ECE 2630

Archie is a great, friendly, southern teacher. He was fresh from UT-Austin for Fall07, and is very, very smart. He knows his stuff, and is pretty decent at getting it across to the students. There was no homework, but we had quizzes occasionally (generally every Monday). The two tests during the semester were fair and he always told us what was going to be on them and gave us a full review packet with example problems. The lab is pretty straightforward too. His final was my only complaint, as he told us one thing (certain problems from past tests would be included, we'd get to choose a few problems, etc), then gave us something different, plus 50-multiple choice questions. However, at the same point, he really tried hard not to fail people. I should have gotten a D or so, but somehow I got a C+. The best advice to future students of his: Archie is da man, and, you may think you're failing but most likely you're not.
Also, I have Archie as a lab coordinator this semester, and still really like him! He's still very approachable and nice and learns your name!!

Honestly, Archie is a smart guy but a bad teacher. His lectures are extremely confusing and fast paced. We had two types of homework. One weekly group problem, which was made up by Archie, that was ridiculously hard and took a lot of work to complete. The other was a homework quiz every Monday, which drew from problems in the book, problems he rarely went over in class. However, he did help a lot during office hours.

The one thing that saved everyone is his lax grading policies. Dozens of people should have failed the class, but most ended up with Cs or better.

Archie is a really smart and really nice guy. However, he doesn't believe in lecturing so the way he teaches his class is sort of weird. He spends a lot of time covering the basics so the first half of the class moves ridiculously slow. It picks up a little bit, but never really gets too hard. He gives out extra credit on about half of the weekly quizzes and on the final exam, so by the end of the class, you will either have an easy 100 if you get the material, or at least a C if you don't get it.

Bottom line: Archie is VERY knowledgeable, but a HORRIBLE teacher. He is not very good in presenting the material in a clear/concise way. But if you ask questions, he'll definitely answer them. Not really a hard class. Just put effort into studying for the exams. Doing extra problems don't really help (unless your the type of person that gets A LOT of benefit from doing these types of problems). Just know the concepts on how to solve each circuit, and makes sure you apply them to each problem. Calculators: TI-89's help when you are dealing with 2 or 3 equations with 2 or 3 variables dealing with complex numbers (because TI-89's can solve matrices with complex numbers, and 83's can't). However, TI-83's are helpful when you are doing stuff in phasor form. Ask Archie how to do this during office hours, or something. Knowing how to do this can help save you a lot of time doing calculations on exams/quizzes. 10 Quizzes, based off of optional homework/suggested problems. Those are relatively straight forward. The HARD stuff was the Homework Assignments... There were about 8 or 9 of them. They were really advanced design problems that you could do with a group of 3, that's what took most of the time. You will probably end up spending at least 4 or 5 hours on it, sometimes even 8 or 9, and then you look at Archie's solution, and it looks as if it only took him 1 hour. Just use what you know. The general consensus of the 2 midterms was they were extremely hard, and no one liked the 2 design problems. Archie gives you A LOT of chances at extra credit, so there is basically no reason to be mad about the grade you get (unless you really tripped up somewhere). Basically...if you somehow maximized your points for the whole course, you could somehow get around 110%. That's how much extra credit he gives out. Very ridiculous, but very helpful to many. Don't over exaggerate things, and don't over think any problem. Keep things simple and you'll be happy with your grade. Not an easy A. The final exam is about on the same level as the exam, but meant to take 3 hours. Have fun with the course. Either you'll hate it, or love it.

A required intro class for Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering majors. Archie's class is very challenging. He's an amazing, and knowledgable guy, so make sure you visit him during office hours to clear up any questions you have. He gives almost weekly design problems that you are to work on in a group. These take a ton of time, so get started on them early, especially if he has office hours coming up. The design problems will come back to haunt you if you don't understand them. Tests and final are harder than other problems done before, but if you understand the material, instead of memorizing how to do something, you should be fine. Overall, a good, but challenging class, with an absolutely amazing professor.

Archie was a great teacher, but the material is very conceptually difficult, and you have to stay on top of what is happening in the class. Tests are really hard, but just study and stay on top of the homework.

Archie is awesome, and I wish I liked his class more. But it's very hard, and very confusing in spite of his efforts. Don't take this class if it's not absolutely required - BME majors, this means you. Especially not if you'll only get elective credit like I did.

Archie definitely knows his material. The course is indeed challenging which is why making meetings with Archie and asking him questions is essential to succeeding in the class. The take-home homework assignments require the most work and will take about 3-5 hours in a group. Practicing the problems in the textbook is also very helpful for the online quiz problems and test problems. The tests are very challenging, but the professor does give partial credit.

Go to class. Pay attention in class. Otherwise, good luck.

Also, GET A Ti-89. You'll thank me later

This class was how all classes are supposed to be. Archie was a real person who actually cares about his students to a much higher degree than other professors. The way he grades is also very forgiving.