2.3
Quality3.8
Difficulty16%
Would Retake120
Reviews16%
Would Retake
120
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
23
4
10
3
11
2
25
1
51
What Students Say
“If you read the textbook you should be fine for the class”
230 - 2.0 rating“Basically, he didn't care”
MATH002 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
77%
Textbook Required
54%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.01 avg changeRatings by Course
MAT002
5.0
(1)CSC250
5.0
(1)CSC217
4.0
(4)CSI104
3.5
(2)ITE153
3.3
(3)Difficulty by Course
210
5.0
218
5.0
JAVA
5.0
AS1
5.0
MATR3
5.0
Reviews (120)
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very inovative and up to date.
this guy is a great prof ... i highly recommend him ... great teaching style and hes pretty funny too ...
Promised me an A if I wrote this about him =)
This guy is great!
greatest teacher ever :P
Guy cannot teach, deserves to be fired.
.....
Best programming teacher I've ever had. Only negatives are that he can be lax on handing back projects and he misses a lot of classes. Other than that he's on top of his game. Makes learning fun and easy to understand. Pretty funny too.
This teacher is anal. He grades his test and project very hard. He take away points for every little thing. He's pretty cool but, I still would not have him for teacher agian.
Great guy, pretend teacher
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Great computer guy, but a terrible teacher!
he know heck a lot of java but HE ISNT A TEACHER
Great IT guy! Terrible Teacher!
IT guy maybe! Terrible Teacher!
Easiest class I ever took. Got the highest grade in the class on every test and project which is pretty good considering that I never did any Java programming prior to this class.
Very good at what e does, but doesn't teach it well enough.
Did not do well. Got a D in his class. He wasn't a good professor because some students dropped out of his class, his office hours are late like 4 or 5pm, he doesn't give review sheets for exams, and he makes us do projects that count the most. Projects are hard, that we need help from computer lab.
TERRIBLE. i have to take a cmp 218 class and HES THE ONLY TEACHER. he doesnt give a crap other than giving everyone hard projects that counts 40% of your grade. Then he constantly talks about GRAND THEFT AUTO. ofcourse i failed and now i got to have him again. TERRIBLE.
Easiest class ever! Great guy, very funny, makes learning fun. Taught me more than I will ever need to know about computers.
Great teacher. Makes sure understand before going on to the next lesson. Would recommend.
No Comments
Great teacher! Knows his stuff and explains things well. If have trouble with his style and his projects, then get out of computer programming! Projects count the most, just like in the real world. Do the homework, read the book, take notes and ask questions, you will do well in his class.
Very helpful, great teacher, as long as you asks questions you won't miss a thing, he is very thorough in his lessons.
bad!!
Professor Merlo was deffinetaly a great teacher when it came to explaining and teaching. Very light hearted and funny individual. Very strict and harsh on grading making it a difficult course to get a good grade in.
he knows he's stuff but for some reason he's getting worse teaching. he's become a tough teacher now. very strict. must do all projects in order to pass his class take him ONLY! if already know java.
He's horrible, the worst teacher i ever encountered. He knows his stuff, but as a teacher he lacks his teaching skills.
he is a good teacher-explains everything well and if you pay attention and take notes you will have all the answers to the test. fair amount of HW, not too bad. just do your work and you will do good in his class
He is Lazy and accused 4 students of plagiarizing the text book because they got the answers out of an assigned homework from the same textbook. They all got a zero on the assignment.Apparently he is a programmer teaching a network class and his network knowledge and skills are very limited. Better off with ANY other professor.
Very good programmer, but he's a terrible teacher. In my class, he almost failed a student because he "didn't hand in" 4 labs. Meanwhile, the student still had the files w/ the creation dates all dated correctly to prove that he didn't do them late, Merlo still wouldn't accept them. Avoid if you can.
He thinks speed of light=300km/s and argued about that for an hour.This guy will do anything to fail you.If you ask any question about his stupid project he gives you, you never going to receive answer. Good programmer but horrible teacher. Doesn't give a crap about his students, lazy, forgets about many things and thinks that he is always RIGHT.
great professor. although class can be a lot of work, he's a great teacher and explains everything well. pay attention and do your hw and you'll do fine in his class
one word to describe this man: terrible. im sure hes a sweet person but he is such a bad teacher. he is so rude & doesnt no how to teach. i dread going to class every time i have him. he needs to lighten up!!!
