2.4
Quality4.0
Difficulty5%
Would Retake93
Reviews5%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
15
4
11
3
12
2
29
1
26
What Students Say
“His name on CODs schedule shows D”
MATH2231 - 2.0 rating“If you have never taken Trig before DO NOT TAKE HIM”
1432 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
44%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.53 avg changeRatings by Course
083
5.0
(1)MATH1220
5.0
(1)CALC2CALC3
5.0
(1)CALCULUS
5.0
(1)MATH082
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
1432
5.0
2134
5.0
2231
5.0
213407
5.0
MATH082
5.0
Reviews (93)
pretty good teacher grades hard is willing to help a stubling student.
No Curve even when scores are average score is D or F. Hard to follow, boring, etc.
Doesn't curve, but if you pay attention in class, he is fair. This is a difficult subject. Has no tolerance for slackers.
if you care about math he will help you out if you don't he doen't care if you get an f on the tesat- he won't curve.
He is a very helpful teacher who is willing to help you when you're in trouble. He can also be a lil' boring at times but he gives extra credit to help his students out.
No Comments
Very clear in his lectures, but BOOOOOOOORING. offers to help, but the class is just not fun. if the students aren't in to the class, it brings the whole experience down. I think that only one student passed the class I was in (and it was not me)
Spent too much time going over homework from the night before and had less time to teach the new lesson. Hard grader and often hard to follow. You may want to consider a different teacher.
he is definately not a good teacher..his notes are very unorganized and he ends up going over the same notes two or three times...he confuses everyone and even himself sumtimes...i would not recommend this teacher for stats
This was a horrible class. Mr Ficht isn't a bad guy but the instruction was terribly unorganized, the book wasn't very helpful either... it's also not easy getting help at math assistance because most instructors do not teach stats. Thanks goodness I somehow managed to pass.
Assigns a lot of HW, but do ALL problems b/c he will take the 1 problem ppl dont do and have it on the quiz. Very helpful so go to office hours, and ask him at office what is on quiz/exam. Good prof but can trick you on quizes. Exams lots of work for such a short amount of time.
The worst class I ever took! He is so confused. He goes over some sections twice and then forgets about other sections and comes back to them 2 weeks later when some one reminds him. Never goes over homework. The notes never match with the text material so it's hard to study for tests.
good teacher
these people that say this teacher isnt any good are one BAD student...good teacher
Grade is based entirely on tests and quizzes and credit is all or nothing, which makes it really hard to do well. One simple mistake and the entire problem is wrong. Lazy with grading, and he doesn't explain things well
Does not give partial credit, spends too much time explaining theories, quizzes & tests are hard b/c each problem is worth 12 points. 1 wrong and you're already down to a B. LAZY & REFUSES TO GIVE CREDIT FOR WORK DONE!
Does not grade with partial credit, yet the quiz/test questions are worth 8-10 points each. he rambles about why the greeks and mathemetics connect to eachother. i had a hard time in this class b/c of his grading and i am a 4.0 student.
anyone could be a 4.0 student take under 100 level coarses
HOrrible teacher.... doesnt give partial credit.. what math teacher does that.... because of him i have to re take that class as a summer class.. he is screwin alot of people over by the way he grades... horrible teacher.. nobody take him so then maybe he will just leave!
DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY W/MATH!!! doesn't give partial credit, tests harder than class material, jumps around during his explainations, very monotone and uninteresting. Doesn't seem concerned w/student success
He is a very nice man but I can't say the same about his teachings. He isn't absolute about his answers and is continously corrected by students when he is showing problems or is teaching. His tests can be easy if you study very hard and do every problem assigned. You need to put a lot of work into his class if you wish to pass with an A.
do not take this teacher! if you know what's good for you. I've never failed a class in my life and i failed this class. No, partial credit on exams so if you miss on little thing you are already down to a B. he goes into theory about math and it screws you up because you don't know what formula to use. bottom line..he sucks.
Ficht is a horrible teacher, He doesnt know what he is teaching nor does he want to be there teaching. Never have him as a teacher, ever.
on the 1st test the highest was 80 and there werent any extra credit so 5 people drop out right after the 1st test score the second test wasnt too hard maybe he thought he would give student better grade iono the 3rd test**** was hard the highest was 69. Bottom line his class is pretty hard eventhough i took this class in HS still. dont take his c
He is really easy to understand.. at least in this class.. I wasnt that interested in taking this class.. but I got an A and it was sooo easy.. I really think he is a good option for this math.. I dont know if he is that easy in the others.. but in this one.. HAVE IT! really..
