AI Rate Professor

Computer Science

Ryan Melvin

CS165 · COMSC165 · COMSC260 · COMSC200 · COMPCS260 · 97 lifetime ratings

AI rating
38/100
RMP rating
3.2/5
Take again
54.64%
Difficulty
3.1

The decision

if , and use office hours early.

Best fit · Self Taught ProTest HeavyConfusing QuizzesSlow GradingSelf-Teaching RequiredAccessible in Office Hours
  • Grades , and finals rather than programming work.
  • Many students say lectures are long, outdated, dry, or not enough for exams.
  • Students who use office hours, read carefully, and study early can still earn high grades.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

52/100

Many students earn A grades, but they describe the A as , and surviving tricky exams.

Online evidence emphasizes self-study and tricky exams, while but with and late grading.

Is the course easy?

Standard

44/100

The programming content is manageable for prepared students, but ways.

Online reviews make the course feel harder because lectures are often criticized, while .

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

70/100

Reviews do not show strict attendance rules, and online courses appear largely asynchronous, but .

Online reviews discuss recorded lectures and weekly modules, while policy.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

42/100

Students recommend him mainly for office-hour help, but many warn against the , and poor lecture value.

Online reviews are mostly cautionary, while and kindness alongside strong warnings.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

25/100

as test-heavy, unforgiving, slow, and difficult to recover from after a .

Format shift

Both formats report strict exam weighting, with online reviews especially focused on exams and .

Workload

Heavy

34/100

Workload is heavy because students describe , and extensive self-study.

Format shift

Online reviews mention weekly modules, lectures, quizzes, discussions, and assignments, while but .

Teaching experience

Poor

45/100

Teaching quality is inconsistent, with many complaints about outdated or boring lectures balanced by praise for office-hour help.

Format shift

Online teaching is criticized more harshly for recorded Zoom lectures, while but remains uneven.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

88/100

Assessment is strongly exam-focused, with many comments saying quizzes, tests, and finals outweigh programming assignments.

Format shift

Both formats point to exam-heavy grading, especially online courses where students repeatedly cite three exams and a final.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

18 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

and caring behavior offset by dry lectures, late grading, and .

Main concern

and weak grading timeliness.

What students said

“ . .”
CS165
“Workload is low, but be prepared to learn a lot on your own and read the textbook for the tests.”
COMSC200
“Professor Melvin is amazing. His lectures are really good and .”
COMSC165

Remote format

Online

32 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online reviews are more negative, , and heavy self-study.

Main concern

Online students often feel the lectures do not prepare them well for quizzes and exams.

What students said

“Genuinely the .”
COMSC165
“ . Takes forever to grade.”
COMSC200
“ but only record our screens and not us.”
COMSC165

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are high-risk because reviews repeatedly describe tricky questions, , and some proctoring evidence.

Test HeavyTricky QuizzesMultiple Choice ExamsProctorio MentionedHigh-Stakes Final

Assessment risk

Strict

24/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and timed Proctorio in one review, but do not clearly prove open-book or closed-book rules.

Test HeavyHard Multiple Choice ExamsTimed ExamProctorio MentionedDifficult Final
“ and timed w/Proctorio but he gives you many many opportunities to boost your grade at the end of the semester!!!”
COMSC260
“ , but the vast majority of the class struggled with .”
COMPCS260
“Quizzes and tests are multiple choice, but are unreasonably difficult and .”
COMSC165

Online

Online reviews clearly mention tricky quizzes, heavily weighted exams, a , and .

Tricky QuizzesTest HeavyMultiple Choice ExamsProctorio Screen RecordingDifficult Final
“ but only record our screens and not us.”
COMSC165
“His test and and . Requires Proctorio.”
COMSC165
“All 3 tests and high score. However, the real problem is the difficulty of the .”
COMPCS260

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ .”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting recurring themes in , and support; credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

45/100

“I learned more from self-studying than going through his lectures and notes.”

🧪

24/100

“The quizzes and and difficult.”

⚖️

25/100

“Final and test worth 75% of the total grade.”

👍 Recommendation Level

42/100

“If you are serious about learning OOP in .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • .
  • Lecture videos didn't make sense. .
  • Professor Melvin is amazing. His lectures are really good and .

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • , but there are plenty of opportunities to get an A.
  • if you are looking for an easy A.
  • Tests are worth 52% of your grade.

Theme 3

⏱️

  • Takes forever to grade.
  • About 3 hours of lecture per week on top of .
  • Everything builds on itself so slacking .

Theme 4

🤝 About Helpfulness

  • He gave me much help during office hours.
  • Go to his office hours for help when you need it and and you should be good!
  • He is very knowledgable so go to his office hours to get the most out of this class!!

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

97

Lifetime ratings

90/100

Evidence confidence

The rating is based on 50 detailed reviews across several years and both formats, with , and office hours.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 540
4 out of 57
3 out of 510
2 out of 514
1 out of 526

Course coverage

COMSC16522 reviews
COMSC20015 reviews
COMSC2608 reviews
COMPCS2604 reviews
CS1651 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

46 reported outcomes

A range

30

A+ 1 · A 24 · A- 5

B range

7

B 7

C range

2

C+ 1 · C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

7

Drop/Withdrawal 3 · Not sure yet 2 · Rather not say 2