Manoj Franklin

This professor has taught: CMSC798, EDSP652, ENEB353, ENEB444, ENEE244, ENEE245, ENEE303, ENEE303H, ENEE324, ENEE350, ENEE350H, ENEE446, ENEE447, ENEE646, ENPM607, ENPM609, ENPM610, ENPM675, ENPM676, ENPM808, MSML605, MSML606
Information Review
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/12/2022
This class just sucked in general. But it is mandatory for engineering so suck it up.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE244

Anonymous
05/05/2022
The worst professor I have ever taken at this university. His lectures are filled with him talking nonsense and his exams are beyond what we learned in class. The averages are extremely low and he blames it on the questions being poorly written when it was him not being able to teach his class. The whole class a week before the exam was trying to teach themselves the material but no one could help each other because everyone else was lost. Only curved 2 points on a 25 point exam when the average was a 13/25. I wanted to learn from him and I actively paid attention during lecture but I was unable to retain any of the information he would mumble on about.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE244

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
04/26/2022
Manoj is EXTREMELY knowledgeable. He comes into the lecture hall and doesn't pull any reference material out, just goes to the board and starts, because he just KNOWS. However, he is terrible at email. He has not replied to a single email of mine from 244 or 245. Also, do not take 244 with Manoj if you're not cool with a 25 minute final exam, out of a total of 15 points, that's worth 40% of your grade... Yes, one midterm (40%), one final (40%), and 6 homeworks (20%)
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Anonymous
05/26/2021
ENEE245 is not well-adapted to an online format in general, but Professor Franklin's lack of responsiveness makes it much more stressful. Extremely interesting content but the labs are way too long/confusing, especially as a 2-credit class. If you take Franklin for 245 then your TA will probably determine how you do. There was a severe lack of communication, with the most notable example being zero announcements about the date of the final exam except Franklin mentioning the date at the end of a single lecture two weeks beforehand.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Anonymous
05/21/2021
This class was a ton of work and he was pretty unhelpful sometimes. Still, most people did well and you'll be fine as long as you keep up with the work, go to office hours, talk to your TA, etc. There's an exam at the end which I'm pretty sure is just designed to lower everyone's grades by a letter.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE350

Expecting an A
umdterpman
05/18/2021
I've taken 245 and 350 with Dr. Franklin. Both of them were online, so they probably won't translate to a real semester. I enjoyed 245 actually - I thought the labs were fair and educational (though the prelabs took SO LONG to complete). I agree with what others said about a good TA making a big difference. I also didn't go to any of the lectures - while Dr. Franklin knows his stuff, his online lecture format was reading from powerpoints, and I just could not pay any attention at all. The final at the end of the class was kind of a crapshoot - it was 10 multiple choice questions, and most of them were VERY niche questions from individual labs. The final average was like a 40% or something ridiculous, but it counts for only like 20% of the final grade so it ended up being alright. That final was still quite annoying though, and I'm sure a lot of people were frustrated with their grades afterwards if they did particularly badly (less than like a 40% would get you an A- or a B even if you did all the labs perfectly). 350 was another ballgame. Again, I could not pay any attention to his powerpoint lecture format. I watched maybe two lectures and then decided that I just couldn't pay attention anymore. Thankfully, our TA, Sidra, was amazing and helped teach us everything that we needed to know during discussions. She single-handedly saved everyone's grades. For both the midterm and the final we were given multiple practice exams, and over 50% of each exam was carbon-copy from the old tests. As a result, I (and many others) didn't attend lectures and still ended up doing well on exams just by practicing the old exams (the 3 HWs were also very relevant to the exams). I feel like this is partially due to the nature of online learning, and during a normal semester I think Franklin would be a pretty decent professor (see some of the older reviews), but online I didn't learn much in 350. Based on my impressions of this class and others, I would take Franklin over Oruc for 350, but also consider other professors if they are available.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/25/2020
Dr. Franklin is just a really uncaring and messy professor. He cancelled lectures without notifying any of the students, he posted one practice exam from 2012 (which isn't helpful at all for the exam), and he's not good at using technology at all. Your grade in the class is also completely dependent on the TA you have.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE244

