3.1
Quality3.1
Difficulty43%
Would Retake125
Reviews43%
Would Retake
125
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
41
4
22
3
13
2
20
1
29
What Students Say
“He explains nothing in class but requires us to do everything in lab&assignment&test”
INFO1103 - 1.0 rating“" and clicks next slide”
CS2253 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
58%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.98 avg changeRatings by Course
1003
5.0
(1)CS2635
5.0
(2)CFORSCIE
5.0
(1)CS1003AN
5.0
(1)CS2053
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CS
4.3
CS2263
4.3
CS1003AN
4.0
CS2023
4.0
CSFRO
4.0
Reviews (125)
No Comments
He is very meticulous about assignments
Only prof I've had all year with some personality. Fun, friendly, and approable.
Good dude, still has some spirit left in him.
He is the best CS teacher that I ever had
No Comments
Best prof I ever had
Really good prof.
Great prof, definately the best one I've had yet. Very easy to talk to.
best prof ever
One of the best profs I've had.
good prof, hard exam, gave me a B+, not sure why
Great prof... classes are very interesting...easy to talk to... best prof ever!
Damn good prof - teaches with great analogies to real life
No Comments
great teacher, best i have ever had
Horrible final exam.
Liked his teaching style. Lots of resources on reserve. Exam was tough though.
Great prof. Establishes clear expectations at the beginning of each class, and I've always left having felt I met those expectations. He's easy to follow and teaches with analogies to real life. No more "just because". Thanks Rick :)
Excellent Prof...Thumbs UP 2 him!!!
Excellent prof. Very clear explanations. Great analogies.
Man, if only all my prof's could be like Rick. Hope I get in some of his other classes in the future! He's awesome!
explains the hard stuff really well. funny and approachable. somewhat hard class, but he makes it fun.
I love this guy! He's the best teacher I ever had!
awesome guy! He explains concepts very well so that first year engineering students with no programming backround can get through this seemingly tough course.
Rick rules. Plain and simple. One of the best professors you'd ever have. Always approachable and always takes charge of any situation no matter what the circumstances.
How do people think he's a good prof??? Unless you're in an upper level course that he teaches, look out, 'cause it's gonna be BAD.
Makes the course fun
Not a bad teacher. Good guy, approchable and willing to help all the time.
Nice prof. Seems to help people in every way possible. teaching criteria is excellent. U'll defn learn the subject if u work hard @ it.
I didn't really like him or the course. Maybe it is just me
Failed the course with .4 off of a D . Lost 3 of my assignments. And not willing to bump me up to a 50% when i have a 49.6. Fricken HARSH guy!
Took this from him in the fall. Great prof. Always there when I needed a hand with something, takes all kinds of time to help you understand the material. Even helped me with CS1083 even though he doesn't teach it. Definately take everything with him.
Gives examples using real-life examples. Assignments he makes aren't toy problems asking for real solutions...they're real problems asking for real solutions. Doesn't "give" or "take" marks. You get every mark you earn. Very fair p
Very challenging, but interesting prof.
I can't believe this guy. He expects us to think, and learn, and do some work. He only gives us what we deserve. What is this, a university or something? Finally, someone who makes things simple.
A first class teacher, his assignments taught me not only CS, but problem sovling and self evaluation. Almost switched to CS after his course.
Never did any computer science before at all and Rick made me love it!
Not very helpful. Would not place class related material on webct, unlike the other professors, and was hard to get to commit to meeting with a student. Also, lost my friend's paper and wanted them to take a zero on the assignment. Class tended to be very boring.
The material on it's own was easy so that wasn't a problem .... Rick made numerous errors on midterms, assignments, and the exam. Very unproffessional.
He's kinda a dick, and his class is harder than the other profs that teach the cources... he makes funny jokes at times... but often not so much... hes not helpfull... again, take someone else
This prof was sort of dry. But then again, you can't really make computer Science that interesting! The class was pretty easy, you just have to make sure you keep on top the assignments he gives. I think there were 9 assignments, 2 midterms and 1 final. The end of the course can get kind of tricky.
I hate this prof and the class. The assignments are poorly worded and he makes you feel like a dumb ass when you go to him for help and his stories suck. I warn you to take this with anyone else.
I was worried going into this class, after hearing some bad things about the prof. But honestly I have a hard time seeing where the comments came from. He is the first professor I have been able to relate to, and he made the class easy and entertaining. My only suggestion is get to know him.
I'm surprised at all the negative comments. I mean, I hated him at first, but I loved him at the end! Rick is very harsh at the start, but as the year goes on he warms up to the class as those not interested drop out. The class is pretty fair and as long as you put any sort of real effort into the course you're guaranteed to pass. Pretty funny guy.
great prof. His teaching was the only reason I kept going to class.
HE IS AN ASS! WORST PRO. EVER IN UNB HISTORY!
