2.3
Quality3.5
Difficulty28%
Would Retake84
Reviews28%
Would Retake
84
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
16
3
12
2
7
1
39
What Students Say
“Shuman expects you to learn the course material on your own and not during lecture”
ECE271 - 1.0 rating“Matt just talks and walks away”
ECE271 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
52%
Textbook Required
62%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
MTH231
5.0
(1)ECE111
3.0
(9)ECE272
3.0
(2)ENGR102
3.0
(2)ECE271
2.7
(43)Difficulty by Course
ENGR202
4.7
ECE272
4.0
ECE375
3.9
ECE271
3.5
ENGR201
3.0
Reviews (84)
Matt is very helpful and shows more interest in helping you learn than any teacher I have had at OSU. I completely recommend him.
When I took the class it was the first time Matt taught any class so he was still figuring everything out. You rarely need the book as he hits the important points in lecture and the book is just too confusing to read anyway. The projects alway feel like he missed something important to teach you, but you should be able do them and get full points
Up til the first 2 midterms it was easy and straight forward. Later on, it can get pretty rough if you are not careful. Not very organize yet, I'm sure he will after a few more terms though. Not great at explaining things in lecture, go to office hours, can help. Tell him to show u examples on board when he's trying to answer a student's question.
He does NOT know what he is doing in the class. If a student asks a question he wouldn't know the answer and just wouldn't answer the student. Useless in the office hours. I have no idea how he got the job. Avoid him because you will get different things in the exam than what u learned in lectures!!
After a year at OSU. I could say he is 1 of the HIGHEST quality educator there; which is very scarce! EE is hard, not everyone can do it, consider this for the < than marginal ratings. Lecture is not Ivy type, more of recitation type. I can easily count on the book for 271, unlike 375. HW is (challenging, but doable)-> what da job market look for
On the outside he seems kind of unprepared, but past the rough edges of the lectures he did a very good job of giving us the information we needed. As a CS major, I never needed the book and the assignments gave me a solid understanding of the material. Was never petty enough to check if I was paying attention at times when it was obvious I wasn't.
He can't do simple math, and relies solely on his calculator for every problem. You will not be prepared for the next class in the sequence after Shuman's lectures. His tests are pretty easy though.
Shuman relies way too much on his PowerPoint to teach lecture and he often dismisses class early too. I felt like his lecture was mostly summarizing the book "Studying Engineer" and telling what we need to do on our next homework assignment. Just do all your labs and assignment on time and you will get an A in ECE 111.
The reviews for Shuman that were in 2009 should no longer be taken into account. His teaching has improved and in ECE 271 he does a very good job of teaching. He may seem mean on the outside but is nice. Talks quiet so sit in the front area, GO to class, do the homework WELL and right and you MUST MUST MUST read the book or you will fail the tests.
He did a good job. At the start of the term homework would take more than 10 hours to complete. Tests were not hard. He really is an easy proff. just put in the work. read the book. start early on the homework!
Kind of boring to listen to. I was excited to be coming into college and my intro class to learn more about being an ECE... In lecture, we pretty much only had guest speakers. He went over resistors once and a little bit of programming once. Very pointless lecture. The labs were the only good thing about this class.
Fairly easy class. His grading policies are very kind, and he curves the final grade so it averages to 80 or so. The harshness of TA grading varies. Some will skip over minor mistakes, others... Homework feedback could be better though he does post solutions. His lectures are boring, but they're comfortably boring and quite clear.
Matt is a pretty good instructor. He is boring but his lectures do a decent job of explaining the material. He, like many other engineering professors, likes to put tricky problems on the midterm so be careful.
Want to do well on the tests? Show up for the review session the class before. He goes over what's to be on the test. There is no way to do bad on the tests if you show up for those reviews. Also try the homework, just turn in what you can for the points. Shuman wants you to pass, it's up to you to be smart about it. Also try going to class...
Horrible at lecture and barely covers any material in class. Tries to make a lot of analogies that end up making things more confusing. He doesn't use blackboard and his website is impossible to sift through for the syllabus. The class overall isn't too difficult, but it would be a whole lot easier if the professor was able to teach.
