John Bono

This professor has taught: BDBA808P, BMGT299B, BMGT301, BMGT302, BMGT302F, BMGT402, BMGT404, BMGT407, BMSO601, BMSO758P, BUDT704, BUDT738, BUDT758F, BUDT758X

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John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/10/2024	As someone who has never coded before, I genuinely feel like I learned so much from this course and professor! While he does go fast, you have to be willing to ask questions and participate in all the class activities. I also typically reviewed the previous lecture's content before the lecture because the content builds quickly. While the course has an in-class graded assignment due every week, it helped me feel prepared by forcing me to review the content at least once a week before a quiz/practice exam problem. If you pay attention and take good notes, he explains everything really well and is very understanding whenever you have a question! He genuinely cares about every student's learning, and while it takes some work on your part, you will learn!
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/09/2024	John Bono is probably one of the worst professors I have ever had in my time here at the University of Maryland. Not only does he PURPOSELY make this course harder than it needs to be, but he is not understanding at all, in the slightest bit. He is also condescending when you ask him questions, it makes me feel like I am stupid. He goes through all of his lectures like someone is chasing him, I swear every class I would look around and see all of my classmate's faces all in confusion. He doesn't even let us take the time to process what he just taught. His motto is "I make you learn more than other classes" but how are you going to say that and then not even teach correctly? I basically taught myself everything in this course. I honestly wish I could give him negative stars, NEVER registering for another course with his name in it again.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/24/2024	I was fortunate to have many great professors at Smith, and Professor Bono was among the best. It can seem alarming at first as he hits the ground running, but he explains things exceptionally well. You have to push your ego out of the way to get the most of his course: Do not be afraid to ask questions, don't take it personally when he rephrases questions back to you to help you work through it yourself, come to class, and know that the pieces will come together: don't panic. He will answer all questions, multiple times, and explains the logic of coding with real-world comparisons to help it make sense. I had friends in other 302 courses (with diff professors) who were struggling, and I would have come out with an A if I didn't have to slack some towards the end to handle some major life stuff. Prof Bono is incredibly knowledgeable, and I would actively seek out his courses if the opportunity was available
John Bono BMGT407 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/23/2024	Take 407 with Ibrahim instead of Bono. Looking at their grade distributions for each class is all that you need to know. 407 with Bono will take up so much of your time leading up to the final project, which is creating a working website from scratch for a client. Our group was working all day/night the week before the final project was due. You might learn a bit more in Bono’s class (maybe I can’t say for sure) but it’s not worth it for the amount of work you’ll have to do and the stress you’ll have. I don’t even feel like I learned that much because he barely teaches you the content and makes you rely on other resources. Each week there’s an assignment that counts towards participation and it’s due the day after class at 8pm. Most of these are not easy at all and could take you hours to complete. For all everything on the project and participation assignments, neither Bono or the TA will give you concrete answers to any problems you are having. They’ll only give you vague answers (usually not in a nice manner) that don’t help you at all. Overall, Bono comes across as a robot, has little compassion for students, and almost belittles them when they ask for help. I’ve had Bono previously in other classes and this class is much much more difficult than the other courses he teaches. Take Ibrahim.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/01/2024	Don't really get why people are calling Bono not understanding. Imo he's one of the best professors at Smith and truly cares about your understanding. I had very little experience in coding before coming into this class and he taught the course like we were kindergartners (this is not a bad thing considering 90% of the students in this class have zero coding knowledge). He broke down each concept by explaining them in terms that we would understand like "how would I take cookies out of a cookie jar". He always waits a little after he explains something and asks if anyone has questions. If you're struggling in this class, then you NEED to go to the TA's or office hours because they're so helpful. Bono is a great professor and I would've taken him for 402 if it wasn't at 8am lol. He curves the class at the end of the semester but he gives the grade cutoffs at the end of each exam.
John Bono BMGT404 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/10/2024	Honestly the best professor I've had at Smith. He explains things so well and does a lot of hands-on work (practice problems). I've had him for 302 and 404 and I don't think I've ever learned this much from any other professor. He cares about everyone's learning, and is always open to answering questions. He might seem a bit more "strict" than others are used to, but it pushes each student to do their very best and gain critical thinking skills. Course format is typically: 3 exams, 3 practice exam problems, HW assignment due every 3 weeks or so, and some clicker participation points. Very well structured.
