I already took a semester of programming, but I though he explained it very. His class was boring every now and then but he is a good teacher. (I still don't understand cell referencing or arrays that well though).

Didn't think he was bad. He actually puts lecture notes up online so that you could follow along.

Actually made the class into a challenge. Everyone expects a blowoff class and this is not what you get. Exams test that you actually understand the material and not just memorize the facts. Expect a challenge but nothing impossible.

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This class is a breeze. His lecture style is great. He posts the notes online. The notes aren't excessively long, and they include ALL of the info you need for the exams and projects. Exam questions are very similar to old exams. He is very nice and available outside class a lot.

If you are smart, aka you are not in the majority of CS 158 students, you will find this class to be pretty easy. Crum's lectures are really boring, but I guess he does a thorough job of explaining it to people who didnt take engr 106.

You negative reviewers are all ridiculous. You complaints seem to boil down either to, "I got caught cheating" or "This class is too hard for me." Well, the homeworks took a bit of time, but the class was very reasonable. I got an 'A' on every test without much studying--just attending class. Wimps don't belong in college.

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1) Lecture notes are invaluable for the homework. They pretty much tell you all you need to know for it. 2) If he thought you were cheating, be honest with yourself, you probably were by his defintion. 3) His lectures do get a bit boring, but very helpful if you actually take time to go to his office hours. He's more than willing to help with codin

Crum does a great job of explaining stuff in class; Read the chapters before going and you'll be fine. He's also very helpful durring office hours. An easy A if your not lazy.

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Anyone whining about Crum probably shouldn't be an engineer anyway. If you go to class, and don't talk, you'll see that he explains thing very well. Tests were tricky, but if you know your material they're not bad. As an upperclassman taking the course, I just laugh at the whiny people ranking Crum. Believe me, your next classes will be worse.

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He is a very good professor. He teaches very good and is very helpful. He is fun to talk to.

He is very good. He teaches extreamly well, also he is fun to talk to.

In my opinion the poor guy gets a bad reputation he doesn't deserve. He doesn't spoon feed the material to you, but he is willing to help if you make the effort to seek him out. Very accommodating with absences, and in my experience a good lecturer. Don't take the class if the only reason you're taking it is to get out of CHM 116.

He was very helpful with me. If this class looks hard for most of the retards writing these comments, then maybe you should CODO to a Liberal Arts major. The guys is helpful to whomever seeks his help and tries to learn the material. He was very nice and respectful with me. His exams are hard, but nothing that's impossible to do well on.

His class is not for those who can't program. Retook course b/c his exams have a lot of tricks that I always missed. Easier second time around. He is tough, but he is very knowledgable, and if you seek him out in office hours he WILL help you. Nice guy if he knows you're putting in the effort. Put in the time and you'll do fine. CODE a lot and stud

I heard a lot of bad things about this class before I took. Apparently, though, the class has gotten a lot easier. He no longer puts trick questions in his exam. Still, you do need to put work in the class to get a good grade. Lectures tend to be a bit boring.

Was an okay teacher. Goes over stuff a little fast, but it was good. Seemed helpful, and answered all questions no matter how ridiculous.

Took the class online over the summer, so ive never met him. Seemed nice enough tho

Class is easy, test are easy, basically if you read the course manual you will have the answers to the test, and just pay attention in lectures and you will be well off in the exams

Good guy that has a bad rep

Don't let people fool you, he is a good teacher. The people giving bad reviews just suck at programming, and are blaming the first person they see, which happens to be the man that taught them. I put forth very little effort in this class, and I got an A+, with no prior programming experience. Go to class, listen, and take notes and you'll get an A

Extremely easy course; lots of people hate him simply because they're terrible at programming. Seriously, this class is one of the easiest offered at this mediocre university. He is very helpful, and contrary to popular opinion, the exams are EXTREMELY easy. It's all very basic logic.

Bill was very helpful and friendly. I'm not sure why he has such a bad reputation. I couldn't program, now I can... 'nuff said. Good guy, good prof.

my new favorite teacher since he allowed me to retake a test. i know he has a bad rap but maybe he is nicer in the summer

Bill gets a lot of bad rap from people who don't want to take the effect to sit down and practice programming on their own. If you try to understand and make sure you don't get behind, this class will go smoothly. I didn't know anything about programming and got an A

He's a cool guy! He's nice and friendly if you go to his office hours to ask for help. He does a great jo on preparing the lectures and course itself. As long as you understand it, you know that it's all for you to study programming!

Bill Crum is full of himself but he is a good professor. The exams in his class are really tricky.

He is a really good teacher and a nice guy. He knows what he is talking about for sure. As for the course, it's really hard

This Prof has a really bad rap, but was actually really nice to me when i took his course. he even let me retake an exam

He is such a nice teacher! You should listen to his class! Although the exam is kind hard to do~

This guy is actually a good professor. He makes his lectures matter, he cares about his students, and is very helpful when it comes to exam conflicts. He is paranoid about cheating but all CS profs are so deal with it. He has a bad rap because programming requires intelligence and thinking, things they don't teach in school anymore. Very good prof.

