He's a really nice guy and a lot of fun to have as a professor. This is (I think) his first semester teaching, but he seems to be very down to earth and knowledgeable about the material. He makes you work for answers and isn't a spoon feeder.

I like Brother Helfrich, he is a new professor and I don’t believe that he has any prior teaching experience. He is very concerned about how people are doing in his class and will do anything he can to help. He is funny and has a lot of work field experience. No complaints.

cool guy, hard though

Good teacher, Brother Helfrich has everything up on his lectures that will be on the tests, although the tests are still hard at times. there is a lot of home work in this class and if you get behind on your home work or your reading the class will all of the sudden become very challanging because the class builds on its self.good teacher, he cares

Bro. Helfrich is an awesome teacher! He's nerdy(in a good way), but has lots of fun in class and make the subject interesting. You have to stay on top of the work otherwise you can get behind really quick. Assignments are easy if you keep up, so are the tests. The projects are tough but he will help you tons.

Fun teacher, I love coming to class. He doesn't do much for syntax but he is willing to help if you ask.

Brother Helfrich is an outstanding teacher. It's great to have a professor with so much real world experience. He was a project developer for Microsoft Word before coming to BYU-Idaho. The class was hard but by far the best class I've ever taken. I didn't think that I would like programing prior to the class, now I love it!

This is one of the best teachers to be teaching this subject. He is upbeat and (somewhat) funny. Very helpful.

Great class, I learned C when I was younger so a lot of it was not new to me. Assignments due each class with 5 useful projects (the first 3 were copy and paste from assignments mainly). Interesting guy and makes class fun and is willing to help answer questions. Tests are easy if you practice. Keep up or you will get lost later.

Brother Helfrich really works to make his class as easy to understand as possible. It is a basic level class so there is a lot to cover at once. You have an hour for each test in the lab and the projects take hours on your own. Use lab assistants and friends to help you understand some concepts. Take Brother Helfrich and life will be easier. :)

Brother Helfrich REALLY knows his stuff. He used to work for Microsoft. He's an incredible teacher and is always willing to help. Don't get me wrong, it was one of my toughest classes. It's definitely a work load with all the projects and assignments for each class, but he makes sure that you absolutely know your material by the end of the class.

Brother Helfrich is a great teacher. He gives lots of examples in class and loves to answer questions. There are short assignments before each class that take about 30 minutes each and 5 projects throughout the semester. The final project for CS124 was a Sudoku game. His projects really bring everything you've learned together and are great review.

A great profesor

Bro. Helfrich gives assignments due at beginning of class every day which you don't talk about in class, until the day they are due. He talks about a lot of topics and can be very confusing in class. Most of ur grade is on based on the 4 projects (including 2 chess written two different ways and the game asteroids). Expects all to read before class

After taking two classes from Bro. Helfrich, I can say that he is one of my favorite teachers of all time. His class is very organized and expectations are clear. He wants you to do your best. He makes object oriented programming fun by having you make games for all 4 projects. Having him put me miles ahead of other students in Computer Science.

Brother Helfrich is my favorite teacher and CS124 ended up being my favorite class as well. Everything he taught was very clear and easy to understand. He really knows his stuff and is probably one of the best teachers I have ever had. Take his class if you get the chance!

Bro. Helfrich is so much fun in class! He starts off every class with a joke, and often makes funny references during class. Grade is based on pass/fail assignments of varying difficulty, and harder tests and projects. He explains everything in a way that makes sense, going over things when you have questions. Always very approachable for help.

Br. Helfrich is the man. CS165 was hard, but he is always willing to meet with students in his office to help. He expects students to read and do pre-class assignments of varying difficulty as well as 4 projects he gives you general solutions to the day the design document is due. He truly cares about his students and knows his stuff. Take him!

I love him! he is the coolest teacher ever. He always makes nerdy jokes and he is very good at explaining anything. Make sure you understand the concepts, because the tests are all about concepts, not facts.

Hard as Hades but you'll learn your stuff. By far the best CS teacher at BYU-I. On the down side, CS 124 will eat up all of your time.

Really knowledgeable guy. Has great answers to questions and stretches his students. He can be hard, but its very worth it!

Loved him!

Bro Helfrich is solid. He knows a lot about programming. Great class, but difficult; I probably spent more time in this class than all of my other classes combined. If I had to do it again, I would spend more time DESIGNING projects, so that I could save time writing them. He only gives you a week to design each project so don't screw around.

The class is pretty tough. I had some prior programming experience, so things werent as bad for me. Plan on devoting a lot of time to the class. It's extremely time consuming. I'd recommend getting a tutor. Just make sure they help you, and they don't just write your code. He's a very helpful and fun teacher. He makes the class enjoyable.#1 CS prof

Brother Helfrich is the best teacher if you want to learn what you are doing. If you want an easy class this isn't the one for you. Get to make games for projects though. Expect alot of time dedicated to this class

Brother Helfrich is amazing!! He knows what he is talking about and shares a lot of useful examples from his time working with Mircrosoft. If he makes a mistake and you catch it he is humble enough to make it funny and doesn't argue. If he was right, he takes the opportunity to teach you and everyone else why it's a common mistake.