Late every day to class, but I felt he was clear with his teaching. It was quite obvious that he didn't want to be there. Sometimes went off into areas that had nothing to do with the course.
This teacher comes in late everyday. He does not seem to care whether you pass or fail. More than half of my class has withdrawn. Doesn't matter how much you study in this class, you are doomed.
He talks waaay too fast for many people. Half the class dropped or stopped attending by mid-term. He refused to aid us with reviews or study guides of any sort. He is very adamant in his teaching practices. He has a nice policy on dropping your worst quiz score and replacing one test score with your Final exam grade. Study hard and you should pass.
This is even a bad decision, just to look David Ficht up. Stay Away!!!!
Doesnt care when people fail there were maybe 7 people that actually passed the class. just awful
poor attendance, doesn't cover all the material,always late, takes forever to grade papers, don't waste your time, he doesn't care if you pass or fail.
Awful teacher! He doesn't really know how to teach. It is extremely hard to get an "A" with his ridiculous grading system. The final exam, which is comprehensive, accounts for 30% of the final grade. He NEVER gives extra credit at all. He spends a lot of time talking about irrelevant things. Avoid taking him!
A genuinely nice guy, but not a very good teacher, unfortunately. In my class the final was worth 58% of the grade, which can actually help you a lot if it took a while to catch up with the work. Always 5-10 minutes late.
Complete lack of courtesy for his students; he was once a half hour late on a quiz day. He would often joke and mock the answers that his students had on quizes/tests. Despite continuously poor performance on tests among the whole class he never reviewed anything. If you take him get answer book, find people in the class and teach yourselves.
This class is a joke. He always messes up on problems which just confuses everyone. He puts problems on quizzes that he just takes out of random books and does not even check if they can be solved. You dont have to do any of the homework, just show up to class... even though its really hard to stay awake.
he's a pretty good teacher, generally very helpful, if you go seek him out. Its simple to pass his class, do the assignment even if he doesnt grade it, which he would never do, study for about an hour a day, and show for all the classes, not easy at all, i mean cmon this college he isnt gonna breast feed ya calculus
He is a nice guy and if you seek help after class he is helpful. During class time he is always late, the day he showed up on time the class thought something was wrong. lecture is not that helpful and you pretty much have to teach yourself the material
Ficht is an excellent math professor. Has good examples/analogies to relate the material. Wants everyone to understand problems. Don't be shy to ask questions or ask to slow down - he gets excited about Math and sometimes moves quick. Always a cpl minutes late. Treat course like college (do hw anyway, study for quizzes/tests) and you're golden.
this guy is hilarious! even his name and appearance reminds us of finchy from american pie lmfao.. he gets carried away with math a LOT like a freaking robot or somethng, which motivates u to do math too! and he explains the material very well n spends a long time on it, seriously this sob is an excellent undergrad school profesor!! just do ur sh*t
Makes tons of mistakes, very unorganized, loses though ends up talking about history and other random stuff. Sometimes late and not always clear. I do not recommend taking his class.
Prof. Ficht's class is not all that hard as long as you do all the homework that is assigned (ask questions if you're confused), and study for the tests and quizzes. I got an A by doing just that! People need to stop being lazy!
I do not reccommend. Math has never been a problem for me. After taking his class, all he did was challenge us on tests and quizes. They were nothing similar to the assignments in class. He does not give partial credit. Highly reccommend another teacher. (Africh or Haunstein)
Pretty good teacher, does problems thoroughly and gives good explanations of complicated topics. Though he often starts sentences at an audible voice and gradually gets quieter until you can barely hear him. He also managed to go a weekend without realizing that daylight savings time began and showed up an hour late. Regardless, I recommend him.
Good guy, goes off into a lot of tangents though. Will take a lot of time explaining something that doesn't appear to be important to the problem. All around good teacher for higher level math but if math isn't your strong suit I would avoid.
Talks about a lot of stuff in lecture that does not pertain to what we are studying in class, making the students even more confused. Talks very quietly so sit up close to the front of the room. Grade in class only consists of three tests and a final. Hard grader on tests too.Would not recommend unless he is the only teacher available.
