3.2
Quality3.5
Difficulty62%
Would Retake107
Reviews62%
Would Retake
107
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
28
4
25
3
19
2
18
1
17
What Students Say
“I learned nothing in this class, she teaches fast”
CSCE102 - 1.0 rating“If I hear "This is fun”
CSCE102 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
85%
Textbook Required
19%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.15 avg changeRatings by Course
CSCE101CSCE102
5.0
(1)CSCE101102
5.0
(1)CSCE102004
5.0
(1)CLS102
4.5
(2)CSS102
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
83279
5.0
CSCE101CSCE102
4.0
CSCE8
4.0
CSCE102
3.7
CSCE102H
3.4
Reviews (107)
wears red everyday; when you ask her to explain a problem, she'll explain it again the exact same way...what good is that?
She goes very fast. Doesn't really teach
You have to know a little about computers, but if you do, this is an easy A
HORRIBLE! You can barely understand what she's saying and she shakes so much you can't read her notes
unorganized, unclear, etc..
A big fat waste of time. She teaches in such a jumbled way that if you're computer illiterate, you will be confused for life. If you know about computers, it will pain you to see how much she mixes up other students. Hardest concept: the difference between hardware and software. Not recommended.
Lectures make no sense, tests are hard and on the most inane and odd things, gives quizzes when she is sure the least amount of people are going to show up for class. I'm fairly certain she wants you to fail.
clear and straight forward
very helpful
Good class! Explained things clearly.
This was an easy class. Take notes and study the day before the tests and you'll be fine. She puts complete study guides on her webpage. The only way this class could be hard is if you don't know ANYTHING about computers. She drops low quiz grades and weights your bad test grades lower. I made an A.
This class is interesting. The honors section is mostly projects and webpages instead of homeworks and quizzes. Test are straightforward but you will need to read the book. Pretty interesting class and pretty good teacher. You will learn a lot!!
Ugh. It's not that she's mean, she's just a bad teacher. Her lectures are unclear and confusing. And many times, I knew more than she did about computers. If you know computers, it's an easy A, but tedious. I can't tell you how many times I was asked whether a hard drive was hardware or software.
Very good, clear, interesting, always helpful.
The best! Takes the time to help you! Knows the stuff.
I would take this class if my life depended on it. It was very hard.
I didn't take her class, but I heard from 2 completely different sources that she does really weird things during tests... makes you change seats halfway through the test, takes photos of you taking the test, etc.. to make sure you're not cheating.
Always there helping students. Good teacher
good, Always helping students w/ code even late at night.
This class just sucks especially if you dont really like computers, or know much about them, but she gives a lot of partial credit on test, and is willing to help. It is just a lot of work, long labs due every week.
No Comments
I really enjoyed this class. She is really helpful and clear. She shows a lot of interest in the subject and wants you to do well and have interest. She gives study guides for every test that cover the information well. Her tests and quizzes are easy as long as you pay atttention on know the information (which really isnt hard info).
This was the worse class I have ever had. The professor appears to know what she is doing but it doesn't come across well in class. She could make better use of her computer skills by putting some of our class work on her web page.
Good teacher. Does not take attendance, but you must come to class for the notes or you will not know what is going on. You cannot use the book alone. Type for extra credit. Do all you labs at least partially. Provides study guides, just do those and review those for the tests. Tries to make class fun.
She isn't bad, but her voice irritates me. I had a decent knowledge of html going into the class, so I don't go except once every week or two just for appearances. The lectures are not mandatory, but go to the labs, because they make you turn stuff in every time. Go work on your labs instead of going to to the lecture.
Always helpful
Do not take this professor. Ridiculous, useless assignments, unclear instruction, and poorly written tests.
This teacher has a serious case of A.D.D. Can't focus during lecture, had a great TA for lab though. assignments are rediculous and tests have a LOT of information.
She will make you hate cats and dogs by the end of the semester.
If you do not own a laptop, taking notes in this class is a pain. She cuts and pastes which makes it impossible to keep up. Tests require memorization of lines and lines of code, are not straightforward, and include many trick questions. She does, however, give large curves on all tests, which saved many students from failing.
