2.8
Quality2.4
Difficulty63%
Would Retake116
Reviews63%
Would Retake
116
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
21
4
22
3
27
2
21
1
25
What Students Say
“Ignore all of these lazy cynics complaining about how horrible Boudjelkha is”
MATH2400 - 4.0 rating“All of the negative comments are very un just”
MATH4600 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
26%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.69 avg changeRatings by Course
DIFEQ
5.0
(1)DIFFEQU
5.0
(1)DIFEQ2400
5.0
(4)COS126
5.0
(1)DIFF1
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
MATHDEQ
5.0
MATH2530
4.0
DIFFERENTIALEQ
4.0
MATH20
4.0
DIFFMATH
4.0
Reviews (116)
He's a nice professor and is always willing to help but his accent can make things a little difficult to understand. A good chunk of the students would skip out on his lecture and not bother to come until test time. He's new this year (2003).
he's an awesome teacher. Talk about someone who is a genius and willing to help his students whenever possible. As for his accent, in this diverse world we need to understand each other, and we cannot make accents a barrier.
His section of Differential Equations was the easiest of all that RPI offers -- 80% of his students recieved A's, and it's not because he's a great teacher, it's because of TA Jay (who rocks) and the way he grades. He is completely incomprehensible, btw.
Seemed to know his stuff and was willing to give extra help.
Starts class early and runs late. Hard to understand in lectiures. Giving a 9am exam the morning after spring break.
Wise professor that comes up with amazing ways of solving simple calculus problems (math tricks). Just study his lecture notes and go to his lectures and you'll get that A. Trust me.
Hard to understand. The only reason I did well was because my TA was awesome. Tests can be hard but he grades leniently. Hope for a good TA or you're screwed. Also, his version of diffeq is drastically different from any other prof's.
very difficult to understand
Too bad I didn't understand a word he was saying. The TA's for his class are awesome though. If you skip his class and take his tests it isn't too bad - be prepared for his homework though, and make sure to do it!! it really helps reinforce the topics
No Comments
Mohammed isn't that great. Very unclear about his steps to solve problems, almost has a belittling response to some students questions. His accent makes it difficult to understand what is going on, and despite being culturally respectful, it makes the learning process more difficult. $40K matters.
Its hard to follow the lectures, but if you write everything down and do the homework, you should have no problem acing the tests.
he's spastic, u can't follow him
HAS TERRIBLE ENGLISH. the only words i can understand are 'the wronskian'. he also chooses not to bathe so be prepared if you need to talk to him one on one. grades pretty leniently.
just use his notes and u will do fine the book sucks
A terrible teacher who can't communicate with students. A very smart man, but he is not good at teaching. His thick accent makes him difficult to understand. He is also bad at answering questions, (he just stares back at you), or interacting with other humans in general.
The most confusing professor I've ever had. Most of the lectures are spent doing mind numbing derevations of every concept covered. The differing test forms he gives out significantly vary in difficulty. The last test was extremely difficult. Get a good TA or be a math major or you're doomed.
No Comments
Very thick accent, very confusing lectures. He has good notes you can download and is lenient with grading, as long as you talk to him.
hard accent but once you get used to it you'll love him.... you'll feel utterly lost at times but dont worry he'll answer everything eventually... grades very nicely become friends with him and you'll ace the class
This man gave me a gift that noone else on earth could -- The Wronskian. and i love him for it. He just really needs to shower
hard to understand. real easy grader just do the homework. onoy tests the basics
One time this chick asked him to go over a solution, and he gave her a blank stare for a while and then said "moving on" and continued to the next problem. Awesomest prof ever!
oh my god.... worst teacher ever. assumes that people care about the proofs only and not actually how to do anything. doesn't help that you can hardly understand him. grr. super easy exams though.
we call him Mr. Bojangles, but he doesnt dance. somehow i got an A.
Difficult material. He tends to skip steps, leaves students wondering. Starts class right when he walks in (come early if you're going to classes) goes a little late. Thick accent. Fair tests. Tests are on Mondays. I recommend getting a Friday TA section, if possible.