Anonymous
01/14/2020
Hopefully my reign with this professor is over. I've taken ENEE324, ENEE244 and ENEE245 with him, and each class varied a lot in terms of how difficult he made it. 324 was a nightmare because it was all math and he really did not try to make the material interesting through lecture. Exams were extremely unpredictable in terms of what he could test us on; he referenced the textbook several times however the problems from the book ended up being different in terms of content compared to what was on the exam. This class will be difficult no matter who you take it with, and he will not make it any easier. However, I had a good experience with him for 244; he tried to relate the material to real world concepts as much as possible and made fair exams that covered everything he talked about in class. 245 was another nightmare though, where Verilog was barely taught in class but tested rigorously through the prelabs which is a shame because it is a very interesting class. What's even more crazy is that you are expected to know the language and associated concepts thoroughly for the exams... this was evident especially through the final exam. Overall Franklin will always be a mixed bag in terms of his exams as it is difficult to prepare for them. Expect to work super hard if you are enrolled in any of his classes.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE244

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/29/2019
This is one of those courses that is so needlessly made challenging and stressful by how inept the teacher is at organizing it. Manoj Franklin does not directly teach material from the textbook, most of his notes are oral (and he has a thick accent), and there is no syllabus that describes what to learn. So, there is a lot of stressful guesswork that goes into learning the curriculum. It would be completely unlearnable if not for the hardworking TF's that have learned from the previous semester what Manoj intends for us to learn.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Expecting an A-
themachine
11/17/2019
It's a shame that this class is so poorly taught and managed, because it could be a really important, fundamental class for computer engineers. The lectures are just a review of some basic ENEE244 concepts, which is a complete waste of time. It is basically assumed that you come into the class with a foundation in Verilog, a very difficult language to pick up but a crucial one to learn for anyone interested in FPGAs. If lecture was changed to just teach Verilog and the lecture were actually informative and helpful (Franklin was not a good lecturer. He was vague and hard to understand), the class might have been one of my favorites.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

soulelite
09/30/2016
His lectures are clear, and his handwriting is amazing. Only reason I did not give him 5 stars is because he doesn't give out any homework assignments, so its hard to get any practice if you don't understand the examples he does in class.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Expecting an A+
jjjnmk
11/13/2015
To be honest, I didn't go to many lectures of 245, because I didn't think it was that necessary. The way that 245 is structured with Franklin, you can get away with just going over the slides and the prelab before your lab, because that's pretty much what Franklin does in lecture. That being said, the lectures that I did go to were pretty alright. I'm sure you've heard that he's got the most amazing handwriting in the department, which makes taking notes from him very nice. If you're thinking of taking him for 245, I'd say go for it. His labs are relatively straight forward.
Manoj Franklin

