AI Rate Professor

Communication

Steve Ybarra

COMM331 · COOM301 · GROUPCOMMUNICA · COMM311 · COMM301 · COMMUNICATIONS · COMM103 · CHI21 · COMM300 · COMM · COMFORTABLE · COMM1A · COMMUNICATION · COMM100 · COM301 · 61 lifetime ratings

AI rating
58/100
RMP rating
3.6/5
Take again
—
Difficulty
3.4

The decision

if you want to work hard and actually improve as a speaker; skip him if you need an easy A or .

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerTough but TransformativeIntimidating StylePractice Practice PracticeMandatory AttendancePolarizing Personality
  • many students say he transforms public speaking skills while others call him rude and ego-driven
  • Grades require real work, practice, and following directions carefully; not an easy A
  • and heavy expectations for preparation

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

32/100

Students repeatedly say you must practice hard for the grade and that easy-A seekers should look elsewhere.

.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

30/100

Public speaking load, critical thinking, group work, and high expectations make the course intellectually and practically demanding.

.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

Multiple students report mandatory attendance, lockouts for lateness, and grade penalties for absences.

.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

58/100

Strongly recommended for students who want real speaking growth; frequently avoided by those seeking ease or clearer structure.

.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

42/100

Grades track effort for many, but , and .

Format shift

.

Workload

Heavy

34/100

Frequent speeches, practice demands, group projects, and preparation make the workload heavy for most students.

Format shift

.

Teaching experience

Good

68/100

Many students leave dramatically better speakers, but his abrasive, intimidating style and .

Format shift

.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

30/100

Assessment centers on speeches, presentations, practice, and group work more than traditional written exams.

Format shift

.

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

50 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person Comm classes are intense, practice-heavy, and personality-driven; students either credit life-changing speaking growth or warn about harsh criticism and .

Main concern

, and inconsistent grading frustrate many students.

What students said

“If you really want to learn public speaking and ready to work hard for it, this professor is highly recommended. If you want an easy A and learn nothing, then forget about it!”
COMM301
“ and if you're late he'll lock you out until he's finished speaking or a presenter is finished.”
COMM301
“There is no structure at all to the class, the teacher does not give clear instructions on assignments, does not answer questions, and then yells at students”
COMM311

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment is mostly speeches and presentations, sometimes with a than traditional proctored exams.

Speech-based finalsPresentation heavyNo traditional tests oftenPractice required

Assessment risk

Standard

55/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

Students describe speech and presentation based assessment, with and a .

Speech-based finalsPresentation heavyNo textbook quizzes often
“He's a teacher who knows stuff, thus no textbook, or . Straight to the point.”
COM301
“The deserve.”
COMM301
“ ?”
COMM301

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“If you really want to learn public speaking and ready to work hard for it, this professor is highly recommended. If you want an easy A and learn nothing, then forget about it!”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 in-person reviews, balancing strong learning outcomes against harsh style and strict rules. Credibility rating: High.

🌟 Teaching Impact

68/100

“I never figured that Speech one could be so hard and yet at the end of the class I learned more from this guy than all my other classes combined.”

🔥 Workload Reality

34/100

“This class is not for the weak! He will make you work really hard for your grade”

🚪

18/100

“ and if you're late he'll lock you out until he's finished speaking”

⚖️ Polarizing Style

58/100

“very intimidating, huge ego, rude, unfair..did not feel comfortable in the class”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Careful if !!!
  • he challenges you, and so that you learn to communicate with classmates
  • At first Ybarra comes across as a very over bearing, full of himself and cranky old man

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • If you want an easy A and learn nothing, then forget about it!
  • I got an A, but I had to work at it.
  • Grades are earned,not given

Theme 3

⚠️ About Personality & Stress

  • very intimidating, huge ego, rude, unfair
  • He is no help, forces you to work in groups, and when you ask him a question he says what does your group think
  • !

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

61

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed in-person reviews across many years show consistent themes of , and polarizing personality.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 530
4 out of 59
3 out of 58
2 out of 56
1 out of 58

Course coverage

COMM30122 reviews
COMM33111 reviews
COM3014 reviews
COMMUNICATIONS2 reviews
CHI211 review
Show 10 more courses
COMFORTABLE1 review
COMM1 review
COMM1001 review
COMM1031 review
COMM1A1 review
COMM3001 review
COMM3111 review
COMMUNICATION1 review
COOM3011 review
GROUPCOMMUNICA1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

2 reported outcomes

A range

1

A 1

B range

0

No reported values

C range

1

C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

0

No reported values