She's an ok teacher. Will help you outside of class if needed and wants you to know the material. It can be a little boring at times. A laptop is a plus for taking notes. If not then you will have a hard time writing everything
Ms. Matthews is one of my new favorite teachers here at USC. She is very flexible and will work with students if you just talk to her. She loves computer science and will answer questions at any time. I highly recommend taking her. One hint...Go to Lab!!!
Most helpful to students
Matthews is really nice and knows a lot on the subject. She is very helpful whenever you ask questions and will gladly meet you in her office after class if you need to speak with her. Just go to class and the labs and study for the tests and you will be fine. Take the class seriously!
Lectures arte great. Must go to class. Helpful
This class is awful. I am so mad that I am taking it and now wish I had taken any other alternative. I am a 4.0 student in the honors college, studied for the exam with the help of a csce major and still got a C. When she handed out the tests she said "These were really good! No one was below a 50% and there was even one A!"
She is a nice person and very willing to help, but if you have no background knowledge in programming html, be prepared to invest a lot of time. She moves pretty fast, and that can be quite annoying at times, especially since she doesnt let you type notes out. Tests are graded harshly. Giving too much info on tests will hurt you.
It is very hard to get through this class. She expects you to find answers yourself in the textbook or online. She thinks a C is a good grade. Most frustrating is probably all the writing we have to do which makes it impossible to finish labs in time. She doesn't have a calendar for tests or discuss due dates until about a week before.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. You are expected to know the material backwards and forwards if you want to scrape by with a C. This is the worst class I have ever taken. I really wish I had dropped this class because it really hurt my GPA. Her voice is also very annoying.
Her test are horrible. She test you as if it is ur major. Run away do not take her course. You need to graduate but take someone else because a 102 class shouldnt me this hard i failed the first test and did even worse on the second and she doesnt teach all she does is type code!! RUN
she is a very nice lady but doesnt really know how to teach a class. all she does is tyoe code and talk. her lectures are very boring and her tests..... woah they are extremely hard. you can definitely find a better teacher
This woman is one of the WORST teachers I have ever come in contact with. She acts like you are an idiot if you don't know everything. She can't teach and she expects you to understand everything and acts as if you are a fool if you don't. Please take someone else if you want to graduate. However the lab instructer was very helpful!!
Like everyone else on here, this is not just a bunch of students complaining....if you take this class, you will do absolutely nothing but sit and copy code (hopefully correctly, and not missing any syntax)..you will then take that code with you to lab....and the lab assignment will almost never be completed in one session, tests are very hard!
Very difficult, very frustrating class. Have to invest a LOT of time outside class to do the labs and be prepared to teach yourself from the book. Tests consist of memorizing code and are next to impossible. Prof. Matthews can be pretty rude to students, but one-on-one she is pretty helpful.
DO NOT TAKE HER! unless you have a pictographic memory you will do terribly. class consists of copying code or sleeping b/c its so boring. her lecture style is terrible and she thinks everyone is a major. tests are next to impossible, average on 2nd test for all her classes was a 55. labs take forever and are boring. pray you get a good lab teache
Ok, she's not the most interesting professor out there and she is a little unorganized, but if you go to class and are willing to approach her you'll be fine. This class is not that hard.
The class is definitely a bit challenging if you did not take 101 at USC and your not very knowledgeable about computers. If you have a laptop or notebook computer, definitely bring it to take notes, much easier and more organized than trying to write the code down on paper. The professor is very nice she just goes very fast.
If you took 101 in high school or somewhere else I would highly advise not taking her. She moves very quickly. Make sure you take notes and understand whats going on. Two tests: they dont have a very large impact on your grade. Labs are most of your grade.
Professor Matthews definitely has a high expectation for her students. While most everyone did poorly on the first exam, she was willing to help us out and reweigh the grades to counteract the impact of those low grades on our overall grades. Her teaching style is certainly not the best and her voice is annoying, but overall she's ok.
very hard class. The labs are easy. however, you must attend class. she gives pop quizzes and a study guide for the test only 2 tests and the final). You must KNOW the material. if not, you will not do well. Matthews is a very sweet lady and always willing to "try" even if it does you no good!.
If you can take a different professor, I would do so. Had Matthews for an honors 102 class and she is the most condescending professor I've had. She doesn't answer questions and she treats you like a 5th grader (she even took someone's cell phone in class). She thinks her class is more important than it is and tests are too hard.
