Stephen Strenn

CS133 · CS137 · CS145 · CSALL · CS106 · COMSC137 · CS145J · CS · CS123 · C · 49 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 93/100
RMP rating: 4.5/5
Take again: 92%
Difficulty: 3.1

The decision

Take him for CS106 or CS133 if you want to actually learn DSA and coding, not just coast.

Best fit · Effort For RewardAmazing lecturesExtra credit kingBest CS at SBCCHands-on projectsOpen-note exams

Students overwhelmingly call him the best CS professor at SBCC for clear, passionate lectures.
Getting an A takes real coding work, but extra credit and .
Online sections draw more complaints about proctoring software, late classes, and help access.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

62/100

Many As appear with extra credit and fair tests, but coding projects and .

Online reviews more often call an A tough; in-person stress fair tests plus extra credit.

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

DSA and programming content is legitimately challenging, though lectures make concepts clearer.

Both formats describe non-trivial coding work; online students report higher struggle.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

38/100

Many reviews say attendance is mandatory or needed for graded in-class activities and credit.

In-person often has end-of-class graded activities; online also frequently lists attendance mandatory.

Is this professor recommended?

MustTake

91/100

About 92% would take again, with constant best-CS-professor praise outweighing a few harsh online outliers.

In-person is nearly universally recommended; online is more split.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

68/100

Clear criteria, extra credit, and around 70%.

Format shift

Online has more tough-grader complaints; in-person emphasizes fairness and extra credit.

Workload

Moderate

48/100

Programming projects and ; not featherlight, but workload is expected for CS.

Format shift

Online students more often call assignments nearly impossible; in-person calls them time-consuming but fair.

Teaching experience

Excellent

90/100

Consistently described as clear, passionate, hilarious, and among the best CS lecturers at SBCC.

Format shift

In-person praise is stronger; a minority of online reviews call him unhelpful.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

Grade mix of coding projects, in-class activities, and .

Format shift

Both formats mention projects plus tests; older reviews note grades driven by few major items.

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

39 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Dominant praise for engaging lectures, fair open-note style exams, extra credit, and career-level skill building.

Main concern

Classes often run late; graded in-class activities make attendance feel mandatory.

What students said

“Best CS professor at SBCC currently. Amazing lectures, original coding assignments, and extra credit opportunities.”
CS106

“Tests are relatively difficult with averages being 70%, but they are extremely fair”
CS106

“By far the best cs professor at bcc. This was my favorite class at sbcc.”
CS106

Remote format

Online

10 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

many praise lectures and TAs, but others cite Proctorio, hard assignments, late Zoom sessions, and limited help.

Main concern

Proctoring software, pressure to buy his eBook, and inconsistent office-hour help.

What students said

“he makes you use proctorio as well which isn't ideal and he makes it very tough to get an A”
CS106

“he should be held accountable for making students download spyware, and pressuring them to buy his eBook”
CS106

“I would definitely recommend Strenn to so far”
CS133

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

and fair; some online sections used Proctorio and felt much stricter.

Open note examsProctorio onlineFair test variantsDifficult but fair

Assessment risk

Varies

58/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

Multiple in-person reviews describe open-note exams that mirror class activities and feel fair if tough.

Open noteOpen bookFair variants of class activities

“ . In class assignments mix it up.”
CS106

“ . In class assignments mix it up.”
CS133

“Tests are relatively difficult with averages being 70%, but they are extremely fair”
CS106

Online

Online comments explicitly mention Proctorio and limited open tabs tied to a purchasable book.

ProctorioLimited open tabsHarder online exams

“Also he makes you use proctorio as well which isn't ideal”
CS106

“the only tab you can have open on tests is a purchasable book from him”
CS106

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Best CS professor at SBCC currently. Amazing lectures, original coding assignments, and extra credit opportunities.”
Voice snapshots generated from 49 reviews (10 online, 39 in person), highlighting teaching quality, grading effort, and format differences. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

90/100

“Best CS professor ever. On the first day of lecture I was shocked because he's truly in a league of his own.”

👍 Recommendation Rate

91/100

“If I knew how good he was earlier, I would have taken him for every class.”

💻 Real Learning vs Easy A

62/100

“The class isn't easy but if you put in the time you should be fine.”

⚠️ Online Proctoring Risk

35/100

“he makes you use proctorio as well which isn't ideal and he makes it very tough to get an A in his class.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Amazing lectures, original coding assignments, and extra credit opportunities
Dude clearly knows what he's talking about and it shows
he will usually WRITE AND DEBUG CODE in class

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

Tests are relatively difficult with averages being 70%, but they are extremely fair
assignments were time consuming, but that was expected
Not an easy A, but fun and interesting

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

genuinely cared about his students
He is always encouraging and is willing to help
He is a great (and hilarious) professor who really cares about you

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

49 detailed reviews spanning many years, strong consistency on lecture quality, with a clear online vs in-person split.

Inside 49 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 539

4 out of 54

3 out of 51

2 out of 52

1 out of 53

Course coverage

CS10623 reviews

CS1456 reviews

CS1335 reviews

CS1374 reviews

CS145J4 reviews

Show 7 more courses

1231281371451 review

1331 review

C1 review

COMSC1371 review

CS1 review

CS1231 review

CSALL1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

28 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 9 · A 10

B range

B+ 2 · B- 1

C range

C+ 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 2 · Not_Sure_Yet 2