Seemed as if he was reading the slides for the first time as well. Assignments were impossible, he was the least helpful person. Ridiculed students in front of the class who emailed him, was always nasty in his email replies. The exam was out of left feild as well, nothing like the midterms, or what he told us to study. Avoid wightman at all costs!
he wasn't a bad prof. I had great marks all semester except for the final. And thats my own fault, I thought it was just on the info from the midterm on. And if you dont pass the final you get a "D" no matter what. So thats what I got. When in all actuality it should have been a "C" probably. Can't blame him though =/
He's a jerk, but with good reason. Sometimes you'll leave the class hating him, only later to realize that he said/did what he did for your benefit in the long run, even if it is a headache in the short term. His assignments make you think, and I enjoyed attending his lectures right up until the end (which I can't say I did for most profs).
Refuses to correct errors made by his markers, who, in my case, made far too many errors. Refuses to meet to discuss issues. Is very rude and condescending.
Rick is a very, very tedious person. It takes him 15 minutes to say what most people could say in 15 seconds or less. His speech is laden with over-emphasized sounds, gestures, facial expressions, with lots of agonizing pauses in between. His sense of humour is quite skewed too, but that's common for CS nuts.
No Comments
poor teaching. he doesn't have enough knowledge to teach.
Not a terrible prof, but his lectures were filled with strange actions, jabs at students in the class who dared to ask him for help, and stories about how generally awesome he was for helping out with his church. The pop quiz's were fairly annoying, but if you read the textbook then you will likely do well in this course.
His lectures are not helpful instruction in computer science, but rather an attempt to indoctrinate the students into believing that the only use for computer science is in the uncritical service of corporations. His instrumentalist philosophy would more more tolerable if he didn't use so much of the class for it. Bring a book to read during class.
Rick loves to hear his own voice and he stresses about how it is important to come to class it is, that is true to a point but at 8:30 in the morning it is hard to look at his tired face. The start of the class is easy but the final is retarded! It is a must pass final, which is not necessary, you need to know the book inside and out.
I had him for C, while most other reviewers had him for the Intro To CS courses. He seemed very happy teaching C, very involved. He was friendly without being slack (which means a good prof who will actually teach you the course). The midterm and final were standard difficulty. I don't think he usually teaches this course, though.
Rick is one of my favorite profs. I've been reading here that people say he's a bit of a jerk, but it's really not in a bad way. He's a jerk to people who aren't interested and don't care about the course (it's a great course). I found him to be extremely friendly and approachable. Helped me many times after class and during lab sessions.
Rick really enjoys talking about himself and his own personal life ex. his church. He has energy in class but makes me mad just listening to his rambling stories. It makes it hard to follow the material.
His lectures are interesting, much more than most profs. The only thing is, for the first half of the course the assignments and labs assume knowledge that he never bothered to mention in class. The second half was a little better, until he started being cruel to the class. Yell at a student for correcting him? Kick a door shut? All this and more!
He was a pretty decent prof. I tried to attend this class as much as possible because he takes attendance and has pop quizzes in place of midterms. The final was pretty easy too. Just go to class and you should be good to go. Assignments are once a week and only take an hour.
this is the worst prof of life, stay away
Dont ask questions, he just tells you to listen in class but then he never goes over it in class! His assignments are easy, if you know a lot about computers! and he hardly shows up on time for his own tutorials!!!!
Useless is simply an understatement of how unhelpful this man is. How he is still aloud to sculpt young minds is a tragedy and sure to harm the future of education. No one cares about your research papers, lets try teaching and not being so stuck up. So button that shirt up Rick, and does it ever get lonely up their on your pedstal?
I don't know who he thinks he is! he is completely useless and I can't believe he is the only prof teaching this class this semester. He automatically fails you if your attendance is low! Completely unfair! If there is a way around taking his class do it! He is sooo Rude. I honestly hope they can him soon!!!!!
He is an alright prof. Attendance in this class is KEY. There is a pop quiz at least once a week, sometimes twice. However, the assignments are not very hard. Make sure to double check your quizes and assignments as I had some TA's mark me wrong MANY times when I was in fact right but he corrected them for me right away.
I really don't know what to think about Rick. He had plenty of enthusiasm in class, but his labs where brutal and he and the TA's where nearly useless. Luckily he did hold a great revision session before the final exam, which was very fair. All in all an ok but not great prof.
By far the worst prof I have ever had. He does nothing but make mistakes on the board and talk as if he invented teaching. All he talks about is problem solving, but he can't even solve the simple problem of his laptop dying every class. Good job Rick. You learn everything in his class on your own in labs with absolutely no help from him.
He forces you to buy a textbook at the beginning which he had a hand in editing and you actually use it a grand total of twice. The only thing that he manages to do in class is ramble about his life experiences, everything we have done we have had to teach ourselves. He has no value as any kind of teacher.
