2.5
Quality4.1
Difficulty32%
Would Retake130
Reviews32%
Would Retake
130
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
28
4
17
3
10
2
17
1
58
What Students Say
“Russ is a good guy and wants people to pass”
DBS201 - 4.0 rating“The course itself is easy, but his instructions are like solving a riddle for your grade”
DBS201 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
68%
Textbook Required
21%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
RPG455
5.0
(1)RPG444
5.0
(1)RPG544
4.0
(1)MAP525
4.0
(1)DOM545
3.4
(7)Difficulty by Course
OPS234
4.7
BCI433
4.5
DBS
4.4
DBT544
4.4
RPG445
4.3
Reviews (130)
Lectures & labs hamper rather than help. Knowledgable but not a good teacher.
No Comments
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Most of class lost and he blamed us students for it. Bad lectures and labs.
teaches course without structure, jumps from topic to topic. Lost Soul in class.
oh! my GOD! He is awful.His teaching is suck.Don't pick him as your OPS234 class
He's the worst teacher I've ever had. If you value your GPA, DON'T pick him!
He does not provide notes, makes you buy book and does not use it.
do not recomend to take if you want to have good GPA
makes u take notes in class, then explains while your taking note
No Comments
too boring,has no sense of humour,doesnt know how to teach.i dropped the class
Extremely boring, so I stopped showing up.
No Comments
Made me drop his class cause he couldn't teach
people who say he's not good are just morons
No Comments
the worst teacher EVER! dont take him! we want him fired!
You should study by yourself. He is not exited by teaching.
has nothing posted on website or my seneca. no structured NOTES, sucks-drop him!
No Comments
Good Class
SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS, y he is still teaching is beyond me!
gives terrible lectures; disorganized; surly; boring; doesn't update website;
Good Teacher - enjoyed his classes
great teacher, you are all morons,
No Comments
Does not explain things more than once and not very clear explanation to start with. Will not help in office hours. Avoid this guy at all costs!
Very lenient, helpful. good teacher
good teacher yet disorgnized lectures. no sense of humour and boring lectures. it takes time to get used to him.
Guaranteed to PUT YOU TO SLEEP.GIVES NO BREAKS. NEVER SMILES. es CULERO
Enjoyed his classes. Made me work hard, but I have a good understanding of the material now.
No Comments
Does not enjoy helping..never has an answer to anything...never smiles..actually maybe a couple...but very forced,just a weird and miserable individual! Some ppl say he has a great personality and sense of humour..i don't know what's wrong with the world
very disorganized teacher, boring and no sense of humour but i actually learned something in his class. hard marker yet clearly answered my questions. take him if you like challenge!
Excellent teacher. Very quiet, but if you go to him, he will help you. Tests/exams are all based on what he has said in class & in labs...so if you listen, you'll do well.
He does not like to talk much. Sometimes it seems like he does not like to teach either. Knows what he is doing but do not really like to work with people..
worst teacher ever. this guy teaches so he can be lazy (there are no supervisors around) to watch him. it took him 8 days to reply to my email, he doesnt explain anything well and never smiles. he is just there for a paycheck
Not very helpful; he will answer your questions but will expect you to solve your problems on your own. Doesn't take the time to explain. He's in it for the money only. Bad class averages...
He's a nice guy, but his tests were not as practical as I would've liked - much more theory involved (memorization of commands and concepts). The ironic thing is that his lectures were VERY practical (did labs in lectures, but didn't provide PP notes), yet his tests were theory based.
He is really nice and helpful profesor. I learned alot in his class. He is bit serious but on approach for help, he is really helpful. Knows his work and knows how to teach. I would say take him for any cource he will be the best.
Other than the fact that RPG is a dead language he's a good teacher. I had to take it as it was the only thing that fit my timetable!
No Comments
Recipe for success in this course (and every course): do not sit at the back rows, TAKE NOTES (keep writing as he speaks), attend all labs and classes, do NOT CHAT during his lectures, ASK QUESTIONS and of course: STUDY! Otherwise, you won't like him and his course. He tests are fair and reasonable if follow the recipe.
