One of the most enjoyable statistics course I have taken in my life. Great speaker. Prof. has a superb grasp of the subject and really engages you with his style. Hard word but really enjoyable. Treat students with great respect. Super person and course.

What can I say... Never thought that learning (and worst yet statistics!!) can be so much fun. One of my best learning experiences. This Prof is real good and has all the stuff at his fingetips. A nice personality also.

It would be nice if he used more actual numerical examples in his lectures to clarify things. Shiv is more than willing to help if you ask, and if you don't have time, ask the TA's. They are quite shy, but extremely helpful. If you find yourself overwhelmed early STAY AWAY from the textbook as it is hard to understand. Get a book from the library.

I don't know what class those people below were taking because many in our group feel differently. The prof is an excellent teacher and spends his personal time to help students. Few profs do that these days. If you cannot add numbers, use a mouse, or read technical materials then you ought not to blame anyone else but yourself.

Teacher was very good at encouraging independent thinking from first day. It was one of the nice things about this course and a skill I am finding useful in other areas. It easy to see how those that expect to cram and pass can become desperate when faced with independent thinking.

A great teacher! He tries to make lectures entertaining, given the 'dry' material, and he invites questions during lecture if students are unclear about a topic. He cares about the students' success and consistently makes himself available outside of office hours for extra help. A fabulous teacher! If you have to take this course, take it with Shiv

Shiv is probably one of the better prof's at SFU... Midterms and finals are predictable are fairly easy.... I'm an arts student and I got the highest mark! so it cant be too tough!

Amazing prof. He was extremely helpful and he is very knowledgeable. Always encouraged questions and did his best to make sure people understood the material. He didn't try and cover too much material in class and did a great job explaining the material he did present. His tests were quite difficult but the class was still great.

Hilarious guy, thorough teacher, extremely friendly, and very helpful when you need extra help. An all round good prof. I don't even like GIS too much, but I took the second GIS course due to him teaching it. It is fairly hard to come by good profs.

Shiv's lectures are dry and do not explain concepts fully, therefore, it's important to ask questions. The assignments are long and require long lab hours to do well. The midterm was fair, however, the final exam was from left field...very brutual...Shiv has an awesome personality, he knows the names of his students, which is rare.

He has a good sense of humour and is very nice. However, this is a hard course if you are not math-inclined. I don't think he could really do anything differently, as it's not him to blame, but the material. I'm afraid I might fail. At least his lectures were enjoyable. Thanks Shiv.

He is very clear, and appears interested in the subject; good lecturer, but his exams are hard, and not always truly reflective of what was stressed in lecture. Beware the calculation questions - he does not give examples in class - learn HOW TO USE ALL formulas discussed in class (this will have to be on your own since he does not go over them)

Super prof ! Interacted with him at office hours. He is down to earth and always respectful. I got a decent grade and will take more courses with him. TA Liliana was the sore point of the class...

Shiv is a great prof, I had him for 4 of the SIS certificate classes. Always helpful, approachable and respectful of students. Test squestion and assignments can sometimes have unclear wording though.

My only beef with this class would be that the text was NOT AT ALL linked to the class. Other than that, lectures are to the point, informative, and a must to attend (although slides are posted, there is some info he removes when he posts them). easy assignments, and tests if you go to lecture.

Enjoyed this class very much. Cool Prof and honest person! He knows his stuff too. I liked how he treated the tech guys with respect when the computer equipment failed massively a couple times!! I was impressed. Will look to take more classes with this Prof.

Knowledge prof and hilarious guy. Very kind person too. He was like a guardian looking out for our best interests. One of the best courses I have taken so far at SFU! Thanks for a wonderful semester Shiv!

He has a photographic memory lol! He remembers everyone by their names, and doesn't use speaking notes. I took geog 253 and other courses with him too. I like him, he is a good prof.

Good course and prof.

This is my first GIS course. I really enjoyed it. May even switch majors in Fall. The teacher is very good, take any courses you can with him you will learn a lot.

