AI Rate Professor

Computer Science

Cayton Polen

CIS65 · CIS61 · 5 lifetime ratings

AI rating
48/100
RMP rating
3.6/5
Take again
40%
Difficulty
4.0

The decision

Only take advanced CIS with him if , and ask questions ASAP.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerProject-heavy C++SI sessions criticalSlow email responsePart-time availabilityClear grading criteria
  • CIS65 is abstract and hard; SI sessions and .
  • He knows C++ well and responds if you message early, but availability can feel limited by outside work.
  • Few small assignments; .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

35/100

As are possible with heavy project work and SI help, but the course is tough and one student withdrew.

Online A+ reported with struggle; and a drop.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

28/100

Lower-level C++ and abstract CIS65 content with .

Both formats rate difficulty high; CIS61 online is more foundational than CIS65.

Is attendance flexible?

Optional

70/100

though one older review required it and warned skipping fails you.

Online has no attendance pressure; and mandatory for older sections.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

45/100

Strong for motivated coders who use SI and start early; others would not recommend CIS65 with his availability.

Online CIS61 is praised; in-person CIS65 recommendations are split.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

52/100

Clear criteria and few graded items, but and .

Format shift

; .

Workload

Heavy

32/100

Large programming projects about every three weeks and lots of .

Format shift

.

Teaching experience

Average

55/100

Knows the material and helped some students succeed, but and availability is limited.

Format shift

Online CIS61 feedback is stronger; in-person CIS65 leans on SI leaders.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

28/100

Few small tasks; grade .

Format shift

Consistent across online and in-person CIS65 and CIS61 comments.

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 Hardcore Learner

In-person CIS65 is still largely online-paced with ; SI leaders carry the course and one student dropped over limited availability.

Main concern

Near-online structure and limited full-time professor availability for a hard abstract class.

What students said

“ as they are a total game changer.”
CIS65
“SI leaders are the only saving grace about this class, and going to if you are looking to get anything out of this class.”
CIS65
“for a class like CIS 65, you need a full-time professor. He has a full time job at REU.”
CIS65

Remote format

Online

2 reviews

Low confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online students say basics in CIS61 are solid but CIS65 lectures leave concepts unexplained and .

Main concern

Complex lectures that and .

What students said

“65 was a challenge - the lectures were complex and had a lot of unexplained concepts, and did not provide the information I needed for projects. .”
CIS65
“He usually assigns programming projects due about every 3 weeks. I strongly encourage you get started EARLY and ASK QUESTIONS if you don't understand something.”
CIS61

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Reviews emphasize projects more than traditional exams, so and varies by course.

Project-based assessmentFew graded itemsSI-supported learning

Assessment risk

Varies

50/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

, and difficulty rather than exam software or format.

Project heavySI sessions almost mandatory
“SI leaders are the only saving grace about this class, and going to if you are looking to get anything out of this class.”
CIS65

Online

Online comments focus on projects and .

Programming projects every 3 weeksGraded by few things
“He usually assigns programming projects due about every 3 weeks.”
CIS61
“Graded by few things”
CIS65

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ as they are a total game changer.”

Voice snapshots generated from 5 reviews on CIS61 and CIS65, focusing on projects, SI help, and availability. Credibility rating: Low.

🧩 Project-First Structure

40/100

“He usually assigns programming projects due about every 3 weeks. I strongly encourage you get started EARLY and ASK QUESTIONS.”

🆘 SI as Lifeline

70/100

“SI leaders are the only saving grace about this class, and going to if you are looking to get anything out of this class.”

⏳ Limited Availability

35/100

“for a class like CIS 65, you need a full-time professor. He has a full time job at REU.”

💻 Subject Knowledge

75/100

“Mr. Polen is a very good professor. He knows his stuff.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • In 61, Prof. Polen thoroughly covered all of the basics of C++, and the .
  • the lectures were complex and had a lot of unexplained concepts
  • . !!!

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Class was difficult but not unexpected for learning a lower level programing language like C++.
  • The course material is very difficult due to how abstract it is
  • I had some moments throughout the semester that i was afraid I would fail

Theme 3

🛠️ About Support Systems

  • used the tutor center resource as well as attending the SI sessions
  • Ask questions ASAP, there are ways to make the .
  • .

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

5

Recent reviews read by the AI

5

Lifetime ratings

42/100

Evidence confidence

Only five reviews with mixed detail and years between them; themes repeat but sample size limits confidence.

Inside 5 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 52
4 out of 50
3 out of 52
2 out of 51
1 out of 50

Course coverage

CIS654 reviews
CIS611 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

3 reported outcomes

A range

2

A+ 1 · A 1

B range

0

No reported values

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Drop/Withdrawal 1