...this guy is the absolute worst prof in the province...if u ever have him for iseries, switch ur class....also...if he ever reads this, go sell server if you love them so much, all he ever talks about is how good ibm is and never bothers teaching anything. he is about as helpful as a wooden stump, cant teach, shouldnt teach, hes just plain crap.
please more help and smile
This guy is a real HAZZAA!!!...he probably didnt even smile on his wedding day! I should've smacked him one for the attitude he always gave us...and checke this out...last day of class before the exam, we come in expecting a review...and we get another Lab Assignment!!!! What a Hard Cruel Teacher!!!
His tests/lectures are not challenging at all, so there's not much opportunity to learn. He's really boring, and I doubt he's even interested in what he's teaching. His class was a waste of time.
teaches by memorization from notes and lectures.. been at seneca for a very long time..
I don't know how he got so many ummm...less than perfect reviews, but for the subject (IBC) which is by itself very hard and boring, he did a very good job. Answers questions and is very helpful, a bit intimidating at times but over all a very good teacher and I'm glad I didn't switch based on these reviews. Be sure to keep up though!
one of my favorite profs (this is the second course I've had with him). Very helpful and very strict with labs. Do your work and you'll be fine
I cannot recall any clear lectures from this prof. He is somewhat obsessed by spotting cheaters but not really helpful as a teacher. Not sure how proficient he is with database courses. Generally speaking not a pleasant experience and not much learning.
Very good teacher. Even though IBC233 is one of the most boring subject, he taught well. He is very helpful. You can see him at his office and find that out. His lab assignments are very lengthy and very easy. It takes like 3 hours to finish a lab assignment but its worth it, especially when learning a new system.
It's not an easy course but finish all the labs, attend lectures and listen to what he says. Very great professor! Will help if you ask for it! Explains things very clearly. I would take another course with him again if I could!
Russ is a good guy and wants people to pass. He might not be as outgoing as many of the other professors but he will help you if you need it. The assignments are all group work and the tests were fairly difficult. If you attend all the lectures and take notes you should be fine. 810
Russell is one of those profs that has been educating at this level long enough that the veil of patience for "dumb greenhorn questions"(my words) is gradually thinning, this doesn't take away from his effectiveness as a prof, but it can send the wrong message to overly sensitive individuals. looking at his rating page there seems to be alot
He definitely knows his stuff and will help you out if you ask nicely, but he will almost certainly give you guff for asking and will almost always have an abrasive response to your question, especially during his tests. The course itself is easy, but his instructions are like solving a riddle for your grade.
He is honestly the most ignorant professor I have ever had, he doesn't respond to email, doesn't really answer questions, expect to learn from the slideshows, which are pretty incomplete. Just a terrible teacher.
Never opened a lecture in class. Lecture classes involves him doing the first 2-3 pages of the lab and HAVE FUN with the REST! if you take this class make good connections with the people from the other sections!
Amazing teacher, very clear.. Labs take very long to complete but if you go to him and ask for help he is more than willing to show you what's good AMAZING teacher
He knows his stuff well but he will make you work really hard for it. Doesn't really help in class. If you go and ask him something, he'll give you some sarcastic answer that doesn't help. I had him for IBC233, which is the worst course ever, so I don't blame him. But he is too hard on giving marks for the labs, which are a lot.
Fair and great professor. I understand why there is a lot of negative feedback but believe me - if you indeed study all concepts, if you have a little germ of basic logic in your brain, you're fine. I had been struggling with a few labs far passed midnight, but at the end it was worth it.
The students who put negative reviews are the ones that dont want to study and get a easy mark. If you choose him, just know he is strict but pretty fair. He wants you to know the material well. He is only rude when a student asks him a pretty silly question that he would find the answer if he just read the lab, so I understand his rudness.
He is a tough grader, but he is one of the solid choices for DBS201 and IBC223 courses. He will respond to email, makes time for students, answers your questions. His tests may seem hard but they are actually a mixture of his previous lab work. He is really tough when marking labs, you can't submit it with an error. Exam is a mixture of his tests.
Do not take this prof for any course. Probably the worst professor in my entire 2 years.
Awesome professor with a tasty sense of humor. You need to attend all his classes and labs, would surely take him again. Helps you with all the labs. Teaches really very well.
Russ is a great instructor. He really makes you work for the grade and can be intimidating, but is always willing to help if you don't understand something and is always accessible outside of class. Some students whine that he's too difficult, but those are just people who aren't willing to put in the effort and expect an easy grade.
