No final or midterm, 3 multiple choice exams and 10 hw assignments. Can email or call him anytime for help. He's an easy A. Toughest part is visual basic and if you go to class he makes that clear and shows you how to do hw assignments.

Very easy, but you actually learn. Very willing to help and assist you. Loves what he does, seems a little dorky at first, but is a really cool guy. Lectures are the key to passing the class, and are very easy to understand.

Great teacher! He is the essence of fun.. Now you know that any computer class is extremely boring however he tries sooo hard to make it fun and does a great job at it! Definently worth taking!

Took the class recently and got a B, because I missed one assignment. He is a great teacher and is very interesting. The programming logic assignments were very easy but tedious. Great teacher.

Dr. Kurtz is a great instructor. He's very knowledgeable and helpful, though sometimes seems confused by our "dumb" questions. Completing the homework assignments in time, seems to be the key to getting a good grade. He often applies real-life examples to his lectures, which make them interesting.

Though he is not the most exciting or entertaining lecturer, Professor Kurtz explains the material clearly and in an organized fashion. True, he does need to refer to his notes to answer most HW questions, but I would expect that from any part-time teacher. Work hard and do the HW and you should have no problem getting an A or B.

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This class is for people who have never seen computers before. He was very knowledgeable about many other topics and was willing to chat about interesting work experiences that he had after class. Great teacher, nice dude.

Keith Kurtz is a terrific teacher! I don't know where these negative comments are coming from. First of all, he has a BS in engineering and an MBA from USC. He worked for Hughes aircraft in the satellite division for many years and now is the webmaster for the city of Santa Monica. He really knows his stuff, and could be a standup comic!

Professor Kurtz is the coolest instructor! His lectures are entertaining and informative. He is unambiguous with what he expects of his students and is extremely available to assist with HW and questions. Prof. Kurtz gave me a superior understanding / appreciation for computer programming and I am excited to take more of his classes in the future.

Professor Kurtz is the coolest instructor! His lectures are entertaining and informative. He is unambiguous with what he expects of his students and is extremely available to assist with HW and questions. Prof. Kurtz gave me a superior understanding / appreciation for computer programming and I am excited to take more of his classes in the future.

Professor Kurtz is the coolest instructor! His lectures are entertaining and informative. He is unambiguous with what he expects of his students and is extremely available to assist with HW and questions. Prof. Kurtz gave me a superior understanding / appreciation for computer programming and I am excited to take more of his classes in the future.

Course subject is very complicated, but is extremely well organized. Keith Kurtz has great experience in the area, which makes the class interesting for those who care. Real challenge for people with fried brains after full day at work is his organization of midterms - 1.5h only... I just couldn't finish them on time. Compensated with final, got A.

He is an odd person but by far one of the best at TEACHING a complex subject like this. Do the homework, study the notes, study the exam reviews and you will pass this course no problem. With this teacher taught more courses!!!

Hes a great teacher, I only struggled in the class a little because Im not the smartest when it comes to computers and stuff but I did learn alot. He makes everything that he lectures clear and all the assignments are very well organized. I couldn't ask for a better teacher, hes also not rude and full of helpful information open to answer questions

Fair teacher.

He is a very objective grader and somewhat helpful. Class participation is not part of the grade but he does check attendance. Some of materials he uses seem a little dated but he does want students to do well. He provides updated sheets with your grade progress in class and notes about your mistakes. He agreed to write a transfer reference for me.

Professor Kurtz is a great teacher, he lectures off of powerpoints and bases the tests on them, so showing up is key plus attendance earns you points. The hw assignments are straight forward. You just have to pay attention to the material being lectured!! I recommend this professor!

Monotonous and boring. 3 hours with him were insane...just remember that you don t need to take cis 1 to major in computer science. take cs 3!!! hes nice but boring.

He does a good job of explaining a complex subject. He will go over problems with you before/after class if you don't understand the material. Do the homework and reading and the tests are not so hard.

Kurtz is Santa Monica city employee with a long background in the tech industry. He makes good use of eCompanion, and includes review packets for all his lectures so that you can be prepared for the tests. I never actually needed the textbook, but I had experience in CompSci. I'd recommend him to anyone.

