Im thinking about taking Stewart (316)over the summer and Mayr(333) this fall,but Ive heard from both a few people that both of these professors suck. There aren't too many reviews on either of them since I guess they both mostly teach online classes. My only alternative would be take 333 in the summer with Balik who ive heard good things about and then take my chances with these too professors who apparently havent taught 316 before (Heber and Tharb). Can any of my fellow CSC or CPE students provide any input? Thanks

3/28/2006 5:31:24 PM

take 333 with balik

3/28/2006 5:44:01 PM

Dr. Tharp was the former CSC department head. He wrote a book on advanced data structures 15 years ago that is still used is CSC431 and CSC541. (Yes, the book IS that good, taken 431 myself). His reviews from his recent teaching of 431 have generally been positive. Dr. Heber is fairly new to the department and I don't believe has taught 316 before (somebody correct me if I'm wrong plz). Flipping a coin if you decide to take him. Stewart has had mixed reviews on data structures. If you are planning on going to graduate school, he teaches a lot more mathematical/advanced concepts beyond just data structures. If you are thinking about taking it over SSII, you should be fine if that's the only course you are taking.

I would recommend taking CSC333 with Balik over the summer if you want an gentler introduction to a fairly abstract set of concepts. If you are planning to go to graduate school (i.e. taking the CSC GRE), I would take it with Mayr.

Oh, and you have two CSC advisors ... go talk to one or both of them

[Edited on March 28, 2006 at 5:49 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2006 5:47:57 PM

balik dumbs it down - and in turn the class is easier - but that's mainly because she's not confident enough to teach on a college level - she doesn't think on her feet well when asked a well-thought out question and gets tripped up easily on advanced topics - i agree with perlith that if you will ever use the knowledge in a classroom setting again then do not take balik

i highly recommend taking tharp for any class possible - he should be in charge of csc still

are there any good csc316 professors at all? at least you don't have to put up with ram athavale

3/28/2006 6:05:43 PM

Stewart is a horrible teacher, I took his class and learned nothing at all. Programming is non-existent in Dr. Stewart's 316 class.

3/28/2006 7:57:57 PM

Joyce Hatch told me that taking CSC 333 with Mayr would be a very bad decision. Joyce said that he has no heart and dosen't care about students at all and in that respect makes the course as hard as possible. I'm taking it with Balik now and I think shes a great instructor.

3/28/2006 8:10:34 PM

Decisions decisions decisions.. I do plan to go grad school but at the same time I dont wanna sit in class stare at the board and be like WTF because the teacher is just rambling on incohorently. I looked up some grade distributions, holy shit.

http://www-records.ncsu.edu/cgi-bin/grddist3.pl?semyear=805&curr=CSC&num=316
http://www-records.ncsu.edu/cgi-bin/grddist3.pl?semyear=805&curr=CSC&num=333


Those guys must be complete hard asses.....

BTW what the hell do you cover in 333 anyway?

Thanks everyone for your input

3/28/2006 8:27:02 PM

anybody taking 316 w/ rhee online? i'm signed up for it this summer.

3/28/2006 8:39:39 PM

taking balik's class will not hurt someone that goes to grad school, if anything it will help because you will actually learn more of the material.

3/28/2006 10:04:56 PM

333 with balik = best option
316 with rouskas = best option

3/28/2006 10:52:16 PM

Quote :

"Stewart is a horrible teacher, I took his class and learned nothing at all. Programming is non-existent in Dr. Stewart's 316 class."

though this pretty much sums up my entire CSC education. i'm not bitter though, not at all. nope.

3/28/2006 11:35:05 PM

I took stewart last fall. Im definately not a fan.

3/28/2006 11:44:59 PM

Stay far far far away from Mayr and 333. He is not at all warm towards students, has rediculous assignments, proofs, hwks, etc. Is nervous in front of people, scribbles for writing and talks while looking at the ceiling.

If you do like this method of 'teaching' then take him, otherwise I would take Balik.

3/29/2006 8:29:31 AM

Quote :

"I took stewart last fall. Im definately not a fan."

i had the choice between csc 302 w/stewart or 333 w/balik over the summer.

you can be damn sure i didn't pick stewart.

3/29/2006 10:25:51 AM

Shame Lester isn't teaching 316 again. But anyways, my point is this, if Joyce says stay away, stay away!

3/29/2006 12:30:39 PM