2.6
Quality3.4
Difficulty19%
Would Retake93
Reviews19%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
13
4
14
3
20
2
17
1
29
What Students Say
“I didn't pay to have students in the class lecture me about course materials”
IS440 - 2.0 rating“Avoid her at all cost”
IS300 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.47 avg changeRatings by Course
MGMT210
4.3
(3)IFSM202
3.8
(5)ECAD210
3.5
(4)IFSM300
3.3
(3)SYSANALYSIS
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
IS147
5.0
IS300
4.6
202300
4.0
IS320
4.0
IS438
4.0
Reviews (93)
Types up notes for you. Favors volunteers to do chalkboard problems.
Notes are not helpful, they are just "outline of the outline" (especially the last few chapters). Talk too much about her kids and is not knowledgable about the topics.
I took night class and her notes were helpful. Get on her good side early and she'll take care of you. Exams are essays and PERT Charts, and working out diagrams. Easy, just go to class to learn examples and get in a responsible group for the project.
No Comments
Assigns a group project the first day of class which is due the following class. Each class consists of a group presentation. Where is the teaching? I pay to be taught....
Doesnt exactly give you the most clearly explained test questions. Taking notes is important, but doesnt mean you're getting the information that will be on the test.
Very unorganized teacher. Seems like she is making stuff up on the fly sometimes. Didn't learn a thing even though I went to every class.
Wonderful teacher. Nice person, and knows what she's talking about. Very clear about what she teachs and what she expects you to know. As long as you come to class and take good notes (and study them), you will pass the class.
I've had better professors...she brings across the materials well...just make sure you jot down what she teaches and you will be fine for the exam...the project is also a no brainer...Overall I give her a B.
Took both classes with her and could not tell the difference between them.She gives identical information and identical examples on both classes.Didn't learn anything in 300!Test stupid unless work in field and can add beyond class level stuff!
Tries to be intimidating at first. If material is new to you then you learn a lot. I absolutely hated the sememster group project (due to bad group) but admittedly I learned a bit from it. Lectures can be fun. An OK teacher.
This teacher does not do her job. She scrawls illegible handwriting on the board but if you don't get every detail you won't do well on the all-essay test. She tries to be helpful but unsuccessfully. A good third of the class dropped in the first week. The only good thing is I somehow swung a B, despite C's on both tests so there must be a curve.
I took both her sys analysis classes. It seems like BS, but trust me, it's not. I've been a programmer/analyst for a few years. It comes in handy. Half of IFSM is learning how to problem solve. Her teaching seems like a bunch of retarded buzz words and theory, but that's what it's like in the real world. Get ready for it SUCKAZ!
She's an "OK teacher." It seems like she's just making up stuff at times, but she CURVES both of the tests (30% & 45% of your grade) so most people get Bs on each. The class is pretty boring, but it's not hard. Make sure you get into a "good group" for the group project (25% of your grade).
All she does is read her notes & draw diagrams. The class is easy and she is a VERY lenient grader on the tests (30% and 45% of your grade). Not as bad as you may think at first. Please get into a GOOD group for the project!
very easy, very clear group projects ,
Great Teacher, Different teaching skills but knows her stuff. Very polite and helpful.
A very fair grader. The class contains a lot of opinions and group project is easy and fun. Go to class and you will do well.
Very boring teacher, needs to be teaching high school rather than college. Handwriting is hard to read, pay close attention when she gives notes - otherwise you'll get lost.
She gives very boring lectures and a pretty stupid project, which she said a lot of students enjoyed but that was absolutely not the truth. Not helpful at all.
The class is Very boring :( hated the group project and homeworks are pretty dumb.
She knows her stuff but she is a very boring lecturer and does not bring much fun to the class. Tests are hard, there are only 2 of them and both contain about 10 chapters of information, be prepared to study your butt off if taking this course.
