COMM 3220

Great class. Definitely emphasizes the database component more than the BI stuff. Sarker is a great professor.

The course consist of a few simple homeworks, 2 midterms, and a group project that goes on throughout the semester. No final exam, but there is a group interview about the project where you have to defend your design and write queries on the spot. Overall, highly recommend the class.

What you will do in this class is basically the following:
(I) Learn how to meaningful structure a database (ER-Diagram).
(II) How to set up a database and to populate it with data. Involves programming SQL.
(III) How to query a database. Involves programming SQL.
In the group project, which makes up the most part of the grade (40%), you will go through all those steps and end up having completed your own database that addresses a specific information problem. The class is for the most part (and unlike many other comm classes) not that work intensive, but intellectually more challenging than an average COMM Class. Focuses also rather on the technical aspect than the management aspect. As a solid database knowledge is also the foundation for analyzing data, it might be worth taking it also if you are interested in Big Data Analysis. Highly recommendable class overall, although the Professor is not the best at explaining. You might want to look into the book.

Lots of group work, but tons to be learned. Make sure you get a solid group because you need to rely on one another. Also, expect to study hard to get concepts before exams

Interesting class where you will learn SQL. Sarker is a nice teacher always energetic, but his lectures can be boring and confusing sometimes. Some quizzes and two midterms during the semester plus a group project to do. The Group Project is by far the most complicate thing and time-consuming part of this course but you will learn a lot. Overall this class is not that hard if you put some effort into it.

Great class, and a valuable topic.

I felt that I fully understand SQL after this class. It is an excellent introduction to databases, and I think probably one of the most valuable classes I have taken at UVA. Additionally, the grading is completely fair and to be frank pretty easy.

Follow with the lectures, and group work (also get a good group) and you will be absolutely fine and walk away with an extremely solid class to add to the resume.

Professor Sarker was an amazing professor for this course! I personally struggle with coding and more technical aspects of data, but although this class was accelerated, it was broken down into modules that were easy to comprehend. It is a big time commitment though (3 hours twice a week for half of the semester)

That being said, it does take a significant amount of work throughout the semester since it is fast paced. I struggled during exam time because many of the concepts built on each other, so my main recommendation for this class is to review after each class or each week. The group projects were good and allowed us to explore data in the context of the real world. Additionally, the exams were super fair and relatively easy if you studied. He also gave a decent amount of partial credit. There are a few quizzes throughout the course, as well, so those three components make up your grade. I definitely recommend this course to those in comm. #tCFfall2021

I thoroughly enjoyed this class. Supra is a very engaged professor. He wants you to learn and understand, and he's pretty funny. Your enjoyment of the class depends on how much effort you put into it. If you stay alert during his lecture, ask questions when you need help, and stay proactive in reviewing and practicing (aka be active during in-class practice and do the homework), you will find the class easier to comprehend than most. If you don't, it's easy to fall behind and fast. Supra is patient and willing to go over certain concepts if you ask, but he has a schedule that he doesn't want to diverge from, so ask questions when you can. He emphasizes that at the beginning, it's a heavy workload and less brain power, and at the end, it's less workload and more brain power. I argue that it's a medium workload and more brain power. This course didn't come too easy to me, but it was fun to learn. If you choose him, you will have a great skillset at the end of the semester, but you will definitely have put in the work to build it.

Workload: I personally didn't find the textbook to be helpful and he doesn't really use the textbook concepts in class since his notes are exactly what you need to know. The textbook is primarily used for practice questions, but I find the practice problems in the notes to be holistic enough.

My grade was based on 4 homework assignments (completion, but best way to practice), participation (attend class, be alert for cold calls, be willing to answer and make mistakes, as long as you answer, you're good), 2 quizzes (not easy quizzes, study the night before), 2 exams (hard if you don't study and don't practice, feel confident and you'll do well), and 1 project (basically your final but you finish it before the second exam). You only get curves on the exams. Looking at the grade distribution, his grading is better than it sounds in this review.

Give Jing Gong a try first, I heard she's preferred. Supra isn't a bad backup.