He is really boring to listen to and has a really monotone voice. Also, he comes across as rude and doesn't care. He obviously knows what he's talking about just doesn't give you the time to actually help you. For example, I came to him asking about my grade, and once he confirmed I received the proper grade, he just said "Okay, bye bye now"....
LOL Pick his class if you are desperate for a good grade and a chance to pass. He would literally try every method to let you access higher grade! Unlike my ECE112 professor Dave Allstot, his class isn't that tough. But engr 201, 202, 203 material themselves are hard...
I don't know why some of the comments say that he cares about our learning, he doesn't care at all believe me!He has easy exams with one question outside the book and lecture, so its pretty hard to get 100/100. Matt just talks and walks away. In addition, he is boring!
Pretty good professor. Front loads the class to make the rest of your term easier which I appreciated. He does not however help much for Computer Science students, he will expect you to catch up to where the ECE students are without extra lecturing.
Overall, a pretty good professor. He doesn't seem to care much for our learning outside of class though... I tried several times to ask for help during his office hours and he would just give me tips and that's pretty much it... Tests are fairly straightforward though.
The textbook is great and his lecture supplement the material well. Tests are easy, but he covers the material well. I feel like CS students were at an advantage when in the Verilog section of the course. I can't speak for ECE students, but CS students could learn a lot from his course.
Matt's a funny person and gives good talks but he's super unhelpful with ece topics and teaches u nothing. the class was a waste other than the lab. It was just Electrical engineers talking about their lives.
Lecture was guest speakers. Homework consists of codeacademy python assignments. And the final was easy. You do not have to take this class, but if you want an idea of what industry is like take it.
Lecture can be fast at times and reading the book is extremely helpful. The first few weeks are top loaded, so stick with it! The latter half of the term slows down and is easy. Show up on review days and you will do well on the exams.
Professor Shuman has an extremely well organized ECE 271 class. He presents material clearly and concisely. Attending lecture, and reading the textbook while doing homework is really enough to earn you a B or an A depending on your test taking. The tests were tough, but straightforward and were nearly identical to practice tests.
He is a bad lecturer who uses weird online notes that are very inconsistent with his lab and recitation. It just ends up confusing. He is stuck up and doesn't seem like he is there for the students. Things aren't very clear, be ready to teach yourself.
One of the worst lecturer I've ever met. His explanation is so unclear and only go over his lecture note which doesn't show all things we should know. He was 5 minute late for the class for half of the term. For the recitation, he didn't prepared the equipment so we had to write our lab report due final week.
As someone going into ECE 111 with about no prior knowledge of the material covered, I'm having a great time in class with him and the materials. He is sensitive towards what people in the class need and the homework is not particularly arduous. He keeps the lecture interesting, with segues about pop culture references that keep us smiling.
This instructor is the worse instructor, I have ever experienced in my college life. He doesn't teach anything, he doesn't give partial credits on exams. This class is a requirement by school, so don't take it alone, take it with friends, so can help each other because this class is a nightmare.
Shuman is an amazing professor. He's very busy and just doesn't have the time to help stragglers. He really cares though and wants students to succeed. He makes a big deal out of teaching us life skills and helping us find resources to help us get good grades. Overall, one of the best I've ever had. He can nitpick on assignments and tests.
I went into this class so excited to learn about my possible future career, but this guy sucks at teaching it. I don't understand what he's talking about. Also, once I asked him a question, first day before class, and he belittled me, condescended to me. So now I don't ever want to talk to him which is worse for my understanding. Respect students!!
You have to read the book and google, youtube all the stuffs before the class. Matthew wont teach you anything, he goes over material very quick and assumed you already know it. Highly recomemded to ready the book at least 4 times and youtube whatever you dont understand.
Shuman expects you to learn the course material on your own and not during lecture. He claimed at the beginning of the course that this was so he could reinforce what we learned on our own, but most lectures he would go off topic. He also refused to post the time/location of his final on his syllabus, canvas page, or even discuss it in lecture.
