Asa is the goat. He cares about his students, and is really thorough in explaining things so it makes sense for everyone (even for someone who has never taken CS). He records all of his lectures, so attendance isn't necessary. Homework is the hardest part of the class, start them early so you have questions ready for recitation.

Mr. Ashraf is a great teacher. He explains concepts clearly and comes to class prepared. My only grievance is that he'd cancel class on some Fridays thinking he's being a cool teacher but he'd pack Wednesday's lecture in order to do that.. And most of the time it wouldn't be enough to compensate for missing class Friday. All in all, good teacher.

Structured the same as 1300, difficult homeworks but easy midterms. The final project includes stuff that we didn't go over in class. If we had a textbook I didn't know about it. He's a cool guy and cares about his students, but difficult to build a relationship with since he doesn't really answer questions and redirected me to TAs for everything.

I had Professor Ashraf for both 2270 and 3308. When I took 2270 with him he was an amazing teacher you can really tell he cares about the success of his students. When I took 3308 with him the following semester I was surprised that he didn't seem to care as much, it might just be because it was his first time teaching 3308.

CSCI2270 is a hard class but however Ashraf is an amazing professor that cares about his students and is always available when needed and he is very easy to talk to.

Professor Ashraf definitely knows his stuff and really takes the time to make sure his students understand what's going on. I didn't find lectures super useful but they're optional so that's ok. There are no surprises in grading or assignment scheduling, everything is fairly clear from the start of the semester.

The class is a lot of work but he's an awesome instructor! He really cares about students!

To all the posts that say attendance is mandatory, it is not. That is a lie. He wants students to learn because there are very few students who go to lecture. Can't blame him. The class should be a 4 credit class but that is not Professor Ashraf's fault. It's not hard to get an A in this class. Stop complaining and do the work.

I learned a lot in this class. The Prof was always available for help and had a lot of help sessions.

fun class but i have a tough time keeping up with the homework and quizzes. exams are fair. Asa is a fun lecturer and always cares about students.

I found Asa's lectures to be very educational. He goes through coding examples and is always available outside of class. He also removed the lecture quizzes and made them extra credit.

Best CS professor I have taken!

While this class is difficult, it is not due to Ashraf as a teacher but due to the sheer amount of content that he is expected to teach in such a short period of time. He is a caring teacher that will help you if you reach out to him, but you are expected to put in the work on your own.

Great man, good professor, awful class. Here's hoping 3308 gets reworked soon. Not sure why a glorified webdev course is in the required curriculum. Asa has gotten a really bad rap this semester, but I don't personally know many professors that will help you into the small hours of the morning just because you asked.

Professor Ashraf is a respectable instructor. He's curving the Final Exam, dropping our lowest lab score, and he helps at odd hours of the day too. This should be a 5 credit class though but I don't think that's his fault because some of my friends took this class before with a different professor and the work load hasn't changed.

Good Professor but tough class

It was a pleasure to have him as a professor.

Cool instructor.

I learned so much in this class and he was very accommodating throughout the entire semester. He wants students to succeed.

Respectable instructor and grading is very fair.

He is very easy to communicate with and will give as much time to you as you need but he does expect you to put the work and effort in.

Good teacher.

The best CS instructor in the department. He cares about students and puts in a lot of additional time to help them out, even after lecture.

I learned so much in CSCI 3308 and Professor Ashraf made it an enjoyable experience. Highly recommend. My only issue with the course is the amount of homework involved and you have to make sure you get on a good team.

Gives a lot of examples in lecture that directly help you with the homework. Assignments can be time consuming but the difficult level is fair.

I learned a lot and advanced my skills

He goes into detail in his lectures and always stays behind to answer questions. You can't fall behind on homework and quizzes.

He really cares about students succeeding. He drops the lowest quiz and lowest recitation and let's your redo a homework assignment and exam. Homework heavy but not bad if you start early.

Easy if you follow lectures and do your homework.

Great class. Caring instructor.

Exams can be a little challenging but similar to the quizzes so it's not so bad. You have to do your homework otherwise you won't do well on the coding section.