There were mistakes on the final project and he refuses to answer any questions regarding it
The prof tries to increase the attendance rate by not making any lecture material available. However, the lectures are disorganized and lacks proper explanations; they are filled with unnecessary verbosity. The lecture comprises of "here are some commands, click this, type that, bla bla." These stuffs are best left in a note rather than lectures.
Russel refuses to use blackboard for any communication, updates, course content or any other reason. He then gives lectures on a fairly complicated and dry subject which consist of him simply saying "do this, click that, copy this" without ever actually TEACHING anything. He simply shows completed code on the screen and displays it line by line.
Russel is a good guy, and a good instructor. He's tough and expects a lot from his students. He's hard to read and can seem intimidating. BCI433 is a completely useless course that has no real world applications, and he's he only one that teaches it relatively well. He increases the difficulty of this course by not providing any reference material.
I had Russel last semester and it was quite possibly one of the worst profs in my entire academic career. He refuses to use tools like blackboard and does not actually give you access to the information required to pass. Instead you need to go to class and copy down what he reveals line by line on the screen to have anything to study off of.
Is Russel a great teacher? No Is he the best teacher for BCI433? H*ll yes. BCI433 is a terrible and outdated course and should be removed from Seneca but my advice to pass: show up for lectures and take photos of his examples/ try to understand the labs/ do not cheat or you'll fail the final exam spectacularly/ it's a tough course but stick it out.
Absolutely terrible at teaching.
Need to attend every lecture just to copy and paste his work. He doesn't give out everything so you still need to work on it. He lectures nothing expect about labs. He doesn't explain how the system even works and he tells to "Find it out by yourself". Not recommend
Truly one of the worst profs at Seneca. Not even looking at the fact that he's got a clear conflict of interest and peddles an outdated system for IBM, he simply does not actually teach a single thing throughout the entire course. He puts code up on the projector and tells you to copy it down for the lab. Dont miss a class or you'll fail, simple.
The worst teacher I've had in my studies. The biggest issue with him is that he doesn't TEACH. It's all copy and pasting lines of code with no explanation. You pay so much $$ to copy and paste. Cannot go to him for extra help, there is no reference material. Also is the one pushing for a horribly outdated and USELESS class. Avoid him at all costs.
Doesn't teach, course is useless and artificially made difficult by him by not posting reference material / lectures online. Truly one of the worst. Possible conflict of interest as well since he seems to work for IBM.
A lot of the discontent here seems to be related to the course content rather than Russel himself. Programming for IBM is challenging, but Russel does a good job explaining the basics. If you want to do well, you must attend lectures and study the code which he provides. The midterm and exam are weighted heavily but he is a forgiving grader.
Russel did a great job! Others are right, we gotta be fair to the prof. IBM System I (AS400) is not an easily teachable subject but its definitely a worth learning. The coding of the never-down mainframe is a different thing from other ever-changing prof languages. Though he looks less approachable, hes very patient and helpful if we do our part.
The professor is actually very patient and quick in response questions. Perhaps the teaching style could be enhanced to attract students interest by 1. Adding more comment lines into the hard to understand coding lines. 2. Providing more interesting sample codes on web 3. Adding more Internet links in the instruction notes for effective learning
BCI433 is hard to teach and learn and it shouldn't be a mandatory course. Russel is a very dry and to the point professor which makes him seem unapproachable. He asks you questions in front of the class and he does not use Blackboard. But he is very patient and fair. He is very specific about what he wants from you and will grade you accordingly.
The course has outline and labs which leads students to study in right direction but he makes it so confusing and makes it harder. He changes lab every semester but instruction he gives in labs don't match with his lecture. he doesn't even know what change he made to his lab. Pick other professors over him. He deducts mark for every small reason.
Seneca should be embarrassed to have professors like Russel on their payroll. Knows his stuff, but is truly incapable of conveying any of the information in his head. Throws up code on the projector and tells students to copy it down line by line to complete the assignments. Genuinely one of the worst "teachers" I've had the displeasure of seeing.
He is a knowledgeable professor in AS/400 but there are some problems related to lecture and lab guidelines. basically, lecture content isn't complete and there are so many things which you need to search online to find it out and also some of the labs don't have instructions, so, you also need to figure out what's going on.
He can't be called a professor, because he isn't one. He is by far the worst I have ever had in my academic life. He doesn't have any methodology, he doesn't have support material, he doesn't give directions to students where to look for support, it all comes down to showing codes and asking students to copy it, and besides, he is extreme rude.