Worst teacher ever!
useless get a new profession
disp('rick is the worst teacher ever'); he has double marking standards he passes some people for one thing but fails others for the exact same thing. he blabbers on about his personal life more than he does about the class. he always says engineering is about a close enough answer, but when you give him a answer that works he says no. WHAT A DICK
Horribe marking weight i.e ratio of mini quizzes to assignments, told me the deadline day that i should drop the class, all he does is take stuff directly out of the text book. Just an overall bad teacher.
Mr. Rick (being formal) is not a Dr. or and engineer. He's class was CS for engineers. Why would he be thought to be capable of teaching the course. disp('Fire Rick')
His class definitely was not boring, but also was not the easiest. It was impossible to take note cause he speeds through the slides. But over all I would say he is a good Prof. He is very understanding.
He's an alright prof. Just don't leave the class mid way through or he will chase you down the hall and call you out in front of everyone. Although it's not the most respectful thing to leave class early, we shouldn't have to be chased after. Very unprofessional and stuck up on his part.
I do not know how to describe!
Very approachable, extremely helpful if you attend tutorial. The assignments are a lot of work, but overall, he is a good Prof.
Rick was a great prof. really knows his stuff, tries to get everyone involved, and has a genuine concern for student success. Do the work, go to class, and he makes it easy for success
He takes FOREVER to go over anything. If you have absolutely ANY programming experience prior to this class you might as well bring a good book to read. He took a good week to go over 'if' statements. REALLY likes to go off topic, kind of a pain in the ass, he marks in a really stupid fashion, almost failed a midterm because I didn't divide by 2.
Atrocious teacher. Can't teach at all. Reads from slides. Says "easy right?" and clicks next slide. Almost no examples. He is a fair marker. Friendly guy. Approachable. Of little help though if you have questions, expecting you to answer it yourself, no direction. students having to google answers in class to their questions as he didn't know.
I didn't go to class to learn, I went for the life lessons :P Also, you'll hear everyone complain about him not teaching, but this course is really, really easy. So figure it out on your own time, go to his class, and enjoy the show.
You pretty much need to attend every lecture, even if you already know the course material
Think twice before taking ! It is not easy to score in his subjects. He is very friendly but you are expected to do things independently . Attendance is crucial !!!
Very helpful, easy to talk to
He reads off the slides, doesn't do examples in class and gives assignments without teaching the material first so the students are left in the dark. The lectures are long and sometimes he goes over the allotted time period. He is willing to help if you ask for it and he is enthusiastic about the subject.
He doesn't possess the knowledge to teach the course. He doesn't upgrade himself. Teaches wrong concept, will reduce marks for uploading a zip file instead of .tar file, If you get stuck on some issue while doing project or assignment he won't help as he himself doesn't know but expect us to solve the error. He is the only guy who I ever heard saying that read Wikipedia and write the answer. Avoid the course its awful, Plus I feel he I racist
Attendance is mandatory. He goes off-topic alot in the middle of explaining something.
Had Rick for CS1073 and CS1083. He's not great at explaining stuff. He's a really nice guy though, but unless you already have a pretty good understanding of Java, I would not recommend him.
He is funny and nice. Class wasn't hard, but you needed to be there...
+You HAVE to attend class. He's reasonable IF you miss it for a good reason. (420 is not a good reason) +Hard marker, but FAIR. He will NOT give you a question that hasn't been taught. +Easy to get a hold of; Office is usually open. +Friendly, and willing to help if you're willing to put effort in. He will NOT give you the answer. 9/10
Quizzes were out of 5 and weighted for a large portion of your mark and questions were ambiguous
Overall, pretty good. Gives good notes. Tests and exams are kind of hard, but questions are always fair. Make sure you go to class or you probably won't pass. Assignments and Labs aren't usually super hard but do take a while sometimes. Would definitely recommend.
Gives good real-world context and meaning to topics but does have a tendency to go a little off topic. Tests are difficult, attendance is VERY important and be sure to really understand material rather than memorization. It is a good idea to ask many questions and visit office hours. Overall a very caring solid professor.
You are not truly ready for the greatness that is Rick. Hands down the funniest prof at the university. He puts a huge emphasis on understanding the material as opposed to memorization (so try hards hate his class) and will help you work your way to the answer instead of giving it to you.
He doesn't explain stuff very good and also the tests are much harder than the assignments.
He explains nothing in class but requires us to do everything in lab&assignment&test.
Doesnt explain anything in class, so labs and assignments are hell, but the midterms and final are relatively easy compared to it.
Mandatory attendance, even though the material is so easy. I studied 30 minutes for both midterms and got 85 on both. Assignments and labs aren't very difficult, I've never spent more than 1-2 hours doing them. I did get a 20% on one lab though because the virtual machine running 2007 software didn't save my code before I submitted it.
