Horrible professor. Make fun of students during the class. Says that understand of cryptography, but doesn't teach anything.

doesn't speak well and lots of mistakes on the blackboard

If you don't want to get stuck with a bad teacher, don't take her course.

Just had blockchain with her, you won't want to take her course... There are better options at UVic

Classes are boring. the teacher makes a lot of mistakes during the class. I dont recommend.

I took ECE 519C Cryptography last term. Very rude professor. Content is ok but students have to learn a lot by themselves.

Not a good professor. As an international student I expected more. Explanations are not clear.

could't understand anything after that I dropped the course after a month

Unfortunately, I do not recommend this professor.

Exams are unnecessarily hard. Doesn't speak well, could barely understand what she said. Wouldn't take again.

I dropped. I couldn't get what she was saying English is terrible. The contents are good but the explanation is awful.

I attended 3 or 4 classes then didn't attend more, I already knew a lot about Blockchain so it helped me, don't expect much from the professor.

I took Crypto last year, and if my memory serves me well in the Midterm half class got less than 4 out of 10. The Final was not much different so she had to change the final grade calculation so more students could pass the course, otherwise, it would be a tragedy.

worst Professor I had at UVIC I failed the course even after doing all assignments. The exam was ridiculous more than half of my class took less than 5 in the first exam.

I decided to take this course as elective but didn't though it would be that hard. Most time had to learn alone classes as useless. Exams are really hard and don't reflect what was taught in class. Disappointed

I dropped the course as the professor was totally confusing. The subject was interesting though. No textbook or other material.

Lack of practice Hard and tough midterm after getting my midterm grade, I realize I definitely fail.

I am afraid this is the worse professor I had at Uvic. The exam had nothing to do with what was explained in class. Much harder than the assignments (which were already tough). She does not speak well either which makes it even worse.

Unfortunately, I came to check about the professor after I started the course. I regret not doing this before. really hard assignments. This RMP website is great! thank you

I stopped attending classes in the middle of the course. Professor is totally confusing, classes are not clear, and an accent really terrible to understand. I was thinking of taking blockchain classes next semester, but I decided not to apply for the course.

This professor has some good papers but class sucks. if you disagree with her she is going to hate you. If you agree with her she will love you. Assignments are hard and exams even harder. We had online classes I could barely understand what she said.

lessons with no clear structure. she doesn't grade too harshly. but the works are dry and long and you have to read almost two for every class.

I just took the cryptography course and have the feeling I'm not going to pass. Midterm was hard with "prove that" formulas that I wasn't expecting based on the assignments. Overall, classes didn't help much I had to study by myself.

My first semester at UVic. Most professors were ok. The cryptography course feels like you are just here to research or theory, not to care about the student's learning. No connection with students at all

The university experience at UVic is fair, the cost of living in Victoria is really high and not many places to eat at the university. the blockchain course was online but I had to go to school anyway for the other courses. Course difficult to follow most content you have to search online as classes were confusing

Never respond to students' e-mails, won't answer questions regarding assignments or reading, midterm unnecessarily long and different from what was taught.

The professor unfortunately makes no attempt to be engaging or interesting in any way. Very difficult to follow her classes due to her strong accent. It's almost as if she knew she was wasting everybody's time.

She was so difficult to understand, especially his expectations for tests, and assignments. Avoid

This professor has no idea how to teach students. On top of that, she makes very rude comments during class and makes fun of students. I would never recommend this professor.

In general I consider myself good at math and it took a lot of work to keep me afloat. I would not recommend this class unless your are really really good at math and looking for a challenge. Otherwise, it will harm your marks.

I loved the blockchain topic but the professor didn't help much. I had to learn a lot on Youtube or Internet. Exams weren't terribly hard, but bet those depend on her classes didn't do well.

Very unclear with direction, I didn't learn anything really. the professor didn't follow the course outline as expected and the exams were much different from the assignments. It didn't contribute to my thesis as I expected.

in general, the professor was extremely disorganized in her classes, and expected us to complete a 12+ week project in just 3 weeks. I am sure she was just winging it most days. If you can avoid this course, do it. seriously.

I had a Blockchain course and we had excessive homework assignments. The exams assessed things she never really explained adequately in class. it was required memorization of useless information that didn't contribute to blockchain understanding at all. Over conceptual classes with little or not practice examples.

I've just finished her course in April 2023. It is said to say it but she is commonly rude to students. If someone gets a little off-topic, she cuts them off. She makes students feel intimidated to speak. The material is OK, the content is appropriate for a Crypto course, but you will have to study mostly alone.

