He is a very good teacher. I enjoyed his class and would highly recommend him to anyone who has to take this computer science class and is not a computer science major. He makes the material interesting and easy to get through.

i really liked professor fontenot! he is such a funny guy to have for a class. I hate computers but i still really liked his class because he is so fun. its a pretty easy grade too!

awesome professor! easy class too!

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He makes C++ interesting, but you'll never miss a class because he is too funny

Great teacher, funny, nice to joke around with. Still kinda acts like a college kid but a great teacher

he's super nice and funny. very easy.

Knows his stuff. Very helpful.

He is very helpful. He reminds us what being an engineer is all about and makes you like it. The class is not hard if you pay attention and do not procrastinate on the programs. Even if you do, its still good.

He's the best teacher at SMU.

Great guy and fun lectures. Great example of how every college prof. should be.

Great professor, knows what he's talking about and tries his best to help you learn. Great guy overall. I would take another course with him, if he taught it.

Fontenot's a great guy and a terrific teacher, but his class was really hard! He expects a lot from you, but you do learn a lot. I worked harder and stressed out more in his class than I did any other last semester! I'm not a CSE major, but most of the other students were. It came really easy for them, but really hard for me.

An engaging lecturer, although a harsh grader. Very involved.

I have had a few classes with him now, he treats you as an adult and expects you to work without a lot of guidance as such. His classes aren't easy but he'll teach you more than most professors and keep you interested most of the way. A perfect college professor.

Fontenot is a really good teacher. When it comes to 1341 all of the teachers are really good but I guarantee you will have the most fun with Fontenot and learn the most!!!

Fontenot is a great professor. He was able to explain the material in a clear and fun way. He establishes a friendship with his students that make his class all the more enjoyable. I highly recommend taking any of his courses, just be prepared to work .

Awesome teacher, had a blast learning from him because he keeps it interesting. Definitely take his class.

Very very good professor! There is lots of work but it is work that is going to get you ready for industry. And he goes way out of his way to help his students. Over all a very good professor. Take his classes!

I have never had a professor like Fontenot, in a good way. He will make you work, but he will do everything he can to make sure you understand the material. And with cse, thats what is most important. Also, one of the best senses of humor i have seen in a professor.

Great professor but you will have no life if you take his classes especially data structures NO LIFE AT ALL

It's gonna be a struggle, but plan lots of time for the homework and you'll do fine. Get his phone number, he's helpful over text.

This is it, folks. The weed-out class of the Computer Science degree plan. This is a difficult class, which is exactly why year after year, Fontenot teaches it. He is a fantastic professor - he makes you think about difficult problems and challenges you to come up with the best solution. Also, DON'T YAWN IN CLASS OR "FRAT SNAP", HE WILL MURDER YOU.

He is one of the best professors at SMU. You will actually learn in this class, and get this, without a BOOK! GASP! He prepares you for the industry and will force you to think. He makes you better. It won't be easy (final project will make you cry) but you'll be thankful later.

He is the professor to take if you want to be ready for a real job! His projects will help you learn a lot. Be prepared to learn on your own and put in the extra effort. The TAs are great and are always willing to help. Final project is something that really impressed every employer I've interviewed with. Put in the extra effort and you'll succeed.

Had him some time ago! He will make sure that you're completely invested in getting a CS degree. I've talked about his final project at every interview I've been to. I've landed 2 internships & a permanent job coz of this class. He won't just teach you the material, you'll learn how to think and survive. He'll ready you for an actual job! Love him

Professor Fontenot is maybe the best professor at SMU. His class is hard and will challenge you no matter your CSE skill level. He has a way of pushing you to your limits but not past them, and can do it for all ranges of skill levels. A truly amazing professor.

Fontenot is a great professor who will actually teach you and make sure you understand the material before moving on. He is fair, but this is a difficult class. Granted, it would be a lot worse if it was with a poor professor. Fontenot is very fair, but you do have to put in the work. This is NOT a blow off class. He is also very entertaining.

Fontenot is one of the best professors I have ever had. He really cares about how the students are doing. With that being said, you need to be in class every day as he will remember who you are and where you sit. He is always bringing energy to classes. However, with all of this being said, there is ALOT of work every week that needs to be done.

You need to work hard for this class but Fontenot is funny and teaches concepts well. He can be intimidating and a bit rude to students who don't put in the work but he does care and spends hours debugging students' code. Most interesting and personable prof I have had for computer science.

Be ready to code. This class is sooo time consuming. Youll spend hours debugging code. Make use of the TAs and prof. Grading was a bit unfair on programs. Hes an alright professor but gets off topic sometimes. He tries to throw a few jokes here and there. Shows little to no sympathy. Go to class, work on the programs, keep up and youll pass.

So here's the deal. This class is HARD and TIME consuming. Start the projects the first day or you will suffer! I was terrified at first but when I put in the work and went to see him if I was confused, it paid off in the end. You learn so much new material so quickly its crazy! Amazing class and will really shape you well for the real world.

I took him for Java and he made the class enjoyable and interesting with his examples and lectures. Make sure to go to class so he likes you and don't sleep/ yawn. Make sure to do the lab projects so you actually learn the material.

