AI Rate Professor

Computer Information Systems

Dirk Smith

CS089 · CIS089 · 9 lifetime ratings

AI rating
16/100
RMP rating
1.4/5
Take again
11.11%
Difficulty
3.2

The decision

Avoid unless you are fully prepared to teach yourself from Cengage with almost no instructor support.

Best fit · Self Taught ProDoes Not TeachCengage ForcedUnresponsiveReads Off SlidesHeavy Homework
  • Students say he outsources almost all teaching to expensive Cengage modules.
  • , and .
  • Most reviewers rate him a 1 and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

48/100

Coursework can be simple, but , and grading glitches make a clean A unreliable.

Online reports more automated grading errors; and .

Is the course easy?

Standard

42/100

Content itself is mostly readings and VM commands, but platform chaos and .

Both formats describe Cengage-driven reading rather than hard theory.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

35/100

Some mark attendance optional while and skip-class fail warnings.

Online has conflicting mandatory Zoom claims; and you will not pass.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

12/100

Nearly all students say he , and should be avoided.

Online and .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

42/100

Some students still earn As via automated Cengage work, but and grade non-module items.

Format shift

Online comments focus on bad auto-grading; .

Workload

Heavy

25/100

Lots of , and readings that may not even count toward the grade.

Format shift

Both formats repeatedly tag lots of homework.

Teaching experience

Awful

15/100

Students say or Cengage, and does not answer emails.

Format shift

Online and .

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

Mix of Cengage , and test-heavy tags.

Format shift

; online stresses Cengage modules and quizzes.

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

3 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

and long lecture blocks with lots of homework and weak teaching effort.

Main concern

Three-hour slots spent reading slides already available online and .

What students said

“Three hour time slot just to give us an .”
CS089
“Gives no effort in teaching mostly prioritizes his day job. read the presentation type of teacher”
CIS089

Remote format

Online

6 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online CIS sections rely , and little instructor presence, with and platform complaints.

Main concern

Forced paid Cengage, ignored emails, and .

What students said

“This professor does not teach any content himself. He forces you to pay for cengage, refuses to answer emails”
CIS089
“all material is taught through cengage (100$ for one class / 120$ for several), and an slides.”
CIS089

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Quizzes can allow only 1.5-2 minutes per question and .

Timed QuizzesCanvas Self TestsUnclear QuestionsCengage Heavy

Assessment risk

Strict

35/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

proctoring detail in comments.

Test Heavy
“Lots of ? You won't pass., Test heavy”
CS089

Online

Online quizzes are book-based with tight per-question timing and .

Timed QuizzesUnclear Canvas TestsBook-Based Questions
“Quizzes allow 1.5-2 min each question. The questions are all based on the book.”
CIS089
“Self-administered tests ( and are marked incorrect even with the correct answer submitted.”
CS089

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“This professor does not teach any content himself. He forces you to pay for cengage, refuses to answer emails, he even dropped me from his class for supposedly not attending mandatory zoom sessions when the class is async”

Voice snapshots generated from 9 reviews (6 online, 3 in person), highlighting Cengage outsourcing and non-teaching. Credibility rating: Medium.

🚫 Teaching Disaster

15/100

“This professor does not teach any content himself. He forces you to pay for cengage, refuses to answer emails”

💻 Platform Chaos

20/100

“he seems more focused on his day job.”

📚 Forced Cengage

25/100

“all material is taught through cengage (100$ for one class / 120$ for several)”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Gives no effort in teaching mostly prioritizes his day job
  • slides
  • He's incapable of competent work on his own

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • The coursework itself is and running commands in a VM
  • Tons of Cengage work that won't count towards grade

Theme 3

📧 About Communication

  • refuses to answer emails
  • he doesn't have a quick response time when emailing him

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

9

Recent reviews read by the AI

9

Lifetime ratings

70/100

Evidence confidence

Nine detailed reviews from 2018 to 2026 are highly consistent about Cengage dependence and poor teaching, supporting solid medium-high confidence.

Inside 9 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 50
4 out of 51
3 out of 50
2 out of 51
1 out of 57

Course coverage

CIS0897 reviews
CS0892 reviews

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

8 reported outcomes

A range

4

A+ 1 · A 3

B range

1

B+ 1

C range

1

C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

2

Not sure yet 2