Avoid if possible. He takes grammar too seriously when he is not grammatically correct himself. When he decides to be helpful he is very vague, you'd get better help from a mime. He is funny but not very clear in what he teaches. Plus he's a bit of a jerk and sometimes makes you feel like you're dumb for not knowing what he knows.
I think that this teacher has the potential to be nice and helping but he ruins with his sarcasm and how rude he is. I used to like him, untill he was mean for no reason but to show whos boss. I hope i pass this class so i dont ever have to see his face again. I think he would get more respect from this students if he would chill out.
know ur stuff else dont take him because he'll murder you in 218 java. dont take him unless you are really into programing. good luck!
Great teacher, very nice and helpful. VEry funny too. These other people just slack and do not try hard...Cute bald man too!
That comment was either made by his wife or one very delusional student.He is not helpful;if you need to get a lab done or homework go to the computer lab because they actually help.His lab instructions are just a bunch of meaningless words put together unless you really know this subject.His tests are very hard.Use memorization to pass them.
I've had Prof Merlo for two different classes, and he was a great professor in both. He can certainly be lazy at times, but he is always willing to help and has review days the class before the exam. His exams are challenging, but this is COLLEGE and not High School. I would definately take another class of his. You learn a lot.
In short words i would say if you really wants to waste ur time u r welcome.
BORING! seems like he wants to get out of the class faster then we do but will makes us stay longer for some reason. Only helpful if you go up to him and as him somthing. Doesnt care if your failing. Deff. show up to class or your screwed, can me mean, and ill give it to him can be a lil funny at times
TOTAL **** NEEDS A WIFE OR BETTER OF GET A LIFE
Great teacher. You have to work though because his tests are hard. Take him and do your work, you'll be fine.
He does not lecture well. Give hard exams ad lab assignments. He can be rude at times. Please if you are reading this, AVOID HIm. this is the best advice i can give. i wished someone would have gave me this advice before i took him.
hes not that bad. if u do ur work ull learn alot. people just need to get over whatever grudges they seem to be holding aganst him and stop complaining. it's college!
I crapped on my placement test in Algebra so I got stuck in an 002 remedial class.In all honesty,I'm glad I got him as a professor.Strict about attendance&in-class rules.He's a great guy,funny, helpful and easy to get along with.Just pay attention and you'll do great.I got 2nd highest grade in the final.Don't be an ass and text or talk in class.
Terrible in teaching, accused student for plagiarism on homework for questions from the book. Never gives back homework in time and expects everyone to be responsible when he wasn't. No hard feelings but it was my first and last D- in my grades. My 3.5 GPA dropped to 2.98 because of him. I still think I worked and deserve better grade.
NOT A GOOD TEACHER. Very Hard on grading test and projects. Also he is a arrogant *** OF A *****!!! So if you r not a geek or a puppet don?t take this guy if you can wait semester take it with some one else??
DONT TAKE HIM YOU WILL FAIL!!!!
He does not have the ability to teach. He only knows how to write on the board and hope that you understand it. If you do not, too bad. Does not grade anything, so you will not know how you are doing in the class until it is too late. In addition, you cannot find out what you did wrong in the first project until you have 3 days left on the 2nd
he was probably the worst teacher ever. i would not recommend him to anyone because you would just waste your time you will either get a D for an F you have to memorize everything and his tests are extremely hard!
Prof. Merlo was teaching this course for the 1st time, so it was a bit choppy. He knows programming well & is very engaging, but at times it was unclear where the course was going, esp. with no syllabus or textbook. Also, he needs to grade and return homework much faster. These issues aside, he did a credible job, and I would take him again.
Students are expected to turn in assignments on time, but this guy took forever to grade and return. Knows his stuff, but I specifically avoided taking ITE 204 with hem because at least Ganson grades stuff.
" HE SUCKS ALL AROUND" A POMPUS ARROGANT MOROON, IF IT WASN'T FOR HIS MOMMY HE WOULDN'T HAVE A JOB AT NCC...
