2.3
Quality4.2
Difficulty21%
Would Retake96
Reviews21%
Would Retake
96
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
16
3
9
2
22
1
39
What Students Say
“Alan is not a professor; he says he has a doctoral degree but doesn't seem like it”
ACCT201 - 1.0 rating“I hope he gets retired soon”
ACCT201 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
62%
Textbook Required
45%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.90 avg changeRatings by Course
ACCT305
3.2
(6)ACCT302
2.6
(10)ACCT423
2.6
(9)ACCT301
2.4
(47)301
2.0
(3)Difficulty by Course
301
5.0
602
5.0
Acct203
4.8
ACCT301
4.4
ACCT302
4.4
Reviews (96)
he doesnt do a good job teaching
one word BAD!!!!
No Comments
Awesome professor.
Easiest class at Cal State San Marcos.
Take him; he's a great teacher. Easy class.
Acct 301 is hard but the professor even makes it harder. He expects you to be professional when doing his test or you will fail the test
If you are not a accounting major dont take this guy he makes the class super hard and thinks that everybody is a accounting major 70 percent of the students fail the class and he's cool with that avoid him if you can
his mission is killing all students in the class. 70% of the students drop or got F in the class. He sometimes skip the class and tell students watch movie online. He is knowlegeable and absolutely does not know how to teach acct Never ever follow syllabus. Does not expain acct, but compalin about how stupid students are a lot. suffer or take him
Very tough class,you have to know your**** to even make a passing grade. Half the class has dropped and he doesn't seem to care if you pass or fail. He assigns alot of busy work and homework which you turn in on test day for minimal points, do good on the tests or your done for. Even if you get the right answer on a test does not gurantee points!
Avoid him!! This guy doesnt know how to teach. He is very rude and insults everyone. Majority of the class fails no matter how hard you study. If you take him, chances are you will fail!!!!!! (unless you are already an accountant)
Take Mr. Styles' class.... if you need that extra motivation to commit suicide. I served in Iraq. His class was worse. It's too bad that we can't use his lectures as interrogation for terrorists.... they'd tell us everything in 5 minutes.
I'de rather drop out of college than take him again.
He is a terrible professor. He requires a huge workload, of which he does not help you out at all. His tests are not like what he teaches in the classroom, and he grades like a mad man. I would suggest not taking this professor. He is a terrible teacher.
Do NOT miss class. Do all the work, read the book, study, and you can get an A. He sets the bar high, but it is not impossible.
Pretty bad experience overall. He has his favored students who he goes out of his way to help and the rest seem to receive rudeness in return. You'll never have any clue on what multiple choice questions will be on his test. An A is possible just not at all probable.
He makes me wonder why I'm going to CSUSM, definitly brings the overall teaching quality down, very poor quality teacher. He thinks he is gods gift and isn't personable at all.
Great Professor. You must be willing to work and do not miss class. He will go the extra step to help. Great class for future accouting courses.
Styles is a control freak. Even his self evaluation @ the end of the semester was mult. choice! This class is a part time job. Be prepared to spend at least 20 hours a week. I managed to pull a B with hard work and a lot of teaching myself. Fin majors should avoid Styles. Acct majors should take the class to prepare for CPA!
What are you people talking about!!!...an "A" isn't possible unless you've taken the course and failed in a previous semester. You'll be lucky to pass..even if you cheat or study hard or both. If you want to feel stupid, stressed and pissed take this class.
Nightmare! You spend hours on studying and hw. There are 2 options, to do hw or not. Doing the hw is a joke, but if that's how you learn, then do it. Don't bother going to class he doesn't lecture or teach. Total waste of money. I taught myself EVERYTHING. So be prepared to be graded on how well you can teach yourself a foreign subject.
Great Professor! He is an extremely knowledgeable person and he gives ample opportunity for extra credit. His test are extremely hard and he expects a lot from you. As long as you do what is expected, you will pass the class.
This is a hard class period! Expect to spend 10 - 15+ hours studying. Yes, there are opportunites for EC. Make sure you read the book and study homework to prep for his tests. Attendance is helpful in trying to understand materials b/c he gives and goes over example in class. Good Luck!
Dr. Styles is a great person, and great professor. He is very picky about how you write. It's almost he does not care about the contents and pays too much attention to minute grammatical errors. I did fine in this class, but I'm still not sure if my understanding of the material was correct, other than I missed "the" in front of "IRS"...
