Darrell Long - University of California Santa Cruz

Professor: Darrell Long

Department: TBD

College: University of California Santa Cruz

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Good lectures presented in bad order. Watch lab videos and go through lecture slides. I was sick and depressed when taking this class and I got a failing grade. No curves, no lowest assignment drop, no example code provided after assignments' grades are out thanks to the cheaters. No co-op allowed while others r cheating can be the last straw.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Materials were lectured in poor orders. Unnecessary pressure instead of encouragement. No concerns for grades. No curves. The lowest grade not dropped. He is knowledgeable and really wants students to be good programmers. Very important materials were covered. Quick responses to questions on Piazza. Helpful lab sections by TAs.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Start your labs super early-seriously. Go to every TA section available, it will help tons. Graders were super bad, if something goes wrong don't hesitate to ask a TA for a regrade.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Don't get me wrong, you learn a LOT in this class. Probably one of the most useful classes I've taken. But don't expect an A. I've neglected all my other classes this quarter so I could focus on this one, and I'm gonna end up with a B. Long does not curve, and he does not care about grades. He does care if you learn. Go to section.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class is extremely difficult and the teacher makes no effort to help students. There are weekly quizzes(doable), almost weekly assignments(extremely difficult after 2nd), and then a final. He makes his labs way too hard for students to handle and does not teach enough or provide enough resources for them to complete them. Go to the TA section.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• 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:

My best advice for you is don't take him. If you really have no option, make sure that the rest of your classes have a relatively low workload and attend ALL TA sections, they are your best friend and the only reason you will somehow get through this class. I have nothing good to say about this teacher. His labs are extremely difficult so good luck

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: 13S
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The assignments are hard but you learn a lot. His TAs are great and he is very accessible during office hours

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Darrell can be harsh but if you communicate with him hes very reasonable. Read Piazza cuz its helpful & you kinda have to. I had to ask for points back on most assignments that were graded incorrectly so be mindful of that & dont hesitate to speak up. The class you need, not the class you want. Overall very rewarding. Start last 2 labs early!!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Long really cares about all students and hopes everyone can succeed. This class is REALLY hard though we indeed learned a lot of new knowledge. Section and office hours are best friends. TAs and tutors did amazing jobs. Piazza is also a useful tool to study. (Actually, you should read all posts, otherwise, you will lose bunch of points on asgn!)

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CSE13S
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Learned a lot from this class Im not going to lie. Dont expect to pass this class without going to section. The assignment documents had to be revised a couple times because of how vague the assignments were. Hopefully the teacher and TAs learned from this quarter and can make this upcoming quarter run smoother. The TAs are your best friend!!!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CMPS111
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Darrell got a bad rep from 12B, but he's a very caring professor at heart (big softy). Lectures were good at breaking down material with pop culture references. Biggest thing to note is that Darrell loves computer science, and he expects you to be as passionate as he is, which is a polarizing experience for some people. Solid choice overall. Gl :)

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CMPS12B
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Darrell can come off mean, but he's one of the nicest, most caring and kind professors/people I've ever meet. He's widely known for his 12B class, but that's reasonable. The class was hard, but very rewarding IMO. Take a class with him, you'll come out w/ some valuable life lessons and lots of self discipline. Not the class you want, but need.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS12B
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Oh geez. Where to begin? Well, Prof Long usually only teachers upper divs. For some reason he taught 12B for a quarter, and it was easily the hardest and most stressful class I've taken. By the end, less than half of the students remained. Impossible assignments near the end. I'm sure it was great if you got it. But now I have a great big F.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS12B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Long's lectures were hard to follow at times, and I did not understand everything until much later. His programming assignments were difficult for me. However, I did walk away from his class with a vast amount of knowledge that I know I would not have gotten from a different professor.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CMPS12B
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lectures kind of jumped all over the place. Assignments and labs were excruciatingly difficult. Professor didn't go over important concepts in class, like order n, which were a big part of the tests. Programming assignments can vary in length, roughly 200-400 lines of code per assignment, labs about 100 lines of code. Hard the whole quarter.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CMPS12B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lectures had almost nothing to do with the programming assignments, aside from a few concepts like bit operators. A lot of people dropped/failed the class. The class tutor was our best help, along with TAs. Would give a 0/5 if I could.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CMPS12B
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The learning environment felt nonexistent. Professor refused to answer a question in class in the last week because he expected us to know it since the beginning of the quarter. Condescending to say the least. Not sure if even a quarter of the class passed. He threatened to not curve the class when someone asked about. Don't think there was one.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 12B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Long only cares that you learn what you need to learn and I learned A LOT. His PAs are very practical and useful in real life. They can be difficult but he and the TAs were very responsive and helpful. His tests are easy if you take good notes at lecture. I would take Long over any other CS prof. given the chance. Great prof. but tough grader

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CMPS12B
• 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:

Takes a ton of points off assignments for very minor mistakes. Allows you a page cheat sheet for the exam, but most of the class still failed. Did not clarify how a program had O(n), O(log n), etc. which was crucial to this course. Expected us to know how to solve bits like XOR and understand flags. He believed most of the class took CE12 and CE16.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CMPS12B
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Did not like this class at all. Professor had cool assignments but did a horrible job at teaching/helping us at anything. Many students withdrew or gave up. Many accused of cheating and got sent to their provosts. He did not show up to class like 4 times or about 20% of the quarter. Students, including me, felt pressured and stressed to our limits.