and an all around great guy. His exams are almost identical to his practice questions, and he provides A LOT of study material. 4 quizzes instead of a midterm which helps keep you on track. If you put in the effort, its easy to get the grade you want

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I took STAT 151 last term and did horrible on my midterm so I dropped it. I, by chance, found myself in his class now, and its crazy how I actually understand now. Much of it has to do with the fact its blended learning, it definitely helped me get a more thorough understanding of all the concepts. I can tell he wants us to do well.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Mike Kowalski is a great professor who taught the course in a well structured and logical way. He answered any questions thrown at him and graded generously. The homework load was light but there were a fair bit of tests. There were 4 unit tests (18 MC & T/F questions) throughout the semester and 4 labs (which had a similar weighting to the tests).

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: STAT265
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very nice guy, and he makes his exams super easy and straightforward. As long as you do a lot of practice you should be able to get the grade that you want. As with most things involving a decent amount of math, you have to think a little (or a lot) before it all clicks, but his examples and homework make that easy.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very nice guy, well respected but it's often tough to follow some lectures. I showed up to each class and always did the homework but still often struggled to catch on to what he was explaining. If you work hard the course will be easy.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

You can tell Mike wants his students to do well. Stats isn't an easy course but he sets up his class in a way that emphasizes your understanding. He gave great answers to questions outside of class. 4 quarter exams rather than 1 midterm helped a TON. I definitely wouldn't have done as well if I had a different prof. He is honestly a gem

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: STAT151
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He seems to know his stuff, and was good if you asked him questions outside of class. But lectures are dry, and we did this blended learning thing where basically you were to teach yourself the material through a video he made on your own time, and class was used as a work period. I hated it and basically taught myself the whole course.