AI Rate Professor

Computer Science

Dan McElroy

CIS41ONLINE · CIS073 · CIS041ONLINE · CIS547384 · CIS054 · CIS54 · CIS · CIS42 · CIS4142 · JAVA1234 · CIS84 · CIS157 · CIS084 · CIS41 · CIS041 · CS41 · 44 lifetime ratings

AI rating
94/100
RMP rating
4.3/5
Take again
100%
Difficulty
2.1

The decision

if you want an .

Best fit · Beginner FriendlyOpen-book quizzesExtra creditHelpful & flexibleYouTube lecturesBeginner-friendly CS
  • Open-book, untimed quizzes and .
  • Extremely flexible with late work, health issues, and office help.
  • 100% would-take-again among those who answered; older reviews sometimes cite off-topic stories.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

WalkInThePark

92/100

, and many easy-A comments make high grades very attainable.

Online evidence ; if you do the work.

Is the course easy?

Beginner

75/100

Low average difficulty and beginner-friendly setup, though C++ labs and .

Both formats describe manageable intro CS load.

Is attendance flexible?

Optional

88/100

Most modern .

Online is clearly optional; .

Is this professor recommended?

MustTake

96/100

Would-take-again is 100% among responders with .

Strong across online and .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Generous

90/100

Late work , and quick helpful feedback.

Format shift

Online reviews emphasize compassion and open-book exams.

Workload

Light

72/100

Weekly labs and quizzes are doable; a but still manageable.

Format shift

; online still weekly but light overall.

Teaching experience

Excellent

88/100

, and strong support; minority find him off-topic or distant.

Format shift

Recent reviews more uniformly positive than very old ones.

Assessment method

Balanced

48/100

Mix of weekly labs, discussions, quizzes, and open-book exams or finals.

Format shift

Online strongly documents open-book quizzes and exams.

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

28 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Beginner Friendly

, and easy As with reading and labs; a minority say he goes off-topic or leaves students to figure coding out.

Main concern

Occasional off-topic stories or .

What students said

“He breaks down complex computer science concepts in a ”
CIS54
“super easy, you can use and final .... No reason why you shouldn't get 100% on everything.”
CIS41
“Spends too much time telling stories instead of teaching.”
CIS547384

Remote format

Online

16 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Easy A Hunter

Online CIS courses mix fun labs, open-book quizzes, video lectures, and weekly work; , and easy to pass.

Main concern

.

What students said

“ and .”
CIS054
“Quizzes and and have no time limit.”
CIS054
“He showed great compassion ”
CIS054

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Quizzes and , making assessment very student-friendly.

Open BookNo time limitNotes allowedExtra credit

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

90/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person and and finals, and straightforward reading-based quizzes.

Open notesEasy finalReading-based quizzes
“you can use and final .... No reason why you shouldn't get 100% on everything.”
CIS41
“ , and .”
CIS054

Online

Online quizzes and and discussions; no webcam proctoring mentioned.

Open BookNo time limitWeekly labs and quizzes
“ and .”
CIS054
“Quizzes and and have no time limit.”
CIS054

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“If you are ”

Voice snapshots generated from 44 reviews across online and . Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

88/100

“McElroy was a better professor at computer science than any of the professors I've had at UCSC.”

📗 Open-Book Ease

92/100

“Quizzes and and have no time limit.”

❤️ Flexibility & Care

94/100

“He showed great compassion ”

👍 Recommendation

96/100

“ !”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • breaks down complex computer science concepts in a
  • He is the
  • video mini-lectures he posts on YouTube are great (and funny)

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Easy Java class. Weekly assignments and quizzes.
  • super easy, you can use and final
  • Easy A if you apply yourself.

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

  • Hella funny and chill guy
  • welcoming, approachable, and understanding
  • nice, hilarious and super helpful

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

44

Recent reviews read by the AI

44

Lifetime ratings

90/100

Evidence confidence

44 reviews spanning many years and both formats with strong consistency on ease, support, and open-book testing.

Inside 44 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 529
4 out of 59
3 out of 53
2 out of 52
1 out of 51

Course coverage

CIS05411 reviews
CIS419 reviews
CIS0414 reviews
CIS0844 reviews
CIS543 reviews
Show 11 more courses
CIS041ONLINE2 reviews
CIS842 reviews
CIS1 review
CIS0731 review
CIS1571 review
CIS41421 review
CIS41ONLINE1 review
CIS421 review
CIS5473841 review
CS411 review
JAVA12341 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

18 reported outcomes

A range

17

A+ 3 · A 13 · A- 1

B range

1

B 1

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

0

No reported values