Look at this. Just follow the formula; don't worry about the rest. We've proved it; just use the formula. We have example number...um....3. It's so simple. Just follow the formula.
Pay attention in his class. Write down everything he writes on the overheads durring lecture. If you do this and put in some effort you will do fine in his class. He is one of my favorite professors here...but i don't think i could get to know him because his english is not that great.
Mohamed's notes were pretty hard to follow and the lectures were boring. However, he tells you what are on the tests and it's pretty straight forward stuff that just takes some memorization. He's also willing to explain stuff to you, which can be a big help. I got an A in the class w/o taking the final, since I got a B and C in Calc I and II.
Dear lord, don't take diffEQ from him. Too many proofs, impossible to follow, doesn't answer questions. I went to every class and was still lost most of the time. Easy grader. I got an A but that's because my TA Pablo was totally the man, and he's not TAing anymore so you have no hope.
Whether you call him Bubba J, Bajorkabork, Boudie, or anything else, the fact remains that you will hate this guy by the end of the semester. A thick accent and horrible English skills make Bubba impossible to understand, and if you were like me and not blessed with an amazing TA you will fail this class if you can't read the text without sleeping
cant understand a damned thing he sais, bores you to death and does not do anywhere near a good job of teaching material
only does the proofs on the board and the material he does in class is VERY HARD. The test are easier though, but if you don't know how to do any of the problems your screwed.
what can we say about this man...he has his own group on facebook, he's a freedom fighter (look it up on google) he has the thickest accent known to made and understanding him is a chore. One of the easiest graders ever. Shout out to Sharath for getting me an A in the class.
No Comments
If you like hearing the professor, lectures in English, or legible notes this professor is NOT, I REPEAT NOT, for you. I think I could learn more about Diff Eq from watching teletubbies than I did from sitting through the horrible lectures. If you do get stuck with him, try to get a good TA.
This guy is the worst professor I have ever had. He does not speak clearly and should be fired from his job at the first possible moment! Fact is he may be passing, but you come outta that class with nowing about as much as you went in with, which sucks when you go into other harder courses where you actually need the material. DONT TAKE HIS CLASS
Lectures are useless. He talks about what he's writing down (proofs), but not in english, and he stands in front of the projector so you can't see what he's writing down. He's not helpful at all. He grades his tests incredibly easy because he knows that you learned more from one of Schmidt's online videos than you ever did from all his lectures.
bojangles is the man! he might not make much sense in class, but he's a very easy grader, and if you go talk to him, he'll help you out ;-)
What made me go to class all semester is the guilt I would have if I didn't go. He sounds he's on Nyquill, and his accent is terrible. Does all proofs, and like one example, and skips steps there. Doesn't even answer questions. Example: girl: "where did u get that equation?" Mr.B "We took it out of the sky." Worst professor ever, even for RPI.
This guy is not nearly as bad as everyone makes him out to be and neither is his accent. He likes to do the proofs in class, but you don't need to take those down; make sure that you pay attention and copy down his examples, though. His tests are not hard, and he is very willing to help you if you ask him. He wants to see all of his students suceed
Cant understand anything he says but if you watch Schmidt videos you will do good on his tests except the last one which you have to read the book. I got a B by never going to class, copying all the homeworks, and studying the night before the test.
you cant understand a thing he's saying, skips steps when he does proofs/examples. watch schmidt videos if you wish to survive this class
Lectures are bad, just does a bunch of proofs. Do the HW and listen during both recitations to do well. He grades easily and teaches different stuff than the other professors. Not a hard class, just a chore to get through.
This professor will go much out of his way to help students learn. He is very reasonable and he will always tell you exactly what is going to be on the test. He is not the greatest at giving lectures, but this isn't the only part of a teacher's job. If you go to his office hours and try to do well, you will.
Boudjelkha teaches math how it should be taught, with examples. In his lectures he'll show hundreds of different situations for each type of problem. Understanding him is tough at times, but if you just follow his math everything becomes clear. Exams are easy and homeworks are easy if you don't suck. Check out Schmidt videos for anything else.