GIS II is one of the best classes I took in a long while. I didn't like the late afternoon lecture slot, but the prof is super good....

Nice guy, seems serious at the beginning of every class, but is actually quite funny and enjoys students' humour. Has fair expectations from students, no mt, but DO attend as many lectures possible, slides won't have everything he talks about - those will be the most important concepts!

Very well organized and convincing teacher. I took geog 251 with him this semester too. I learned a lot.

Amazing prof!

Excellent teacher! Always willing to help out. Thanks for a super course Shiv!

Really enjoyable course. Lots of practical examples and videos. It was nice to see how GIS can be applied in the real world. Take any courses with this Prof, he is very good!

Excellent course!

Shivanand is always wiling to offer advice and support. A great mentor. He asks unanswerable questions in class to stimulate discussion - don't get frustrated, just bear with it!

I was pleasantly surprised that statistics can be so much fun. Good teacher and goes the extra mile to help students.

Shiv's lectures are interesting and he is there if you want help. During class he will scare you sometimes by making you doubt yourself! But even if you get it wrong he will spin it to make it sound like you made a good attempt. Very accommodating. Good prof overall.

I took both 251 and 255 with Shiv this last semester. It was a totally awesome experience. The finals were a bit tough but fair. He is a dynamic and thorough teacher. I am impressed how he is able to bring up practical examples on the spot in class.

I now actually like stats. Shiv was good at taking complex stats concepts and making them understandable and practical. One of the most approachable profs I came across. He is funny as hell too.... Overall excellent prof and person.

Excellent Prof and mentor. He took the time to write a reference letter for me and give me good tips on answering job interview questions. I got the co-op job. You are awesome Shiv!

One of the most rewarding courses I have taken so far at SFU. Shiv was always very helpful when I had questions. Super prof and person!

I thoroughly enjoyed the lectures. Shiv is easy going guy and funny as hell. Awesome lecturer too. I am now going to take more GIS course for sure.

Great prof and amazing person

Shiv is bar none one of the best profs I have had at sfu. Need to attend class for two reasons: you can get by without a textbook and he is an excellent funny teacher.

Shiv is an awesome teacher. He is unique in the way he makes you understand complex concepts without you even realizing it. Happened to me with hypothesis testing and p-value statistics. I am glad I took this course with him. Very considerate person too.

I took the summer session one (6 weeks condensed course)...people complained about having not enough time to finish the final term project which is totally bs. I finished my project in one night (6 hours) and got 100%...Shiv is a nice guy, though I don't really get his humor in class...He gives high mark on assignments but watch out for the final

I transferred into SFU and decided to take GIS. Prof went out of his way to help me get into the course. The lectures are awesome! and he genuinely cares about his students. Totally glad I am taking this course.

He has high expectations, but marks fairly, as long as you understand the content. Assignment questions always seem hard, but after answering them you feel smarter. Same with the final project, you gotta figure stuff out yourself. Final is always tough. Sad to hear he's leaving soon.

Great class! The prof sometimes give 2 hrs of engaging lectures from just 2 powerpoint slides! That's a remarkable feat. Amazing prof. Hope he is not leaving...

One of the best classes ever. You gotta take at least one course with this prof to feel what good teaching and learning is like. Thanks Dr Shiv!

Shiv is the most hilarious prof, i love him. Everyone should take a class with him!

Thank you very much Shiv. You have now opened a new and exciting world of GIS for me. Enjoy your summer!

I took GIS before, but didn't get the big picture from my past profs. Shiv did a remarkable job in linking the pieces together for me. He also did the labs and is a wizard with the ArcGIS software. Highly recommend this prof.

Superb course! Well organized notes and assignments. I graduated in Summer but took this course to give me an edge in the job market. Shiv is the best prof I encountered while at SFU. I now wish I had taken the SIS Certificate.

A wonderful and caring prof. I really enjoyed this course, everything was so organized. I will definitely take more courses with him in Fall.

