1.7
Quality4.6
Difficulty23%
Would Retake212
Reviews23%
Would Retake
212
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
212 total ratings5
16
4
7
3
19
2
37
1
133
What Students Say
“Puts all other professors i considered bad to shame”
MTE220 - 1.0 rating“"Who let him in the college”
MTE220 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
47%
Textbook Required
77%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
ECE220
5.0
(1)ECE429
3.0
(1)EE300
3.0
(1)MTE220
2.7
(26)GENE167
2.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
ECE100EC
5.0
ECE100E
5.0
GEN167
5.0
ECEALL
5.0
VARIOUS
5.0
Reviews (209)
Worst prof I've ever had
No Comments
Thanks a lot for keeping at university for an extra year!!
A bitter prof out to hurt others
Views teaching as a chore.
he is a good guy
Can't teach
Wow - bad prof and person
ryerson grad and has it out for waterloo students
hates the students
Taught us a lot. Everyone who complains doesn't do the homework.
most arogant
Merges with Ed Spike to create an Archon. Power overwhelming! Annihilate!
loves bureaucracy, would make a good communist
Very anal
Talks alot about the "real world"...a place I think he has never been.
It's hard to imagine anyone who could dislike his students more.
Still having nightmares...
worst prof in ece
he made tough exams!!!!!
Garbage...
Promoted from "Professor" to "Work Report Coordinator"
Actually teaching is not THAT bad...but exams were a different story!
This guy needs an attitude correction!
excellent fashion sense
Barby -- Lord of Destruction
No Comments
No Comments
Anything libelous will be deleted.
NC. You might lose a year of your life.
Feedback Opamp Oscillators.... It's easy.. let's put it in the final....
Worst prof at his best!@$! This guy should leave the university ASAP!!
No Comments
He drilled us on engineering ethics but sends out generic email messages...
Makes learning (and everything else in life) difficult
...if you think he is the devil now... wait till 4th year project...
Should learn to lighten up.
He is very fast... but very clear. One learns to appreciate his speed for labs.
he enjoys making people feel like pieces of crap. wears nice shirts though..lol
terrible on a regular basis, really watch out for the 4th year project!
Suffers from some sort of inferiority complex. Very Bureaucratic.
No Comments
be afraid...be very very afraid
"Mutual Dislike" relationship in his class
In "reality"...
He is ruining my life...he will be the reason I leave school...always sarcastic
he probably cries if someone gets over 60%..
Failing Class Average LOL!!! ECE241 F01 Avg was 49.92%
No Comments
Deeply resents questions that only he can answer. (When he is asked)
If the final is any worse than the midterm, we're dead
A dangerous creature in the electrical circuit kingdom.
Useless, absolutely useless. The TA (Shahram) ran the show.
In Reality, he is evil incarnate
We should do garbage collection more often!
Will not give a straight answer to even the simplest question.
you can't talk to. Look me in the eye next time
Such a blaster!
arrrggggggg
He likes to make ppl feel bad, and dumb. He loves giving hard time to everyone.
ECE students in oppression...
He's finally getting all the recognition that he deserves. Negative ratings?
He ruined my engineering experience......no Alumni money will exit my pocket....
Why was he born????
No Comments
he is an insult to the department and an embarassment to the school
Makes learning as fun as sliding down a greased razor blade naked.
He makes you feel like you're the dumbest in the class! Not just ECE 241
I like the cut of his jib. However I'm afraid he's not a very talented teacher
He's still there? Circuit course in 1993 was terrible!
If you want a course that only 4 people passed in the midterm, you got it.
insanely hard
Enjoys making students scared and likes to ramble. Also a fashion nightmare
The primary reason why I do not donate to the school as an Alumni.
No Comments
Has an inferiority compex because he went to Ryerson
No Comments
He has good knowledge but needs to re-cert himself with the TPPE guidelines.
The absolute worst;....nothing can stoop to his level
ok, not as bad as some of the others i had that term
If you ever get thrown into his class, GET OUT!!!
He is the nightmare of all!
No Comments
No Comments
This guy just likes to fail people !!!
No Comments
The MOST notorious prof. at UW, and for good reason. Stay AWAY from his class!!
Biggest chip on shoulder, graduated from college. Avoid him like the plague.
This fxxking guy never helps and gives advises to students? Only say no to u
No Comments
Should stay away from teaching.
Barby, the butcher of Comp Eng - helpful, but teaches too much too fast
Really tough and unecessary checklist. If you're life is miserable, you don't have to drag the rest of us with you.
The most forgetable experience at UW.
Fair but stern. He helps keep the UW reputation. We need more people like him.
No Comments
No Comments
Even I have graduated several years already.. i think the least thing I remember is from his E&CE 241 course. Basically i learnt nothing from his course. Nothing. Zero. None.