This professor perplexes me more than most. His lectures are very good and well taught, and if you go to him for help, he is honestly the nicest guy. As for his exams, they're horribly tricky and confusing. Additionally, some of the homeworks and labs are hard to figure out. I'd heavily recommend taking this class in the off (Fall) semester.

This professor is very clear and concise. He makes it a point not to waste your time so everything he says is important. Unfortunately, this means it is easy to get lost if you zone out for a minute. Don't listen to bad reviews though. It's not his fault people are lazy. I had ZERO prior programming knowledge and still got an A with minimal e

He is really a good professor. The lecture is clear and really helpful. Not as bad as people said.

Phenomenal teacher. He actually challenges the students to think like a programmer. I would know, I've been doing it for years before this class. For someone to fail this course, they have to actively refuse to learn the material because he does everything he can to make it clear.

I like this kind of professor. He really challanges his student and want to train his students into real programmers. To be in his class/lab. You need to be at least very clever or hard working. programming needs a lot of inteligence especially in his class. if you are not clever or hard working? Oh good luck!

No experience going in. Learned a ton. Got an A. Interested in learning more programming after this class. If you put in just a litle bit of effort, this class will not be hard.

He is really a great professor. The class, hw and labs are hard if you dont have prior programming knowledge. Oh and if you get horrible lab partner you are screwed too. But the prof is very helpful and even if you dont understand a thing he is willing to build you from scratch if you go to his sessions. Take help from the TA s too.

Hard Grader, but a good lecturer. I'd definitely take a class from him again. He knows his material.

Good class decent proff. If you don't like CS don't take the class, he won't slow down for you.

This guy definitely knows his stuff. Make sure you listen in his lectures, and not even fall asleep for a second, because every word he says is important. His exams are tricky, and the HWs and labs require a lot of procedural thinking, but with enough practice (and a lot of hard work), they aren't bad at all.

Fairly good lecturer. Not as bad as people say. However, he is unwilling to answer emails, or most questions in general. Fairly arrogant as well.

Go to his office hours and it is SUPER helpful. Tests are pretty difficult though, a lot of tricky questions. Overall, it's not as bad as people say.

To be honest, his class is hard. He is a really smart professor, and I guess his IQ is higher than 150. I really enjoy his classes, because almost every word he said is useful, and helpful. He can find the problems in your codes within 1 minute in his office hour. His exams are hard, but it is possible to get an A. I really missed him.

GO TO HIS OFFICE HOURS EVERY WEEK AND YOU'LL BE FINE. Seriously. He is a really great professor if you actually take the time to talk to him and try to learn the material. The class is pretty difficult. I retook the class because the exams killed me. They're really tricky but do-able in the end. A's are totally possible; you just have to work hard.

This class was hard but not impossible. From personal experience, students who complain about it are lazy and just want someone to give them "the answer". Read the text, do the homework and exercises and you'll be OK.

Its a hard course. I never did programming before and generally suck at computers. But I was determined to pass. I stuck with it and got help from Crum when I needed it. Now I'm on track to get an A this semester. If you do the work and get help when you need it you'll do fine. But you actually need to apply yourself.

It's a difficult class but he's a good professor. He's very understanding and helpful if you go to his office hours.

Not as bad as people make him look. He is extremely helpful if you go to office hour. Don't be scared to go! I took honors with him and it was totally fine. Don't miss assignments and read the syllabus! It's not difficult to get an A.

I don't understand why people are so upset with Crum. He is helpful, uses the notes every lecture, and refers to the textbook. Although the homework and labs are 5 points, they are a bit difficult. This class is easy if you're in ENGR132 at the same time. I was scared going into this class because of the reviews, but I'm glad I risked it.

I found his class to be very straightforward and enjoyable. The lectures were always clear, the standards were strict but not unreasonable. Anyone with any coding experience at all should do fine. If you don't have any experience though, be prepared to work and put in the extra time. It will pay off later on.

Show up to class, take notes for the notebook he wrote. There are no surprises on the exam, everything comes from the homework, labs and lecture. Reading the book helps for homework and for the lab quizzes (sorry I didn't realize this earlier). Concise on the material, good pace and he makes the exams, so try to study with previous exams.

Hard course with warm hearted but bit unhelpful professor

Crum is a fantastic lecturer. I had his class at 7:30am, but he was always on time and ready to teach. He is exceptionally clear. If you go to his office hours, he will be more receptive than by email. Zero tolerance for cheating. Tests can throw you for a loop, but there's nothing unexpected. If you know the basics of Matlab, learning C is easy.

Crum is a great lecturer. The class notebook he uses is very helpful and he works off it every lecture. If you attend the lectures and put in effort I would say its easy to succeed. Yes the homework and tests are difficult but they are as expected.

I don't really enjoy coding so it wasn't the most interesting class for me.