The course was intensive, but Shiv did a masterful job with explaining and pacing the content. The TA was super too. I came in with no Q experience but Shiv was always willing to answer my questions at office hours. I got A-! Thank you Shiv and have a great summer break.

Great Prof. Do well with the assignments and final projects and you'll be able to fail the final exam and still pass with a B.

Shiv was caring, I went to extra office hours as I had 0 idea about statistics and he was very good about explaining it. He has a good sense of humour if you get to know him. Start going to office hours early in the term if you need help. The TA, Damir, is extremely helpful to beginners to Excel and ArcGIS. If you need help on projects, ask.

Prof is super smart and approachable! He knows his stats very well and is great at encouraging students to do well in the course. Always willing to help at office hours and through email. The TA on the other hand tries but most times not clear in his explanations. The course was a pleasant introduction to statistics for me. Thank you Shiv!

This is hands down the best course I have taken at SFU and so glad I took it with only one more semester before I graduate! Shiv is an excellent prof and very considerate too. Great ability to recall examples on the fly and relate them to the lecture concepts - the cost distance analysis and alligators example was hilarious!! Super positive dude!

My only regret was not taking this course earlier!! Over my many years of uni he is hands down in the top!! Excellent prof that keeps you engaged, entertained and you learn a thing or two as well. Tough to find ppl like Shiv nowadays *gasp

As long as you do well in your assignments and final project you can still pass the course with a B if you didnt do well on the final exam.

Shiv is an excellent professor. He has a great sense of humour, which makes it easy to pay attention. More importantly, he engages the class with questions that make you think about the material you need to understand. His teaching style is rare, so I would definitely recommend taking his class. Gain easy marks in lab projects, exam is tough. .

Shiv is an excellent professor. If you are needing to take this course, I would highly recommend taking it with him. He likes to create an involved atmosphere. Participation is appreciated, but make sure you know what you're talking about before you speak, and never second guess yourself!

ABSOLUTE BEAUTY. Would take any course with this gem.

Attendance for lectures are mandatory, crucial for understanding certain concept. Great prof, great person.

Shiv is my favorite professor, hands down. If you work hard and ask questions, it's a guaranteed B or A. He's very clear about what he teaches and his teaching style is unique so you actually understand material without falling asleep; and he's hilarious! I will take any class with him without hesitation. He's the best!!

Shiv is a great prof and you can tell he is a really smart guy. The questions he asks in class require you to think and it gets the class engaged. I think this is his best quality. He also has a good sense of humour. I would recommend taking his class if you have the chance.

Great prof. Very clear during his lectures and about his expectations. I would recommend taking his class.

Awesome Prof. But the finals was brutal. After all the interactive lectures which were the best I have ever had and all those concepts learned in class I thought finals wouldnt be bad. But everything learned in class wont be enough as you need to study really hard for his finals. Overall best prof ever. Would love to take another class with him.

Work hard on the assignments and project and you could end up with a B- before the final. Final was hard. I got 20/30 and ended up with a B+. Best Prof ever.

Enjoyed this class a lot...... The independent thinking and mini project was new for me but realize later that it was a blessing in disguise. I feel very confident now in my stats... Prof explains very well and in depth.... The finals was different, but if you study hard and don't cram you can do well. I got A-... sweet....

Great prof

Awesome and very funny prof! The only problem I found was that even though the assignments were pretty straight forward and easy, the questions at the end were hardly covered in class. The final is a bit brutal though so don't study last minute for it. Everything is online but it's explained better in class.

Shiv is a hilarious prof (sometimes no one understands his jokes lol). He does a good job of showing practical applications of GIS and explaining concepts but is sometimes vague when asking questions. He's also kinda picky about answers and his final was pretty hard. Shoutout to TA Shuoge for marking my hw mercifully enough to get an A. 10/10 prof

This the third class I've taken with Shiv, I love this guy. He's really nice and if you just ask him, he will help you. His tests are hard but fair, you can't just straight up memorize his slides because he wants you to learn. You have to make sure you actually understand what he's teaching you, which is really what learning is.