This is one of the most difficult classes I have ever taken. The most frustrating thing is that the material that he teaches in class are easy problems and the ones on the test are extremely difficult. Do expect to study forever and be forced to put this class before anything else.
Your best bet is to take this class at a community college because this was a very hard class. This class is one of the most sought after prerequisites and is usually full so I wouldn't be too hard on the guy, if you choose to take this class do all homework and go to class. You will be studying A LOT for this class
If you're becoming an accountant (i.e. all accounting majors), you MUST take him. He will teach you everything you need to know. If you're not an accounting major, god save your soul.
This class was a lot of work for a 2 unit class but I learned a ton. Be prepared to spend a lot of time doing homework and attend all classes. He knows what he is talking about and makes the topic of the day relate to what is happening in the current economy. The material is hard so I think it would be challenging no matter what.
Dr. Styles is a great professor. This is a hard class, but you should expect that if you're an acct/fin major. My advice: finish all of the HW (youll need all the "easy" points you can get), dont fall behind (useful notes and hw take a long time), take good notes on the class examples (they will be on the test), read the articles!
This is a hard class and there's no getting around it. You HAVE to do the work. He's a good teacher, however, I think how he graded the projects sucked and his feedback did as well. YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SEMESTER IN THIS CLASS. YOU HAVE TO.
Not your typical number cruncher class, requires above average amount of reading and writing, he's very arrogant and not helpful at all. Keep up with the readings and writing and you'll pass.
This class is hard but necessary for a future in accounting.This is what accountants have to do for their careers so you have to get used to it now. It's interesting, but a lot of work.The accting courses @ CSUSM are no joke unlike the other business majors.He's pretty fair with the grading. If you work hard & perform well you'll get a good grade.
I was very nervous about taking his class because of all the crazy things other students said. I passed this class and want to tell you guys something. First, don't feel panic if you get a bad grade on your 1st exam; second, don't drop if you still don't do well on the 2nd exam; third, definitely do all the work assigned. Fair grader, trust me.
Styles is a wonderful guy with a bad reputation. I failed every test, but I got high grades on all my homework, papers and extra credit, and was able to pass the class. It doesn't matter what professor you take this course with, it will be just as difficult. Yeah it's tough, but show up, listen, take notes, and do all your work. You will pass.
Hard Teacher,does not teach you anything.All he talks about is his past and budget crisis.Expects too much from the students, yet doesnt teach anything or respond to emails or help.Doesnt care if his students pass or fail AT ALL! Fails most of his students.At what point is the failing grades in his class a teaching error? Very blind to his students
Styles has a chip on his shoulder and believes everyone should be as passionate about ACCT as him. If you <3 ACCT more than having a life, its a great class. If not, be prepared for countless hours on busy work with little to no help in class or office hours from Styles. He has no compassion for his students and condescends. The book is a must!
This class is definitely demanding! If you don?t have a lot of time to spend on it, I don?t recommend taking this course. You have a lot of homework to do (he provides the solutions) and about 4 writing assignments (which are pretty easy and low key). The test are very hard (average class grade is around 64% on the test). But he is a fair grader wh
This class is no joke. I spent 10/hrs a week reading and doing homework, and 15/hrs of studying before tests. Styles is a good guy, but spends a lot of time talking about things not relevant to the actual material for the class. tests are hard overall but if you average a D on the tests, you can pass w/ other assignments. Just don't give up!!!
Good Guy, but very hard class. The work load is insane. If you have to work and go to school, good luck passing the class.
This class is extremely difficult. Be warned. The work load is insane. I have never dedicated so much time and effort into a class and end up performing so poorly. If you work or take a lot of classes, decide carefully before enrolling in this course. You will spend 10-15 hours weekly studying and on HW.
This class involves a lot of study time and homework. I recommend taking this class with much easier classes if possible. The exams are difficult, he likes to twist the problems up to see how you can apply what you know to solve them. Good luck!
Dr. Styles teaches the material. He tells the students exactly what he is looking for. The only difficulty with this class is the time dedication. The material is tough, but the amount of time it takes to do the assignments is geared for ingraining it. My advice, stop thinking that you don't have to do any work in college.