He's very hard to understand, and he writes very small, so lectures aren't that useful, unless these things aren't a problem for you. If you're good at reading the text for most of your info and then asking some questions to clarify, then you'll be fine. The material isn't that hard. It's similar to Multivariable Calc.
He is not a nice profesosor, not an understanding professor. iHe treats you depending who you are, if you appear to be quiet and hide, he dont care about you. But you if those people who see aggressive, he will be nice to you. But he dont require final exams in his class, its optional which is good
No Comments
He is a kind and friendly person. When you have questions, he is always glad to help. When teaching, usually he not only tell the practical part, but the proof and principle as well. But...it is sometimes really hard to get a clear understanding of what he is talking about...
His accent and complex explanation of subject matter make the subject much more difficult than it actually is. He uses complex proofs during class that use notation and ideas out of students' understanding. Very boring. Homework is fairly understandable, some complexities. Tests are extremely straightforward, and final is optional. Not recommended
Great Professor, a little hard to understand but i learned a lot in his class, easy grader, buy you still have to learn everething
DO NOT GO TO LECTURE. YOU WILL KICK YOURSELF FOR WASTING 50 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE EVERYTIME YOU GO. Easy grader though, the final is optional. Id take him compared to the other professors but just know its pointless for you to go to lecture. Read the book and watch David Schmidts online videos, it got me through well.
easy stuff but lectures make it seem more complicated than it really is
Trust me, take Diff EQ with this guy. He is by far the easiest grader I have ever seen. He goes through proofs in lecture, but you dont need to learn them. Instead, follow the tons of examples he puts up, cause the homework and tests are exactly like these.
His approach to teaching mathematics is geared toward mathematics majors. His tests can be hard due to the limited number of points. (20 point tests translate to 5% for each point...) Good professor overall.
Tells you exactly what is going to be on each exam- makes the class relatively easy.
I agree with the some of the previous comments on this forum. This guy is not fair guy. Some people say he is an easy grader and nice. But he is NOT. He is nice to only certain type of people and if he doesnt like you, he will make sure he take it off your exams.
This guy is quite possibly the funniest professor I have ever had-- honestly just listen to the stuff he says, its hilarious. He's also incredibly smart-- one time a kid challenged an "assumption" he wrote down and Prof. B responded with a 3 page proof off the top of his head, impressive. Watch schmidts videos and do the homework,you will befine
Very easy test if you know the form of the solution. He is very passionate about teaching and thinks that some forms of solving differential equations are "like magic"
He isn't that hard to understand , nor is it terribly difficult to read his handwriting. He more or less tells you what will be on tests. He is a really nice guy and if you talk to him about your grade and let him know you care, you will do better. Go talk to him at least once study, go to class, and do the homework, and you should get an A
Decent teacher. Writes out proofs for everything and gives plenty of examples. Not big on the conceptual side or giving you that nice feeling of understanding. Pretty fair grader.
Soft spoken and has a thick accent, either sit close or hope he wears a microphone. Other than that, very knowledgeable, focuses more on pure math than application (doesn't give any word problems). Very easy grader: if you do the Diff Eq right but screw up arithmetic or calculus you won't lose much, just show you know the process.
Do not go to lecture. Pray that you get a good TA. Go to recitation.
very easy tests
He is a very smart person. He tries his best to communicate, but that is usually not enough. His exams are very straightforward and with just a little preparation an A is easy to achieve, BUT I highly suggest back exams and pray for a good TA. Try Drop In Tutoring or his online notes. I did not go to class after 2nd exam and still got an A.
Keeps it simple and shows you exactly what you need to know for tests. It may seem unclear at first, but the homeworks help to clear anything up and usually end up being harder than the test itself.
His lectures were hard to understand, partly because of his accent and low speaking volume. I ended up skipping most of them, but by doing the homework and going to recitation I managed to learn the material. Diff EQ is a pretty dull subject, so I don't really blame him for not being very interesting.
Excellent Professor. He is a little dry, but he explains things well with lots of examples.
His class was an easy A, though I did learn quite a bit. He lectures are a bit on the theory side, though when possible he explains the physical meaning or gives an example where it is useful; alot of what doesn't make sense is clarified by the homework. He prepares students for exams very well. Simply, he wants students to do well.