Dont even bother. Quiet & gets confused. Corrected him plenty in the beginning. We got into harder material& I had to teach myself. 3 tests (each are spread over 2 days)& the final. Doesnt give partial credit or pts for hw. Takes a long time to grade tests. Doesnt post grades on BB or check email daily. Good guy but not the best teacher. Good luck.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! I decided to ignore these reviews and take the class anyways but it is horrible. It's hours of torture every week and he makes mistakes while teaching. He also complicates simple lessons and his tests are really hard. Grade is based off 3 tests so if u fail those u fail the class. Horrible horrible
If you take any math 1431 class at COD, there is no extra credit given. Also, most math sections only have 3-5 tests that your grade is based on. So these requirements are not Prof. Ficht's fault. However, if you are going to take him, definitely review all your algebra I and algebra II. He does expect you to know all your stuff and doesn't review
Tests are extremely difficult and are all about memorizing formulas and regurgitating examples. Couldnt learn anything from lectures, had to use youtube to learn anything. He messes up grades and puts in Fs as final grades for some. No one in my class got better than a C. I hate to say it but, worst teacher ive ever had.
Always 10 minutes late for a 50 minute class. Before finals we only went over 3 questions because he took so long to explain them. I asked another professor about one of his lessons and she said he must be confused. He is not thorough or clear nor does he care to be. He does not care about your grade.
He is such a great teacher ! He explains the lesson and the problems well but you should always do your homework assigned and ask him your questions during his office hours. He is very nice and helpful to students seeking help. Math is not easy so if you do not understand it then dont blame the teacher but instead find a better way to study it !
He is a great teacher. He is very helpful and nice to his students. He explains the material fully and very well. Dont expect to get good grades at Math or any other subject if you do not do your assigned homework. If you have any questons regarding the homework or the material simply ask him during his office hours. I highly recommend this teacher
I would not recommend this teacher. The class is only based on 3 test grades. No points for homework, no quizzes, no extra credit. So if you fail one test, good luck. Tests are difficult even if you study for them. He's a good guy that knows his math, but he doesn't take any interest in his students.
He's one of the WORST professors that I've ever had. I'm an A and B student, and this class was an awful experience. I dreaded going to class everyday. He doesn't make homework mandatory, so I didn't do it. The tests are written by him, but he didn't have his homework, so I didn't have a clue what they'd be like. He's distracted during lecture.
He knows his math. He is clear with his proofs, but he tends to get quieter as he continues to talk. I wouldn't reccomend him because his exams don't match the homework from the book well. Your grade will be based off of 3 exams, no curving, no ec basically you're on your own. The homework problems are easy and the exams are quite the opposite.
He talks overly sophisticated on simply subject matter. This can take a minute to decode, by then he's already in the middle of another problem. The homework is not that bad, but the test are. The class should be 5 credit hrs, so don't be fooled. Again he talks overly sophisticated on simple concepts. Prepare to teach yourself majority of the text.
He's great, he really knows his stuff, and has a gentle sense of humor. Will gladly repeat or clarify if asked. I used the book for practice problems and read it very little. Instead, I asked him most of my questions during his office hours, (he's full-time.) No quizzes, so use the homework problems to judge if you're prepared for tests.
He never stops talking, but hardly in an inspirational way. Granted I already knew these topics since I took a similar class during high school (COD's Grand placement tests *Rolls Eyes*), but even when I came to class I seldom felt that I learned anything. If you ask a question, he repeats it back with the same explanation. Kind of condescending.
Let me start by saying he doesn't offer reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. You get to drop one test grade, but will still end up leaving with a C at best. The only grades are 3 tests. The tests are extremely difficult and cover content that was barely discussed in class and with the homework. Lectures are painfully long @ 2.5 h
If you have never taken Trig before DO NOT TAKE HIM. Only 3 tests and a final, nothing else. He doesn't care about your grade You will have to reteach yourself the material on your own time. His tests are hard and has problems that we never learned. You will remember this comment if you take him and learn the hard way. DO NOT TAKE HIM!
Makes things very clear generally. Stops to expand upon confusing topicsmethods and makes really effective use of class time working through examples of all of the types of problems you encounter
GREAT PROFESSOR!! 3 exams and the lowest is dropped, then cumulative final, all exactly like the hw problems assigned, same difficulty too. He's a very fair grader & if you feel he did you wrong grading a test he will work with you to get a few points back if you explain yourself. Gets confused in lecture sometimes but not enough to be annoying.