Interesting lectures. Good Prof. Helpful to students.
I bombed every single test and somehow got a B so she is very helpful. Attendance is taken.
I am a 5th year taking grad classes and this class kicked my ass. This was due to the JavaScript and 3 snowdays messing up the schedule. She only gave the code for the JS without explaining how it worked. This left me spending far too much time on my labs. Her tests are pretty brutal, but as long as you understand JS you will be fine.I never did...
This woman will break your GPA. The labs are fine, but her tests are next to impossible. I also found her to be unhelpful/rude with the project. My code would not work. She said it looked right and that "I must have copied it from Word". I tried to stop by her office to talk to her in person but there was a line out the door everyday. DO NOT TAKE!
Good professor, well organized, knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Good class.
She teaches VERY FAST. If you go to every class and copy down the code then you should do fine. Tests are tough but not bad at all if you go to all the classes. She gives a good amount of pop quizzes so be prepared.
RUN WHILE YOU CAN! Do not take her unless you want to kill your GPA. She thinks everyone in her class is a CS major! test are Impossible to pass. Labs are easy but test count way more. Class is very boring and she is very corky and corny. Horrible class the worst by far and I'm a Jr.
She is very willing to help you out but can come off as a little abrasive at times. Although, she is very encouraging. And she does want you to know every last bit of code down the the core. I felt like I was spending more time studying for this class instead of others. The tests are near impossible if you don't study properly.
By far worst professor I've ever had and I'm in second semester of my junior year. She is rude and not helpful at all. I would not recommend taking her unless you want to fail. She teaches way too fast and thinks everyone is a computer science major. She takes the class way too seriously. This 102 class was easily harder than my 500+ level classes.
She is a very tough CSCE professor and her lectures move at a rapid speed. However if you go to her office, she is completely different than in class. She goes out of her way to help and will explain everything clear. She also wants her students to do well and long as they try. She is a great professor overall but very tough. I recommend her.
Professor Matthews is a solid teacher, though she comes off as unsympathetic. Class isn't too hard if you practice the code, especially if you're good at problem solving. Make sure to write down the concepts, not just what is on screen. Textbook is useless; all necessary info is online. You can do very well if you put effort into this class.
All tests are given off class notes. The only thing in the notes is code which is not helpful to study. She flies through her material making it tough to follow. Expects you to know everything. Is downright cringe inducing in class. Claims her class is fun from day 1 but it's miserable and she makes terrible jokes. 210 would rather eat a pinecone.
Dr. Matthews is a brilliant professor. That being said, you can feel a little bit belittled when you as a stupid question and get her answer back. As long as you are willing to put in the work you won't have a problem passing the class.
Great class! She knows the material and presents it well..
I didn't like this class very much at first, but then I started going to Mrs Matthews office hours and realized that I shouldn't be stressing. Her tests are hard but they only count for 15%. The bulk of the grade are the labs every week and those are no brainers. Rarely has homework or quizzes, and attendance is mandatory.
The class itself is stressful. I didn't even have Matthews as my actual professor, it was a grad student who clearly had little experience explaining the information. Labs were pretty straight forward if you pay attention in lecture. Attendance is mandatory. Save yourself the headache and don't take this course unless you have to.
She is very nice. Cares for her students to do well. Test are straight out of the reviews. Take advantage of her practice posts, will come in handy on the tests. Very understanding and wants u to do well.
Matthews was really nice and passionate about computer science. I had never taken any csce before and she explained it in a comprehensive way and made it clear what we would be tested on. She keeps the classroom lively and makes the material fun. Sometimes she goes pretty fast but it is easy to ask questions in class if you are behind.
Great class! But you need to study!
Cares about the students, very prepared for class; knows the material, Most helpful to the students.
This is the worst class I've ever had to take. I studied more for this class than any other class I took this semester and I'm barely passing. I made an appointment with her outside of her office hours and she didn't show up. Do yourself a favor and don't take her class. And if you have to, do all the labs and maybe you'll pass.
I learned nothing in this class, she teaches fast. She will continuously say "isn't this fun? that's pretty neat! look at all the power you have. You got the A, etc." At the beginning of class she always says "scroll in to make the font obnoxiously large so the back row stays awake" and I HATE IT. Take a different teacher please . I learned NOTHIN
A lot of people complain about her. She is a little annoying, but she is super caring and a good person to the core. The worst part about the class is keeping up with the labs. Very tedious, but not impossible. If you're studious and pay attention you will be fine.