I was advised by some colleagues to avoid this professor, but even though I took the course because it was online. She didn't explain the material she suggested, just expected you to read the material and understand. Was absolutely unfair with grades and expected you to know everything even when it wasn't taught.

Overall, the courses at UVic are ok. This Cryptography course in particular is not recommended. This is the worst teacher in the school! She did not explain half of what you needed to do. She would not help you with work and, she is definitely not friendly to students.

I just had 519C first semester at UVic. My feeling is you don't need to go to the class, stay at home do the assigned and reading, tests, and homework, watch youtube videos to learn cryptography. The professor is extremely boring and doesn't speak well you will hardly understand what she says.

Course taken in the first term of 2023. I personally didn't like the way the professor treats the students. She is frequently just point-blank rude towards students. If someone gets slightly off-topic, she just cuts them off. It makes students feel really intimidated to ask questions during the class. Content is ok, but could be better explained.

Somehow arrogant. the tests are practically rote memorization with a lot of homework assignments. Exams questions that she never really explained adequately. Tests based on horrible handwriting on the blackboard. Required memorization as the (extremely old) recommended book is vague, and does not teach concepts to solve real problems.

I didn't enjoy the course. She never seemed to get much (if any) info in lectures, and went off on far too many topics. Luckily the topics are fairly easy to find on youtube so you can study by yourself. Exams were hard I had to study a lot by myself to pass. cool topic but a bad professor.

I took 519C Cryptography in the last term and the amount of effort that this professor puts in to making things intentionally difficult to find in the course material is crazy. We end up having to rely on youtube videos and other courses materials to be able to learn. Tests are overcomplicated and different from what was explained in class. Avoid.

Very tough grader. If you delay the assignment one day you get zero. In my opinion she is very inconsiderate and unfair as classes are not the same level as exams, two friends of mine didn't pass the course. She is a very hard teacher who did not listen to students about serious issues. I really don't think she enjoys teaching.

this was my second term at UVic, the professor was a disappointment. She doesn't speak English well, but the textbook ok. She uses Onenote when on online classes, which is a mess and really hard to use to study before exams. Exams are hard, theoretical and way different from what was taught in class. Really hard grader.

This is my second year at Uvic and this was by far the biggest disappointment. Professor Riham communicates badly with students and grades are very unfair. Just wish I could get my money back from this class. I've heard there are other professors that teach cryptography so this wasn't a good choice.

The worst teacher I have ever had in my 23 years of living, even considering my undergrad course in India. I really do not recommend this professor at all. I have not learned much, but what I did was from Youtube videos and websites on cryptography and exams are hard

Altawy was the worst grader ever. Unfortunately she has a terrible accent that makes it hard to understand what she says. Overall avoid her at all costs and if you do have to take her then good luck.

It was a bad experience. Unclear with expectations. Is vague to the point where I do not know if I learning something or not. Simply tells you everything is clear then hits you with an exam that asked for the most nit picky details never even mentioned in class. Difficult to understand what she says. Avoid!!!

This professor is not good. First exam was hard. Final exam was almost impossible. Homework era harshly and I only had one grade above an 75%. Classes were a waste of time as you can't understand what she says. The final exam covered things that were not covered in class or that was awfully explained.

Made my final term awful. She makes the class much harder than it has to be, picking obscure points on the exams! Don't take this cryptography class unless you absolutely have to! She assigns tons of work, requires the a 30 year-old-book, is a hard grader, etc. Don't do it!

worst professor I had at UVIC. most students can't understand what she says terrible accent. tests are heavy with topics not explained in class

I do not recommend this professor if you are trying to learn. She does not explain well and exams are heavy very different from what she teaches.

at UVIc this was by far the worst class I've taken throughout my engineering course. Her tests are extremely hard and not related to what was taught in class. I almost failed the course and my average score went way down after it.

This professor was tough, it was difficult to pay attention to her classes as her accent is terrible. The lectures were bland and her voice is monotone. The homework is hard and the tests even harder. You learn by yourself. And her exams are heavy on math, prove theories, etc. nothing applicable.

This class is absolutely terrible. Riham is very hard to understand, incredibly hard to follow and most of her explanations make no sense. I learned almost nothing in her classes. I mostly learned from Youtube videos, as most student in my class, even though it is hard cuz not all topics you can find videos about. Keep away if you can

Just finished my course at UVIC this 2023 summer. Overall professors OK. Cryptography course is the only one I definitely wouldn't take again. Entered course with a reasonable gpa and practically failed the course. I was shockingly disappointedly with the professor to say it politely. Bad professor and you have to study A LOT and by yourself.

confusing classes, just a bunch of notes her handwriting is difficult to read. the exam was heavy much different from was taught in the online classes. terrible accent makes it hard to understand the content

unnecessary overcomplicated. the classes were very difficult and uninteresting. The grade consists of lists and heavy tests exclusively and the tests cover a broad range of topics with unpredictable levels of depth compared to the lists. My lowest grade for the last semester.