No need for text book. Really wants students to succeed. Tests are rather easy. Attendance is extremely helpful. One semester long group project- kind of sucks but plenty of time is given
very easy course! She hands out all of the notes for the course, just read them and you're golden. Do not buy the book, you will never open it. She gives easy exams, and no final. There is a group project that she assigns at the beg of semester. It is VERY easy. She is funny and really helpful too
One of the worst IS teacher.
prof Kahl is the worst instructor i've ever had. She didnt even bother showing up 4 class half the time, and when she did she was usually late. Didnt learn anything. Subjective grader. Lazy. Makes mistakes on her tests. Lies about having posted stuff online and sending us emails. Unreachable by phone/email. Completely unproffesional.
This class required more studying than any other class I took this semester, but was by far the least useful. She's a nice teacher, but her tests are really hard considering the essay questions are random and are about 60% of the grade. Her classes consist of taking notes from her notes. It's very important to write down everything.
Prof. Kahl is a sweet lady, and will tell you exactly what to do to get an A. The course consists of 3 exams and a group project. The exams are directly based off of her lecture slides so DO NOT BUY THE BOOK! You'll never open it. She is a list person, so be prepared for some heavy memorization for the tests. Overall, not too hard for the 400 level
no need to buy the book even though she tells you that you'll need it. the format of the tests changed, but either way you need to memorize a lot. She is very helpful and just study the power points. our last test was all multiple choice and T/F so i don't know if she'll keep it that way.
I have had Prof.Kahl for IS 202 and MGMT 210. This teacher is very clueless. She reads straight from the slides and usually has alot of time left. So she makes up dumb activities to do. The project is very boring and is basically a time filler. Honestly she needs some new teaching techniques and a new curriculum.
She takes a bit of getting used to. She likes to do pointless activities sometimes but sometimes they help (quite a few are things you do directly on the exam!). The exams themselves are from from her lectures/slides. If you are a borderline grade like me, she'll bump you up for attending! DO NOT BUY THE BOOK IF YOU ATTEND CLASS AND TAKE NOTES.
This professor is awesome. She is the easiest professor ever. You don't need the book! Don't buy it. Also, you can A's the exams by studying the slides and the notes taken in class of things she write on the board. I hope she is the same way for IS440.
The silver fox is the easiest teacher i have ever had at umbc. take the easy a.
THE VERY BEST PROFESSOR THERE IS IN Info Sys. This is the 2nd time I had her (IS303) and she is awesome. Easy A if you study the slides for the exams because the book isn't needed.
Very simple instruction. Class instruction is somewhat boring when she's only teaching from the PowerPoints. Study the PowerPoints PRIMARILY, but still read the book. The tests are EASY. 20 MC and 2 essay questions (usually). The semester long project requires WORK! Make sure you have a good team and you got an easy A. I ashamed I didn't. Good luck
Professor Kahl is very nice. She reads directly from the slides, and you need to ask her questions to clarify. No need for the book. She also either takes forever to answer emails or doesn't reply at all.
She's not the best but she's not the worst. You don't really need the book. The info on the tests come straight from the PowerPoint's and class discussions. Make sure you ask any questions that you have in class because she's really bad about responding to emails. Overall, she's not a bad professor. I would recommend her.
Didn't learn anything in this class. Would not take a class with her again. Do not use your phone in class or she will yell at you, and she is looking. Don't buy the book, it's all from the powerpoints. Her tests have you apply what you learned to real-life examples, so you have to make sure you understand everything or can BS pretty well.
Review materials for tests are not consistent with actual tests. Some material that is on reviews are not on tests, and material not discussed in review are on tests. Be ready to actually look at the book for specific details on lectures from now on, they were on the tests. If you even look up from your test, she will give you a warning.
Be prepare if you take her class. She reads directly from the slides. There are three tests and make up the major portion of the grades. The test is quite hard but if you are study and well prepare then you should be ok. Just the reminder, good luck :)
Tests are a major portion of the grade. It you want an A or B don't screw up on the tests. For group projects divide it up and make sure everyone actively participates, you will have better deliverable if everyone participates. No extra credit. Attendance matters if your grade is borderline. Class is boring so bring a pillow, jk.