The worst teacher ever, biggest problem not grading work, but if your 1 minute late handing in work you get a big fat zero and He loves it. He is on a power trip, he must have been picked on a lot as a kid, now it's his turn to get back at the world. I do not recommend taking any of his classes.
SUX, SUX, SUX.....The worst ever @ NCCDo you self a favor and stay far far away from the jerk
Prof. Merlo is the absolute worse teacher I have ever experienced in Nassau. He wouldn't let us use calculators even though the course required it. He is definitley on a power trip. He had about 10 absense and when someone was late to class he marked the person completely absent for the day. He doesn't teach to the students;only at them.
From day one, Merlo has been an arrogant, self-centered, disrespectful teacher. The majority of our class failed due to his lack of teaching ability. He never took the time to really help us with the problems and questions that we had. In my opinion, he needs to get his life together. He really thinks he's a funny guy but all he is funny-looking.
I found his projects and Test to be tough. He expects you to do alot of research on your own. Overall I respected his class. But hopefully I wont get him again
Out of a class of 30, only 1 person was eligible to take the final since everybody else's average was so low. One of the worst professor's I've ever have. Don't bother asking questions, because the answer you'll get will be incomprehensible.
He is very sarcastic and mean to students. He does sometimes help people when they ask for it other than that it's kind of hard to get the work done unless you know what your doing.
He is not very prompt when it comes to grading the homeworks. You could be doing the program completely right, and send him the wrong thing numerous times before he finally gets around to grading it - and you'll get several zeros. I'm currently trying to find out if he'll let you hand it in one more time
Yeah, it really turns out that he doesn't give you a second chance. He waits until the very last minute to grade projects, as said before, and he'll give you a final grade which is complete news to you and you'll have no idea what you did wrong. But it'll be too late. He wants to be a tough grader, but he doesn't want to be prompt on his grades.
From my experience with him in C Programming and Data Structures, Merlo is a decent professor. He does wait a while to the projects and home works, but he does grade the tests quite quickly. His notes are just a summary of the chapter from textbook, so you can just read the textbook and not listen to him in class. Tests are not too hard either
He cannot explain a concept at all. If you ask a question, he just repeats whatever he said in class and that does not help at all. He completely skips over the most important issues of a topic. Read the chapter, and then spend an hour with him trying to figure out what question will finally make him give you a good answer.
One of the worst teachers I've ever had and please don't take unless you are ready for failure.
No textbook. Does not allow any late hw assignments. Tests are tricky but he curves. Make sure u do all the hw assignments and projects otherwise you wont get a good grade even if you ace the tests. Overall not a horrible professor but I would try to avoid next time if I could.
Basically, he didn't care
He will keep on repeating the stuff you can't understand. Gives assignments close to projects that are usually 25% of the class. Tests are a bit tricky but if you understand the content well it would be a problem at all. He helps but in making you get the answer not just giving it to you. I would definitely take another course with him!!
1. Hmm... If you read the textbook you should be fine for the class. 2. He expects you to learn how to use outside tools on your own. 3. Could do without the sarcasm and moderate arrogance, but still a pretty decent teacher. 4. Don't take him for every class (because he teaches most of them )! Get some variety. See #3: gets old fast.
So inspirational and made the class easy even though I absolutely hate math.
Personally, Merlo is one of the greatest professors at NCC. I agree his exams are hard and tricky. You can expect at least 4 individual projects which are challenging. Do not expect any help from him but he will give extra points in every exams which covers your points a lot. If you are self learner, go and take him. You will love him.
He is very difficult when it comes to grading. He does NOT give second chances. You will be marked absent for any little thing. Teacher has no patience, although he will ask if you understand the topic he will answer you in a sarcastic manor & make you feel uncomfortable. There is no if, ands or buts with him. Smh if you ask me I wouldn't recommend
Great professor, made class entertaining even if some of the content can be a little tedious. You'll definitely learn a lot from him.
Professor Merlo is very down to earth. I took his math class he talks about how he want everyone to do the work so that you could pass his class. I did the work and I passed his class.
Good Professor. He has a passion for what he is teaching and he actually teaches it, which is a new concept for me. His tests aren't riddled with huge programming parts, more of theory than anything else and his projects allow for more creative freedom then with other CSC classes I've taken. I would recommend taking his class if possible.
