CMPT 165

hehehe

Before I took CMPT 165, I didn't know if it was a gpa booster or not. Some people said it was, some people said it wasn't. 

In my opinion, I think that it is indeed a GPA booster. 

The class average was a B+. Keep in mind that a lot of students got A+, A, and A-. 

Midterm average: 90%.

Final average: 75%. 

Assignment and labs were generally very easy. Class average almost always 90%+. Median average was 100%. 

GPA booster course doesn't mean you don't do any work, it just means that you get a higher grade for work you complete.

For example:

Course 1. 10 hours work = C-. 

Course 2. 10 hours work  = A-. This would be a GPA booster.

If you only completed 5 hours work in course 2, your GPA might be C-. 

ryan

I generally agree with your assessment of what a GPA booster course is and isn't. I would argue though that a course you can get a B in with minimal effort isn't really a GPA booster since it is unlikely to affect your CGPA much. When I think of GPA boosters I think of courses where if you put in enough effort to do the work and study for exams you can get an A.

My question to you about 165 would be what percentage of your class would you say was a Computing or SoSy major?

I think 165 is a definite booster for CMPT students. I saw a lot of non computing kids struggle when I took it though. Likewise I have seen a lot of people struggling with the course post topics on here.

I would expect CMPT kids taking 165 as an easy elective would skew the average up and make the course look easier than it really was. What was the median/standard deviation for the course/exams? Or a simpler measure, what percentage of the class failed each test? 

I don't think 165 is a difficult course. I also do not think people need programming experience before taking it. I just merely believe that people should either have experience with HTML/CSS or a keen interest to learn HTML/CSS before taking the course. 

People with no experience who don't care about web development who enroll simply because of some CMPT student who has been making websites since they were 9 said it was easy will have a bad time.

hehehe

My question to you about 165 would be what percentage of your class would you say was a Computing or SoSy major?

I have no idea. I personally only meet 3 people who were in computing science taking this course. 

Keep in mind that students who have completed a CMPT 200 level or higher course cannot take this course for credit. 

What was the median/standard deviation for the course/exams? Or a simpler measure, what percentage of the class failed each test? 

Midterm:

Median 37.5/50

SD = 6.1

Number of students in 50-60% range or less: 5

Final:

Median: 57.42/77

SD: 13.28

Number of students in 50-60% range or less: 18

The median grade for almost all the assignments and labs was 100% (sometimes a little less like 95%). 

I didn't have any prior experience with HTML or python (I've done C++ which is similar but I still had to learn the differences). I did a reasonable amount of studying for this course and ended up with A+. I think anybody who puts an effort into the course can easily get a B+. 

The professor was Stephen Makonin. Very nice teacher, super helpful.