I have yet to hear of a professor as hated and loathsome as this one. Deserves to have his office walled off. AGAIN.
He is the worst prof in uwaterloo. Only 4 people passed the midterm!
One of the worst profs ever at the University of Waterloo. How they heck did they make him the Electrical Engineering Program Coordinator?
Put into Waterloo to weed people out and increase Waterloo's reputation as a "difficult school". Not making people learn and writing hard exams doesn't make Canadians smarter, it just proves that Canadian schools suck.
No Comments
WORST PROF THAT EVER TAUGHT ON THE SOIL OF UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO! Doesn't deserve to be teaching here. VERY SADISTIC AND ENJOYS WATCHING STUDENTS PEFORM POORLY. LOVES TO FAIL WATERLOO GENIUS KIDS!!!!
be glad he's not the work term report coordinator anymore
unequivocally the most deplorable human being I have ever had the misfortune of meeting.
A class everyone should take to better themselves. Simply incredible; engaging lectures with tremendous application and relevance. Cares about helping the students better themselves. Standing ovation after every lectures...enough said!
I have never seen any intructors thoughout my whole life who hate teaching as much as Barby did.
He's the worst of the worst professors. No prof worse than him can be found in ANY other Waterloo faculty
Worst professor of all engineering departments in the entire North America. Does not care about his students, he thinks it is cool when so many students are doing so poorly, he is an embarrassment to Waterloo Engineering. Hopefully they'd get rid of him
Barby should sit at home and play with Barbie dolls, or sell Barbie dolls. What is he doing teaching waterloo engineers?
Singlehandedly ruined the credibility of an entire department. Turned an entire generation of UW comp/elec engineers into the cynical, apathetic group they've become. Now, the department is only starting to salvage itself because of this one man
I still hate hime even though he is not teaching anymore!
worst prof in waterloo engineering
worst professor in the entire world, entire universe. most hated prof of university of waterloo
They only reason they hired this man is to make themselves look good.
GOD SAVE US. HE IS TEACHING AGAIN.
I can say without hyperbole that he is the worst professor in the history of the universe times 10.
low tech lab, obsolete labs, no one use it anymore, inadequate
Barby should honestly be BANNED from teaching. He is truly a disgrace to the faculty of Engineering at Waterloo.
I wonder what are people like him doing on earth? Just to make other's lives miserable? God! I hate this guy!!
< 1/5 would be better
1 out of 5 is too much for him
I guess getting****d as a class only brings us closer together... or something like that. Quizzes are impossible. Labs are not pass-able.
Tough as hell. Above average notes, but missing examples. Decent explanations, very good at answering questions. Labs unclear, but improving.
No Comments
No Comments
worst prof ever
The guy knows his stuff but he cant teach it and he cant stop showing off how great he is.
one thing to be strict and a hard prof but it's another to be a prick
What an asbolutely miserable human being. He purposely goes out of his way to be a jerk. He is unhelpfull and abrasive. He should realize that there are enough people to hate in the world already without his working so hard to give us another! One of the reasons I will NEVER give money to UW!
He likes to fail students. I don't recommend Electrical and Computer Engineering at Waterloo to anyone because of this professor.
No where near as good as Sedra. He's not a thorough prof, does not give you insight into solving circuits. He does not go in-depth -- you simply do not learn as much as you could with Barby. He didn't even know that a MOSFET with gate and drain shorted is automatically in saturation - that was the day I immediately switched to Sedra's class.
A useless waste of money on a absolutely garbage course taught by an utterly pathetic and moronic 'professor'. I didn't do too well in the course, but strangely feel more sorry for this loser than I do for myself.
My class had a funny little nickname for this guy... what was it again?... oh yes.. it was Satan.
Miserable, horrible, terrible, worst prof I've ever had to deal with. And this is after harder. The guy should not teach.
Disorganized. Unclear. Can not teach. Horrible lecture notes. Horrible lectures. Just generally a miserable person, because he is a failure.
No Comments
good lecturer, but expects highly of the class. slightly impatient when explaining concepts but very willing to answer questions and provide help. Easy quizzes, hard exams. No assignments and course notes could be clearer but if you pay attention and learn in class, he is not bad la. better than most other profs in UW.
he makes me want to barf...all over his ugly shirts and sweater vests!!!
Barby is an example of why a university should not give tenure to its own students. possibly the singularly most horrible teacher in UW. on top of that, it doesn't seem like he does any research either. (check google scholar). One wonders how he spends his time, and why he exists.