Don't expect any help from him. You're on your own. Don't expect emails to be responded.
He sucks at teaching. He really is one of the bad teachers that have had this year. its gotten to the point that not only the whole class doesn't understand what he's doing but also the smart students don't understand. If your paying for school this class not is worthy. if you ask him a question he gets angry and won't answer.
Does not care about his students. Gives a ton of work without much direction and expects you to know everything without being taught. Defiantly would never take another class with this professor again.
I would never EVER, take his class again! He does not help at all, he expects you to know everything after his lectures, and after that you're on your own. I asked for help on a IN CLASS assignment and he just tells me to figure it out. Does not respond to emails. STAY AWAY from his class.
Too many assignments, especially near the end of the semester where the deadlines are too soon. Always brags about his previous job at Wall Street. Makes ridiculous analogies when he "explains" things in his lectures which really don't make sense most of the times. Doesn't help in class assignments. Expects you to know the stuff for the projects.
This teacher isn't so great. His method of teaching is writing on the board and then literally expecting you to know whats going on even if he goes on and you don't understand.
His tests can be challenging, but if you study what is discussed in lecture you should be ok. Now for projects make sure you take your finished code and have him run in on his machine to see if it works. He doesn't care if you have perfect code that compiles and runs on your machine even if it won't on his.
tough grader but great professor and a good sense of humor
Please dont take him, hard to deal with, fast paced, answers questions with oh you just write code lol. Unfunny , worst experience ive ever had.
Great guy, less than stellar teacher. If you don't have a background in CS, stay away. Lots of lab work/difficult coding projects. No text material, so you're on your own with taking notes during his lectures. If the bulk of your class has CS experience, he caters to them rather than the students without experience. Tons of work on zybooks.
This guy doesn't know much, just what he needs to know to teach. Set in his ways, outdated somewhat, probably dismisses anything he can't learn or not willing to. Not a good role model to learn from. Pick another professor.
This teacher is never willing to help a student. When I took him it only seemed like he cared for the people with past programming experience. He would tell me to ask questions and when I did he would just ask me why I don't know or review the textbook. Did not feel like he was willing to truly help at all.
In lectures he seems cool but 1 on 1 he's very arrogant. He makes you feel dumb for asking questions and has an impatient tone, yet encourages students to ask questions. He can't give clear answers and uses confusing analogies. He grades are based on preferences rather than code quality. And his directions for projects are impossible to understand.
Didn't take him for my lower level CSC classes so I can understand the frustration in his teaching methods. However, for this class, C Programming Language, he teaches it sufficiently enough. But you will need to read the text book and stay on top of your notes. Projects are definitely tough but doable, tests were very fair. Would take again.
As someone that has some experience in coding. I definitely do not recommend him for new coders. Encourages to ask questions but then makes you feel dumb when you do ask. He prefers to write out examples of his code rather than sharing his screen, which is hard to follow. Save your money, time, and GPA.
BEWARE!!! DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR!! Christopher Merlo is by far the WORST professor that Ive ever encountered in college. His assignments are extremely time consuming and his lectures are no help. When asking for help during class you will be told Come to my office hours with any questions... Dont waste your time or money taking his class!!
He was honestly one of the worst professor I've had by far. He makes u feel uncomfortable when asking for more clarification on what he is teaching. The first test he completely sabotaged&when I mentioned it to him he had a nasty attitude like I did not know how to read meanwhile he didn't review it b4 posting. If you can choose some1 else do it!!
The lectures arent structured well, Zybook made it worst. You better go take your Computer Science degree at other schools. Online schools are great choices too.
Do not take him he is the worstttt
Gave this professor the benefit of the doubt and didn't check his score before joining his class. DONT make the same mistake I did! He's a bad teacher and even WORSE with his lack of communication skills. He's very passive-aggressive, if you find yourself confused by his instructions he will hint at you being illiterate. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND TIME!!