Here's the thing - Fontenot is one of the professors that, if you're a comp sci, you'll have to take him for a few semesters. Get on his good side. Don't sleep in class or act like you already know the material. Not all TAs are super helpful, but the internet exists. Data Structures is a difficult course, but I have seen improvement in my code.

This class is designed to be challenged. From my experience, the projects aren't hard but just time consuming. You can find most of the help online so use google and stackoverflow wisely. I don't understand why some people here hate Fontenot. The fact is that he might judge you but he does care about every CSE student.

KNW is by far one of the most difficult and time consuming classes at SMU. But if you do the class right and met frequently and work diligently your team will succeed. Fontenot was strict and loose at times so get on his good side.

Fontenot is a fair instructor that is concerned with his students actually learning the material. I have personally taken him for Java, C++, and for Data Structures. If you engage, pay attention, and put in the work, you will get a good grade. There's often a moderately heavy workload, so procrastinate or slack off and you're not gonna do well.

Dr. F is has high expectations for his students, and has no problem asking you if he should fail you come final presentation time. Put in the hours to avoid this at all costs. His lectures are great, and he is usually quite witty. If you're going to fall asleep in his class, probably best to just not go.

Dr F was my prof for KNW and Data structures, both of which are the hardest classes I have taken at SMU. Fontenot has been the best professor throughout both classes. I can walk into his office and debug code with him without a meeting, talk about future classes, etc.. Best part about him though is how much he cares for students and their success.

I have some gripes with Fontenot, but his strengths really shine. His lectures are good (if a bit slow/distracted), however his projects are the real deal (esp. in 2341). They will seriously challenge you and make you much better at coding. PUT HIS FINAL SEARCH ENGINE PROJECT ON YOUR RESUME!! Classes demand your time and effort, but its worth it.

took him for Algorithms and Data structures. The whole class is project-based in both of them. He will point you in the right direction and push you to do independent research. Some would say he is the great filter. He separates the wheat from the chaff. Many people complain about him, but it's just because they're bad. He's a force of Nature

Dr. Fontenot's data structures class is certainly time consuming, however I dont agree with many of the other reviews that the class is overly difficult. If you attend lectures, pay attention and take good notes you will have all the tools needed to succeed. Just make sure to be proactive in starting the projects as they can be very time intensive

I have heard such scary things about this class. It all really came down to who was willing to put in the time and speak up/ask questions. If you get on top of your work when it is assigned and ask questions when you need help, you will be absolutely fine. I ended up doing well in this class, as I had been mentally prepared to get ahead and it paid

Best professor you can take. He gets a lot of heat because he's the face of the CS department which separates those who are serious from those who aren't and are simply attracted to the salary of a software engineer. This professor is hard because he cares about you. If he didn't care he wouldn't waste his effort. You better grind if in his class.

Dr Fontenot is my favorite at SMU so far! Although the class is difficult but his lectures are funny and informative. The projects are difficult but doable if you work on them a little each day. Dr Fontenot and the TAs were always available to help. I wish that I could have Dr Fontenot teach all of my CS courses!

Absolutely love Dr. F! Took Data structures over the summer. Really intense and fast paced but he is understanding, sets reasonable deadlines and very accessible outside of class (before 8 pm). Passionate in what he does and genuinely wants his students to learn. Graded on 3 coding projects, fine project, midterm and final oral interview

Tough but understanding

Fontenot is so, so tough, but he will likely be the reason I get a job in comp sci. I've already used skills from class projects on independent projects. He's not great at explaining things during class, but he's incredibly helpful/accessible outside of class. I would highly recommend meeting up with him outside class at least once.

Best CS professor by far! Great lectures and really funny. Classes are project heavy and each one is pretty challenging but you learn so much doing them. Also a fair grader and understands his projects aren't easy

Ask him if your program is terse enough.

Amazing Professor, sad to see him leave for northeastern. Also, make sure you refer to destructors as deconstructors in his class.

Professor Fontenot is one of the few I've had in college that have genuinely inspired me. He is very experienced in all things academia and will help you to the extent that you help yourself. I pent roughly 8-10 hrs a day working on his projects over summer, including class time. I left his class so much more confident in my own ability.

Dr. Fontenot is an incredibly lovely man. His version of OOD is significantly easier and more fun than any other professor's version. He knows this, so he can be snarky when students still complain endlessly about the course difficulty. I feel incredibly lucky to have had him as a professor. Would recommend.

Dr. Fontenot rewrote the Object Oriented Design course to teach more practical real world skills and, in my opinion, did an excellent job. He is very helpful and teaches things that matter in industry and I would definitely take more of his classes.

Very challenging but great prof. I definitely accelerated my knowledge a ton, just expect summer cs3500 to be a full-time job. He constantly sought feedback about how assignments were, and made modifications as we went along often times loosening requirements to reduce stress. That being said, this class was absolutely worth taking with Fontenot

Not sure what all this hate is for Fontenot. When I had him for Data Structures at SMU, I learned a ton. It was a lot of work, but you just had to put in the time. If you want to learn useful knowledge, take his classes

Not bad, but you need to spend a lot of time on his group project, it will takes few weeks to finish. Big lecture( lots of people), little bit difficult to concentrate at all.

Such a funny guy. Some people say its sassy but thats what makes his classes so entertaining. Also the group project is insane but he will help you out at every step. Nice guy, wants u to succeed