Very nice but over intelligent sometimes for the class to understand. Words his explanations in really confusing ways. Is a bit of a boring lecturer so staying focused was a struggle along with his crazy fast explanations of things. Besides that he's a really nice guy. His teaching style sucks! I'm a math geek and I failed..
Nice enough guy, he really knows his stuff. But writes reallllyyyy fast and it's hard to copy all the steps down in time. If you do manage to keep up with copying it, then he'll notice he made a mistake in the 3rd step, and that changes all the steps after, which you have now copied wrong. The ONLY grades are the the 4 exams (one is dropped).
Worst teacher I've taken at college of dupage. He speeds through the work and does not stop to help. If you miss one class you are screwed. You can not pass this class unless you know exactly what you are doing. You basically have to teach yourself. He is rude and does not care or you do not understand his material. There are 4 tests and THATS ALL!
He is very nice but it is a hard class, so you need to spend a lot of your time studying.. I did not pass even though I went for Math tutoring I struggled understanding what he was saying.
excellent professor. very professional and detailed. He explains every step of the questions. He helps me to catching up with what I didn't get in previous courses. If you are a serious learner, go for him.
You grade consists of 3 tests and a final which you have the option to drop your lowest grade. Professor constantly made errors while lecturing which led to confusion when taking notes. I do not recommend missing class. I went to the math resource center countless times and had to withdrawal the class. I strongly don't recommend this instructor.
You're only graded on tests and the final. Your lowest test grade (besides the final) is dropped. I thought that sounded awesome, but the reality is, you have no cushion points from homework or quizzes, so if you bomb a test, you're done. I saw the warning before I took his class, but I proceeded. PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS.
This is the best back-up for those who want to take Calc 2231 when the better-suited teachers like Soo are taken unfairly. Ficht is the math teacher that explores the "why" in mathematics, not just the "how" like most. There are 3 tests and a final, with the lowest test removed, that make up your grade. Study at your pace, you can get the A easily.
He went through the material really quickly and took a long time to answer 1 question. I was confused about a lot of the material so I went to the math resource center almost daily. He doesn't give partial credit for showing work on tests which lead me to withdrawal. Said he wouldn't help if you if you missed class. Worst teacher ever.
Don't take this guy no matter what. if he is the only option you have then skip the class and wait for another teacher but don't take him at all.
If you're a conceptual or fast paced learner who enjoys learning on your own schedule he rocks. HW is optional for calc 3 & vector calc addt. so that means you can just learn it in time for the tests, or not do it at all. Tests are straightforward but if you don't get it you'll probably do bad, but Ficht rocks and I loved his class.
Three tests are given during the semester and your lowest test grade is dropped. Final is mandatory and weighs thirty-three percent of cumulative grade, like the other tests. Homework is not graded but assignments are given from the book after each lesson for you to improve your understanding, I highly recommend to work on them. Don't miss class!
WARNING: Professor Ficht has a policy of NOT allowing students into his course if they didn't register prior to class start date! It doesn't matter if you were being held hostage, he won't let you in despite the 1st class being entirely review.
Professor D. Ficht is an okay math teacherone cool thing is his odd sense of humor, though! His name on CODs schedule shows D. Ficht. IF YOU CALL HIM MR. D-FICHTIVE (sounds like defective, lol) ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS, YOU GET EXTRA CREDIT!
Mr. Ficht was one of the first professors ive come across at this school that I did not like. Hes a very quiet speaker and even when sitting at the front of the class I had a hard time hearing him. He would do more proofs than actually teaching the material we would find on tests. He gives 3 tests and 1 final nothing else. I would not recommend
The only grades you receive are 3 tests and a final and the lowest one gets dropped so if you like that kind of thing that's a plus. Every class he messes with the projector and has to be reminded to move the paper on his elmo. He gets distracted with proofs a lot and has a lot of weird tendencies. He also assigns 50 homework problems per class.
if you aren't a lecture learner, dont take Ficht. This has easily been one of the worst classes I have taken. I took this course last year and did better then than I did this semester. Says you must dedicate at least 10 hrs a week outside of class, and you probably should. He was no help as a prof. Also, grade is only tests!
