ARCH464 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Michael Kleiss ARCH464 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/20/2025	I didn’t mind Professor Kleiss when I had him for 462. His teaching style was extremely unorganized, and he was absent for much of the semester, but at that time my workload was lighter and I could manage despite the lack of instruction. Now that I have him again for 464, I have to agree he has gotten worse, which makes it frustrating to navigate another unstructured course and pointless projects alongside my studio work. He rarely gives us enough time or notice for gathering materials or preparing for exams. There is no calendar posted for when exams will occur, and project deadlines shift constantly, making it difficult to organize my other coursework around his. I’m writing out of frustration because we have an exam tomorrow morning, scheduled one day before our studio mid review, and it covers the hardest topics we’ve studied all semester with the most components to memorize. Now get this, he only mentioned the exam briefly at the end of class last week, after most students had already left, and then waited until yesterday to have a TA send a reminder about the exam with topics to study. THE EXAM IS TOMORROW. He is the worst professor I’ve ever had at UMD.
Michael Binder ARCH464 Anonymous 10/02/2023	Horrible professor. Had him for 463 and 464 and he's just an awful, miserable person. I applaud his dedication to sustainability but his constant doubtful and accusatory attitude of students is unbearable. If the entire class has a hard time and gets a bad grade on the exam; according to him its because we all didn't study or care to study. If the entire class needs an extension on a homework; according to him its because we all procrastinated despite the homework being due on a major studio deadline. I have never seen a professor accuse so many students of not working, procrastinating, and downright just trying to cheat. He comes in laughing when we fail an exam, and comes in seething thinking we all cheated when we do well on an exam. He makes attendance mandatory and ALWAYS asks for a signed excuse note or paperwork if you tell him you're sick and can't come to class. To him, the students are out to get him. It is impossible to have enthusiasm about sustainability or structures when a professor like this a) makes it boring asf, b) has accusatory behavior, c) and has such a negative attitude. It's like that professor that would rather beat the education into you than actually creating an exciting and engaging atmosphere for students to take interest in. Too bad he's the only professor you can take for any of these classes.
Michael Binder ARCH464 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/24/2022	I had Professor Binder this semester for structures I and learned a lot. This class is hard but everyone knows going in, that’s to be expected. If you aren’t comfortable with algebra the class may be harder for you but with practice and studying it’s doable to do well. The exams are hard but as long as you take good notes and do the homework problems/review them you can do good on the exams. I didn’t have any issues and felt I learned a great deal. He has a strong engineering background which a lot of other professors lack, making this class very unique. I had an incident where I was sick and had to reschedule an exam and he was more the accommodating too. Overall I enjoyed this class, just put in the effort.

Michael Kleiss
ARCH464

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/20/2025

I didn’t mind Professor Kleiss when I had him for 462. His teaching style was extremely unorganized, and he was absent for much of the semester, but at that time my workload was lighter and I could manage despite the lack of instruction. Now that I have him again for 464, I have to agree he has gotten worse, which makes it frustrating to navigate another unstructured course and pointless projects alongside my studio work. He rarely gives us enough time or notice for gathering materials or preparing for exams. There is no calendar posted for when exams will occur, and project deadlines shift constantly, making it difficult to organize my other coursework around his. I’m writing out of frustration because we have an exam tomorrow morning, scheduled one day before our studio mid review, and it covers the hardest topics we’ve studied all semester with the most components to memorize. Now get this, he only mentioned the exam briefly at the end of class last week, after most students had already left, and then waited until yesterday to have a TA send a reminder about the exam with topics to study. THE EXAM IS TOMORROW. He is the worst professor I’ve ever had at UMD.

Michael Binder
ARCH464

Anonymous
10/02/2023

Horrible professor. Had him for 463 and 464 and he's just an awful, miserable person. I applaud his dedication to sustainability but his constant doubtful and accusatory attitude of students is unbearable. If the entire class has a hard time and gets a bad grade on the exam; according to him its because we all didn't study or care to study. If the entire class needs an extension on a homework; according to him its because we all procrastinated despite the homework being due on a major studio deadline. I have never seen a professor accuse so many students of not working, procrastinating, and downright just trying to cheat. He comes in laughing when we fail an exam, and comes in seething thinking we all cheated when we do well on an exam. He makes attendance mandatory and ALWAYS asks for a signed excuse note or paperwork if you tell him you're sick and can't come to class. To him, the students are out to get him. It is impossible to have enthusiasm about sustainability or structures when a professor like this a) makes it boring asf, b) has accusatory behavior, c) and has such a negative attitude. It's like that professor that would rather beat the education into you than actually creating an exciting and engaging atmosphere for students to take interest in. Too bad he's the only professor you can take for any of these classes.

Michael Binder
ARCH464

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/24/2022

I had Professor Binder this semester for structures I and learned a lot. This class is hard but everyone knows going in, that’s to be expected. If you aren’t comfortable with algebra the class may be harder for you but with practice and studying it’s doable to do well. The exams are hard but as long as you take good notes and do the homework problems/review them you can do good on the exams. I didn’t have any issues and felt I learned a great deal. He has a strong engineering background which a lot of other professors lack, making this class very unique. I had an incident where I was sick and had to reschedule an exam and he was more the accommodating too. Overall I enjoyed this class, just put in the effort.

Reviews for ARCH464