Shuman is probably the worst teacher you get at OSU. I don't know how he hasn't improved his teaching skills after apparently teaching ECE 271 for 15 terms. His lectures are just horrendous. He doesn't have any sort of organizational skills and scribbles notes. He's also an unreasonable grader. Your only hope is to survive by reading the textbook.
Mr. Shuman's lecture's are very much worth going to. It is especially nice that what is taught in lecture is the same format/style as what is on tests/quizzes, as this consistency helps me understand.A ton of content is gone over in this class, likely more than a term's worth. But the current revision of the class may be harder than it needs to be.
Shuman is really good at referring you to the plan he made for the term. If you ask a question, he tends to not listen then just repeat what he just said. If you ask for further explanation, he'll just refer you to the book. Every inquiry is a deflection to some other point.
The quizzes may be difficult, especially if you dont do the readings. He is overall a great professor to get to know so make sure you go to his office hours.
I took Shuman for Junior Design 1 & 2 (ECE341/ECE342). He didn't really teach me anything at all and was constantly condescending towards myself and other students. Not sure what his problem is. Definitely make sure you figure out Canvas, because the organization for his classes are horrendous. Good luck! But honestly, pretty easy, bust annoying...
Shuman seems to expect students to learn all the material outside of class. This was done with biweekly Reading Reports on the textbook, which was not helpful at all. This made it hard to anticipate what will be on the weekly quizzes. There were no exam study guides or practice exams, either. Studying the quizzes helped for this, though.
Matt is not the best professor in he department and attempts to make up for poor lectures with large amounts of reading. Most useful part of this course is the lab. Make sure to study for the weekly reading quizzes. There is a group project at the end of term that is very time consuming. I suggest starting as soon as possible.
Shuman is not the best teacher. He relies on students having read the textbook prior to attending class. However, if you put in the time and care about the material he has pretty interesting lectures and discusses cool potential uses of the FPGA that is integral to the course material.
Shuman is an interesting instructor. As of 2017, as he's a grad finishing a PhD in Robotics. I've taken ECE 111, ECE 271/2, ECE 341/2, and ENGR 201, and he's a very natural instructor. He tends to teach you to learn, rather than teaching facts. If you're interested in learning more about ECE, he's a great choice, as he points you where to learn.
In class lectures never covered what was in the textbook, which is where we were expected to learn everything. You learn nothing in class; it's basically just a place to go to take tests on what you learned outside of it and to listen to random guest speakers.
Worst teacher in OSU, No one of. Actually, the class is nothing to do with the Teaching. The most thing you do is learn by yourself by reading the textbook. Just feel bad for this teacher, I failed once, and I Got A- second time by reading the textbook twice and try to understand the textbook.
Shuman's an ok professor. He's a nice guy and is interesting in his student's learning, but he's not a great lecturer, and most of your knowledge comes from reading the textbook.
Matt is a terrible lecturer, but at least he knows it. You are expected to learn the majority of the course from the textbook. There is no homework, instead you do a 'reading report' of the textbook. Lectures are mostly optional, except for a weekly test. Overall a fine class, but one of the worst professors I've taken.
I found Shuman to be alright. Hard to rate him as a professor, since the class is structured in such a way that you read and learn from the textbook, and go to Shuman with additional questions. I didn't end up interacting with Shuman a lot. Overall, I thought the class structure worked well, but he didn't really teach a whole lot.
Shuman tends to be condescending when you ask questions and when he does answer he generally give a vague unhelpful answer or just points you back to resources that you already gave. Lectures are 2 hours long and consist mostly of how disappointed he is with the class by how we spent about 20 hours on each lab, are results, and questions asked.
Matthew Shuman is an amazing professor. He genuinely cares about his students and is good at answering questions and presenting tough concepts in an understandable way. His ECE 271 class had a lot of long reading assignments, but they were all very helpful and applicable to the things that we did in lab.