Classes just started and I notice this is a horrible professor!! She's mostly rude towards her students and never helps students understand anything whatsoever. Accent difficult to understand and sometines make fun of students. Let's see how exams will be.

difficult to understand as English is not good and classes are not clear and midterm was way more difficult than the assignments almost nothing to do with them.

this professor does nothing outside of class. She never got back a single assignment. She talks forever during class but doesn't matter much as her English is horrible. Assignments are really hard and only doable looking for templates or similar one on the internet. All in all hard prof and I didn't learn much..

This was the hardest B I ever had. She is really lecture heavy and a lot of times her lecture's do not make much sense. Lectures are very boring, her accent is horrible, and completely honest it's the worst class i have taken at UVic. I don't mean to be rude but this is really a course that's not worth to be taken.

In my opinion this is a HORRIBLE PROFESSOR! Se has a very heavy accent so I could not follow his lecture, because of this I learn myself a lot of thing through Youtube. In the midterm I didnt solve the problems the way she taught/wanted and she discounted a lot of points! I don't recommend

Really a tough prof. Test questions are purposely trick. Her materials are some helpful, some frustrating. Good luck.

In my opinion, she too tough. Not clear. Will tell you your doing fine then give you a bad grade.

I love cryptography but I would NOT recommend this class. While tests and papers were hard but fair, the lectures were painful to endure and definitely were not at all helpful. At some point I stopped going to lectures and taught myself from the book, Youtube and other sources online. Not enjoyable! Take this class from a different professor!

From my POV, this professor is rude, she calls people out in class to respond to her questions that she never taught the answers to. The books assigned were used once for an assignment, and her sloppy chalkboard that can barely be read is probably her lowest point. Midterm is hard, many students below average. Not recommended.

I don't get these green rates, anyone who grades her great or awesome is lying to you! Aw-ful is the least it could be said!

classes are not up to the level of midterm. assignment help, but you have to do yourself and are HARO mainly in the probability calculation part.

I would say, or suggest literally any other crypto or security class. This was for a general education credit and was definitely a nightmare. You have around hard midterm and more than hard assignments, on topics that she does not go over in class. handwriting is terrible.

PErsonally I think she's frequently rude and not approachable, does not accommodate, and does take off points from midterm and assignments for not doing it her way. Don't take his class

I personally I chose this course as my elective which was the worst mistake I could have made. She tries to be funny and is clearly into what she teaches, but you seriously need to go to all of the classes because her exams will literally reference her board, which by the way is most times a mess. overall, had negative experience, don't recommend

Very hard grader and will not work with. Has hard questions on an exam and will not take any advice claiming her questions are flawless. Avoid her at all costs.

I toke this course in 2023 and surprised to see her name here. Instructions for the projects were poorly explained and she did not explain techniques well. Sometimes rude to the students, try jokes that are not fun. She made fun of students in front of the other students. It is an easy class but be prepared to be belittled. Horrible accent.

Had crypto class as part of my masters at Uvic. Awful professor. Her assignments couldn't be understood by most of the class, they ended up copying from each other form some Internet source. She picks favorites, she ask questions if only the same person answers she assumes everyone knows everything. Waste of time, take class with a better teacher

Prof Altawy has no sympathy towards students, she is a very harsh grader, and expects students to watch 2-3 hours of videos on top of hours of actual coursework every week on Youtube because se does not explain right. i would never take one of his classes ever again !

I never rated any professor here but this time I felt compelled to. The lectures are basically useless since you have to learn on youtube, at least attendance is not mandatory. book adopted is ok, but time-consuming since she focus on her hard-to-read notes. Exams much above the lecture level, many students in my group in particular didn't pass

I studied hard, all my other scores were B+ or higher. Avoid this class unless you have NO other choice at all. Your grade will depend on what TA is assigned for your class, classes are confused, although there is a book, she relies on her confusing notes, and that may be enough to screw you over.

In general petty grader, and unclear instructions on assignments, she just tell asks to read the instructions, though the reason we ask is because we didn't understand the instructions. English pronunciation is not good, make class harder to follow. Assignments are hard, final is harder!

Not good professor and does not explain well in class

In general Dr. Riham makes this class way too term-heavy for what it is. makes complicated what is already complicated. super hard assignments. Even harder midterm.

hard assignments