Really great prof - very helpful. But sometimes his answers are beyond students' level of understanding. Don't understand why people hates him so much though. It's the course that's horriblely designed - NOT the professor. (HINT: MEMORIZE OLD EXAMS)
No Comments
Hate this guy.. hate him.. hate him.. hate him. Unfair, unsympathetic,
There's been a lot said about him, but Barby is actually a good man. He gets a bad rap because he runs a tight ship and expects results from students, but he likes circuits and teaching and he's a great administrator who's actually on the students' side. For 332, he's been especially good because Sedra writes the exams and sets the lecture pace.
No Comments
Hate him hate him HATE HIM..MOST ARROGGANT CREATURE ON EARTH
Very bad professor. frankly speaking, at least %95 of the class hate him. the 1's ratings in here is too much for him. He is an old baster.
He cannot teach something if his life depended on it. He expects you to know everything. His style of teaching is to ask questions out of which 90% of them cant be answered. He is also a cynic who will not help you whatsoever during the course or exam.
Very tough prof, but very fair. Cannot teach to save his life but tries very hard. If the class demands of him he will give you resources that will make up for his lack of lecture skills. His exams are very fair though. Absolutely no surprises or tricks, and he does do a lot to teach you what to expect.
Barby is the MAN! He may not be easy, but he knows his stuff. Be respectful and you'll get far.
Reminds me a lot of PDEng....totally useless and a waste of time.
he hates and you and you should do the same
Students dislike Barby because he's tough, however: you'll know what he expects and his exams are fair. He also genuinely cares that you UNDERSTAND the material, not that you are happy with your mark. That is what people don't seem to understand.
Professor Barby is the worst professor I have ever had.
totally useless. He hated us, and we hated him. He tried to fail us all. 23% class midterm average, 16 people pass. Lab TAs clueless, just like prof. Tutorial TA worse.
Blazes through the course regardless what you say. only 16 people passed midterm. He said it was purely stuff from the assignments, but he never GAVE us the solutions to the assignments. Expects us to know everything and is annoyed when we gave wrong answers to his questions in class.
Seems to derive a sadistic pleasure form torturing students.
Lectures were next to impossible to follow, because he taught too fast and assumed that you can pick it up in less than a minute. Assignments had no solutions. For pre-labs, people either pulled all-nighters to finish them or simply gave up. We "flattened" the lowest midterm avg record completely. Just concentrate on the labs and final to pass.
Not sure what this guy does. Can't teach for nuts, the classes were a complete waste of time. The labs were absolutely useless. On an unrelated note, he's written 8 papers in 20 years...not sure what he does with his time (maybe he logs in here and gives himself a couple of good reviews?). Recommend revoking his tenure.
He is a great prof that really cares about his students. He doesn't throw you curve balls, its all based on what he's taught.
Jim Barby once badly failed most of a computer engineering class in an analog electronics course. The dept. told him to raise the marks. He refused. The result was most of the class had to repeat the term. Barby is so tough on students like he has something to prove because he didn't even do a bachelor's in engineering himself.
Jim Barby isn't even an engineer. He got an electronics diploma from Ryerson (when it was a community college) before somehow sneaking into a graduate program at Waterloo. He didn't go through the extremely hard work and extreme rigor of an engineering undergraduate program himself and then he's so hard on people who are. What a hypocrite.
He is a sadist, and simply enjoys torturing students. He is a horrible professor.
ah gosh I dont know where to start. This man is absolutely horrible creature. He is miserable, without an ounce of humanity. People like him should not be allowed into society. Please do us all and him a favour and kick him out of this otherwise good university. He is a disgrace to all
Not as bad as you think he is. At least he is one the few profs in UW engineering who can speak English, however still impossible to understand sometimes.
Extremely messed up in the head. This man is not afraid to fail the whole class and infact, it seems as if his objective is to actually fail 10-20 students every time. Stay away from this guy. Absolutely horrible man
Has a rather arrogant attitude when teaching. Not the greatest at explaining, & expects u to learn something after mentioning it once. Dun bother taking notes in class, cause wat he writes doesnt help much; goes too fast to keep up anyways. If u study from past exams & have an idea what to expect, then passing is possible; 13% class avg is normal..
One word: Saddist
Seems like he cares about the students and wants everyone to be engaged and do well. This is evident during lectures and midterm examinations. However, things change before the final exam. Talk about wolf in sheep's clothing... Loves to screw around with his students. Tells us he wont be following the past finals, but then gives us same questions!!
He has some sort of deep hatred for students of ECE. Himself is a ryerson polytechnic grad so seems to have an inferiority complex. People like him cause VT like incidents. University should get rid of this guy. Worst decision ever to have made him associate chair. For this guy alone, no cent of my money is going to UW as alumni donation/support.
Jim Barby is the Antichrist and is sustained by the anguish of his students. He will ask 6 questions / min to which no one will know the answers to. You will fail. He will laugh.
This guy hates students. He will tell you how hard you life is going to be, and then laugh about it. He will call you stupid and challenged.