As a polisci major, this class wasn't my easiest, but Dr. Matthews was great. She is nice, but also is no-nonsense and knows her subject. Her lecture's are efficient, and she's great at answering questions. Be prepared to stay up late some nights working on labs and make sure to study for the tests. You can't go wrong with Dr. Matthews.
Dr. Matthews is really sweet and cares about her students but she goes really fast in her Honors section. Her tests were pretty difficult in my opinion. She has strict classroom rules but she's really passionate about programming and teaches you some cool stuff.
She tries to be good to students but she doesn't understand that many of the students (like myself) have no history or understanding of programming. The labs have 2+ hours of homework a week and you either have to do them in the lab or deal with nightmare of transferring them. If I hear "This is fun!" or "You got the A!" again I will scream.
Posts none of the grades on Blackboard and insists you use the class website. So at the end of the semester unless you make sure to keep all of your tests, quizzes and homework you will have no idea what you've gotten.
Professor Matthews is a great teacher! She explains things thoroughly and really wants you to get the A. She may seem condescending at times and repetitive, but she really cares for her students. She gives many second chances with assignments. Curves exams. Without the lectures, you're going to struggle majorly in the lab portion of the class.
Very excited and funny lady. Wants to make coding fun, even if it can be boring. Doesn't post grades. Class assignments are "participation" credit but you need to understand how to do it to pass exams. Not too hard, definitely have to take notes (writing code on paper sucks) in class. Textbook isn't super necessary , all code stuff is online anyway
Great instructor! Always available to help! Interesting lecturer! Makes you work hard. You need to take notes. Great class.
She is a very sweet lady, and very helpful. The information can get confusing sometimes, but if you ask her for help or asks TA to help you, youll be able to figure out your code. Tests arent that hard, just study notes and class examples. I had struggled with a certain lab, emailed her, and she came to class with corrections for me the next day
Really great class! The labs can be kind of hard but you have to do all of them since they count for most of your grade. The prof and the TAs are really helpful though when it comes to labs and homework. Grade is labs, quizzes, 2 exams and a final. Exams arent too hard and she gives really specific study guides to follow.
She rambles on a lot and doesnt do a very good job explaining how the material works and rather just states what the material is.
She is a very nice lady but I think its hard for her to teach coding to a class of non computer programming majors. The content can be learned if you study your butt of but it is very painful. Also the test are harder than assignments and quizzes and not stuff you do in class.
No. If you are wondering what to take or who to take it with in the Fall. do not take her. she is rude to students and was incredibly non-compliant over quarantine. She dumped loads of work on us with little explanation. Computer science is hard but she talks so fast and does not explain anything. for the love of God just don't.
This class is made way harder than it needs to be. I spend more time working on this class than I do my major classes each week. Quizzes and homework is assigned with no warning and gives you very little time to do it. An excessive amount of work each week. By far the worst class I have taken here.
Prof. Matthews is nice, but the class is chaotic. She assigned quizzes and homework out of nowhere and only gave us a few days to do them. Also, the assignments did not really match what she covered in lecture. The labs were kinda long, but they were easy, just remember to take notes on the lectures! Overall, this class was an easy A.
If you are not a computer science major or good with computers in general, this class is a bit tough. The labs were mostly covered with her online lecture videos. She was very nice and caring but did not teach in front of us, she just used her lectures for questions and uploaded everything else online. She also assigned quizzes out of nowhere.
Professor Matthews is nice, but somehow this class is harder than my higher level chemistry courses. She is the most annoying professor I have ever had. She uploads these lecture videos and says that if we watch them and take notes on them theyll help with the lab assignments. THEY ARE NOTHING LIKE THE LAB ASSIGNMENTS. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS
I found her to be repetitive and annoying, and she made things more difficult than they had to be. Also, she required attendance even though our lectures were asynchronous videos that we watched on our own time. This just meant we were sitting listening to her ramble for no reason. Labs were badly written, to the extent they were hard to understand
Prof Matthews is one of the most genuine and sweetest professors I've ever had at USC. I'm not a CS major or anything but she wants people to pass and cares about all of her students. Sometimes her lectures are a little hard to follow but if you take good notes and do the labs with it, this class is not super hard. Definitely recommend taking her.