Be prepared to learn all the stuff by yourself and ask a lot of TAs for help. He is the worst professor I ever see. The worst of the worst
Made digital design so insanely unlikeable. Bases the entire class off the course textbook, get ready to write 20 page reports on it. Expected submit reports (totaling to 40% of the grade) before he lectures on a new unit. Tells you to re-read the textbook if you have questions. Very reading intensive class, no HW sets/physical problems.
I do not understand my peers' dislike of Mr. Shuman. The class was very well laid out, all expectations were clear and Mr. Shuman was accessible and willing to help students outside of normal class time. I would take him again in a heartbeat. He's the real deal. Put in the work and try, ask questions and he'll give you feedback. Solid professor.
He acts like a nice guy, and is somewhat. However to understand who he is, he publicly noted in class that a student complained to him about losing his visa because of the class. No organization of class, and people say attendance not necessary because his lectures are more of an ego boost than productive. Not constructive but asks it of students.
I loved professor Shuman, he's a really cool guy. Although I'm an architectural engineering student and this class was based on electrical, I really enjoyed it. The studios were fun and he really just likes explaining things to students. He's also very helpful during office hours and met with me off schedule on zoom to help with homework.
There is good and bad to Shuman. He is passionate about teaching, being willing to take time to help students who show commitment. But he is tough, not just in regards to grading/content, but in his demeanor; he is unforgiving of circumstances and quick to see a student as lazy, selfish, or childish. Good intentions,but sometimes, not good actions.
Shuman has been extremely rude to me and other students in the Engineering 102 course. He does not answer questions and instead makes fun of you for having them. Lecture and labs are generally unrelated. He's got an ego.
If you don't take ECE 272 with this class then it's pretty difficult to grasp concepts and the final project is impossible since Shuman doesn't really lecture. Most of your learning is from the textbook. One time he had TA's lecture but they didn't know the content. Another lecture he just had students lecture. One of the worst professors I've had.
Prof. Shuman is not a great professor, but unlike other professors, he is totally honest. The reason people have rated him so low is because his classes are different than any other class you have taken up until this point. As he will tell you, if you treat his lectures as supplemental material, and the books as the focus, you will succeed.
I had Shuman for several classes and got nearly perfect scores each time. I hated every second of it. He does not care for his students and likes to instead convince students that his inability to teach basic concepts is their fault He will read these off in the middle of class and has 100% written some of the good reviews himself.
Rude, offensive and overall pain. He made this class, which should have been enjoyable and interesting, a complete pain to take. Terrible professor.
Shuman "teaches" with the goal of making ECE hard and stressful to "teach you a lesson" and doesn't seem to realize that many 375 students are CS majors without ECE experience. Very harsh grader. He responds to every question with non-answers and repeatedly tries to convince the class that he's "not evil." Many lectures devolved into arguments.
If Matthew Shuman did not appear for a single lecture and instead opted to take the term off elk hunting or doing whatever else, the class would be improved. The class is old-fashioned and constructed with the boomer mindset "it was hard for me so it will be hard for you". Multiple mistakes on the HW. That being said, the course content is trivial.
Shuman readily admitted in lecture that he tries to make this class difficult and stressful because that's how was for him when he was an undergrad. The class average for the midterm (25% of the total course grade) was near 50%. Labs also appear to maybe be on an accelerated schedule compared to other sections, making them very challenging.
Shuman is a horrendous professor that is stuck in a very old mindset that does not encourage healthy growth of students. He seems to make a point that he is "not evil" during his lectures. It's honestly a tragedy that OSU continues to make no change making these "course evaluations" feels useless and evokes a feeling a helplessness from students.
You might as well take the whole term off and go elk hunting again Shuman, because this class was a downright terrible experience. I've taken ECE271 previously and now just completed this ECE375 class. At the start of the term, I was hopeful that Shuman was a changed man but I was sadly mistaken. Prepare yourself for 10 weeks of never-ending stress
Shuman has an old fashioned way of teaching that may bother some, however it facilitates a deeper understanding and appreciation of the material. He cares for his students on an individual level, making a point to learn names. His interest and respect for his students is not as often seen in large lecture classes. Recommend Going to office hours.