Great class and completely straight forward. He gives you the equations you need to know right away and then gives you more than enough examples. One of the easiest graders around and a nice guy overall. One downside is his accent can be hard to cut through but the material is not too complicated.
easy grader, interested in students achievments, office hours are helpful (esp for maple projects) ive never gotten such a high math grade before
He is my favorite professor at RPI thus far.
Really easy class. Do all the homeworks from cramster or rpistudygroup because pretty much none of the problems you do will show up on the tests. The tests are a piece of cake. 4 problems and the back tests are almost identical. I'd recommend going to class because his methods for solving problems are more understandable than the book.
He isn't as bad as everyone says, just pay attention in class and his accent won't seem that bad. Very willing to help students and does plenty of examples to make sure students get the concepts.
Math itself is a language, so english shouldn't be a problem. In his original country, he was really recognised as a genius due to his research theories. However, his exams were extremely difficults to solve when he used to teach in his original country. If he's not well recognised in USA, it means that there's a problem in math students level.
One of the easiest A's I got at RPI. Pro tips for success: 1. Take good notes in lecture, but exclude the proofs, you don't need those. 2. Go to the Wednesday night review sessions and/or ALAC tutoring if you need help. 3. Do ALL of the homework and don't start the night before it's due. 4. Back tests are your friend. 5. The final is optional!
Awesome guy. A little hard to follow in lecture but if you take notes and look at them later you can see what he did. Super willing to help you if you go in a talk to him during office hours. Tests and quizzes are a breeze as long as you do some amount of studying. Overall an easy A.
If you copy down what he puts on the projectors, you'll do fine. However, he misinterprets most questions you'll ask him, and does a very poor job of explaining/elaborating on what he did.
This class is as easy as you make it. Boudjelkha is hard to understand but he has a grad TA reteach the 3 weekly lectures in an hour. Skip class and just go to those. The format of the tests is the same year to year. Buy a cramster account and learn the hw as you copy it. Easy A.
Class consisted of him mumbling while he wrote constantly. He never paused. A brutally boring class.
Bad teacher. Class was boring and useless. Homeworks were unrelated to class. Tests were poorly done.
I have to say that the poor ratings he gets mostly are due to his accent. If you go find him during his office hours, he is extremely helpful and friendly. I mean you cant do anything about the accent. But a nice professor overall.
Boudjelkha is one of the smartest people I've ever met. He knows a ton about math, and if you go to lectures, he'll give you some good shortcuts for solving problems. He's a bit tough to understand, but he posts his lecture notes online and tells you exactly what's going to be on the tests, so it's pretty easy to do well in his classes.
If you are failing his Diffeq class, you shouldn't be at RPI.
I managed to get an A in his DiffEQ class without ever going to lecture, but ACalc was different. Not that going to lecture helps much either, since he's incomprehensible. The homeworks alone don't fully prepare you for the exams and he uses weird notation. Lectures are like a game, you try to sort through the mumbling and extract what's important.
Easy A, but you might not actually learn anything. Lectures are terrible and completely optional.
All of the negative comments are very un just. This is one of the most caring professors I have encountered in my college career. He basically tells you exactly what is going to be on the test, and will go through any problem step by step in his office hours. His biggest down fall is his lectures are fairly boring, usually non stop note taking.
Ignore all of these lazy cynics complaining about how horrible Boudjelkha is. Pay attention in lecture, go to recitation if the TA is worth it, and do the homework. He practically gives you the test questions the class before. It's a shame that a good guy and a better teacher gets slammed here by the ones still whining about his accent.
Don't need to go to lecture, but make sure you go to his lecture before every exam, those review sessions are golden in terms of studying for an exam because you encounter every scenario you can see on an exam. Other than that, don't bother copying proofs that he writes in class, you'll never see them on a test
Teaches you to do PDEs hella fast, also Fourier transforms and wall heat. Says very profound a lot, would recommend. Course is approachable for illiterate students, I can't read and I did fine. Happy to talk to you at office hours, very thick accent, being fluent in Arabic before attending class is recommended.