Solid lecturer, you can actually understand him, and he's fairly funny which is rare at UNB. Takes attendance, but the classes are worth going too
Really nice prof. His content can be difficult to learn but he does a great job teaching. Is a harder marker.
Very nice course and lectures. Explains hard topics well and with humour. The tests are easy but the final was a little bit hard. Assignments are are little bit more challenging and hard to understand. Don't buy the textbook
He's a really nice guy! Very funny and sarcastic sense of humour can make him come off a bit mean, but he really is a great guy once you actually talk to him! Classes with him can be a bit difficult, but it is clear he cares about whether you succeed.
People are being rough on rick here but he's one of the best CS profs I've had in 5 years of CS here. He's funny and actually wants you to understand the topics, not just memorize them. Show up to class and do what you are told and you will pass, I took 1103 & 2253 with him and he was great for both. He's also very approachable and a great guy.
Lectures and assignments are easy to follow but tests are a different beast. Questions are ambiguous/ not easy to figure out what's required sometimes. Tests have very few questions and so each question is weighed heavily.
The class is really fun, you get to make and API, and it's great. But, a huge amount of grades are in the tests, which are really boring, and Rick will punish you for not interpreting his ambiguous questions properly and will punish you for long wordy answers that make him think.
Not sure how Rick is rated above a 2 but he's easily the worst prof I've had in the entire CS department. I work regularly with a group of 6-8 people on his bi-weekly labs and every person with us hates this man. Trash lectures, a workload far above what should be acceptable, and when asking for help, redirects you to resources instead of helping
Way too hard of a course, with a crazy unreasonable workload and no good resources. His attitude ranges from mean to snarky (on good days, under certain circumstances) and no questions are ever answered, at least not without an insult sprinkled on top, regardless of how good or polite of a student you are. 10/10 would not recommend.
Getting a good mark in 2263 with Rick is pretty much a fulltime job. Small assignments every other day on top of labs quizzes and full length assignments... He is unhelpful, mean, rude and demoralizing on his good days. The workload is VERY unreasonable along side the fact that he is unwilling to help, take 2263 from anyone else if you can help it
He is the worst prof you can get at UNB. He taught the course online and reuses the videos which are unhelpful. youtube/google is better. He is extremely arrogant, and unhelpful. you ask him a question he wont answer and make you feel stupid. If you miss the stupid FND you are screwed. its a lot more work than all my other courses combined.
Worst professor doesn't even care about us. Racist to international students. I hate to take class with him. Never had a prof like him.
Honestly he's been one of my favourite professors at UNB so far. Everyone gives Rick a hard time, but if you put in the work, you'll get a good grade. Do the fNDs and actually engage with the material and you'll be fine. C is not an easy language to learn but I thought he did a good job. His grading was pretty fair.
He needs to use his own codes for assignments and test :(
The only way he's going to make any exemption for you is if you have a concussion. And that's on a good day. Absolutely no sympathy at all.
Try to stay away from his classes
Really interesting guy. The load of assignments, multiple midterms, labs, group projects, and readings was overwhelming but probably some of the most useful information I've gotten out of this degree. Great course to take if you want to do co-ops, his background isn't in CS and that makes all the difference, explains things clearly and simply.
Reads difficult concepts off the ppt
I would recommend not taking his class. He makes it very hard on students and does not care about anyone. For some reason, he gets chosen to teach the hard courses at CS given that he doesn't even have a CS degree!
whenever he holds a class he says: "I have a set of pictures to show all you students although only my fellow North Americaners will understand and I don't believe you international students will understand" when half of his class (since its CS) is full of international students none of the classes were of any value and the videos are mediocre
He reads most topics from the PPT and makes way too many mistakes when teaching. Once he got very confused with the topic and the algorithm where he could not seem to understand how the algorithm worked and just implied well here is the PPT and the topic and learn it yourself.His PPT's also are near useless because he at times forgets the main part
Worst prof in the cs dept. Constantly complains about how lazy student are, but then uses his lectures recorded from lockdown for weekly lectures because he doesn't want to show up. Acts like he is levels above students and treats you as below him. He has a forestry degree, why is he teaching cs.
It's a tough course and he expects you to put in the effort. He is a very fair prof and will do his best to help you if you are actually trying.
He does not like international students and do not believe his rating here because he create good rating by him self. I have seen him doing that when he was in the office.
Tough course, but if you put in the effort, you'll do well. Utilize resources like the textbook and unstuck study to supplement the lectures. Overall, a fair professor who wants students to succeed.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
58%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.98 avg changeRatings by Course
1003
5.0
(1)CS2635
5.0
(2)CFORSCIE
5.0
(1)CS1003AN
5.0
(1)CS2053
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CS
4.3
CS2263
4.3
CS1003AN
4.0
CS2023
4.0
CSFRO
4.0