Mary Kropinski - Simon Fraser University

Professor: Mary Kropinski

Department: TBD

College: Simon Fraser University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH310
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Kropinski is excellent. She is very caring and when you will look back you will understand how well the course was taught. She went out of her way to show us a neat technique of dimensional analysis (which is not required to be taught), which has stuck with me ever since.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH252
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The best professor I had at SFU. Assignments, midterm and final were very fair. Don't be intimidated if she seems cold, because she is an amazing, caring person and has a great sense of humor.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH462
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Fluid Dynamics is a difficult course. She made did an excellent job presenting the material. Her exams were completely fair, and her grading was generous.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Exams are fair and quite similar to the previous ones. Lectures are informative and amazing. She's there to help you if you come to her office hours. Would take other courses with her.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MACM203
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lecture are quite dry, the teaching skill was ... never never smile, always keep a straight face

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She cares her students and tries to increase your grades. She always prepares sample test and exercises for us. However, she teaches not quite clear. I think TA taught better than her. The course material is also very hard, so you must work hard and go to ask TA when you have problems.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH252
• 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:

This course is very straight forward and almost entirely computational. If you are interested in E&M or fluids, or things you learned about in calc 3, this is a good starting point. Kropinski is a great teacher in my opinion, no chip on her shoulder, a sense of humour and a very reasonable MT and final. The assignments were long and grueling though

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH314
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

lectures may be boring and monotonic. but it is worth to go to class because she would give some hint on midterm questions. The midterm was not hard but it is based on concept and too long. at last she allowed a double-sided cheatsheet in final exam which reduces the memorization part. the questions stay very close to the practice final. recommend.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

First impression is she is very severe, but that wears off after a couple of lectures actually quite friendly. Final is based on the last two weeks of class and was moderately difficult, all exams are fair, but homework can be quite time consuming especially the questions that she adds.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class was pretty slow up until the end, and the final focused primarily on the material in the last few weeks. She may seem scary but she's very approachable. I recommend this course if you liked 251 and wanted to know why some of the methods in that course worked.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

She didn't seem very interested in the course but she taught really well and clear. The pace was kind of slow throughout the semester and it seems like all final exam stuff happened in the last weeks weeks.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She teaches the material at a suitable pace for people who are new to the topic. Examples are insightful and she explains them well. I think people would have a better impression of her if she acts a little happier about what she's doing. (I understand it's hard sometimes, but just a comment)

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

It's not her fault the material is so darn hard..As a prof, she explained the material well, you just need to FOCUS and CONCENTRATE and be very very good in math.. It's really nice to her to make the final so easy so that everyone can pass. Also, she ended up scaling the whole thing.. so just hope you're smarter than the person next to you

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The exams were quite hard. The final was the easiest of the bunch, but was still challenging. The midterms were too long to be finished in the alloted time frame. Was against scaling at first because she has 'taught the class enough to tune it quite well'. Scaled in the end. She teaches as if it is your only course.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Did a fairly good job of teaching a difficult class. This course has a very high volume of material to cover, and Dr. Kropinksi kept a fairly rapid pace. As expected for this level of math, expects you to do a very large amount of work. She does, however, seem to have very high expectations, which is both good and bad.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

seemed like she was trying to fail 90% of the class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She is a very good lecturer, as she goes through material in constant rate giving you all you need to know for homework and exams. She is clear and concise, which is very important in Math classes. Love her loud voice: no need for a microphone at all. Pretty good organization of notes and clear writing.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Bad, bad professor. I wonder how she got her doctoral degree.. she makes a billion mistakes in her ill-prepared lectures.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MACM316
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She's an OK lecturer, not the most interesting but not too bad either. Her voice is definitely boring but she does crack a joke on occasion. I think her exams were FAIR, though the averages were low.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MACM316
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

My impression of Prof Kropinski: "Oh darn, I've made my third mistake in lecture today. Let's all take a five minute break while I sort through my notes up at the front here." I'm sure if you're a patient person or are REALLY interested in the material she's trying to teach you'll be okay. Otherwise, avoid this prof or learn from the text.