John Bono Anonymous 04/03/2024	PLEASE, FOR THE SAKE OF LORD, DO NOT TAKE HIM!!!!. His class is so so advanced and he goes through the lectures like a tiger's chasing him. If BMGT 302 is all thats happening in your life, take him maybe. Unless you practice a million times or you already hv coding background, YOU WILL NOT CATCH UP OR UNDERSTAND. If you can just practice, practice, practice all freaking time like theres nothing else going on in your life, you will be fine i guess (i mean with that much practice, you will be fine in every class) but his lectures are too heavy, intense and fast. Tests and quizzes are even worse. LONG STORY SHORT, JUST TAKE OTHER PROF. i would give 0 star if i could.
John Bono BUDT704 Expecting an A prankster20 02/05/2024	He challenges you in class, but he has your best interests at heart. This is a class where he will push you a lot, but it is entirely necessary for your growth as a graduate-level student. Make good use of all the resources he provides youbecause you will be needing them all. He kind-of makes a perfectionist out of you because he himself is that picky.
John Bono BMGT301 Anonymous 01/18/2024	Everyone saying he does not care about his students has not taken the time to talk to him. My friend was dong poorly in the class and she would email him and meet with him in office hours and he was more than encouraging and helpful. John Bono is a very intelligent person who relays information as clearly as he can when introducing this subject matter to his students. He encourages questions and will make sure you understand. ASK QUESTIONS!!! and partcipate. Do not miss his class becuase he teaches so much each class. His class is very interactive as well. As someone who had no prior experience with coding I found his class to be very comphrehensive. That being said it is a challenging class and the exams are hard, but it is a rewarding class. He demeanor may come off as curt but he really does care. He does not mess around with deadlines and is very clear about his expectations. He gives a very generous curve to the end of the class as well. I learned so much in this class and as long as you put the work in you will pass.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/04/2024	Really amazing professor. Cared a lot for how I was doing and talked to me a lot after class about what I wanted to do with my degree. I took him for both 302 and 402 in the same term. Definitely would not do that again because the workload is very heavy and the material is dense. He sometimes went too fast making it hard to keep up but he kept pausing to check everyone's understanding which I appreciated. He was willing to explain things in different ways.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/29/2023	Professor Bono will challenge you in this class, but it is one where you truly learn the skills to code both in Python and VBA. This is a hard class, and you must pay attention and be in all lectures if you are able. He keeps the class very engaging with coding problems and learning opportunities and gives you plenty of opportunity to learn the content. Ask questions, and try hard to understand the content. Professor Bono is a fantastic professor if you actually want to learn how to code and are willing to put time into the class.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2023	He is a terrible person who doesn't care about his students, but he will force you to learn. Classes may or may not have clicker questions, which aren't gimme points, and you don't know when they are coming so you have to go to class so your grade doesn't drop. The material is overly confusing in the way he presents it. He has "any questions?" slides but he sprinted through the content that students don't know what to even ask about. There are so many practice problems, which help you learn the material. This class is extremely time consuming and every TA is given crazy rubrics. I haven't gotten 100 on an assignment since the first week of class and those were lockdown browser completion quizzes. And i have attended every class. Tje content is easyish, he is not. He is excited to be smarter than everyone else despite the fact that we are students and he's a professional. He makes his students feel bad about themselves and begrudgingly offers MINIMAL assistance. He does short answer quiz homeworks where you get a grade back but do not know what you got wrong and students average 40/100 on them routinely. Don't take him unless you are prepared to despise him and work hard. He genuinely does not care about his students.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/30/2023	Very challenging class. The exams are no joke and they're worth so much of your grade so definitely utilize his slides to help you practice doing the coding problems. There's three exams, six practice coding problems, and 6 quizzes. There are also participation points in the form of clicker question on turningpoint and he doesn't do them every class but ideally, you should go to every class because he doesn't record his lectures. You should really ask as many questions as possible in class and utilize his TA's as well because they are all super helpful. He's also super big on academic integrity (someone posted one of his practice problems on Chegg or something and he threatened to remove the curve, which without a curve everyone would literally fail the class so DON'T CHEAT, you can literally work with other classmates on it but don't be posting his stuff online). In regards to learning the material, it does get tough but you learn SO MUCH in one semester and he does teach it to you like you've never heard of coding before. Also keep in mind that with quizzes and exams, the TAs get no access to them so you need to go to him during office hours which can be at a weird time so plan in advance to view them before the next exam because some of the quiz questions/concepts could pop up again.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/08/2023	This class is easier if you have prior coding knowledge in Python/VBA, it greatly helps. This dude literally yells the entire lecture. Like no, seriously. He has a "clear" voice I guess, but now at the end of the semester, people aren't even trying to ask questions to him because he just cuts you off or has a snarky remark. Genuinely not a warm individual. Focused a lot on academic integrity, gave various threats to our class about potential cheating violations he noticed throughout the semester w/ no real substance (eye roll). Focus on core course concepts and try to take time outside class to code on your own, following your class notes and the slides. W/ coding and any other technical skills, you learn by doing, not just note taking. Best of luck!