I have had multiple classes with Shiv. It's sad to say that I no longer can learn from him in any formal capacity (since I took everything he teaches). This guy taught me my foundation of my GIS and he literally changed my life for the better. If you can take a class with him, do it. You get whatever you put into the course.

Shiv is super knowledgeable and takes the time to teach the class the most difficult ideas, and have everyone understand how to use Excel and ArcGIS. Don't start studying for the final last minute, he likes to test understanding, there aren't any "easy" marks, all comprehensive questions that use multiple ideas for multiple marks.

Lectures tend to be fast but he always gives time for questions at the end and always does a summary of what he taught for that lecture. He is really nice and funny (tries to be!). I struggled in this course because Ive never taken stats, but he's always there for extra help if needed and responds fast to emails. Would take a class with him again!

I've never taken statistics before so I was hesitant on taking this course at first. I even thought about dropping it but I'm glad I didn't. I got the best mark from my years at SFU from this course. If you put the effort in understanding things (even if you don't for everything), you will do great.

Trust me,take a class with this prof.I was intimidated by the course at first bc i have absolutely zero scientific/mathematic/statistical background, but I needed it for my degree and Im so glad that he teaches it. great lectures even though course content is pretty heavy. Make friends! assignments will be a lot easier. overall my fav prof at sfu

Shiv is FANTASTIC!! He cares a lot for his students. This semester was a particularly trying time for many students due to the current events; he bumped several deadlines for us because he's awesome. He promptly answers any questions you may have about course content, on the Canvas question page. I highly recommend taking a course with him!!!

Shiv is a great prof. He was super considerate of everything with all the crazy things happening and even made the final optional. Also, unlike most profs, he answers all questions asked. Tips for the quizzes: screenshot all the lecture slides in the video and look back at them for reference during the quiz (it helps a lot).

Shiv is an amazing prof. He truly cares about his students and wants them to do well in the course. He extended most deadlines and answered any questions or concerns we had. The assignments and the project are worth a lot but there are clear guidelines so it's really easy to do well on them. Grading is really fair. I would take another class w him.

One of the nicest profs I have ever had! Weekly homework and material was very manageable. He is easy to access outside of class and genuinely wants his students to succeed. Very caring! My only complaint is that the assignments were graded harshly by the TA's, which drastically decreased my mark.

so far, Shivanand Balram is one of the best profs I've had so far. He is very understanding when it comes to assignment criteria and is very understanding when it comes to students' mental health, especially during these times!

Amazing prof. We're graded on few things but the material is clearly presented to us so it would be difficult to perform extraordinarily poorly. This class is simple and clear to follow , everything is on one page you dont have to search high and low on canvas to find your homework or anything. He responds to emails promptly and accommodates all.

Shiv is a very understanding professor and his class is structured in a way where you do not have to do a lot of work every week. Do well on assignments and the mini project and you will be good.

This course in general was really easy, however the final was very dense and we did not get enough time considering the work we had to do. Something else to mention was that halfway through the semester a student wrote a bad review on here about this professor and they freaked out and sent a mass announcement to our class threatening consequences..

Weekly quizzes based on short 15-20 min video lectures, assignments are manageable since theyre either based on research or he provides a step by step guide. There were no live lectures so I havent really met him but from his emails he seemed like a very caring and wholesome person, definitely recommended!

The class is done completely asynchronous, meaning no lectures whatsoever. He doesn't like cheating and always mentions it everywhere. I took it as a GPA booster, but there are so many little things to do for the course. The quizzes also require you to actually watch the videos he shares, which are really dry. Easy class, but too many assignments.

Professor Balram is really amazing. Super understanding and gave project extensions after the BC flood and during midterm season. He had some technical errors in his course, but was extremely understanding and provided great solutions and alternatives to these errors. Thanks Professor!