Professor Kahl is a very difficult professor. Either you have it her way or its the highway. Teaches directly from slides and slides are directly from book... Basically paying her to read the book to you. She is insanely strict for no reason and honestly seems like she hates her job. Most likely because she is an adjunct professor.
I am an average B student and this class is honestly not that bad, but the professor makes it harder than it really is. For exam we weren't even allowed to look up because she would assume we were cheating... Is it wrong for me to look up just to think. Just because you look up doesn't mean you're cheating... Avoid her at all cost. Not worth it.
Do yourself a favor. DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. On the day of the exam she decides to send an email out to everyone to bring a folder to class as a divider to ensure nobody cheats! Are we in middle school?? This is ridiculous!
She obviously doesnt care about this class. If she was a good professor she would know the material. Instead she reads word for word notes that she has straight from the book. Drones and boring. Will tell you words and concepts, but will not define or go in depth. She said exams wont be tricky. I studied very hard as a 3.4 student.I found it tricky
Do not take her. Very hard grader. Barely teaches. All lectures are from powerpoint...
Terrible professor. She only reads off the slides. Expects students to read the chapters but exams are 100% based off her slides. She does give points back for any questions that majority of the class gets wrong on.
Lecture slides and whatever little actual "teaching" she does will not help with tests. Be ready to actually look (read: READ) at the book for specific details on lecture slides, they were on the tests. Very anal personality, but a necessary evil to BTA majors as the only professor for IS 202 and IS 440 during Fall and Spring semesters.
Avoid at all costs, seriously. Her lectures are about 20 slides long each, and she makes it take up the whole 2.5 hour class period. Her lectures are her talking without actually saying or explaining anything. Tests are insanely hard and the group project is graded like a grad level class. Thinks she's God's gift to the Earth.
Kahl is a very boring professor, She does not use blackboard(strictly email only), her lectures are all just reading the power points, she doesn't add any input besides stupid stories. Always takes attendance so definitely show up. Overall, she's not that bad in comparison to the other professors. just go to class, study for the exams and your good
She reads directly from the slides and does not input anything meaningful. She makes the class much harder than it has to be. Read the book yourself in order to do well on test, her lectures do not prepare students for whats on the test. Do well on the group project,it will help your grade. It sucks that shes the only teacher for IS 202,440.
her exams too hard and everyone failed the first exam because she does give a study guide. i managed to get a B by getting a 75 on first exam and A on the second exam.
I didn't pay to have students in the class lecture me about course materials.
3 exams, everything is off of the ppts. MEMORIZE the ppt, she loves lists. All her exams are just list stuff & compare to a real topic, so if there is a list make sure you know it. Shes a strict grader & there is group work so make sure you have a good group. Avoid if possible-doesnt teach, just reads off ppts. Attendance is mandatory, but useless.
Worst professor ever. DO NOT TAKE!!!
Course materials include 3 exams, which mostly consist of free responses that of potential ones will be given in class, 2 projects, and 5 assignments. She gives lectures only for chapters 1-4. Remaining chapter lectures are given by the groups of students through presentations, as part of their current event projects. Grade A is fairly attainable.
It's so ironic how she is so strict on plagiarism when she copies the PPT slides online. Overall, she is a great professor. Very boring class, you cannot use electronics at all in class- she will call you out for it. lecture heavy and tough grader. Study and do your work, getting A is very attainable. Choose group members wisely as well.
After reading the reviews on here, I was tempted to drop her class after the first day. Ms Kahl is not a hard professor but you have do your work. She is really nice and easy going. I am glad I didn't drop her class because the class is easy if you do your work. You have to read the book to do well on the tests. pick good group members. NO FINAL.
I think she's a great teacher, nothing like the reviews I initially read. People are paying so much for college that I think they want to be handed a grade these days, but she simply expects you to give her class a fair amount of effort and her expectations aren't unreasonable. The book helped me, I aced the last two test. Just study & give a care.
Most challenging class for BTA majors. I received an A but had to work very hard. The exams consists of MC, T/F, and a max of 3 open response questions. The diagrams she works through on the board are always the free response questions. If you want to get an A, go to every single class, understand the diagrams, and READ THE BOOK.
