Susan Rodger - Duke University

Professor: Susan Rodger

Department: TBD

College: Duke University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I think Professor Rodger is a great professor! She posts videos weekly that allow you go back a relearn anything in class that may be confusing. Overall, if you do the assigned readings and attempt to learn the material, the APTs and assignments are very doable!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Probably one of the more unfairly maligned professors at Duke. The material is super engaging and the APTs (short programming tasks) and assignments (longer programming tasks) are for the most part a lot of fun. This class might stretch your brain a bit at times, but still very much worth taking!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This class was honestly the easiest I had this semester. Had little prior experience but the content was easy if you did the reading and watched the videos, in which Pr Rodger was really clear (watch the videos in speed x1,5 tho). The assignments and APT were genuinely fun to me so they didn't feel like work. The labs are a bit boring tho.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CS201
• 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:

Lecture was relatively dry but as expected in intro CS class. Useful topics were generally covered decently well; hard to cater to so many (usually distracted) students at once. Professor Rodger herself is extremely caring and helpful in office hours. Course overall very well organized for its size and provides a good gateway into future CS courses

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Susan oh susan how you made this class so much harder than it is sis. Like work on your teaching game. Susan is really nice, but the lectures are extremely boring and unclear. The TAs office hours and discussions will save you so go to those. The class is not that hard but it feels that way cuz of susie.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are dry, useless, and can even detract from understanding the material. Expectations for exams are also very unclear as compared to past exams. Exam grading criteria is unnecessarily picky, and she is not particularly approachable. TAs and coding experience sell the class. However, she made sure to pass everyone during the pandemic.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Overall, I think Prof. Rodger is a nice person and I appreciate her being accommodating with grades and class structure when class got moved online. However, I think that her lectures could be improved as they were often confusing/dry and I would end up walking away from some lectures feeling like I didnt learn that much.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS201
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Overall a very dry lecturer. She is nice and quite knowledgeable, just her lectures are not engaging, which I think is reflected by her need to tell students to quiet down pretty frequently. The class itself though is great and the TA support system certainly raises her levels.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I've never rated a professor before, but I felt the need to warn others about Susan Rodger. Her lectures are extremely dull and she does not explain the material well at all. She is also unapproachable if you want her help. I was forced to constantly go to TA office hours where I learned more than every single one of her lectures combined.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The class is generally good. Make sure you don't miss a single lecture, even if you feel sometimes it's boring and you can study on your own. You can't fully comprehend them with the slides. By the way, I really dislike the discussion policy forces us to work with new people every time, the peak of my social pressure every Monday morning.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI94
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Rodger knows her subject well but is not great at teaching. She relies on the flipped-classroom structure of the class, and is rather unapproachable. The material is easy to comprehend, but there is a lot of work due every week (classworks, assignments, online quizzes). Tests are very easy but can be super long and difficult to finish.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI94
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

CompSci 94 is supposed to be easy but Professor Rodger makes it so difficult to learn anything. She is not open to any questions or helping any students, her TA's do a better job at teaching than she des. Do not take this class if you're looking for an easy A or to learn anything useful about computer science.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely horrible professor. Was abrasive to questions, and when she did take them usually answered them rudely. Sometimes had 4 or more things due in one week with a midterm on the way. Clearly doesn't care about her students. Avoid at all costs.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Rodger strikes me as someone who understands the material very well herself, but has a tough time imparting that to others. In short, a lot of the learning in her computer science classes has to be done on your own.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CS101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Rodger is really sweet and cares about her students, but isn't a great lecturer. I came in having zero CS background and was fine. The workload is extremely heavy in this class with nonstop assignments, but eventually you begin to get efficient at it. The tests, however, are extremely easy and are identical to previous years which are available

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I underestimated the class... it was one of the most work intensive classes from my last semester. Be ready to work really really hard and be on top of your things even though I knew some python before coming in

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Had no coding exp. but am math-sci guy. HUGE workload, but having old exams (easy to master) made class not too bad. I spent many hours with TAs, but do APTs and cool assignments, GET HELP, and you'll do fine. Lectures mostly tips, not teaching, but try attending. TAs are amazing, helpful. Most find 101 very easy or hard, depends on aptitude for CS

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

For a humanities major looking for a QS requirement, this was a very difficult class. The homework was never ending; once an assignment was completed after an all-nighter, another one appeared. Lectures didn't really help. It was trial by error, with a ton of error. I got a higher grade than I actually felt like I deserved, thankfully.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Rodger is a fine and boring person. Her lectures are very dull. I don't think she did a great job in teaching the class, however if you are a math and science person it will likely be an easy A. I came into the class already knowing python, and if you've had prior coding, it will be very easy.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is a very time-intensive class (101) and there are so many reading quizzes/ assignments. Professor Rodger is very nice and aims to make the class enjoyable. However, I found that I was not able to understand concepts unless I self-studied from the online textbook. I was a bit bored sometimes, too but maybe that's because I didn't put in work.