Speaks very fast and tends to mumble. Doesn't curve tests even if everybody bombs it. Grade is only based on 3 tests and a final, while the lowest of the first 3 is dropped. I'd suggest avoiding taking him unless he's your only option. If thats the case, just don't skip class and do every homework. HOMEWORK WILL MAKE OR BREAK your grade.
He is very quiet, pretty unorganized, was late to class on several occasions, and he didn't prepare us well for tests. The only test I did well on was over material that I spent my entire senior year learning. He does problems out of the book in class, assigns textbook problems for homework, and then creates his own complicated test problems.
My review is being removed unnecessarily. Ficht is the epitome of a useless professor. Literally a math professor that can't add, and I received 2 percentage points because of it. Unprepared for lecture, mumbles, dodges questions, and is generally condescending. Schedules tests to limit drops because no one sees grades until its too late.
Frustratingly difficult to contact outside of class. Make sure to take thorough notes, do all the homework, and don't be afraid to seek help from the Math Help center, as you will likely not get a hold of this professor if you need help with anything.
Ok, this teacher is by far the toughest class I ever have taken in my life. I've taken AP courses in Computer science and that was easier than this math class. I never received anything below a B in my life in math and this was the first. I do not recommend taking this class unless you're willing to study 30 hours for tests.
HE GAVE FOUR TEST AND DROPS THE LOWEST. HE RUSHED THROUGH EVERY CHAPTER AND assigned HOMEWORK EVERY CLASS. IF YOU DONT KEEP UP WITH THE WORK YOU WILL FALL BEHIND. HE COULDN'T CARE IF YOU SHOWED UP BUT IF ARE YOU MIGHT AS WELL DROP THE CLASS CAUSE YOU WILL FAIL. DON'T TAKE HIS CLASS UNLESS YOU DON'T HAVE ANOTHER OPTION.
He's a nice person but not a nice professor. He explains stuff like if you already studied it and are just reviewing. He rushes through the exercises one after the other and there's no time to understand what's going on. 3 tests and final is way too little to grade on. Tests totl. different from homework. If you mess 1, you have no margin of error
THE WORST PROFESSOR I'VE HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. IT'S MY FIRST SEMESTER AT COD AND IT'S A NIGHTMARE JUST BECAUSE OF HIM. I have never received a grade lower than a B and I've taken a bunch of AP classes in high school, and at this point of the semester I am just trying to pass the class. Tests are way harder than the homework, he's super unorganized
The final grade is based on the average of three tests. No quizzes, homework points, or anything else to help your grade. Homework is not checked so you have to do it on your own. No doubt this guy knows how to do math well, but he can't teach it very well. He is hard to approach with questions. Very tough grader; nothing in his class is curved.
David Ficht maybe somewhat flawed, but then again name me someone who isn't flawed from the math department . Ficht did his job of teaching to the best of his ability with the given time. You must put in a lot of hours to succeed in DiffEQ, that's a fact. That's the life of taking a higher level math course, seek help soon if concepts are too hard
This class was brutal, but then again it's an upper level math class. Your grade consists of three tests (the lowest is dropped) and the final all worth 1/3 of your total grade. Show up, take notes, do the homework, and study! Ficht's teaching style was not for me but he does his best to go over all the material. Be prepared to struggle.
Very unorganized will give you questions on the test that he cannot solve and literally taught us a section that wasn't even in the book by accident which screwed up my notes. His tests are incredibly hard and you only get graded on four tests and a final and he drops the lowest grade of the tests and he rushes through content. Drop the class
Friendly guy, but not good at teaching. Very unorganized, frequently makes mistakes in complex problems, doesn't teach the right material, and doesn't know how to format the course. You are given 4 tests (no final) and the worst test is dropped. But, THAT'S IT. No cushion grades from homework, quizzes, participation, nothing else. Don't take.
Good luck is all i can say... He will give you questions he cant solve himself and will grade you off 4 test. He drops the lowest test score and looks you in the face like he doing you a favorer if you have this teacher DROP the class Save your GPA!
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
44%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.53 avg changeRatings by Course
083
5.0
(1)MATH1220
5.0
(1)CALC2CALC3
5.0
(1)CALCULUS
5.0
(1)MATH082
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
1432
5.0
2134
5.0
2231
5.0
213407
5.0
MATH082
5.0