This class is much easier than her 202 class. Whatever she has on the board will be the free response on the exams. Make sure you read the textbook if you want an A. Take the group project work very seriously because she is a tough grader. Also, chose a good group because you will be working with them a lot throughout the whole semester.
Lots of work. Take the group project seriously because is 20% of your grade. She is not a bad professor but she is not the best either. Make sure you read the book and take notes.
She is an okay professor, goes off topic too much. Exam reviews are pointless, they will not help. A lot of work and grades aren't posted online so good luck staying the in the dark till they are submitted to the office. You will have to buy a book and read it, her ppts are just bullets, which she just simply repeats during exam reviews :)
she is a very challenging teacher, she is old and petty, she checks your hats, arms, book bags before exams. she is a very tough teacher, and will fail for 1% if needed too. don't take her and you will thank me. take her and you will regret it
FEW examples of materials taught, that end up being on the test. Powerpoint uses detail to a minimum. I suggest communicating with her after class for extra help AND using your group for studying. PAY ATTENTION and stay on track. You'll need to do research on the side for all the topics on the powerpoint to learn it all.
Dont take her class. She thinks that students are only taking her class in the school and give them a lot of work to do. During test if you move your to stretch she will fail you. She also checks your hats, shoes, clothes to make sure you are not cheating. You want to fail so definitely take this class.
This course was not designed to be an easy A however Prof. Kahl will help you out if you truly put the effort in your studies for this class. Ask as many questions as needed because the group project is pretty much like a final exam. Choose your group members wisely. Prof. Kahl knows who is a good student or not. Study well and you'll pass.
DO NOT TAKE! SHE LITERALLY DOESN'T UPLOAD GRADES AT ALL SO BE PREPARED TO BE IN THE UNTIL IT'S POSTED NY THE END OF THE SEMESTER ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT.
Margaret Kahl is hands down one of the rudest professors you will have the displeasure of attending class with at UMBC. She does not curve exams or final grades, late submissions are not allowed, be prepared to get hit with her constant sarcasm, do not miss any homework/assignments, and use textbook as a studyguide bc her Powerpoints are worthless.
You got to pay attention in lectures. You got to attended it can boost your grade at the end. You have a group project, which sucks, but make sure you organize the group and take charge for a good grade Three test, ten homeworks, paper, group proposal-project. Theres deadlines for the group project so its not the bad just stay on top. Good class
So the class isn't that difficult, but Professor Kahl made it a lot harder than it needed to be. The group project is a systems analysis and technical proposal of a real company - requiring you to meet with managers and observe the company - but this was made difficult with Covid. She's not very lenient and lectures are boring. Read the book!
The class is similar to IS 300. Stay away from the 3 hr lectures, they're just a drag. The prof tries to make it entertaining with a few stories and real-world examples. The 2nd exam is normally the hardest but was changed due to COVID. The virus also made the group project harder. You'll need to interview & find improvements for a real business.
I had Professor Kahl for both IS 202 and IS 440. I really like her as a Professor and as a person. Very nice and enjoyable to talk to. Group projects was really difficult because group members were never on the same page. The course is basically a capstone course, so the material itself is not difficult, the group projects make the course difficult
she made it the most difficult class i've taken at umbc. avoid her if you do not want to have to retake the class again or have a bad experience with online classes. i was taking about 26 credits and i passed all 23 except hers, despite everything being online, & some having the same reqs. as her class. i dont recommend.
This was my experience in her online class. Material is easy, but don't try to wing it. You have to attend lecture; sometimes she rambles and sometimes there's actual information. Hope for a good group that works and talks to each other, for the project, so it isn't on a single person to do the entire project. Good luck, you're on your own.
Kahls teaching style can be described as seamlessly switching between speeding through very brief notes and ranting in an attempt to teach material, but falling short of successful. She says there wont be trick questions, but there will be. She includes new info on tests and is also poor at responding to emails. Her grade book is never correct.