The class is tough, but it should be tough. There are a lot of concepts that need a lot of time and practice to fully understand. Dr. Styles takes the time to provide a lot of extra material online to supplement the book and lectures to help students as much as possible. If you give this class the time and respect it deserves, you will do fine.
For a 2 unit class you need to study almost as for 4 unit class. Material is hard. However, professor is good, he is knowledgeable and makes sure students understand material. It is wrong to rate professor low just because material in the class is hard. This is accounting, people, not marketing or management easy stuff
Extremely difficult class. His exams are mostly essay writing. He will give you the prompts beforehand, but is rarely helpful with his examples. 90% of your grade in this class will be subjective. He monologues the entire class with little to no student participation. Avoid at all costs
Styles is a nice guy, his class is way too hard. I would sometimes spend 30+ hrs per week on his class and I barely pulled a B. He writes tests so students can't finish them. Yes, he actually says that. His course has so much busy work it takes away from all of your other classes. Lectures are a waste of time, he is on a soapbox for 12 the time...
Requires as much work as ACCT 301. Going to class is pointless because he spends his time giving motivational speeches about how to study more than teaching us the material. When he goes over material just pay attention and dont write anything down because you wont be able to do both. Makes test that you cannot finish. Grades are posted late.
Dr. Styles is a TOUGH professor and one that I will never take again. There are a ton of assignments that take away from study time, tests are so difficult I felt like I was at Harvard. He rambles on in lecture, hardly having time for learning material and you are teaching yourself the material. He is a nice guy but lacks in the teaching skills.
Known as the hardest accounting professor on campus. If somehow you get lucky and are able to take another professor, DO IT! You will be studying 30+ hours a week because his tests are insane in regard to the material. So many problems that it is very difficult to finish, and he creates exam problems so they require a complete grasp on the subject.
2 short paper, 1 long paper, 3 exams, and 1 final. Exam consists of 60% multiple choice, and 40% problem solving. Multiple choice are base on reading, so reading the text is mandatory. Problems are similar to the one he goes over in class and homework. Dr. Styles is really good when he do lectures, but he don't do much of lecturing. Its a hard clas
Tons of homework but helpful.
I am a Biotech major so coming into this course without any knowledge of this stuff was already tough. Taught myself most of the time but he is there to help always. He knows what he is doing. And ties things into things we can later use like stocks. But SO MUCH HOMEWORK! The amount of homework given is for at least two classes.
Styles will go over one problem per chapter and to understand the problem you will need to dig deep into the text. The exams are not like the problems in class as there is ALWAYS a curve ball changing the problem to something you have never seen before. Lectures are record, good luck reading his chicken scratch. avoid if you can.
Teaching style is not the best. If accounting is new to you I suggest taking it with another professor. The tests are nothing like the homework.
Alan doesn't teach you since he says "you can find everything on the internet" basically you must teach yourself. Come on! I'm not interested in being a teacher that's why I enrolled in classes TO GET TAUGHT!!! He is a really lazy man working in a beautiful and young university which is sad.
Avoid at all costs! -Lectures about irrelevant topics -goes over examples by writing numbers in chicken scratch you can barely read with NO explanations. -Difficult exams -30+ hours of HW and studying -Does not post any grades besides exam grades -Recommend youtube videos to supplement (Farhat's Accounting Lectures)
Alan is not a professor; he says he has a doctoral degree but doesn't seem like it. Doesn't teach, doesn't lecture, doesn't teach, doesn't teach, yeah doesn't teach. I know you are reading this because you couldn't get into the class you wanted (professor you wanted) and you are looking for a miracle in order for not taking this person I'm so sorry
Overal a great professor. Yes there is a lot of work, but most professors will give you work in every class. As long as you time manage this class into your schedule this class is manageable. Prepare to read each chapter to have a clear understanding on the subject, do the homework, and study for the exam and you will be fine.
Worst professor at CSUSM
I had a difficult time while taking alan, he doesn't know hot to teach and it seems that he is very lazy. Not a professor!
Tests are nothing about the homework plus he doesn't lecture.
He goes on tangents & may do 1 problem in class. It's demotivating the way he grades because only 1% will get As. Styles' class has a 70% fail rate. He makes the exams impossible to get high scores. Many students will fail all of his exams due to the level of difficulty he forces on all. Takes off points 4 correct answers on essays. TOO MUCH HW.