Very bad professor. He will fail your work for the slightest imperfection and is completely unreasonable. A bitter monkey with a stopwatch and whistle could do a comparable job.
Unbelievably bad. Incompetent to the max.
Aweful, He does not help at all even when you ask for help. And he doesn't care about you, he is constantly power tripping and seems to enjoy sending malicious emails to students for no reason at all.
one of the worst profs you will ever meet in your life
THE WORST professor of the entire university. he cannot teach, cannot explain material, tests on the most obscure topics. AVOID IF POSSIBLE
Say what you will about Barby he does a good job. Assuming his job is to make you learn the material and learn it well. using fear as a motivative tool. tough love
Hard prof, but wants you to learn the material. Labs are good, but exams are challenging. Will help students
If you walk in this class with a weak electrical background then you'll definitely find his lectures being useless but for the strong electrical students, he's pretty good. He knows his stuff but cant really teach it in a straight forward way. A good portion of his exams usually consist of VERY similar questions from his practice exams.
Hardcore but awesoem guy
When a class midterm average is in the high 20's, and the students attending the class had some of the highest entering grades among all programs in Canada, you know the problem is not the students but the teacher. Many students taking his class were in fear of failing a class for the first time in their life through no fault of their own.
Not a helpful person.
Took his course in Winter 2012 which was guest lectured with Adel Sedra. It was the best course I ever took and regardless of how hard the tutorials midtern and final were Barby knows his stuff. Anyone who says otherwise didn't put in the effort and didn't try. One of the best profs at UW hands down.
want to know if you are the best and the brightest in Canada? take his course to find out
With him leading the ECE department. He screw up the whole school and its students' life along with it. Way to go.
Terrible professor!!! Made my life miserable. Doesn't explain things from the basis of the concept. Expects us to be scientists. Useless to attend his lectures unless you have a PhD.
Miserable, sad man.
Best professor in my opinion. Lectures are challenging but very practical. They guy teaches you stuff which will make your star in the industry. Very approachable. Always help, never says no. Had many office hours to help students. HONEST, SIMPLE and STRAIGHT FORWARD professor. Cares about Students.
Difficult course and hard exams but I guarantee you will know how to design circuits after taking this course. Very well taught.
James Barby is a total sick baller OG.
Associate Professor, Senior Associate Chair Ha Ha Learn to get your self out of a paper bag Ha Ha
so useless
Can't teach anything. None of the students can follow his lectures.
Avoid
Arrogant, prone to shouting if mad, simply does not care if you fail. In fact, seems as though he WANTS you to. If you can avoid him, don't just walk away - RUN.
I'm sorry but I don't understand why the department in nano eng. dont see why this guy shouldn't be a professor. Maybe he's good at a researcher, but as a lecturer, he's terrible.
Not a good person. Mocks a lot!! Should be give resignation ASAP!
"Who let him in the college!? While is he still in the college? When will he leave the college?Why would he let anyone be taught by him in the college? Why would he grade anyone in the college!? " These are the questions that pop out In my head more than the semester questions....
One of the best professors I have ever had. At first glance he may seem rough and rude. But it took me a co-op term after the course to understand the worth of what he teaches and why he goes hard on the students. His grading scheme may seem gargantuan but irl, it lets you get 90s easily. Real gem, knows how to make his students good at EE design.
One of the best professors. He will motivate you to study. He knows the material really well. It was hard to follow his lectures but he gives you a lot of practice problems. This course will prepare you well for future circuit courses. Make sure to do all the assignments, attend tutorials and ask him for help during office hours.
Pretty bad
Puts all other professors i considered bad to shame. Will not hesitate to fail an entire class and will do absolutely nothing to prepare you for the exam. If you manage to pass, be ready to move on from his course having gained zero useful knowledge other than how to deal with incredible stress.
One of the few courses I finished and actually felt like I learned something useful. Barby has some issues in his methods (flies through notes yet somehow has time for four lectures of "Q/A"), and you'll hate him during the term. That is, until you realize he cares more about making us good engineers than passing us with high grades.
Terrible professor
Thought you retired, but you are like the energizer bunny, I shall wait to see the battery run out. OK lets Try 1V instead of 3.3V. Surprising You can function with 0V too.
by far the worst prof i've had in all of my undergrad and graduate career. he doesn't care about students, he doesn't care about teaching. he cares about showing how smart he is. instead of explaining material clearly, he will give you the most convoluted content to figure out on your own. and he will call you out for your mistakes publicly.
Please stop inflicting this man on the students.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
47%
Textbook Required
77%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
ECE220
5.0
(1)ECE429
3.0
(1)EE300
3.0
(1)MTE220
2.7
(26)GENE167
2.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
ECE100EC
5.0
ECE100E
5.0
GEN167
5.0
ECEALL
5.0
VARIOUS
5.0