Professor Kahl would try her best to explain your questions if you ask. The way she set up this class is very hard to get good grades. Pray for that you have nice teammates, if they dont work, and you dont want to do everything all yourself, you fail the project. Study the slides for the Exams. Grading system is a mess.
Lectures are unnecessarily complicated but the textbook/material is usually pretty easy to understand and not bad. Her powerpoints will let you know which sections to skip. Hope you get a good group for the group project. She teaches like we already know what she's talking about (even though we haven't learned it yet) but is a nice person.
I took her class virtually in Spr2020. I had a hard time finding out who my groupmates were via BlackBoard and email. Then when I found out, the "leader" kicked me out of the group instead of trying to reach out to me in the first place! Prof didn't help at all, was unresponsive to emails, and didn't even grade my deliverables without a team!
It's just not worth it.
3 Exams worth 60% of your grades / Group project was 30% The rest is just showing up and doing small assignments. If there was a different professor, I wouldve taken them instead.
I think she's an okay professor, personally not my favorite. There's 3 exams and a group project that lasts throughout the whole semester. Exams are hard so make sure you take the time to study!!! She will call you on the spot to participate and if you don't know the answer, she'll make it seem like your stupid for not knowing.
Please do not take her class. She is a very mean-spirited teacher who will not help you at all. Lectures are all over the place. Will lecture about everything but what you need to pass the test. If it is between her and not taking the course. Plan to take it next semester or during the summer.
I had her for IS 202 in the fall of 2022, She was and is hands down the worse professor I have ever dealt with. She would have a "Study session" for the exams that would go over the PPT and then have completely different questions on the exam DO NOT TAKE, AVOID AT ALL COST, if you value your mental health.
Her teaching style is boring and confusing. She never explains anything clearly including lecture, group project, and exams. You have to basically memorize her incoherent lectures in order to pass the exams (1st exam was 100 q/1 hr). Please choose another professor if you can for this class.
Professor Kahl is not a good professor. She is passive-aggressive and her teaching style will not help you learn anything. Some exams contained information that we had not learned which made the exams difficult. She grades the group project deliverables harshly and doesn't submit grades until the end of the semester. Don't recommend her.
truly a shame that a fascinating class is being taught by an arrogant professor. I was very excited to take this class but from the very beginning, she was very passive-aggressive and made herself unapproachable. I would have better luck teaching myself the content than going to her office hours just to be met with such a condescending demeanor.
All graded at the end of the semester, even after the semester ends. Rubric is kinda vague and impossible to gain points back. Don't know what your grade is. The project determines the whole thing. Hard to get useful feedback on each part of the project before the grading is done, so theres no way to fix it.
She is horrible. You can read the book and attend every class and still fail exams. Her power points are useless and exam questions don't even match them. If you're BTA it's honestly one of the hardest courses you'll take, try to read the book to semi understand what is going on in the class
Honestly the worst Information Systems professor I have ever had. Everyone fails her exams. She is horrible at putting grades in. You never know what your grades are because she doesn't input them in. The whole class fails exams but she curves them. If you have to take this class for your major beware and know it's going to be awful for IS 202
The majority of your grade is earned on three exams; the rest is the group project. The hardest part of this class is finding companies to work with to get the needed information for your semester-long project. As long as you can find the companies needed and study for the exams, you should be ok.
Class is incredibly difficult to focus on and actually attend, she spends a full hour and 15 mins explaining something that could be explained in maybe 20 mins. Assignments are incredibly confusing to complete, expectations are unclear, you will hunt through five different files to piece together the expectations for a basic homework assignment.
I was nervous for this class after seeing the reviews on here but it ended up being my highest grade this semester. All you need is minimal effort to do well. Tests were straightforward and fully multiple choice, the answers lined up well with the powerpoints. Group project can be rough with others, so take charge. Very little and easy homework.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.47 avg changeRatings by Course
MGMT210
4.3
(3)IFSM202
3.8
(5)ECAD210
3.5
(4)IFSM300
3.3
(3)SYSANALYSIS
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
IS147
5.0
IS300
4.6
202300
4.0
IS320
4.0
IS438
4.0