Not a professor! I don't know what's wrong with this man, he just talks about how he did well in his life and try to show off but it seems like he is not accomplished at all. Not an organized person, he lectures what is not going to be in the test and you will definitely have a hard time doing the homework online. I hope he gets retired soon.
Very disappointed that I pay to go to a university that employs professors of this quality. While a very nice guy outside of class, not a quality professor. Extremely unorganized with scattered lectures. Tends to go off on tangents for a good portion of class time allotting very little time to cover/review material from reading.
save your time and money and take the course with another professor!!!
Just a heads up, you wont pass, you will have wasted your time and $. Prof doesnt follow his own schedule, yet expects all students to adhere to his nonexistant syllabus. Total loser who couldn't get a job as an accountant so he bullies students Yelled at a random student who was lost and came into the wrong class, this prof is the bottom of barrel
What a joke. He wants the accounting program to be competitive to UCSD's. The appropriate way to do that is by giving CSUSM students more opportunities than UCSD's. Nobody after college will care about the grade, they care about knowledge. I know my stuff. I don't deserve a C I study harder and longer than anyone. Probably gets off to failure.
There was a lot going on at once. Studying for exams, multiple essays, reading 6 chapters for an exam (in 15 days), 6 hours of lecture a week, coordinating a group project, writing extra credit papers, coordinating a SEPARATE group presentation with a different group every single week. It was an insanely hectic month. Worth it if you work hard!
The difficulty helped prepare me for other courses. A lot of homework, but at least the instructions are clear. Personally didn't find the lectures useful, and I did much better when I started using class time to do homework and study from the textbook.
Dr. Styles is a tough grader and gives hard exams. However, he really cares about students and wants them to learn as much as possible. I've learned more in the classes my with him than with just almost any other professor. He has office hours every single day, and helped me with my personal problems more than I would expect any professor to do.
Class was great, but far too difficult considering there were no prerequisites. Dr. Styles had unclear grading criteria on assignments and made us grade each other's work even though we didn't know what we were doing (aka grading was arbitrary). Exams are synchronous, recorded, and impossible! Without the extra credit it is easy to fail them.
Worst accounting professor ever. He assigns so many assignments along with group projects at the same time. He doesn't even grade in a timely manner so you never really know what your grade is until the very end. He talks on random tangents that don't align with the material he will be testing you on. Take another professor if you can!
Lots of busy work w/no content. Must teach yourself. If you're a lecture learner find someone good on YT (Farhat). Terrible lectures, we spent an entire class on restatement and weren't tested on it at all, instead a bunch of things he never mentioned. Avoid this professor, he doesn't care about student learning. Set in his ways. Struggles himself.
Barely lectures and when he does he's clearly struggling. Material isn't that difficult but he wastes time going over JEs instead of concepts. Tests do not relate much to lecture. Lots of busy work that doesn't help for comprehension. Use YT lectures and read the book and you'll be fine. Bad professor overall. Not up with the times either.
This professor expects you to read the entire textbook and memorize it but in the lecture slides that he presents, he shortens them and gives the basics. Yet the exam is more detailed and vocabulary-based. Lecture heavy, if you do not show up, you can rely on the textbook and lecture slides. The cengage homework is nothing like the exam.
Looks like a nice guy, but will rip you a new one. Extremely rude and lacks empathy. Do yourself a favor and take accounting with a different professor. Even better, don't take accounting at CSUSM.
Dr. Styles is a rough professor. However through all the tough assignments, he presents himself as a man of his word. Dr. Styles told me, that I would not be able to pass 16units of upper division accounting. Well... he may say "prove me wrong," but when you do prove him wrong, he WILL go back on his word. In Public Accounting, your word is all.
Enrolled in Prof Style's class for a major requirement with no accounting experience. He seems like a nice guy but is not a great professor. Lecture slides are very brief & unclear & I left class more confused. He's very stubborn in his ways but is very unorganized in teaching it. Dropped the class & am now taking it at a CC. Take another professor
DONT TAKE THIS CLASS HERE!! Take it at Palomar Community College. I studied endlessly for this course and the tests are nothings like the homework, still failed. In class lectures consist of going on these tangents, talking about stuff that doesn't matter or pertain to what we're learning. Very disappointed with the accounting department at CSUSM.
So incredibly terrible. Enrolled because it's required for my major and I wish I would've listened to everyone when they said take it at community college. Styles is a terrible lecturer, exams are nothing like homework, and he literally expects you to memorize the whole textbook. So scattered with lectures and literally everything else he teaches.
