It's his first semester teaching and I don't think he taught too well, but I think in the following semesters, he should be a solid choice with more experience. The tests were all FRQs and pretty difficult. Quizzes should be easy 100s, and he gives extra credit on two lowest hws (drops if you didn't do them). Overall, he's a nice guy (likes anime).

This is for STAT 3355, not CS 3341. He has a strong grasp of R. Good teaching style but could tell it was his first time. Fair with grading and understood we weren't prepped for the exam, so he made it take-home. Wouldn't expect this next time. Does not curve, hence why the exam was take-home, but he was available outside of class. Hope this helps!

This professor is extremely talented at communicating information, but I feel he didn't appreciate that COVID has placed students behind in their development. I can see why he thinks it's reasonable to have free response questions with an integral in prob and stats, but most students at our school just can't handle that. He should switch schools.

The class is extremely chill if you are some what of a serious student. Doesn't give surprises but the material can be challenging if you don't study until the last week before an exam. Pretty easy A and pretty much impossible to get below a C. Gives open note PQs but they aren't mandatory because exam grade can replace them in case you miss class.

The Midterm was quite tricky but he had given us an example mid term prior, and it was quite similar so that was a plus. The grading can be very tricky as you don't really know what you have to put to get the full grade in exams. He is very accessible outside of class, and explains very clearly and thoroughly during office hours. Also quite funny

STAT 3355 is mainly a programming class to implement statistical methods. The homework load is relatively low (8 homework assignments) and there is a group project with a randomly assigned partner. There is an online finale exam at the end. Professor Smiley is a nice guy, and he gained experience in teaching the course now for the second time.

Dr. Smiley's clear instructions made this a fun but difficult class. The grading is fair, and Dr. Smiley does all he can to assist students without hand-holding. He clearly values the students' effort. Quizzes are pass/fail & multiple choice. Exams are in class written and content is clearly covered in class, review and HW.

GOOD 1. Gives LOTS of study material including previous exams that r EXTREMELY helpful 2. Pass/fail quizzes, half of em are dropped 3. Attendance isn't mandatory but recommended 4. Easy to talk to and communicates well (every email i sent i got a response within 24 hours) 5. Good workload (HW & quizzes) BAD 1. Lectures r a bit fast 2. No curve

It's only his 2nd semester, he just needs some more experience to be more comfortable in front of class and lecturing. His curve is that he doesn't believe in minuses so you can get a B or B+, etc. He also uses the homework as extra points to your final grade and provides point incentives to do well on exams if the class meets a certain grade.

Important to note that he is hard-lined on not curving grades. Also I felt the midterm was probably harder than it should've been, but otherwise I had a solid experience. Great and engaging lectures, opportunities for extra credit, always willing to help his students. Just be aware that you'll have to put in a lot of work to succeed in his class.

statistics wasn't my cup of tea but the professor provided alot of extra materials. make sure that you do well on the hws, aim for 10/10- it'll save you! he drops quizzes, and you're allowed one side of a notecard (midterm) and two sides (final). be ready to put in the work! :)

Lacks experience and had to use other professors' slides but is still good. He understands and explains the material well, but he could go too fast at times. He does grade nicely and provides good feedback. You should know probability before STAT 3355. Group project is enriching and partially graded by students. Hard online final exam.

Dr. Smiley might be the best upper level teacher at UTD. Very patient and genuinely wants students to learn. He would host 3-4 hour review sessions on Fridays as well as office hours. Solutions to problems aren't given but should be.

One of the most caring professors I have had. He hosted a few study sessions outside of class (Fridays), one while he had a research commitment at UTSW. He made a few mistakes in class because he's new, but he'd send an e-mail out fixing it. VERY LITTLE EXTRA CREDIT, NO CURVES.

Dr Smiley is a caring professor. He understands that some students miss class due to work or other commitments and shares that he was the same. To help, he records everything in lectures so students can learn at their own pace. He never comments on anyone's intelligence but brags they might not show up because he thinks his slides are amazing.

Difficult but engaging class

He really cares about his students! I think if you show up to class, and do all the quizzes you can definitely do well in the class. The material itself is hard, regardless of the professor. Pop quizzes are common, not mandatory but definitely do them because his exams are REALLY hard. His UTDgrades are accurate!

top 5 lecturer@utd. difficult content, fair course. very transparent about course policy. no curve, but will award the class 1pt of xc sometimes. tests are very difficult. study study study. you will earn your grade. easy C, hard A. prof knows what he is talking about. he cares a lot and is very chill. very respectable; his class is FAIR.