I've taken Professor Merlo multiple times, but not by choice. He's a good guy generally, but it is clear that teaching isn't his top priority in life, and unfortunately it will show in interactions with him. You are on your own in his class. I much prefer Professors who are willing to be helpful to students. Good luck.
zybooks is better than him talking about lecture
no proper documents/notes for lecture, zybooks assignments are better to use for learning for beginners. he encourages to ask questions a lot but isn't very helpful, if you need help with anything ask the people in the computer lab
This guy made C fun, SEGFAULTs and all. I found him enjoyable and he sufficiently goes over the material and is understandable. In addition, he was very helpful outside of class. For one project in particular, I was struggling for a week and a single visit to extra help cleared the whole thing over. Very good professor :)
unfortunately i've been given the great honor to be forced to take him AGAIN and he still managed to be just as unprepared as last time. he has no structure, no lesson plan and reads the textbook while lecturing & acts as if we don't notice but when you start to ask him questions he doesn't know the answer to it shows! love learning nothing.
This professor is NOT qualified to teach this class for Cybersecurity. If you ask him a question he will say he doesn't know and tell you to read the textbook even if the answer to your question isn't there. He also won't use email or d2l to message you, he uses Slack and does that on purpose so when you message him he can belittle you unmonitored.
I'm currently taking his class right now for the summer course and I know it's are tough because of how fast-paced it is, but he seems to hate helping us. I would ask him for help during lab and all he says is "just read the instructions again" and walks away. When he actually does say something, all he does is read whatever was on the slides.
Worst professor I've ever had. Always seems annoyed to help, but encourages the class to ask questions. The only good thing about his class are the breaks he gives. Watching 10 minute youtube videos explaining the topic teaches me more than he taught in the past couple of days
Not a very good professor. He always tells you to ask questions, yet when I had questions within the lab, he usually just gave me instructions on the lab that I already knew. You are on your own in this class and you will have self-teach yourself to understand the topics. I would only suggest taking him if you already are already good at Java.
I do not understand all the negativity. He is a perfectly fine professor when it comes to programming classes. If you are really struggling and go to office hours, his insights are extremely helpful. If you actively pay attention and take good notes you should be fine. His attitude towards answering questions in class is snarky at times though.
Avoid taking his class. When you ask for help, he responds with endless questions or no answer at all, discouraging students from seeking assistance. He doesn't provide slides or notes, scribbles on the board, and talks. Instead of engaging, he sits with his iPad. To pass, you'll need to teach yourself or already know the material.
His class was extremely frustrating. He gave no notes or resources for assignments. He even told us not to take his class next semester because he can't teach well. Many students failed and it felt like the teaching was the problem not the students. If you're planning to take this class, be ready for a tough time and little to no help.
The worst professor i had so far. He never post grades on time, how are students supposed to see their grades or review their projects. Doesn't have handouts to. Only talks in class.
Good: Teaches material well, fun guy, exams were easy + lenient grader Not as good: Somewhat abrasive personality, super late project grades. Often, students were lost but refused to consistently attend class or ask questions. Many struggled to learn due to being tired from work, or just being dense. Hence low ratings. He wasn't that bad.
Tough class, but unstuck ai was a lifesaver for study prep. Professor can be unhelpful, but the Zybooks content made up for it. Stick with it - the material is valuable.
He thinks he has the materials to teach but he and his notes are not clear. He encourages you to ask questions but then embarrasses you for not knowing. And if you are different and still trying to learn or confused He will treat you different and will disrespect you during class time. He will not direct you on a problem.
Don't know how he is still allowed to have this job. His lectures are just him making up problems with his terrible handwriting. Doesn't post any material. When you ask for help, he gives an attitude and just walks away. Will never go over hw and projects, so you'll never know how to fix what you got wrong. Have to teach yourself everything.
Dont take!
You will have to learn mostly by yourself in order to pass this class. He is not a bad person, it's just his lectures and labs are not designed for you to learn but simple throughs some concepts at you and expect you to know how to know it yourself. Also very late grading on all the works that make you hard to keep a track of your progress.
The math/computer center department are fraud and won't do anything to get Merlo out of his position. As I filed a petition against him twice, He is very disrespectful when it comes to confusion during class and just points out mistakes in bold.
You will be learning on your own.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
77%
Textbook Required
54%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.01 avg changeRatings by Course
MAT002
5.0
(1)CSC250
5.0
(1)CSC217
4.0
(4)CSI104
3.5
(2)ITE153
3.3
(3)Difficulty by Course
210
5.0
218
5.0
JAVA
5.0
AS1
5.0
MATR3
5.0