Brother Helfrich is a hard teacher, which means that you'll learn a lot. Don't take a heavy class load when you take his class. You will use tutors. The projects are super easy if you use tutors and they are 60% of your grade. If you start losing it, talk to him and he'll help you. Probably the most energetic teacher on campus, like crazy deacon.

Brother Helfrich is amazing!! By far the best professor I have ever had. You won't regret taking his course! He is fun to watch and sure patient with his students. He has hard assignments but it's SO worth it because you learn so much!

Brother Helfrich is one of the best teachers I have ever taken classes from. He will give you a valuable leg up in C++ and help you to understand concepts that a lot of the other teachers leave out. His courses (124 and 165) is harder than the other CS teachers but are absolutely worth it.

He wrote the textbook, he knows way more than the other CS professors. The only thing is that he has you do the assignments THEN talks about how to do the assignments. But he knows so much and is so good at explaining, I wouldn't take any other prof.

He's very funnyentertaining & he knows how to teach CS material more clear than anyone at the school. Go to his office for clear, concise help. If looking to learn CS very well, choose Him. The downside: Hours upon hours upon hours of time is needed in order to pass wan A. You'll need to stay up late andor find LOTS of help.

Bro. Helfrich is a beacon of hope in the CS department. He is a tougher teacher, but you learn so much more from him. He doesn't just help you understand the HOW but also the WHY of coding. He literally wrote the textbook. The jokes don't ever stop coming, but neither do the assignments. We need a clone of him to teach more classes.

I liked the class. The tough parts were that you finish the homework on your own before he teaches anything about it. Also the projects become pretty difficult, although they are doable and he is pretty lenient on some things. If you put in the time (maybe 5 hours a week extra in the lab) then you've got a solid grade. Super helpful outside class:)

Loved this class. Very knowledgeable. You must do the homework before class to pass this class. It can be hard, so use a tutor. Once you do the homework he goes over it in class. I think you learn a lot. He is also hilarious. If you struggled in CS124, then i suggest trying to improve on your skills in that class.

Brother Helfrich is always cracking jokes and keeping the class interesting. I learned a lot of useful things that were necessarily in the textbook in class, and he was always around and really helpful when I needed to ask questions. You absolutely have to read the textbook to know what's going on, but that's the life of a programmer.

The assignments where kind of hard but very long. The online class felt like you dont really have a teacher but if you go and see him in his office he can really explain concepts and help with assignments.

Br. Helfrich is great. I took CS235 online from him and I didn't regret it. The assignments were long and hard but Br. Helfrich was a huge help. He is very vigilant on the class forums and is very on top of things. He grades fairly and gives great feedback. I understood exactly what I got docked for (if I was docked any points) and what I did well.

His lectures are very clear; if you don't understand what he's teaching and ask a question, he'll make sure you understand it before moving on. However, if you need him outside of class, I wouldn't recommend him. He's not very personable on a one-on-one basis, is very offish. Grading is fair, but 'meh' kind of feedback. Funny lectures though.

Brother Helfrich is a great guy. A little quirky maybe, but a great guy nonetheless. I had to work my butt off to get a good grade in this class, but it was worth it. He is a tough grader but he is also very fair. If you prove to him that youre willing to work hard, he will help you. Looking back, I really did enjoy it. Just be sure to do the work

I've taken 3 classes from Bro Helfrich, he is a great guy despite how intimidating he can be. He is how I thought college classes would be before I came to college. Agency to come to class or not, and difficult to get a good grade. I learn way more from his classes than I do other professors, but in turn, have to work way harder.

I've learned so much from Bro. Helfrich, but his classes are intense. No matter what class he is teaching, prepare to spend more time in these classes than any other. I haven't had a free weekend this whole semester.

Bro. Helfrich is a tough grader, but he gives great feedback. His lectures help a ton and he makes sure you understand before moving on. The only reason to not do well in his class is if you're lazy.

Brother Helfrich is the best!! Yes his class does take effort but its so worth it. You learn a ton of great design strategies and methodologies that will only benefit you. He is an awesome teacher and super entertaining to listen to. I would highly recommend.

Brother Helfrich is an amazing teacher, and my favorite. I learned so much from him every day. He wrote the textbook, so he knows what hes talking about. Hes also super great about helping outside of class when needed. His tough grading will prepare you for when you have an actual job.