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/30/2023	One of the best professors that I have had. Coming from someone with no coding background, I felt like I learned so much over the course of the semester and really liked Bono's teaching style. He is very direct and explains things very well, and even though he is a bit fast-paced, he ALWAYS asks if there are any questions. He will answer any question and re-explains anything that you need (you have to speak up though!). Class time is used for lectures (he shows rather than just tells you how to do things) but also for practice problems which are extremely helpful. Start the bi-weekly homework ahead of time, and go to office hours!
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting a C Anonymous 01/19/2023	He is very nice and approachable, as a person but his grading policies and other weird policies are absolutely unfair in my opinion. The grade cutoffs changed drastically from the first two midterms and final exam, which led many students into thinking they were passing the class, who were actually probably failing. I was expecting to get somewhere in the B range and ended up with a C. This is honestly very unfair but I get that Smith professors have to set a certain standard, I just wish he was more upfront about it in the beginning. Like others have said one of the odd cases where I like the professor a lot as a person but I would not want to take a class with them again. Avoid if you can
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/13/2023	I learned so much from this professor, and the experience has been extremely valuable! The teaching style is more strict than what most are used to, but by doing so students are encouraged to solve their own problems and think through their own logic. The course is challenging and requires a significant time investment. The professor provides very clear notes that are available for reference at any time and many in-class practices, which are extremely helpful. Overall, I would say this is as close to a perfect introduction to coding as it gets.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/25/2022	I really liked Professor Bono. He comes across dry, but you can tell that's because he wants to give direct, clear information. But he does want you to work through things out loud before he tells you. But he will always reexplain things, gives tremendous opportunity for questions, and he explains things very, very clearly. The hangup is that lectures are not recorded.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/24/2022	This class is great. Professor Bono creates an environment where it is easy to pick up difficult concepts by using class time to practice problems instead of only lecturing. The only issue is the false sense of hope given with the grade cutoffs as they rose drastically between the first 2 exams and the final so please be careful when prepping for the final.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2022	This class is demanding and will require you to work hard but if you put in the effort you should be fine. Make sure that you can complete all practice problems and hw/labs and you’ll be good for the exams. I personally enjoyed Dr. Bono’s teaching style because it was straightforward and clear. He is nice and is very knowledgeable about the course material—he’ll go out of his way to help you. TAs are also nice and they were fast to respond to my concerns/questions.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2022	This is my second class with him and I really love how he stops all the time to take questions and includes a lot of SQL coding that he types out with you. He seems like he cares if you're learning it. Would definitely take another class with him.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/15/2022	Very strict and inflexible professor. Must attend all lectures, and no recordings available if missing one. Lots of work for the class and the grading is very picky.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/20/2022	Worst professor I have ever had, avoid if you can.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/19/2022	Easily one of the worst professors I have ever had. Little to no care for students and how they learn. The work needed to be completed for this course is illogical and the professor and TAs will not help you at all. