Word to the wise, avoid Dr. Stephen Grant at all costs when signing up for classes. I just him for Discrete Linear Systems (EE215/267) and it was possibly the worst class experience of my life. His lectures consisted of pre-constructed notes in pdf form, riddled with mistakes he constantly had to fix and hard to read with his scribbled handwriting, and literally just scrolled through the pdf document in class and read and pointed too quickly for anyone to possibly take notes.
There are only a total of 6 assignments (there were supposed to be 7-8 according to the syllabus) in the class, each a 100 point quiz, the lowest of which was dropped. These quizzes were inconsistent whereas some were exactly like the homeworks (I'll talk about these) and others were pulled out of nowhere. Some where taken for 10 minutes at the end of class, others took 30 minutes at the beginning of lecture, and others took the entire hour.
His grading is slow, I made up a quiz 2 weeks ago and he hasn't gotten it back to me still, 2 hours before the final exam. He doesn't post grades either, but requires you to keep track yourself (beyond sending him an email asking for grades). If you miss class for a legitimate or not reason and he hands back a quiz, expect it to be gone. I missed class once for a job interview and again for a doctor's appointment and each time he either left the quiz in the class or 'lost it' when i came to get it the next class period, so the only way for me to get the grade was to email although I don't know what I did wrong and never will.
The homework is oblique and he decides he doesn't like half of the problems in the book that he assigns so he 'rewrites them to be better problems' then has his TA write up solutions, which he never likes and makes his own hand written pdf form the day or two before the quiz.
Since the quizzes are 75% of the grade in the class and the final is 25%, it is becoming more difficult than I expected to get an A. I have an average of 85/100 on the quizzes (assuming I did horrible on the quiz I don't know the grade for), which means I would have to get a 105% on the final to get an A in the course. I think it's incredible that with only 6 assignments and a mid-high B it is impossible to get an A in the course.
Thats just a frustrated rant, but if you have to take a course with him, you might consider pushing it off till the next semester and hope someone else is teaching it. Anyone taking a linear systems course this semester (there wasn't a continuous class offered because they are phasing out 265/267 ) and only discrete was offered and he was the only one teaching it. Compared to Dr. Kosbar, I can't believe he's an instructor at this school, but luckily discrete and continuous systems are enough alike that I could figure it all out on my own from the book.
Joined: Wed 12-02-2009 9:54PM Posts: 10 Location: TJ North
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LostBoyz wrote:
you know there are sample quizzes that are practically identical every year
his class is a joke, almost everyone gets an A
sounds like you need more friends
I don't know what's the joke you are talking about, and I don't think everyone gets an A. His class is so confusing, and hard to follow. Having friends does not have anything to do with learning in the class.
Joined: Sun 08-15-2004 9:36PM Posts: 4957 Location: ~~~~\o/~~~~~
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owl wrote:
LostBoyz wrote:
you know there are sample quizzes that are practically identical every year
his class is a joke, almost everyone gets an A
sounds like you need more friends
I don't know what's the joke you are talking about, and I don't think everyone gets an A. His class is so confusing, and hard to follow. Having friends does not have anything to do with learning in the class.
Joined: Fri 09-05-2003 10:24AM Posts: 3593 Location: Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the p l a i n s !
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owl wrote:
LostBoyz wrote:
you know there are sample quizzes that are practically identical every year
his class is a joke, almost everyone gets an A
sounds like you need more friends
I don't know what's the joke you are talking about, and I don't think everyone gets an A. His class is so confusing, and hard to follow. Having friends does not have anything to do with learning in the class.
Wait, are you supposed to learn stuff in these classes?
_________________ Ever get that feeling of deja vu?
Joined: Tue 08-15-2006 6:22PM Posts: 255 Location: Tetromino House
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I hate the hand-written tablet notes. I can't tell what some letters are. There are always mistakes. The squiggle vision gives me a headache. Hard to follow. Un-interesting. I sat through every lecture period this semester, I understand where you are coming from.
