CS 3330

A lot of the reviews here were posted right after the second exam and are, understandably, very emotional. Although that's the case, I do believe some of these reviews are just straight up childish and lack any constructive criticism. Let's clear up some misconceptions. 1) The whole cheating debacle did happen, but that's because there were a select few group of students who shared incorrect answers, really easy to pinpoint this when you have some answers in this class that are >7 digits. Venkat essentially followed the university honor policy with this matter and the majority of the class was not affected by this , not even sure of the cheaters were sent to honor. 2) 'TAs were given wrong solutions'. For the second problem set a solution sheet was not created and to add on to the stress the materials Venkat taught were a lot more different than what previous semesters TAs learned when they took the course. This led to a majority of the TAs unable to help students. One TA created a draft solution sheet that Venkat released to other TAs, but he warned them there is a good chance there are some things wrong so don't take it for word. Some TAs , left without a lot of resources, didn't follow this leading some students to wrong answers. 3) Yes the exam was really hard, but it was curved to account for that. A freaking 50% was counted as a B. Good things about Venkat - Very knowledgable guy and has given us a wide range of knowledge within computer architecture. From out of order execution to advanced branch prediction techniques, a lot of the materials Venkat taught us are very applicable to the realm of computer architecture today. On top of this, the problems we are assigned aren't simple copy/paste type problems where you plug in stuff into equations. They force you to think outside of the box and really understand the course to answer them. I really appreciate Venkat for this since I feel like some earlier core classes were missing that aspect. Bad things about Venkat - The main problem is the difficulty of problem sets in my opinion. The jump from the lecture slides to the problem sets is immense and I have felt lost on all of them but the first one. The fact that TAs can't help us is the most frustrating thing ever because you are essentially left for the few professor office hours to get work done on them. I think Venkat needs to assess this jump and possibly decrease the difficulty or add something to lectures that can decrease this difference in difficulty. I'm not sure who this is caused by but this whole professor switch makes me feel like I'm taking 2 different courses. There is a whole lot of disorganization and I really hope this can get cleared up in upcoming semesters. To my classmates, please stop these gross comments and actually give constructive criticism. You're not helping by throwing slurs at the professor. I know it's tough, but let's at least be respectful.

bruh, just don't :/

I HEREBY DECLARE ASHISH VENKAT AN ENEMY OF THE STATE.

Computer Science dept at UVA: I cannot believe that you take hundreds of thousands of dollars in student tuition and give us in return the joke of a professor that is ASHISH VENKAT. The hiring of such an unworthy individual debases this institution. Ashish should be ashamed of the terrible job that he has done and on the reputational damage he has caused to the CS dept and to the University of Virginia. Get out of our University. The sooner the better.

Everything that needs to be said has already been mentioned, but I wanted to come here and respectfully confirm that this is the hardest and most unfair class I have ever taken in my life. I was told before taking the class that it might make me doubt my choice as a CS major, and that couldn't be more true. I feel bad for Venkat, especially if he reads these reviews, but I wish he was given more instruction on how to teach at the undergraduate level. Like others, I dedicate hours per week teaching myself what he fails to teach or glosses over in 5 minutes or less, and reaching the end of the semester now I can't imagine how difficult this final exam will be.

--------It pains me as someone who is usually a good student and can excel in any class given enough effort. This class makes me feel hopeless - no matter how hard I work, it won't be enough. I appreciate that Venkat is extremely knowledgeable about the subject he teaches, but I can't read academic papers outside of class on top of the weekly lab, homework, and problem set he assigns. I just don't have enough time to throw at a class that won't reward me for hard work and doing my best to learn the material. If anything, he may serve the CS department better as a graduate level professor, teaching students at an advanced level who have already taken one or more computer architecture classes.

--------One more thing I want to share because I think it's relevant. After class one day I went to the front and talked to him, on the brink of tears. I believe it was the day he introduced caches to us so quickly that people chuckled when he asked if we had any questions (we didn't even know what to ask because we were so lost!). I told him on behalf of the silent majority, no one understands what he's talking about. I let him know that we are not going to do well if he continues lecturing at this pace. He said he understood and thanked me for coming to him with the issue. For a couple of days after that, I noticed a small difference in the way he taught - he would ask other people to answer the questions instead of the 2 or 3 students who grasped his material in a room of over 50 students. However, he probably set up his lesson plan to get through a certain amount of material by the end of the semester and sped up after a week or so. What upsets me more than anything is that when a student embarrasses themself to go up to the professor and confess that they have no idea what they just listened to for the past 75 minutes, he should take that as a sign that maybe everything isn't okay.

--------You can read the other reviews, and they give more specific details and grievances, but I wanted to share my own personal experience as a generally good student who feels cheated by this class. Bottom line, do not take this class. Best of luck to you and to Venkat, but I have a feeling this is the last undergraduate course he will be teaching at UVA.

Really troll

NOT A TROLL POST
One of the most useful courses I have taken at UVA. I thought this course would just be another blowover requirement like 2150 but Venkat really knows his stuff! He actually makes us learn the material with problem sets instead of having us randomly guess on quizzes with the textbook open. After having done the problem sets, the tests are a breeze! No need to go off previous year's materials. Thank you professor Venkat for teaching me what CS is going to be like in the real world. If only other students would learn to solve their own problems instead of cheating with the TA's...

Cheating on problems sets it stupid!

I just... don't know how to deal with this right now , man.

I have never in my entire 4 years at this university felt so helpless and so unfairly treated. Mental health? Idk her, thanks to this class. Venkat has ruined my last semester at this university. I have done fairly well in every CS class I have ever taken, yet somehow now I spend every day consumed by the fear that this one class will ruin my chances at graduating because he has set us up to fail to a point where it is impossible to do well. I spent hours each day for over a week leading up the second exam studying, going to office hours, re-watching lectures, re-copying notes, working through problems, only to FAIL (like actually fail... <50). I spent MANY hours and days working on the last problem set, both in TA office hours and Venkats office hours, to only get a D. I am TIRED. He has no respect for his students. Hard work means nothing to him if you cannot keep up with this impossible workload and decipher the weird nonsense he asks you on the problem sets and tests. But don't worry, he has made it super clear that he thinks we are lazy anyways! At this point I am ELATED to leave UVA. Shame on the CS department for thinking it was a) okay to bring in a new (awful) professor halfway through the semester for LITERALLY no reason and b) doing nothing about it after an ENORMOUS amount of student feedback that I am almost positive your department has never seen before. It's great to know that our concerns mean nothing. And honestly everything I just wrote doesn't even cover 1/4 of the BS that we have all been put through since he got here because there aren't even words for it. Good riddance to all of this.

Pretty obvious from the other reviews, do not take this class with Venkat. If he is the only one teaching, wait till next semester. Reiss was a whole lot better and understanding, Venkat ruined this course for me and many other students.