I can see why people don't like him but I did and, But a long as you show up he helps, easy on labs and assignment and knows what he talks about also almost always available for online help to a ridiculous degree.
Russel is a good professor and a good person, his lecture is solid but BCI433 is one of the hardest courses in the whole program,if you dont review every single word and understand what Russel is doing u will not pass, mid term and final were hard, just dont copy assigments,do all by yourself and if you do dont distribute your code,believe me
He is a nice dude. Knows the material well... if anything its just his testing is very hard and from what I hear very difficult compared to other professors. If you want to pass the course dont take him If you are good with IBM and want to learn more, then take Russel.
As our classes are online he is not responding emails unless he wants to. If you email him about some problem he well ignore your email and won't wait even for 30 secs after finishing his lecture so that you can ask a question. He is very tough grader and one big tip for BCI, don't take midterm lightly it won't be easy as other subjects.
BCI433 course is outdated and useless, but he tries to make you believe the whole world is based on that. The good news is Seneca is removing it. His lectures are useful for labs, but boring. Only 3/4 people attend every session. He is quick in responding to emails, and is rude in general. The only prof who said no when I asked for extension.
Russell's been great, he just teaches difficult courses. He's also helpful and understanding.
Majority of your struggles in BCI433 will be on the terrible course layout, but aside from giving some generous extensions, Russel is of no help. Impossible to navigate through ACS whenever he does his lectures, and you get no help online either. It's like speaking another language, makes sense why Seneca removed it for new students.
He believes that BCI433 is the center of the universe. One of the hardest courses in the entire CPD/CPA program. Midterm/final are inexplicably challenging. It is sad that most of your time is devoted to this fossil of a course, where it could've been better utilized for Web or OOP courses.
Horrible professor and person, ignorant and arrogant. He pretends like this course and the dinosaur IBM iSeries platform is still relevant today. It isn't. You won't find anything on the market for this kind of job. It's a worthless course that should have been replaced by software design or cloud computing instead. Topics that are important.
First-ever review, I don't like to judge professors usually but this "Fedora Man" is just built different. The only thing you'll gain from this class/course is how to manage hating yourself knowing people like him has control over how you proceed in life. His egoism is over the roof, won't help you with anything, a terrible testing structure, BAAD
This man is just straight-up rude, possibly mental and unstable. His rudeness level is sky-high. You'll great him and he'll just brush that off and give 0 attention to anyone. He does not care about you or how you are doing. He enjoys catching you slip to feel right about something. He'll blame you when in reality he does NOTHING to help students
Had him for a course way back in 1992. Wow he shouldnt be teaching. Back then he used to think the ibm mini computers are the future. Never was and still isnt.
BCI433 is a heavily outdated and irrelevant course but If he is your prof the difficulty spikes. He doesn't explain any of the concepts for this course, he just kind of does most of the labs himself and leaves some parts for us to do. BCI433 is a VERY difficult course that's also useless and it is honestly a giant waste of time. Avoid him. Garbage.
Never take his class. He's the worst educator of whole my life. Believe me. He doesn't reply to student's email. And if he feels that he doesn't wanna give marks to some students, he asks absurd questions not in the course material and deduct marks.
Be ready to do self study, and the notes and lectures are very good but still needs help of various websites.Don't violate the academic integrity terms or there are no chance or support you can get from professor.
You're lucky if you don't need to take BCI433, the course is being taken down in 2022. This professor will have you melting at your seat from boredom, talks slowly types fast. "Write this command" and the command is off the screen before you can read it. He forgets to take about why the stuff he's teaching is useful, or if there is purpose.
This is the best professor i could hope for the DBS subject. He was thorough in his classes. Explains the topic clearly. His labs are well graded. I like his terminology related to quizzes. His tests are always from what he taught. Overall, i would recommend taking him as DBS professor.
Literally the most efficient prof ever. Won't BS with you. Do whatever he said, and you will get a good mark. That's it. Easy like that.
I think Russel is the best professor for teaching. He gives lots of information and he always reviews what we learned last week before starting the class. I really learned lots of things from him. He is not boring. He talks very clearly. He replies to emails very quickly. However, he is a tough grader.