This class had homework, an individual learning assignment, and a group project.Shuman is a very tough grader, which is bad to begin with as you don't know what he wants from you on assignments.This is because the instructions on the assignments and the rubric for them were very vague. If at all possible take this class with a different professor.
Shuman is a very funny guy. I may be one of the few that enjoy his funny stories. If you look at lectures as supplemental material and understand the homework and labs you will be fine. Shuman was very generous in allowing the final grade to replace the midterm as well and overall his grading policies made the class less frustrating in some ways.
Labs are quite difficult. Homework are and written assignment are helpful.
Get ready for a class that has mandatory attendance but you learn nothing. Required readings that are the only thing that teach you. Unprofessional, even rude at times. Incredible ego. Does not prepare lab TAs and hardly accessible outside of class. I would honestly rather sow my face to a carpet than take this class again
Avoid at all costs. A really important class that should have been enjoyable turned into hell because of him.
No regrades, unhelpful lectures throughout whole term, large disconnect from class... idk man too many things to write out. I've never had a class this bad :(
This guy is just a joke. He assigns a chapter of reading only to LITERALLY read you the chapter in lecture. He requires your attendance every day and then punishes the entire class when not enough people show up. He is the most egotistical professor and honestly human being I have ever met. He is beyond rude when you ask for help too. He just sucks
One of the worst class-taking experiences I have had at Oregon State. Shuman's ego gets in the way of teaching on a daily basis with him regularly verbally attacking students who ask questions hoping to understand. Although I have been successful in the class I have learned nothing from Shuman or his teachings Id highly recommend taking elsewhere.
This class had an average of 40% on midterm 2. This guy has the audacity to blame the students and send out an email about how "failing is a waste of your time and money", as if a 40% average on a midterm is not a reflection on his teaching. Do not take.
Run away at all cost He will not regrade anything, even if he made a mistake. He makes misleading or confusing questions, and then blame the students for not understanding. He spends a large amount of time complaining to the students about "how little time he has in lecture" . . . he took half of a class time just talking about this. . .
If you see his name, just run away. This guy doesn't even know how to teach or deliver an idea. His lectures are very useless and doesn't even do practice problems. He blames the students not himself. This guy really sucks. He doesn't deserve to be a professor at OSU!!!.
Prof throughout the entire term did not teach the class. Homeworks and online videos did not prepare you at all for the midterms. No study guide or talk about what is on the tests. Huge ego and blames the students for not doing well on the midterm. Lab TA's don't know what to do for labs. Just goes on tangents about things he finds useful.
Lectures are very useless. No practice problems. We somehow don't know what will be on the final and there is no study guide for it either. Homework and online videos:USELESS. Has a HUGE ego and has the audacity to blame the students for a 40% average on the second midterm because it's totally are fault that we did bad right? AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Personally, I think Shuman is underrated. This was the first class where I felt challenged and pushed to study more, which means I get pushed to take my academics seriously. I feel the quizzes were challenging, but if you are willing to put in the work, things should go better in the class. There's few stuff to worry about if you put in the time.
The class is not inherently difficult. What made this class difficult was the lack of organization and clear communication from the instructor. Everything is taught in the textbook and the lectures don't supplement the material at all. You could skip the class and just read the book. Asking questions would lead to unclear responses and confusion.
He is a terrible teacher that doesn't take the time to be prepared for the class. He commonly says that 'he doesn't have time' and then preceding to have quizzes that had "incorrect answer" as one of two answers on a multiple choice question. Do not take.
This guy does not explain things at all, especially end of term content. If you can take any other professor for this class, I would highly recommend doing so.
There are only three certain things in life. Death, taxes, and Shuman's reading reports.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
52%
Textbook Required
62%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
MTH231
5.0
(1)ECE111
3.0
(9)ECE272
3.0
(2)ENGR102
3.0
(2)ECE271
2.7
(43)Difficulty by Course
ENGR202
4.7
ECE272
4.0
ECE375
3.9
ECE271
3.5
ENGR201
3.0