AI Rate Professor

Computer Science

Xinyi Lai

COMSC255 · COMSC240 · COMSC171 · COMSC256 · COMSC210 · COMSC165 · COMSC260 · COMSC140 · 43 lifetime ratings

AI rating
40/100
RMP rating
3.0/5
Take again
48.84%
Difficulty
3.4

The decision

if you are comfortable teaching and can handle strict grading.

Best fit · Self Taught ProHarsh coding gradingChallenging assignmentsVague feedbackIndustry-focused materialPolarizing teaching
  • Students agree the courses can build real programming skills, but and .
  • The biggest risk is harsh or rigid grading, including several complaints about zeros for small code issues.
  • Online reviews are especially polarized, while and severe grading complaints.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

50/100

Many students earned A grades, but comments show the A , and careful compliance with strict grading rules.

Online reviews include the strongest harsh-grading complaints, while but include more direct help after class.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

34/100

The programming content is often conceptually demanding, with , and a noticeable difficulty spike in some courses.

Online students more often describe long lectures and self-teaching, while but better-supported practical work.

Is attendance flexible?

Recommended

55/100

Reviews , but lectures, quizzes, participation, and help sessions appear important for staying on track.

Online evidence centers on weekly lecture videos and quizzes, while because material can move quickly.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

44/100

He can be valuable for motivated CS students, but , and disrespectful replies make him risky.

Online recommendations are sharply divided, while in-person reviews are slightly more balanced but and difficulty.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

Multiple reviews describe harsh code grading, zeros for small mistakes, no curves, and .

Format shift

Online reviews provide the strongest evidence of , while in-person reviews .

Workload

Heavy

30/100

Students report , and time-consuming programming work.

Format shift

Online workload is described as long lectures plus weekly labs, quizzes, and assignments, while .

Teaching experience

Average

55/100

He is knowledgeable and sometimes helpful, but many students say , and support are vague or ineffective.

Format shift

Online teaching is more criticized for recorded lectures and vague help, while and industry experience.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

32/100

Assessment appears driven mainly by programming assignments, labs, quizzes, projects, and .

Format shift

Online reviews mention weekly labs, assignments, quizzes, forums, midterms, and finals, while and projects.

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

17 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person reviews are also split, with praise for practical skills and help after class but and .

Main concern

The main concern is a steep difficulty jump and .

What students said

“Never had such a hard time with a cs professor.”
COMSC210
“Prof Lai brings into his class his long industry experience.”
COMSC256
“Prof Lai always made a questions or give extra help”
COMSC140

Remote format

Online

26 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online reviews are highly polarized, with some students praising responsiveness and real-world programming insight while , and .

Main concern

The main concern is strict grading on difficult programming work with .

What students said

“He gives you a zero if your program doesn't properly run and he .”
COMSC210
“ .”
COMSC210
“You're better off watching youtube videos on the subject and watching his lectures for hints/guides on the weekly assignments”
COMSC255

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

because some students call exams easy while others tag courses as test-heavy, and reviews do not clearly prove proctoring or book policies.

QuizzesMidterm And Final In Some CoursesEasy Exams In One ReviewTest Heavy In Some ReviewsAssignment-Driven Grading

Assessment risk

Varies

60/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and do not clearly prove exam format, open-book policy, closed-book policy, or proctoring rules.

Limited Exam EvidenceAssignment-Focused Concerns
“there was a big spike in logic and if you blinked you could easily miss something.”
COMSC140
“This is not an easy class. and challenging materials.”
COMSC210

Online

, and some easy exams, but do not clearly prove webcam, proctoring, Lockdown Browser, open-book, or closed-book rules.

Weekly QuizzesMidtermFinalMixed Exam Difficulty
“ and .”
COMSC260
“2 small quiz, 1 quiz, 1 lab and 1 assignment, 1 discussion each week with 2 exam total.”
COMSC260
“The homework for this class includes relatively , and a graded weekly forum discussion for participation.”
COMSC260

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ if you are comfortable teaching and can handle strict grading.”

Voice snapshots generated from 43 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and format differences; credibility rating: High.

⚖️

28/100

“He gives you a zero if your program doesn't properly run and he .”

🧠 Learning Value

55/100

“Professor Lai is one of the .”

📚 Course Difficulty

34/100

“This is the hardest class I've ever taken, and I struggled to understand most of the .”

Theme 1

⚖️

  • Receiving a 0/100 on an of 300+ is ridiculous.
  • He grades way too harshly for his .
  • .

Theme 2

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He is very knowledgeable.
  • His online class is all just recorded lectures that did little to nothing in when it comes to learning.
  • He focuses on helping us building practical skills besides earning credits.

Theme 3

💻 About Assignments

  • The online materials were comprehensive.
  • and time consuming, though.
  • , but they made me improve as a programmer overall.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

43

Recent reviews read by the AI

43

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Credibility is high because 43 reviews cover many CS courses and both formats, with repeated , and practical learning value.

Inside 43 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 512
4 out of 55
3 out of 58
2 out of 57
1 out of 511

Course coverage

COMSC21020 reviews
COMSC2609 reviews
COMSC1406 reviews
COMSC1653 reviews
COMSC2562 reviews
Show 3 more courses
COMSC1711 review
COMSC2401 review
COMSC2551 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

37 reported outcomes

A range

23

A+ 3 · A 20

B range

6

B+ 2 · B 4

C range

3

C+ 2 · C- 1

D range

1

D 1

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

4

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Not sure yet 3