Joined: Fri 09-14-2007 3:47PM Posts: 437 Location: Just behind your left shoulder
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The piss-poor quality of the notes (not just legibility - the countless mistakes as well, as has been mentioned) isn't all that irked me about that class this semester... the whole grading shenanigans was pure shenanigans too.
Oh, and if you're expecting him to reply to any of your e-mails... don't. I even sent several with the "High Importance" option and "read receipt requested"... never got anything in return. You'd think for a EE professor at Missouri's "premier" technology something-or-other, it wouldn't be too much to expect a professor to take the 20 seconds to press the little Reply button and type even a short 5-word response every now and again. You'd think so, anyway.
Joined: Wed 12-02-2009 9:54PM Posts: 10 Location: TJ North
Source: Somewhere On Campus
swsvy3 wrote:
I hate the hand-written tablet notes. I can't tell what some letters are. There are always mistakes. The squiggle vision gives me a headache. Hard to follow. Un-interesting. I sat through every lecture period this semester, I understand where you are coming from.
Joined: Wed 12-02-2009 9:54PM Posts: 10 Location: TJ North
Source: Somewhere On Campus
Cylord wrote:
The piss-poor quality of the notes (not just legibility - the countless mistakes as well, as has been mentioned) isn't all that irked me about that class this semester... the whole grading shenanigans was pure shenanigans too.
Oh, and if you're expecting him to reply to any of your e-mails... don't. I even sent several with the "High Importance" option and "read receipt requested"... never got anything in return. You'd think for a EE professor at Missouri's "premier" technology something-or-other, it wouldn't be too much to expect a professor to take the 20 seconds to press the little Reply button and type even a short 5-word response every now and again. You'd think so, anyway.
Joined: Wed 12-02-2009 9:54PM Posts: 10 Location: TJ North
Source: Somewhere On Campus
ShadowCat38 wrote:
owl wrote:
LostBoyz wrote:
you know there are sample quizzes that are practically identical every year
his class is a joke, almost everyone gets an A
sounds like you need more friends
I don't know what's the joke you are talking about, and I don't think everyone gets an A. His class is so confusing, and hard to follow. Having friends does not have anything to do with learning in the class.
Wait, are you supposed to learn stuff in these classes?
Learn stuff is pure idea for college. As right now ppl just want to get A, and get over with it. For all my classes I try to at least get the basic ideas and core ideas, but for this class, I felt that I throw my money into the drain.
Joined: Wed 12-02-2009 9:54PM Posts: 10 Location: TJ North
Source: Somewhere On Campus
LostBoyz wrote:
owl wrote:
LostBoyz wrote:
you know there are sample quizzes that are practically identical every year
his class is a joke, almost everyone gets an A
sounds like you need more friends
I don't know what's the joke you are talking about, and I don't think everyone gets an A. His class is so confusing, and hard to follow. Having friends does not have anything to do with learning in the class.
Joined: Sat 10-18-2003 10:26PM Posts: 2955 Location: Stone's throw from Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
Source: Off Campus
owl wrote:
Learn stuff is pure idea for college. As right now ppl just want to get A, and get over with it. For all my classes I try to at least get the basic ideas and core ideas, but for this class, I felt that I throw my money into the drain.
The piss-poor quality of the notes (not just legibility - the countless mistakes as well, as has been mentioned) isn't all that irked me about that class this semester... the whole grading shenanigans was pure shenanigans too.
Oh, and if you're expecting him to reply to any of your e-mails... don't. I even sent several with the "High Importance" option and "read receipt requested"... never got anything in return. You'd think for a EE professor at Missouri's "premier" technology something-or-other, it wouldn't be too much to expect a professor to take the 20 seconds to press the little Reply button and type even a short 5-word response every now and again. You'd think so, anyway.
I'm starting to get pissed at grant now. I had to make up quiz 5 out of 6 because i was out town for a job interview. I made up the quiz 3 weeks ago but he just gave it to the grader on the friday before the final. He told me to email him the day after the final and he should have it back, that was monday.
I've emailed him 3 times since. That quiz will determine whether I get an A or a B in the class.
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