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/24/2022	The professor is extremely nice and clear in his speaking. It is great that he speaks loudly and provides enough room for learning. The major problem with this professor or the course, in general, is the fact that the professor does not give adequate time to do the homework (graded and completed as if a project), is not flexible for his office hours, passes his students directly to email or TA if they have questions, and his personality is centered around student's academic integrity. He has this mindset that students are too concerned with their grades and is heavy of academic integrity (more than the average professor). The professor has a great personality, but be aware that while his persona and language of being concise are appealing, this course is more overwhelming than what needs to be for a 300 level course (in comparison to other 300 level courses). Not to mention the small detail that participation is graded for accuracy (you have to answer a few questions in class -close book and note - and he averages the grade and if you are above a certain threshold that he determines (do not know until the end) then you get full points. Additionally, none of the classes are recorded, which makes it difficult to go back to since he teaches so fast. Lastly, he does not let his students look at quizzes to see what they got wrong but he will broadly mention where the questions came from. I have to admit, this is an odd case where the professor has an amazing personality and is really great as a character (very nice, will listen to questions, sees if anyone has questions, etc.). Yet, if I had to take this class over again I really would not do it with him.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 01/21/2022	Lectures are a bit boring. Homework and labs will take you a while to do every week. No compassion for students, very cold personality. Lots of work for the class, a lab, and HW are due on Friday and Sunday at 8 PM, respectively. Each takes a couple of hours of effort. His teaching style was terrible; makes life difficult by not giving examples of practice questions in slide lectures and gives unannounced clicker quizzes. However, if you show up on time to every class you should get a 100. No practice exams and he never goes over your old assignments and is very nitpicky with his grading. TA's do all of his gradings and it takes weeks at a time.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/04/2022	A bit of a fast-paced class and not an easy A. It's a good feeling when your programs actually work. Best feature of the class is the professor provides a lot of practice problems and he and the TAs walk around to help so you have to keep coding. The prof and TAs felt approachable.
John Bono BUDT704 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/23/2021	No compassion for students, very cold personality. Lots of work for the class, HW are due on Friday and Sunday at 8 PM, respectively. Teaching style was terrible; makes life difficult by not giving examples of practice questions and gives unannounced clicker quizzes. Very nitpicky with his grading. But , you will learn a lot if you put in the effort into his material and ignore the grading
John Bono BMGT301 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/24/2021	Very organized class layout. Easy to understand and made the material really easy to learn.
John Bono BMGT301 Expecting an A- Anonymous 08/21/2021	Summer, 6-week class. I loved the professor's lectures. He was very engaging and interesting and tried really hard to apply what we were learning to our own majors with examples. Workload was a bit heavy, Fair grading with a curve.
John Bono BMGT302 Anonymous 01/27/2021	This course was a really comprehensive introduction to programming fundamentals, but was modified for business students. A lot of practical examples and practice problems, professor made it really easy to to do well.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/04/2021	I loved professor's teaching style. He was able to break up the different topics some of which were pretty dry and make them feel relevant and important. The hands-on SQL work we did in the second half was the most beneficial and seems applicable to work after graduation.
John Bono BMGT404 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/28/2020	Great class/professor if you want to learn the fundamentals of python. You will have to work for your grade
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/27/2020	Amazing professor. Spent a lot of time answering questions and helped me out with career advice outside class. Highly recommend him.
John Bono BMGT402 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/21/2020	No compassion for students, very cold personality. Lots of work for the class, a lab and HW are due on Friday and Sunday at 8 PM, respectively. Each take a couple hours of effort. Teaching style was terrible; makes life difficult by not giving examples of practice questions in slide lectures and gives unannounced clicker quizzes. No practice exams, hides all averages for assignments, and is very nitpicky with his grading.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/30/2020	Great guy & great class. Takes time with students and only moves on if everyone gets the content. Don't be afraid to ask him questions or tell him to take it slow!
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2019	I loved having him over this past semester. I will admit the class was challenging at times, but was rewarding. I would recommend taking him if he has any open seats.
John Bono BMGT302 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/03/2019	very fair and wants you to do well, but class will take some practice if you are not familiar with coding