He seems nice enough but isn't a very good teacher. He speaks quietly and constantly and writes constantly, rarely pausing to explain unless asked to, and then his explanations aren't very good. DiffEq was extremely easy anyway, though, as he basically gives you the exam questions. I think he tries to be a good prof but comes up short. Hard accent.
An overall good professor his lectures are a bit hard to understand due to his accent but he teaches all concepts clearly.
Is good teacher like It
Go to class. Do the homework. Succeed.
Lectures are pretty useless. Just be hopeful that your TA is good.
Class is easy. Professor is hard to understand sometimes in class because he moves very quickly but is very helpful in office hours. Don't really need to go to lectures but I recommend it because he will try to get to know students who go to class. Homework can be long if you want to actually put effort in. Tests are the same as back tests.
very good professor, really nice to student, and easy to get A
His heavy accent and lack of a current course website don't stop him from being the REAL MVP You can also call him Bojangles
If you do your homework and use back tests you will be good. He was very good in office hours.
Bojangles is a genius but he's a really bad professor. He doesn't take a breath for you to actually understand what he's saying or for you to write down his messy notes. You will good grade if you study the back tests but you won't actually learn anything. Show up early to tests. Lecture attendance is unnecessary and may confuse you more.
Has a heavy accent, which wasn't too bad to understand. His handwriting, however, is very small and hard to read.
Bojangles is one of the most intelligent and enthusiastic professors Ive had at RPI. But he sucks at teaching. Going to class is not usually helpful and may make you feel very overwhelmed and confused. Not to worry!! Make sure you do the homework and study solely from the back tests and you will do just fine.
I'm not going to talk about the tests because I've not taken one yet. But one thing I know for sure is that I don't learn anything from this class. The lecture is boring, and all he does is giving theorems and proofs to those theorems. There is no concrete example of how to use those theorems in lectures.
He clearly has the subject mastered, but teaches in a manner that skips basic definitions and basic concepts. The end result is page after page of notes that are ultimately meaningless to students. I recommend skipping the lectures and reading the textbook instead. Go to recitation and ALAC to learn the subject material.
Figure out all the homework and go to the class before tests and you can get an A. You do not even need to take the final
Not the best teacher, however he does give many examples. Homework is where I've learned most of the material. He is, fortunately, an easy grader and his tests have are predictable. Although he is not the best teacher, he is certainly brilliant and is to be respected. He is also pretty funny, but his humor is often hidden behind his thick accent.
Excellent professor- very intelligent and truly does care about students. The class is an easy grade (tests are easy if you are prepared) and you will learn a lot if you pay attention in lectures and do the suggested homework problems. Boudjelkha is always willing to help those struggling as well. Definitely take this class.
Very interesting man. Unbelievably intelligent. Pretty hard to get down all he is saying in lecture, he moves quick. If you go to recitation and do your best to pay attention in class you will get an A with ease. He's super accessible and very willing to help if you ask. Just study what he tells you for the tests and you will get an A
Multivariable Calculus is rough, but Boudjelka makes it less horrible. His lectures are rough and super theory heavy, but you will learn the material. The tests are GREAT super super fair and straight forward. HW can be 'fun'. Of all the multi teachers at RPI, I'd definitly reccomend Boudjelka.
Complex Variables was a freaking nightmare. He made it super difficult in 6 weeks and there was way too much homework. DO NOT TAKE IT WITH THIS DR.
WONDERFUL PROFESSOR
Very intelligent with regards to mathematics, but cannot teach to save his life.
Probably one of the most disorganized classes I've taken. I never knew what was going on. There seemed to be little communication between the professor and the TA, and the students were consistently out of the loop. I didn't get most of my grades back. He is very quiet and hard to understand, but tests were easy and quizzes were graded leaniently.
Excellent professor, very kind, ask for research projects
Tough but fair
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
26%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.69 avg changeRatings by Course
DIFEQ
5.0
(1)DIFFEQU
5.0
(1)DIFEQ2400
5.0
(4)COS126
5.0
(1)DIFF1
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
MATHDEQ
5.0
MATH2530
4.0
DIFFERENTIALEQ
4.0
MATH20
4.0
DIFFMATH
4.0