James Keeshen

ANIM1 · ANIM2 · STORY4205 · ET61 · ET18 · ET11 · ET19 · ET19A · ET3278 · ET2200 · ANIM19A · STORYTELLING · ET2 · ANIMANIM · A · 51 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 74/100
RMP rating: 3.9/5
Take again: 83.33%
Difficulty: 2.9

The decision

Take him if you want real animation industry training and can handle blunt critique; avoid if you want a chill easy A.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerIndustry Storytelling MentorHilarious But BluntTough GraderParticipation MattersRedo Work For Higher Grades

Strong industry-minded mentor for students serious about animation and storytelling.
Humor and deep feedback win fans; rudeness and harsh critique alienate others.
Attendance and participation matter; rewrites can raise grades if you put in the work.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

58/100

An A is realistic if you redo work and participate, but tough grading and rewrites mean it is not free.

Both formats reward effort and rewrites; some in-person students say hard to get an A.

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

Storytelling classes can be lighter, but animation production courses feel industry-hard and critique-heavy.

Online ANIM1 comments vary from easy to hard; in-person animation courses trend more challenging.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

25/100

Attendance and participation are repeatedly required and factored into grades.

Mandatory attendance appears across online and in-person animation sections.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

78/100

Most serious animation students recommend him for growth, despite a long-running minority that strongly dislike his style.

In-person opinions are more polarized; online lean mixed-to-positive for dedicated students.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

52/100

Tough grader who often allows redos and detailed feedback, so grades can rise with revision.

Format shift

Redo culture appears in both formats; some still call him hard to please.

Workload

Heavy

35/100

Frequent assignments, critiques, quizzes, and revision cycles create a heavy practical load.

Format shift

Online and and redo work.

Teaching experience

Good

72/100

Industry knowledge, humor, and mentoring shine for motivated students, but delivery and tone can alienate others.

Format shift

In-person legacy reviews are split; online notes weaker remote adaptation.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

30/100

Project- and assignment-driven with critiques, occasional quizzes, and participation rather than big traditional exams.

Format shift

Both formats emphasize assignments and participation more than formal finals.

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

43 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

many call him the best animation mentor ever, others find him rude, condescending, or disorganized.

Main concern

Harsh personal critique and industry-style toughness can feel demoralizing for beginners.

What students said

“Professor Keeshen is one of the rare, exceptional animation professors who wants to see you succeed in making your own films”
Anim2

“he is rude and will openly berate you on a personal level”
ET19

“He likes to test who's real. He wants to know if you're serious, and if you are, you'll get through it fine.”
ANIM1

Remote format

Online

7 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online students say he is passionate and helpful but often poorly adapted to remote teaching and can ramble.

Main concern

Old-school online delivery, mandatory participation, and uneven clarity of teaching.

What students said

“Professor Keeshen has not adapted to online classes compare to other professors.”
ANIM1

“Tough grader but it is for the best, thats why you become better when you re do assignments and get better grades.”
ET11

“Drifts a lot in thought...and just doesn't seem to teach really well.”
ANIM1

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment centers on projects, critiques, and quizzes more than high-stakes closed-book exams.

Project CritiquesRedo AssignmentsWeekly QuizzesParticipation Graded

Assessment risk

Standard

55/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person grading focuses on project quality, rewrites, and sometimes quizzes used like attendance checks.

Project RedosHarsh CritiqueWeekly QuizzesIndustry Style

“if your project is not what he wants he will make you re do it”
ET19

“there is everyday quiz but it's chapter by chapter so just read through it and ”
ET18

Online

Online comments emphasize participation, homework, and feedback redos more than formal proctored exams.

Participation GradedRedo AssignmentsTextbook Support

“Gives valuable feedback and makes you re-do assignment to improve it.”
ET11

“part of your grade is determined by how much you participate.”
ANIM1

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“He is training you to be an Animator, it's not an easy major/job but I do genuinely believe that I am a better Animator for having taken his course.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting mentorship, humor, and polarized tone. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Mentorship Quality

72/100

“Not too many animation teachers who emphasize storytelling the way Jim Keeshen does.”

😂 Humor & Energy

80/100

“AWESOME. Interesting class, hilarious professor. I look forward to it all week.”

🧱 Tough Industry Style

45/100

“He likes to test who's real. He wants to know if you're serious, and if you are, you'll get through it fine.”

⚠️ Tone Concerns

30/100

“he is rude and will openly berate you on a personal level and make snide rude comments about you in front of other students”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

he is passionate about animation and teaches very well
knowledgeable for sure, He thinks so deep and tries to explain everything from the basic level
He's a really good teacher and he's hilarious to boot!

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

If you work you will get A.
Is not an easy A, but the idea is for us to learn and work
You can always revise your work for better grades.

Theme 3

⚠️ About Critique Style

He can insult you sometimes but don't take that seriously.
Keeshen is not a good teacher. He does not explain the assignments well
Don't let him ruin your love of animation.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

50 reviews over many years with recurring themes of industry mentorship, humor, toughness, and polarization.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 529

4 out of 58

3 out of 52

2 out of 58

1 out of 53

Course coverage

ET214 reviews

ANIM18 reviews

ET19A8 reviews

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STORYTELLING3 reviews

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Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

21 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 3 · A 13 · A- 1

B range

B 1 · B- 1

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Not sure yet 2