Dr. Smiley literally emailed everyone in the class what scores we needed on the final exam to get certain grades in the class. Never had a faculty so caring before in my entire life. Lectures and slides are super good too.

As a person, Professor Smiley is very funny and engaging with the students. I thought stats would be an easy course, but it was VERY HARD. I fought WW3 for my C the entire course. All of the exams were extremely hard, with a couple of easy questions here and there. Pop-up quizzes were also common but easy since they were open notes.

Great guy, but the other professors are much easier. Claims he is not a GPA killer, but definitely is. Expect to work non stop and be awarded a C. Super helpful, and always available, but NO CURVE! Extra credit here and there.

Other profs grade easier, but I'm sure they don't teach the material as thoroughly. The course content is kinda heavy, but he really puts as much effort as he can into making it easier to learn. Decent amount of extra credit available, detailed about which topics will be on exams, very respectful and funny, always incredibly responsive to feedback.

He says he will pull the exam questions from the homework and showed us in class he was serious by mapping almost every question on the exam to the homework. Doesn't create a study guide, but does a full day review session answering all our questions. Makes things pretty easy if you don't expect to just be given an A. Extra OHs and very responsive.

You will love him or hate him. Very transparent on course policies. No curve but super easy course grading scale. A is tough but reasonable. Likes anime.

He has really good slides, and answered all of my questions. Don't know what else I could ask for. For me it was a pretty straightforward A. Tests are just regurgitated homework. Quizzes are pass/fail all open notes and he drops half.

Very accommodating professor and balanced course. Allowed me to reschedule my final cuz I had 2 others on the same day. Assigns about 5 problems weekly but gives more to practice on. I truly believe if you understand you have to actually do more than 5 problems a week to Ace the class it's impossible to hate em. Cs are outrageously easy.

Dr. Smiley excels via clear expectations, structure, and feedback integration. Critics cite no exam guides/subjective style issues—preferences, not flaws. Grading mirrors effort: low input = low results. Accountability prioritizes autonomy; success demands self-driven rigor.

Dr. Smiley's math/statistics expertise and teaching passion inspired me. His dedication to mastery and student growth motivated rigorous curiosity. He proves knowledge, asks for suggestions, and catalyzes intellectual empowerment. Feeling a strong 9/10 as for the rating.

He is really good at teaching, and is really smart, but it must be said that I have never met anyone who thinks so highly of themselves. He has an air of confidence that is just outrageously inspiring.

So far, the course is straightforward and he spends too much time on easy things but he unapologetically hates Kendrick Lamar and for that I love him. Dr. Smiley for president.

I feel bad for Dr. Smiley. He really is an amazing lecturer and super responsive when I've needed help. Clearly cares but most students in class just don't care. If you're making your mind up on who to take, the only reason not to take him is because you don't care about school even a little bit and just want to pay for a degree. Good luck.

Maybe he treats people differently but I currently have a D+ in the class and Dr. Smiley has been very supportive and accessible outside of class. Hoping the extra credit and final replacement at the end of the semester gets me out but fully recommend attending his weekend sessions. He deeply cares although he passionately claims he is not nice.

Shows a huge amount of respect and patience. I really feel there is no stupid question in the class. Overall excellent experience. Very accessible via email as well.

I came in knowing no stats AT ALL and learned so much and definitely feel prepared to study independently now. I tutor my friends who took other teachers as well. Hard to believe he is relatively new at teaching. Definitely recommend. Great slides and very patient and accessible!

I've had him for one semester and can already confirm he is kind, patient, helpful, knowledgeable and very generous with his time, as well as cold, and very strict. You get out of the class what you put in.

The course material is really challenging, but scoring high grades is not. He is accessible to those who want to learn the material and offers an abundance of extra credit to make scoring any particular grade pretty straightforward. Students don't show up and cheat all semester then get mad at the prof. He's a great guy. Dont know what else to say.

The goat of UTD

We technically have 5 exams but I only took 4 and got an A+. Do with that info as you may but beware AI dependent students. Pretty pathetic expectations. Abundance of extra credit offered.

funny in lectures & explained everything in a way that relates the material to something we know. he gave extra credit opportunities, all of the exams were multiple choice, all the slides were available from day 1, and he was easy to talk to. the only problem was that he didnt record lectures, but other than that, he honestly did everything right.