Are you majoring in CS? Well, take him! He will provide you with real life experiences. Easy tests! Take him, you won't regret it.

Highly recommend this Prof for CS9A - Very clear lectures, follows text and samples from book. Homework requires software installation of MS Project. Homework straight from textbook, All tests are open book but can be a little tricky. All in all a very good course taught by a very knowledgeable prof. He works as a Systems Analyst for Santa Monica

Professor Kurtz is top notch teacher, one of the few who has actually worked in the field he is teaching. You should really read the book for the basics, but aside from that Professor does many problems for you to understand. He is clear with what he wants you to know, and gives a study guide. I really enjoyed this class and I learned a lot.

Well all the reviews here for CS42, I guess they didn't do assignments. Mr Kurtz gives fluent lecture and if u study assignments, easy A. The tests are WHOLLY based on the assignments. For me I only studied assignments for like 2-3 times and got 100% in the exam. He provides answers as well so lecture+assignments (max 10 questions), then easy A

Professor Kurtz has real-life work experience related to this topic which makes him uniquely suited to teach it. Every class session matters to build you up to the end. His lectures were well-organized and clear. You MUST pay attention to the lectures and do the assignments or you will not pass the tests. This was a worthwhile and interesting class

The book is not required as he only covers the important material. Your grade is 20% homework and 80% exams, which are 2 midterms and a final. VERY clear lectures that do cover a lot of material. The tests are focused solely on the homework with slight variations: if you understand the material, it's an easy A. Not an easy class, so pay attention.

I really enjoyed taking Professor Kurtz' class. He seemed to really enjoy teaching and he was very passionate about the subject. I really enjoyed his stories about working in the industry over the years. For an Intro class I also got a really good Visual Basic foundation that has helped me out in other classes.

As long as you have a passion and motivation for learning how to write a basic code and knowledge on the information system, you will be fine with his lecture. For a few first chapters of this class, except for the cloud computing part, you could find the class boring. So, I would suggest someones who are self-motivated to take his class.

Professor Kurtz cares about students' progress; extra practice problems were provided for the second midterm in CS42 after students asked him. I found him helpful and responsive over email. Exams are similar to the HW and said additional practice -- for sure doable if you go thru & understand the homework problems, which he provides solutions for.

Professor Kurtz is a gem of a teacher who anyone in computer science is lucky to take. His background is impressive and varied which provides for a wealth of knowledge for those looking to get into the field. For an intro class, Professor Kurtz did a fantastic job creating a sense of wonder instead of the monotony that intro courses can be.

My class is fully online. I appreciate the way that he designs his course on the site. Though there is required reading, he provides free materials. He posts and emails often. Somehow, it does feel like he is still making a connection with us. I also appreciate that we are doing hands on projects. I would definitely take one of his classes again.

Professor Kurtz was an awesome professor, he organized the class extremely well and had great assignments. I had a problem with my final exam so I just called his phone number, and we chatted for a bit! Very nice guy, he was very warm and friendly while also providing a great introductory environment to CS.

Professor Kurtz has led one of the best classes at SMC in which I have taken. His courses are extremely well structured and he is very considerate when it comes to grading and making rearrangements to suit your schedule and needs. Assignments are easy, but very insightful and provide you with all the knowledge you need to succeed in CS3. 10/10

Kurtz is great he took time for me to have a personal zoom meeting to help me while he was on vacation! Not only this but he was always very happy to help out. He's a nice guy, the curriculum was a difficult for me but I asked him for help and I took the time to learn and got an A.

It was very easy to self study for this class. He organized his class very neatly into modules with relevant reading assignments, homework, homework solutions, slideshows, and notes in them. He also put up his Zoom lectures so you can download them. The lectures were great, he explained the topics very thoroughly.

I feel real fortunate he was my first professor coming back to school after 10 years. I found myself struggling at times with the material (I work 60+ hours, didn't devote enough time, not his fault) and Kurtz gave me all the help I needed. HE MADE A 1 ON 1 ZOOM SESSION WHILE ON VACATION. Most professors stick to office hours, not him. Great class.

Professor Kurtz was very nice and approachable. His introduction class was an excellent way to dip your toes into the Computer Science. The homework was always manageable and his night class was great for someone who was a returning student. Definitely recommend for someone just interested in learning something new.

