Dan Balaguy - Sierra College

Professor: Dan Balaguy

Department: TBD

College: Sierra College

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's a nice guy, but he ignores a lot of questions and emails. I'd recommend taking a light load if you're taking Dan's class. He refuses to acknowledge grading errors and his lecture videos are completely unhelpful. He gives out a lot of homework but doesn't grade it, and almost none of it helps on the exams. Get ready for a lot of self-studying.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH0031
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's a great guy and teacher, doesn't really deserve all the hate he's getting here; it's a hard class. The grade depends on your exam scores, but there are some quizzes to cushion. He is helpful and his lectures make sense, but you'll have to do all the homework and watch youtube videos too if you want a good grade. He's reasonable.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Do not take his class, especially online. I tried to communicate with this professor through email several times and he continued to ignore my questions. I begged him to grade my first exam for months and he never ended up grading it before the final so I could study. Lectures are quick videos of little explanation and him assuming we can finish.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

If you're thinking about taking this guy, don't. He WANTS the class to be incredibly difficult. His lectures are 2-3 minute videos of him coming up with a problem, partially solving it, and then telling us to finish solving it. Exams are nothing like the homework, and they make up 80% of the final grade. Homework isn't counted either.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CALC31
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I took Prof. Balaguy during for his online coarse and I hope his online teaching doesn't represent how he teaches in a classroom. His lectures consisted of a couple min. videos explaining a whole section. You have to do a lot of your own research and studying to learn any of the material. Tests and quizzes were much different/harder than lessons/hw

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH31CALC2
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

You will fail unless Calculus is your daily routine. The final exam consisted of two parts, each about 8 questions long and we were given 3 hours to complete it. Half of his students across all his classes quit by November. No extra credit, no grading curve. He is also constantly late to office hours and assigns hw that isn't even on exams. AVOID!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH0030
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very difficult exam problems, much more difficult than examples and hw. Does not grade hw- hard to know if you are doing the work correctly. Does not answer emails. Zoom meetings were busy and few questions answered. Grades 10 quizzes, 3 exams, and a final. Grading method inconsistent. Showed him a grading error and is unwilling to fix it.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH31CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He seems to give us extremely challenging problems on exams that aren't anything like what we've done from the book and/or are incredibly time consuming. Only take his class if you've gotten at least a B in Calc 1. For the final, he gave us only 3 hours to solve 8 problems, almost twice as many as any other exam we took. He sets you up to fail.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dan only partially teaches. His extremely short lecture videos are just him skipping steps, making mistakes and then telling you to finish solving the problem that he barely started. His office hours are a waste of time because he never fully answers questions. He deliberately makes exams harder than the homework and offers no EC or grading curve.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• 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:

Dan does not know how to teach online. He posts 5-minute lectures to explain new math concepts and applies them to problems in which he skips steps and sometimes leaves problems unfinished. His exams are much harder than the homework and quizzes. So be prepared to self-study for the majority of his class. This class will probably drop your GPA.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

If you struggle with Calculus, Dan is not your guy. His lecture videos are 5 minutes long on average but are sometimes shorter and he skips steps. Be prepared to put in extra work. He wants you to be able to solve any problem he can come up with in his head. No curves, no extra credit. Over half of the class dropped. Avoid this guy.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Seems like a nice guy, but he won't make the class easier for you. He expects way too much out of his students, even though he, himself, frequently makes mistakes. If you struggle with Calc, do NOT take this guy! He deliberately makes exams incredibly difficult and time consuming. I would probably take a chance at any other professor over this guy.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Yes. Online math classes suck. Calc 2? Online? Good luck! Dan is a great guy. Really passionate about math but the way he set up calc 2 for Spring 2020, sheesh. 5 min clips covering topics that need hours worth of explaining. Shout-out to professor leonard to the rescue. Calc 2 is rough no doubt about. I'd prefer Dan over the other calc 2 teachers.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH0031
• 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:

Seems to be a really nice guy but he does not teach at all. Like others have said, he teaches thru 5 minute videos of him going through a problem. The only thing in the gradebook are tests and quizzes. However, judging by reviews of other calc 2 professors at sierra, he might be your best chance at passing.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH0031
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Despite being converted to online, Dan does almost nothing to make the class easier. Lectures are short videos of him partially solving problems and skipping many steps (and making mistakes). He assumes you should know how to solve these problems and it's especially evident on exams that are 5 times harder than the homework.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH0031
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dan is really a nice and kind prof. He does want you to succeed, but he has very high expectations. Expect to study for 35+ hours on test week. His exams are not unpassable, but they are hard. This is Calc 2 ladies and gentlemen, so be prepared for some work. I'd try to take a lighter course load to accommodate for the amount of work.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH31
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

AVOID THIS GUY! He does not teach at all. His exams and quizzes are way harder than any of the homework. If you have to take Calc 2, do not take this guy with a full load. You have to spend roughly 40+ hours a week doing the homework and preparing for the exams because he does not teach.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Exams are way harder than homework and quizzes. No extra credit at all. He docks points if you don't solve a problem the way HE wants you to, EVEN IF IT IS MATHEMATICALLY CORRECT! He doesn't actually teach, he just posts "lecture" videos of him quickly blazing through problems expecting us to understand how he solves them. Avoid at all costs.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CAL1
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I don't know where to start! I have graduated with a Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, but I had to take Calc 1 again for credit. This professor have no idea how to teach! He keeps skipping steps assuming everyone understands them and he REALLY likes to make his quizzes/exams hard. He makes many mistakes with his lectures as well!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH12
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's a good teacher, but PAY ATTENTION LOL!!! He moves very fast so take your notes quickly and ask questions later. For someone who's a fast learner he's perfect, but if you need a slower paced teacher, look else where