AI Rate Professor

Graphic Arts

James Pacheco

GA110A · GA109B · GA109 · 109A · ART0508 · GD110B · GA110B · ART109 · 15 lifetime ratings

AI rating
64/100
RMP rating
3.5/5
Take again
83.33%
Difficulty
3.6

The decision

if you already know Adobe tools and ; skip if you need hand-holding.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerHarsh design critiquesIndustry-prep studioParticipation requiredAdobe skills expectedPolarizing attitude
  • Studio-style critiques prepare students for design industry and transfer portfolios.
  • and his subjective design judgment.
  • Attendance and readiness matter; unprepared students get called out hard.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

55/100

As are possible with strong project work and research, but and few grade items make an easy free A unlikely.

.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

36/100

Design concepts plus Adobe prerequisites and industry-style critiques make the content intellectually and skill-demanding.

.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

28/100

and warn that skipping or email-only questions will hurt you.

.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

74/100

, but attitude and harshness push others away.

.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

38/100

, and feelings-based project scores keep grades demanding.

Format shift

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Workload

Moderate

48/100

Work centers on a few large projects and critiques .

Format shift

.

Teaching experience

Good

65/100

Strong industry craft and useful critiques for prepared students, offset by arrogance and uneven help.

Format shift

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Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

28/100

Grades mainly come from large design projects and class critiques, not traditional exams.

Format shift

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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

15 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person studio critiques simulate the design industry; students who defend concepts and , while others call him unhelpful and mood-driven.

Main concern

, and required software skills before day one.

What students said

“Pacheco is a great professor. However, he obviously thinks very highly of himself. If you arrive at class unprepared he will definitely call you out.”
GA109
“The class is a simulation to the Design industry and a prep class for San Jose State program.”
GA110B
“You should know everything software before take his class. and no .”
GA110A

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 studio projects and critiques with .

Project-based assessmentIn-class critiquesPortfolio prep

Assessment risk

Standard

58/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

Reviews describe large projects and brutal critiques rather than proctored written exams.

Large projectsCritique-heavyFew graded items
“Overall grading material is based on 4 big projects, not much of the smaller worksheets.”
109A
“During crit's, defend your concept, then listen to his crit.”
GA110B

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“The class is a simulation to the Design industry and a prep class for San Jose State program.”

Voice snapshots generated from 15 in-person , and industry prep. Credibility rating: Medium.

🎯 Teaching Quality

65/100

“James is an Art Director and he approaches his teaching as such. Understand the assignment and execute your concept.”

👍 Recommendation Rate

74/100

“I have taken 4 classes from him and so far, he is the .”

⚖️

38/100

“ and no .”

🛠️ Skill Prerequisites

36/100

“Best if you know a good amount of adobe illustrator tools beforehand.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He is very direct, as well open up new ideas for you to tackle
  • He will train you to see/think better design
  • He can be harsh but he is capable of

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Try hard but not be cocky and you will do well
  • Grades - are unknown until the end

Theme 3

💼 About Industry Prep

  • I'm a working professional now, and I used the portfolio from his class in the interview
  • class is a simulation to the Design industry
  • it definitely helps if you plan to transfer

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

15

Recent reviews read by the AI

15

Lifetime ratings

62/100

Evidence confidence

Fifteen in-person reviews spanning many years with mixed but ; opinions split sharply by student readiness.

Inside 15 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 57
4 out of 52
3 out of 51
2 out of 52
1 out of 53

Course coverage

GA1095 reviews
GA110B3 reviews
GA110A2 reviews
109A1 review
ART05081 review
Show 3 more courses
ART1091 review
GA109B1 review
GD110B1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

6 reported outcomes

A range

4

A+ 1 · A 3

B range

0

No reported values

C range

1

C+ 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

1

F 1

No letter grade reported

0

No reported values