Prof Matthews is a very sweet lady who wants her class to be fun. Lectures are a little difficulty to follow so take thorough notes. Lab is 50% of grade but you have a week to do it and lab hours everyday with TAs. Curves tests and gives bonus. Sweet lady and not difficult class.
The class is easy but she made it more difficult than it needed to be most times. Most of the times, the homework was harder than the quizzes or something that we haven't learned yet. She tries to make the class fun, but its mostly not. The labs are easy and the TAs help with anything you need help on. With the TAs, I would have made worse grade.
She is a really sweet lady and is willing to help especially if you reach out. The tests and homework is really hard but it doesnt count for much as long as you do well in lab. Labs are also a lot of work but the TAs do their best to help you. Write good notes because you will need them and be careful to not miss class because there are quizzes.
I had never taken a computer class before but this one wasn't too bad. There was no math and a lot of the things we did had to do with doing things like switching colors or pictures. If you take really good notes in her class, you will pass. The final project was easy, I just used my old lab assignments and put them together.
Gives everyone an A at the end. Grades aren't put in until the very end, so it seems nerve-racking, but she pretty much just gives everybody an A.
This genuinely may be the worst class I have ever taken in my entire life. Every moment is painful and I woke up every morning upset knowing I had this class to attend. Things are very complicated and there is no attempt to explain them or to make them more manageable. She's probably a very nice person, but when it comes to teaching...not so much.
Cares a lot about student success. Extremely flexible when students do have to miss class for legitimate reasons. Highly recommend the Honors section - lots of labs, 2 exams, and a final project presentation. More creativity than expected is required. Not as bad as I expected!
Dr. Matthews coding class was harder than my Organic Chemistry class. Do not take this class if you are going to be busy outside of your lectures. You have to put in a lot of extra time for the labs. You also have to put in time for homework, quizzes, and exams. Exams are very hard. She is not understanding, and I have cried in her office once.
Professor Matthew's was overall great. This class has lots of labs but most can be completed in class with minimal homework (except the final) and require some creativity. The hardest part of the class are the two tests which are pencil paper, no multiple choice but you can still do well in the class even if you don't on the tests.
As someone who is not computer savvy what so ever I really struggled in her class. She does go through her "notes" very quickly, and you need to be ready to follow along. Her exams are being able to reiterate code on a paper, which is SUPER challenging in my opinion. She is super sweet and understanding tho, but you should have prior knowledge.
Professor Matthews cares for her students. I struggled in her class but she always made herself available to help me. Do not miss a class. Attendance counts and she will add points! Lab is the heaviest part of the grade! Do not miss your labs. Her lectures weren't very helpful for me but she added videos of her explaining in depth on blackboard.
She encourages discussion and student participation in her lectures which made them more engaging and fun. She taught us everything we needed to know for exams and projects well and offered extra credit. Super nice to students too and answers your questions. I would definitely recommend her for anyone who needs their computer science credit.
Dr. Matthews coding class is not easy but it is not difficult by any means. Make sure to attend class because your notes will the code you copy in class. These are not posted anywhere. Daily lab assignments, 1-2 weekly assignments, 2 written exams (free response, no MC), and 1 final project. She is very understanding and wants you to succeed.
I really loved prof Matthews. She really knew a lot and could answer any coding question you had for her. The lab portion is a lot of work, but they're graded easily. There are two tests that are hard, but you can get at least a 70 without studying, and the labs are worth way more than the tests. Recommend, felt like I actually gained a new skill.
She was caring and you could tell she really enjoys her job. She gives a lot of labs outside of class, though as long as you do them and at least try on them you should get an A. Her tests were all short answer and had a strange format, though the labs are more heavily weighed. She is also there to answer any questions people may have.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
85%
Textbook Required
19%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.15 avg changeRatings by Course
CSCE101CSCE102
5.0
(1)CSCE101102
5.0
(1)CSCE102004
5.0
(1)CLS102
4.5
(2)CSS102
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
83279
5.0
CSCE101CSCE102
4.0
CSCE8
4.0
CSCE102
3.7
CSCE102H
3.4