Thorough professor who can explain and break down concepts well. Takes student feedback throughout the semester. 4 Tests are multiple choice, but short (15-16 Qs). Optional final. Extra credit opportunities near the end of the semester. Lectures are very fast paced, but slides are posted, so it's possible to catch up. Overall, very reasonable Prof.

Honestly if you are willing to put in the work this class will be realtively easy to get a good grade in. 5 tests and last test is optional if you want to take it and it was the easiest. Questions came from all the previous tests. People who got a bad grade didn't come to class which was like 50-60% at the end of the semester.

Great professor. Generous on time and extra credit however very strict and doesn't budge if something is not accommodated by the syllabus. There are only 4 exams. The fifth exam is completely optional and cannot lower your grade also it was very easy. Again, he does not budge even if sick. Be careful wash your hands and submit everything early.

My fav prof at UTD, if for CS3341, he is genuinely best, bare minimum effort will at least let you pass, crazy built in curve, super amazing lectures, and if you actually try and put in effort, a B or higher is in reach fairly easily. Frequent exams, but they are mcq+during class+short. Grades: HW:40%, Exam1-4:10%, Exam5: 20% + lots of extra cred

If you want an easy A, he is not your guy. If you want a reasonable A, easy B, guaranteed C, he is your guy. He's very responsive on emails but don't recommend office hours because they are always packed making it difficult to ask more than 2 questions.

By far my favorite teacher at UTD. Difficult course especially over the summer while dealing with other things but a genuine mentor and engaging professor. The end of semester stats group experiment might've been the best moment in class I've had in my entire life.

Gives a lot of extra credit throughout the course. Interacted very well with students both outside and inside lecture; responded to email in a timely manner. End of course mandatory attendance project was fun (and also gave extra credit). Exams were difficult and vaguely related to homework; no study guides, but he reviewed before exams.

He has a really good blend of intensity and humor during lecture. I believe he is able to cover so many things so well because the lectures are extremely organized and have foundational things to focus on. Definitely an intense course but worth the cost of attendance. You will leave drastically better than in other classes. No curve but offers E.C.

Course hasn't ended yet, but want to say it for ppl planning for next sem. He is SO good! Gives great insight on material, what u shud b studying, etc. He's also a student; is funny but focused. Quick email responses. Exams (MCQ) are derived from slides (theory) which are uploaded before, and homework. No curve but EC! Straightforward course. Take!

Professor Smiley is a very interesting professor, he is very knowledgeable in R and his lectures aren't boring. His grading criteria is also very reasonable (homeworks, group project instead of midterms, and one take home final exam). You can either attend class in person, online, or just watch the recorded lectures after.

Prof. Smiley makes me very smiley :) Enough said.

Incredibly fair professor. Homework is not too long or arduous. If you study, the exam will go well for you. Gives extra practice problems. Random attendance apart of grade or the AVG of the four exams. Lectures are great. Teaches you how to learn stats, critical skill in general. Overall goated professor. His music taste is questionable though.

When a professor of such caliber lectures the class on Kendrick Lamar being the symbol of jealously it hits different. Interesting office hours conversations about general data manipulation is real life. Teaches us how to interpret data and improve literacy for ourselves. Bays Theorem!!

Extremely professional and through. Has a great grasp of the material and communicates effectively and accessible through email. All my questions were answered by next day. Deeply recommend.

You'll love his lectures. Does require a bit of study though depending on your skill sets. Lots of extra credit but no curve. Does communicate very often outside of class. Notecard and stat tables will be allowed. No quizzes anymore but attendance is randomly taken. Exams aren't cumulative and exam questions are mainly based off HW and slides.

Dr. Smiley is a fantastic professor! He is a great lecturer and incredibly nice if you have any questions or need help. Lectures were recorded and live streamed, no attendance. Homeworks come at a weird time sometimes (due date same as group project stuff sometimes) and can take awhile, but it's really not too bad. Would absolutely take again!

- One of the few that's really into their craft! - Helpful with anything you're stuck on - Teaches a little too fast; wouldn't be a problem if class notes weren't HEAVY. - There's a lot of new methods to learn in one class semester; try to keep up. - HWs are straightforward, and tests are multiple-choice. Awesome teacher. Would 100% take again.