He is my favorite professor I've ever had. Taken three classes from him and I still learn so much! He is very accessible outside of class and really wants what's best for you longterm. This includes strict but not impossible grading criteria. It is very possible to excel in his class. He is the smartest and happiest professor on campus. Take him!

Brother Helfrich is all of so much good. You will learn a ton from him if you're open. He will teach you gems you didn't even know you wanted to learn. He follows the rubric to the T. Don't be daunted by the tough problem sets in the beginning. What really matters are the milestones. If you do well on those, you'll get an A. Just communicate.

Although many of the assignments can be rather difficult, he is always willing and ready to help you to succeed. He does expect you to work for it and to stew over problems to retrain your brain to think like a programmer. You can get a 100 on most assignments without doing them perfectly and he will give you hints multiple times if you just ask.

This was how I imagined college classes to be before college. I gave it my all, and Computer Security became the best class I've ever taken. He is fair. If you prepare for class, get feedback from him before submitting a project, he will always help. Is he hard? Yes. Wil you learn more from him than any other teacher? Yes. He's also hilarious.

Brother Helfrich has been the coolest teacher I've ever had. He was truly interested in helping us succeed in real life jobs, he always shared an inspiring message before starting the class. Other good things about him: He treated us with respect, let us be ourselves while learning, and he was always available to give tons of helpful feedback.

One of the brightest, most intense teachers I've ever had. If you can keep up, you will learn so much, but it's very easy to get left in the dust and become overwhelmed. Very good at answering questions and very knowledgable. If you don't plan to come to class and put in some hours, don't take Bro Helfrich! Fantastic guy though

He is certainly a Professor that will make you question your work to see if it truly is the best answer. Thinking critically and abstractly are tools that you will need before you walk in the door. Having this will allow you to expand your scope of thought in Algorithms. Start your code design journey will a solid foundation with Helfrich!

Bro. Helfrich is a great professor. He has very strict deadlines and doesn't accept late work with the exception of extreme circumstances. It may seem unforgiving but it kept me on top of things and didn't allow me to push everything to the end of the semester. If you stay on top of HW and projects you will learn the subject and you will pass.

Awesome professor if you really want to become a software developer or engineer.

If you want to be a programmer, you might want to take classes from Brother Helfrich. If you want to be a software engineer, you should definitely take classes from Brother Helfrich. He will get inside your brain and just scramble it up, but if you put in the effort you'll learn so much. Definitely a stickler for deadlines though.

He's a really nice guy and will help you if you need it. He's strict and won't accept late work. He was difficult for me to understand. He frequently talked about subjects I hadn't yet learned. The textbook was practically incomprehensible in my opinion. Needs to be more than a 2 credit class considering how much is covered. Tough grader.

Great professor. He really wants his students to do well. He doesn't accept late work but the way his course is structured makes it really easy to submit things on time. He isn't a tough grader and he gives great feedback on what you can do better.

This is my third class with him and let me tell you, best teacher on campus. Super knowledgeable. He worked at Microsoft for years and has written the textbook for the classes! The homework is tough but fair. Also, he is super Christlike. I get more from his 5 minute devotionals than I do from my religion class and he is always willing to help us.

Brother Helfrich is my absolute favorite professor at BYU-I. This is the best professor to learn software design from. He teaches very helpful tools and design methods. I have personally recommended him to many of my peers and friends.

Professor Helfrich class are perhaps the most difficult classes I have taken. However, you will finish the course becoming the best programmer. Grading might be rough but trust me take it from him. In my opinion, he is the only professor that I have learned programming the most from.

Very competent. And is more than willing to share a wealth of resources if you talk to him outside of class. He grades hard and expects you to learn. If you want an easy A, he's not your guy. But if you want a professor who is respectable and will require you to learn, he's the man. He's my favorite professor.

Brother Helfrich has both been my most frustrating professor and my greatest professor. He was a strict grader, but because of this, I was truly able to learn more about how to become a better programmer. When it comes to the courses for the the software design certificate, there is no better professor to take it from than brother Helfrich.

He's the best professor I've had so far. He's definitely a tough grader and doesn't accept any late work, but I've learned more in my class with him than any other class. He has high expectations but his lectures are awesome and if you pay attention it's really easy to do well. I got an A on almost every project because of the lectures.

Brother Helfrich is definitely a difficult teacher, but you learn much more in his class. You have much less room for error so you are forced to be better.

Professor Helfrich is one of the most controversial professors on campus. He is smart. He knows what he is doing. He is a great person. I had an A in the class, and I love his classes. He is definetly a tough grader and very picky in the assigments, but honestly it is okay. I learned so much in all of his classes because of the feedback given.

Post-grad here. Software Engineering is known to be a challenging major. Helfrich is one of few in the department whose courses matched that reputation and actually prepared me for the industry. Occasional vague instructions and tough feedback (see other notes) are just like corporate docs and real code reviews. Demanding yet respected.