Shiv was probably one of the best professors I've taken at SFU. He cares about his students and is very clear and concise about what he's looking for. Modules were organized and notes were very useful. Attend all the lectures and the assignments were also straightforward. Final was hard so make sure to study in advance.

He is a good teacher. His lecture doesn't contain enough info so you MUST go to class and take note carefully or you won't pass. First assignment is easy but later assignments, project he marks much harder. TA is helpful, not the grader. Intersession make it pretty rush. Final is brutal, you need to learn and adapt but not some definition question.

Professor Balram is a great lecturer, and is generally pretty good at teaching the course concepts. There are lots of assignments, but they aren't too hard, and you're given plenty of time for the final project. Most of the difficulty rating comes from the final exam, which was fairly brutal (at least for me). Overall, pretty good prof!

1. Shrink lectures and gives audio record for students that cannot be there. 2. Responsible and treat you like an adult with a respectful attitude. Wonderful and positive person. 3. Always being helpful and even replied to emails on Sunday within 10mins, twice. 4. Extend deadlines very often when only a few people cannot make it.

He was a very nice guy and he responded very quickly to emails. However this course is hard to succeed in because the assignments are so hard and seem to have nothing to do with course content, they are worth a lot and he marks tough on them.

Always respond on the email. Really quick responder and understanding. I have take 3 courses with Shiv and he was amazing and very helpful professor.

This professor is accessible if you ask for help and is definitely willing to support students. Tests are a bit vaguely-worded but overall if you need assistance he will be there to give it. Attending lectures is super important because a lot of information is provided that end up on quizzes.

Shiv was a great prof. Very caring and wants the class to succeed. Course felt a bit heavy with lab and lecture material but it is doable if you put the effort in.

This class was graded only by a few things (only had 3 assignments). Make sure you study well for the final and the midterm. Quizzes and final seemed a little difficult as he uses a select all that apply system for multiple questions. Sometimes it was hard to figure out what the prof wanted from students.

He is one of the most exceptional professors I've encountered at sfu and serves as an excellent guide for those looking to enter the GIS field.

The overall course was easy, there were only a couple of assignments. The tests were difficult, so study the key concepts and not too much on the calculations. If you do well on the assignments and not too well on the tests, you should be able to get within the B to A range.

Like his other classes there are very few assignments but there is a good amount of content for each week for the student to learn. He cares about the class and wants people to succeed in this class. If you know gis stuff then you should be fine. For the exams, focus on key concepts.

His final was extremely hard however most of the course was graded by assignments and weekly quizzes. The assignments were marked fairly imo and made most of my grade. The quizzes were just 4 questions based on the weeks lecture. He has a dry sense of humor which makes lectures entertaining. Would easily take another class with him.

He's a good prof who clearly cares about his students there were the normal struggles students have of course, but office hours were clear and he grades fairly imo. I would take him again. To be honest he may just be an "average" prof but I have had very few that were even that so I would recommend him.

Lectures are a necessity as lecture slides posted online are not that helpful unless you have additional notes and context with them. Don't buy textbook. Go to the first few labs to understand how to do the assignments.

Taking GEOG 150 with Shiv Balram was the best decision. The lectures were pretty easy, the assignments were based on computer exercises, and we received straightforward instructions. Take this class with him if it is possible!

He's a chill prof, gave me an extension after i missed a quiz. Midterm was tough but I found the Final to be very hard, the mcq were harder then quizzes and the written portion of the final felt like a lot to get done in the time we had. Ended up dropping from a A almost A+ to a B+ as my final grade but either way its a GPA booster

Best teacher I've had at SFU thus far. Lectures were engaging with funny moments, and he made me care about GIS when I went into the class looking at it as something I needed to do for REM. Only thing is the final had a question worth a large amount of points that we didn't cover at all during class or labs.

Made me care about GIS when I went into the class thinking it was something I had to do for REM. Clearly passionate with funny moments in lectures, and really cared about students' success. Only thing is the final had a question that wasn't covered in lectures or labs. Also don't buy the lab textbook, I never had to use it.