If you are not an accounting major, don't take his course. If you are an accounting major, he is a great professor to take. He is very passionate of his job as an educator. And make sure to read the book before class no matter the class you're taking.
First and foremost, you are taking 301 because you are an accounting major. Don't come in here expecting it to be easy like 201 or 202 especially if you didn't put that much time into studying. This class will challenge you to adjust and put more work in. Although the exams are tough, he is generous with points, and please read the textbook!
First and foremost, you are taking this because you are an accounting major. Don't expect this course to be easy such as 201 and 202. You are going to be challenged to change your studying habits. Although the exams are on a medium-tough level, he is very generous with his points so take advantage of this. Please read the book and do the exercises!
Dr. Styles is the Chair of the accounting program, and a contributing reason to why this program maintains its prestige. Accounting is a difficult subject regardless of where you take it, but Dr. Styles gave us clear instructions and grading criteria from Day 1. Attend class, take notes, and do the homework and you should be fine!
The toughest class I have taken in my life. End up not learning anything anyway. Over clustered schedule. Exam are impossible to pass because of how they are structured in relation to how he teaches the class. Would not recommend it.
Would avoid at all costs. All costs!
Beware when I looked at the reviews I thought he was going to be okay. He is terrible at teaching, he expects you to read the whole book and memorize it. He talks very slowly, lectures are extremely boring, and nothing makes sense.
Styles is a good professor and department head. His lectures don't really pertain to testable material. He provides good examples on his canvas page and will help you, if you put in the work first. This is a tough subject so a bulk of the work needs to be put in on your own time. Gives a lot of partial points on exams so show a lot of work!
You must attend class, he will start to knock off % on your grade if you miss more than 3, BUT YOU WILL LEARN NOTHING USEFUL IN CLASS. You must read each chapter and do the practice problems in the back of the book or you will not pass. YOU WILL BE TEACHING YOURSELF IF YOU TAKE STYLES. Exams use technical language. PRETTY BAD PROFESSOR.
This was a very challenging course, especially if you don't have any expectations about accounting or the professor. Dr Styles is very lecture heavy, which requires a lot of dedicated time outside of class to reread material and practice the homework. Taking this class will make your other classes easier and instill a work ethic in you (not paid).
This was a horrific experience all around. I spent upwards of 24 hours total in the library studying for this class and have never taken more notes and focused harder in lectures just to still barely pass. Hardest class I have ever taken due to professor assuming you know all the work on your own. Tests were incredibly hard with no study guides.
Does not believe in study guides so studying for the course is extremely overwhelming, especially since the slide shows and chapters are extremely lengthy. Comparing him to other 203 teachers makes him look as if he is teaching an upper division accounting class. TAKE ANYONE ELSE or just take 201 and 202 online over summer.
I've never used this website before but I have warn you all, worst experience ever. He will take off points if you don't show work the way he wants you to show work even if your answer is correct. He doesn't teach. He talks about random topics in class. He expects you to memorize random details out of the book. You must teach yourself everything.
Time consuming for reading, teaching yourself, and re-doing multiple problems numerous times. TAKE ANYONE ELSE IF POSSIBLE. Lectures do not teach the material you will be tested on the exams. You will grade other classmates assignments as part of the course. You teach yourself and grade other students. Don't take with full time course load.
For ACCT 421. One of the worst accounting professors at CSUSM. 14 chapters to read, 2 exams, accounting simulator, and a report for a 2 unit course. Each lecture consists of him talking about "real world" items and 10 minutes of actual textbook material. If you can, take Advanced Cost, Advanced Financial, Data Analytics, and Ethics for electives.
Most terrible teacher I've ever had. He doesn't care about his students. He gives unclear instructions, disorganized & does not break down problems in a way students can follow. Most students had to teach themselves the material. Grading is harsh & he purposely makes exams tricky! Very little support. The majority of the class was lost & failed
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
62%
Textbook Required
45%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.90 avg changeRatings by Course
ACCT305
3.2
(6)ACCT302
2.6
(10)ACCT423
2.6
(9)ACCT301
2.4
(47)301
2.0
(3)Difficulty by Course
301
5.0
602
5.0
Acct203
4.8
ACCT301
4.4
ACCT302
4.4