Most awful professor i ever met just needed 3 marks to pass he failed me
This is really awful and shameful how he failed the students through examination criteria in finals, making it difficult to pass for students. NEVER going to take this professor and NEVER I would recommend this professor to anyone. Good luck if you already enrolled with this guy.
IBM is never preffered by any IT or tech firm to be asset for an employee. My brother is software engineer and he earns 150k annually. He never used this shit and never did he know As400 before.
Believe me he is the worst professor. Please do not take him. He does not care at all about you. I am glad seneca stopped the subject not because its bad just because of the professor. Even if you have full marks of your labs, he will fail you for 2 marks in finals. On mailing him about helping with the marks, he will reply that its a harrasment.
This course is dumb.
I got C in BCI433, still i would say he is a very professional person and every word of his lecture you will understand being an average or below average student. Don't know why people are making hate but to be honest he is - strict, professional, amazingly helpful but only till labs and he marks very lenient but never increase or change marks.
He is so nice and he give more than expected marks in exam, but then he if someone is still failing then he dosen't increase any single mark, so i would not say he is tough grader. He ask long coding question and teach same concept very nicely and detailed. do not mess up with cheating or plag becz no way he is gonna leave you. He is overall wise.
No hates, he is just straight forward though he cares and give you more than what you deserve in exam, give fast email solutions but take test professionally. makes sets no plag cauz then you have no chance. people who don't study and don't see lectures usually put bad reviews but he is so trained and knows each and everything of this BCI433.
very wise with performence, watch his lecture note down what he ask you to take note then he ask in very humble way those things in next lecture since he always give review from last week. just follow what he say and do nothing else and you will be pass for sure.
Useless. Information not used in industry
He's very particular about what he needs and when he needs it. No flexibility. His lectures are informative though, so if you attend classes it will help you a lot.
never take him for any course and thank me later
Follow exact instructions if you want full marks. You will demonstrate your labs and assignments to him through zoom. He just wants to get it over with right away. Watch the lecture and do the labs for a full understanding. Not friendly, no patience. Have some respect to the students that give their honest best, Russel.
He was the most inflexible professor ever where you won't be able to fight for your marks. If you speak up during lab demonstrations, he'll tell you that you're wasting his time. He gave me marks off for having incorrect values but those values were from example values he has given us. Please stray away from this professor.
Had the pleasure of him teaching the second half. Course was easier second half than first half. For labs/ assignments just follow the instructions. He told us what was going to be on the exam and what wasn't... Although I will caution mongodb is easier than sql in my opinion so that might have been the reason why.
Mr. Russel will not make your life easier, he will try to make it as hard as possible. Often he would not specify the detail in question and then when you answer the question he will say that it meant something else. Labs and Quizzes are often hard to understand. If it would be possible I would give Mr. Russel -100 out of 100!
TOO MUCH HEAVY GRADER AND ACADEMIC INTIGRITY GIVER.
If you want to pass BCI433, never take this professor. He say one thing on class and will put some out of syllabus material on exam ! AVOID HIM AT ANY COST IF YOU WANNA PASS THIS COURSE !
He is well-prepared for lectures but may struggle with questions beyond the material. Assignments are straightforward, with a week for completion, but require to run commands in front of him for full marks. Exams are challenging but align closely with review questions provided beforehand.
you need to go for lectures and labs because every lab is quiz and every lecture you need to do your lab in front of him. Like thats just unnecessary. I dropped his class because I don't wanna come to campus on lecture days. RUSSEL I HAVE A LIFE i planned my schedule only for lab days. I think theres better profs for this course. idk...
Professor Pangborn has a very specific teaching style, but engaging with it can lead to success. Use unstuck ai alongside the free textbook to prepare for exams. Stay focused in class and you'll learn a lot, despite the difficulty.
His class is not engaging at all. This guy does not even know how to take a class. Does not explain thing properly.
One of the worst profs I've ever had at Seneca and I graduated years ago, forced us to take BCI when this stuff was outdated more than 10 years ago. Not a nice person, and super rude. Save yourself, you can do better with literally any another prof in CPA that actually cares about teaching and making your learning experience better with the class.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
68%
Textbook Required
21%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
RPG455
5.0
(1)RPG444
5.0
(1)RPG544
4.0
(1)MAP525
4.0
(1)DOM545
3.4
(7)Difficulty by Course
OPS234
4.7
BCI433
4.5
DBS
4.4
DBT544
4.4
RPG445
4.3