He has improved a lot! He teaches pretty well and is always helpful during office hours.

A good lecturer. Your grades reflect your effort. People who just start coding will find it hard. I know coding, but I still need to spend time on reviewing, because his tests focus too much on the details of C which should be taken care of by machine or looked up when you code. He can't really test anything else, because of course policy.

Crum gives great lectures for beginners to CS. He is clear and dynamic with his voice, and gladly takes questions during lecture. If you like taking your own notes like myself, you may find his pre-made (mandatory) notes handbook mildy annoying to use.

Teaches tough material well. Tries to keep things light/humorous. Very pleased

I will never understand the hate on Crum. He is an excellent instructor who teaches difficult material; but I guess hate comes in such a territory. He is especially great during office hours, giving you clear feedback on what to fix in your code. Would highly recommend.

Good teacher; lectures are sometimes boring

As a Computer Engineer, Bill's explanations of programming logic are spot on. Many people complain, but really, programming is NOT easy to explain. I think he does a pretty good job of getting inexperienced engineers a good basic understanding of programming.

He's much better than bunning, explains concepts well. The homeworks and labs are graded kind of hard, but if you pay attention in class, skim over the book, and review the general concepts before the tests, you should be able to pass with an A or B.

The Bill Crum of the past that you hear about from students who had him in the mid 2000s is not the one you will get these days. Guy seems to have mellowed out something fierce, and is one of my better professors this semester. Very approachable during office hours and is an excellent and enthusiastic lecturer as well. Respect his rubrics though!

He knows his stuff and is very nice during his office hours.

He gets a bad wrap, but I didn't have a problem with him. I wasn't doing so well in this class, and I went to office hours to get some pointers on how to improve. He was very helpful and nice and helped me get a plan. The class itself is difficult. The exams don't match the homework's or labs at all, and if you've never coded before, good luck.

does a good job of explaining, but very work-heavy course (seems a lot like busy work)

great lectures and a great intro to programming class for someone who has never programmed before

This class requires a lot of time. I had no previous experience with coding, but I found his class manageable as long as I put in lots of time. His tests are difficult, but become reasonable if you review and practice the concepts in the homework/labs. Don't buy the textbook. He mostly relies on lecture information.

As a professor, he is all you could ask for, but as a course I think CS159 needs some improvement. He knows everything there is to know about C and the lectures are probably the most useful of any class I've ever taken. As for the course, the exams just test your human compiling skills and the labs/hw take too long for how little they are worth.

Lectures and lecture book are both helpful in learning the material. Being someone who had never programmed before, I found the exams difficult. In my opinion, doing the homework didn't help with the exams. By the end I got the hang of it and managed a good score on the final.

In my opinion, Crum is a great lecturer who really does care about his students doing well. However, the lab quizzes and exams are definitely sucker punches in comparison to the work done on homework and lab assignments. CS159 is one of my favorite FYE courses, just try your hardest because there really is no curve.

As an FYE student that had some CS experience (& hated it) before college, this class surprised me & I actually liked it. Course is structured a little funny-more experienced coders are the ones that have issues with CS159. Prof. Crum is EXCELLENT at lecturing. They were thorough and clear. TA's are VERY helpful-seek help from them outside of class

Crum's lectures were really useful and I learned a ton in his class. The structure of the class is a bit different than what people would expect from a programming class ie not learning recursion until later in the semester than expected, but the structure helps reenforce the concepts. He is great to talk to and always helps out if needed.

As someone who had never coded before, I was worried coming in, but it worked out well. I found Crum's lectures to clear and organized. The daily lecture quizzes are just participation grades, but are formatted exactly like test questions, which are very helpful to use to gauge test understanding. HW and labs usually aren't too long either.

He is the course coordinator, worst course plan ever. Lots of homework, however, you will have the same amount whichever professor take. However, Crum is very caring is accessible after the classes and will help you out a lot. I know a lot of people are scared of profs, but I recommend going to his office hours instead of TAs' hours

Crum's lectures are actually really good for CS159. Since he is the course coordinator, you will learn the most from him. Unfortunately what makes this course hard are the points needed and how you obtain these points. If you do bad on literally any one portion and you can kiss your A away, but great lecturer overall.

I personally think Bill is a great lecturer, very engaging and makes the material very digestible. The problem with the class more lays within the class structure and design rather than solely with Bill. Although I would assume Bill has some hand in shaping the structure of the course, I think his lectures make up for the shocking test design

CS159 is a hard course. Ignore all of Prof Crum's old ratings. He is an amazing lecturer and most of the "issues" people have with CS159 are due to the course material. He is the course organizer, but he does care about his students. He's a nice guy, and if you're confused go to his office hours since nobody ever goes you will get 1 on 1 attention

Crum himself is not a terrible lecturer, but the class is super disorganized and it fails to properly teach programming. It teaches students the ability to read bad code, but provides little to no guidance on how to create good code. Studying and memorization will serve better than actual coding knowledge.