Professor Kurtz was absolutely amazing! Very great at teaching and will answer your question clearly and his lectures were understanding. If you get Professor Kurtz for any CS class, you are good to go.

That was a wonderful introduction to computing. The professor was easily accessible by email and answered my questions to give a great understanding of the topic.

I had no knowledge of computer science at all and was very nervous going into his course, but Professor Kurtz's course made it very simple and enjoyable to learn about it. He gives great feedback, has lectures that are easy to follow, and the course is just flat-out fun. I highly recommend you take his course!

Loved this class! Professor Kurtz has clear grading criteria and very accessible outside class, replies to emails quickly. There was a lot of reading for my class, but all that information was clear and useful. Very easy-to-understand grading, and participation in discussions matters a lot, but chill in terms of late work overall.

very great professor, responds quickly to emails outside the class, has understandable grading criteria. class was pretty easy overall, very clear instructions. important that u participate in class discussions. prepare to read a lot of information.

Very passionate about the subject. He preps you well, provides everything you need to know to do well on the exams. No curveballs. Drops absolute knowledge bombs and draws from his own experience in industry to show you why the things you're learning pertain to applications in the world. A certified G.

I did not enjoy the subject at all; however I cannot say anything bad about him or his class. Everything is very organized, and he is a good lecturer. Objectively speaking, excellent professor and best option for any CS class. He's very responsive and caring, so you'll never have a bad time in his class. Overall, a must even if you don't enjoy CS.

Great teacher and I learned a lot. He was also very accessible outside of class, and when I was having issues with certain code he was ready to set up saturday zooms to help out. Great guy.

If you study hard, You will definitely get an A. Good professor, Gives good feedback.

The class is very tough, but professor Kurtz is a good instructor. For the most part he teaches you on example problems so you understand the system and do it by yourself after. The textbook he tells you to buy is not actually useful. You will be able to learn everything from canvas notes. This way it is actually more clear to understand.

Good teacher, the material is difficult, but he explains it well; he also provides all the answers to the homework, so once you've finished your own attempt, you can see the correct way to attempt each problem, which is very helpful.

This class material is hard. Kurtz is a good guy and a good professor. But he does tend to zoom through new topics lightning fast without much time to introduce topics. So you need to read & maybe watch youtube videos before lecture so you understand it and can follow along when Kurtz goes through a ton of problems. Overall good class, organized

Great professor, very clear instruction. He offers recorded lectures and very concise study material. I wish every instructor was like this one.

Professor Kurtz is a great teacher. He really knows all about digital logic and walks you through the material needed for success in the course. You must do the work in order to pass the midterms and final.

I was worried before because of the reviews that were written here. However, it wasn't that bad. His lectures might seem fast, but if you ask questions, he makes sure you can perfectly understand. Also, the assignments help a lot for the test. If you know and understand how to do the assignments, you'll get an A for the test.

Sorry but all of the people who gave 1 stars have a skill issue. Prof Kurtz is the ideal teacher I would have wanted for this class. Grades quickly, no suprises on the exam, always does midterm/finals review, has video solutions for every single problem on the homeworks. I learned a lot in this class and would have it no other way.

Phenomenal professor. I wish I could take him for all classes. He will find any opportunity to help you raise your grade. I have no idea why anyone would rate him poorly. I failed the first exam and managed to raise my find grade to a B with 97 on the final exam thanks to him.

One of the best computer science professors! Lectures are on Zoom and recorded for easy review, especially before exams. He grades quickly and the Canvas course is well-organized with fun, relevant weekly videos and announcements. With extensive industry experience, he also shares many insightful stories.

Good easy class during the summer if you're good at following directions. Time consuming for readings, but professor is very responsive and uploads his own videos for some modules instead of relying on other sources. Midterm/Final are each ~20% of class--discussions, quizzes, and some assignments are the rest.

Amazing Professor! Although there were limited examples and practice problems, I feel like this allowed me to retain information better and become more familiar with concepts. Be sure to do the practice exams because the time given is short. The exams are easy and similar to the homework. He even rounded my grade from 88% to an A!