I learned a lot in this course and felt that it prepared me for the next course. Prof Ashraf was very helpful.

thumbs up

Easy if you do your work. Asa cares a lot about students. I don't know what a few of the other posters are talking about. They probably can't program. If you can't, drop CS and pick up History as a major.

Do your homework. Instructor was helpful outside of class.

I didn't care for the attendance policy but he is very good at visually describing the concepts rather than just reading off the slides. I improved my coding skills.

I can tell why the reviews on here are split between 1 and 5 for the most part - either love or you hate him. Negatives: Class moves relatively fast, attendance grades randomly, tests are hard, some assignments incredibly tough. Positives: actually pay attention in class - he explains code well, helpful TAs, class grade proportional to time spent.

Ashraf is an awesome professor. His lectures were easy to follow and he is very invested in his student's futures. He went above and beyond.

Solid instructor. He wants students to do well.

I've had experience with 42 Professors, and I can confidently say Dr. Ashraf is the gold-standard for being a lecturer. Large classes don't allow for much individual attention, but he exudes a level of care most profs don't. His grading criteria is clear and he takes pride in students doing well on exams. He's everything I look for in a professor.

He's a very good teacher and nice guy who wants us to do well. I would definitely take another class with him.

Excellent professor who cares deeply about his students. Lectures are at a reasonable pace and are detailed. He utilizes his experience in the industry to provide meaningful advice to students. Attendance is required.

He sets the tone that lecture is to be respected, but then returns that respect by lecturing extremely well. He encourages student questions and explains code and concepts thoroughly. His attendance policies seemed fair to me, and the recitations were organized well with the lectures. Finally, the assignments were engaging and appropriately hard.

Most caring teacher I have had and shows a lot of energy.

Positive experience because he actually puts effort into the lectures and helping students

The course isn't difficult. I recommend keeping up with assignments. Professor Ashraf is awesome. He drops your lowest quiz, lowest recitation, let's you redo a homework assignment, and even redo your lowest exam score. If you fail, it's on you.

Overall a good class

Ask and you shall receive. Asa Ashraf genuinely cares about his students' success and their learning, he was one of my favorite CS professors at CU. When I took 2270, Prof. Ashraf drove to campus one evening to hold a "study session" for a few of us, simply because we emailed him regarding certain topics in class we were struggling with! Gem fr!

Professor Ashraf gave very decent lectures and sprinkled in humor here and there which really helped keep the class positive and engaged. CSCI 2270 overall has lots of office hours by multiple TA's and the Ashraf himself so accessibility was never a problem.

Genuinely one of the best professors I've had. The visuals he creates in MS paint when he explains code helped me so much throughout the semester, but don't lose focus during them otherwise you might get lost. Attendance is mandatory, but the policy allowed for some leniency so I didn't mind. Great guy, very caring, would absolutely have him again.

Asa is a great, funny, and kind professor. He is very knowledgable and expresses that in his lectures very well by hand guiding us through code and concepts, being very easy to follow.

Good semester with a good professor

He is a great guy and very caring and passionate but the lectures can be sometimes tough to follow. Nice that lectuers are recorded. I reccomend this class and Asa as a professor.

Funny guy and had some fun levture moments. Goes too into detail of code line by line sometimes but generally helpful

Professor Ashraf is one of the few professors I've had who actually cares and enjoys what he does. He's really funny, which keeps the class engaged through the lectures. He puts in the effort and wants you to do well! The negative comments I see are regarding the difficulty of the class, but if you put in the work and actually try you'll do great.

He is one of the best professors I've had to this day. His lectures were very thorough and he explained/broke down every concept in a way that everyone could understand. I always left lecture having learned something. He genuinely cares as well. I wish he taught more CS classes because I find myself wishing my professors were more like him.

Asa is a polarizing professor. Will he be late to class? Yes. Can you zone out for 5 minutes and follow the rest of the lecture? No. But ultimately, Asa does care. He tries to make lectures engaging, and often succeeds. He doesnt have a massive ego (like others in cs) and understands that being a teacher is more than just regurgitating information.