Expecting an A
Anonymous
09/15/2014
I rarely give professors 1 star reviews, but Franklin hit all the wrong places for me. He put in quite certainly no effort into the class and would always be late 5-15 minutes. The lecture wasn't too crucial, but it's at the very least extremely disrespectful to not be on time during allotted time. The class required almost nothing of him, and he wasn't even able to do the little it did. He NEVER responds to email and you need to track him down yourself. He seemed to have absolutely no regulation over the TAs and they all decided for themselves how they wanted to grade and how much extra credit to give, resulting in extreme discrepancies between classes. Very disrespectful and lazy man getting payed to "lecture" and do nothing.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/21/2014
Franklin is an extremely organized lecturer, which is super ironic considering he doesn't bring notes to class and his canvas is as unorganized as I've ever seen. He speaks in a clear and concise manner, answers questions effectively, and doesn't go too fast. He appears to care about students, and is reasonable. Unlike other reviewers have said, he never showed up to class late this semester, his accent is non-existent, and he is very organized. The nature of the course is very difficult, and to compensate he removed homework from the class. This is nice, obviously, because there's no homework, but quizzes and exams count for more, which is scary. Quizzes are graded extremely easily, and exams are harsh-- half of the points are multiple choice, and even if you select the correct answer you could get less than half credit if you don't explain yourself well enough. It helps my note-taking that his handwriting is so neat, and I really appreciate that he doesn't vomit information onto the board, like so many math professors I've had. I think that overall Franklin is an excellent professor. He only got 4 stars from me because his canvas is unorganized and he doesn't respond to emails.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A+
koffe55
01/13/2014
Excellent professor. Incredibly neat and organized on the board. Lectures are somewhat slow but are very easy to follow. As long as you don't mind starting lectures ten minutes late, you'll have a great time in this class.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/21/2013
Beautiful handwriting.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
06/06/2013
Dr. Franklin was a great professor for 303. What I like about him is that he explains everything in a clear and understandable way. This was one of the few classes where I was able to understand nearly everything he says in lecture, unlike other professors who fail to communicate those material clearly. He always shows up 10 minutes late and goes through material slowly, but I felt I learned a lot from his lectures. His teaching style just "works." Exam questions appear to be variations of examples he did in class. The key to doing well on the dams is to understand the material intuitively by practicing a lot of problems. Averages tend to be in the high 60's, but it is possible to do very well if you take advantage of test bank problems. He is pretty generous on partial credit though.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A
UMDstudent2011
12/20/2012
Professor Franklin is an excellent professor for ENEE303. He's been teaching the class for well over 10 years, so as a student, you quickly realize he's the best the university has to offer when learning about Transistors. By no means is this class an easy A. You need to understand the material or else you will find yourself struggling come exam time. I found the class to be rather easy to learn. Make sure you understand Small-Signal Analysis for BJTs, MOSFETs, & Difference Amplifiers because they will be on the exam. Understanding these concepts helped separate me from other students. The class is curved initially by 3%, but as the semester goes on, you'll notice the class is curved off of where you stand against your classmates. He follows OURUMD grading distribution to the T, so use that to determine where you stand.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A
engr
10/03/2012
Best professor ever !!! I recommend taking 303 with him and any other classes available with him cuz he goes by every detail and his exams are pretty much from the homework and class notes (you can do hwk if u have ur class notes) I got a B in this class but if i wudve put in an extra effort, I wud've definately gotten an A
Manoj Franklin
ENEE245

bigbabby
05/15/2012
This was his first semester teaching 245, and it shows. Lectures would consist of him basically reading the lab specification to us. About halfway into the semester, the labs go from telling you exactly what to do to telling you no information at all. The last lab was copied off of the internet, but only the useless information. The final was okay, not representative of the semester at all, but the TAs graded fairly leniently.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/27/2011
Thorough lectures, although it can be difficult to pay attention as he speaks very softly and mentions some important concepts in passing. He can be very meticulous in writing out diagrams, which makes note-copying (and catching up) much easier. He did not give pop quizzes as in previous semesters, which was a bonus. His tests were relatively straightforward and he's pretty generous with partial credit. My biggest complaint with the class was with the difficulty of the homework, which often stressed concepts we were not expected to know (and often did not cover) in lecture/exams. Still, overall, this was a pretty easy class, and Franklin was pretty great. As always, look at practice exams (helps immensely).
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Anonymous
01/28/2011
Franklin is pretty good. His lectures are extremely clear as he draws everything to quantum precision. He's pretty good at explaining stuff too. I actually wish he had given us more homework because I felt like we never really got to practice the problems enough. And I wish he wouldn't do his pop quizzes because they were pointless and tested memorization more than understanding of the concepts. But his tests are fair and they count for most of the grade, so it's pretty easy to get an A in the class.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A
whynot
01/28/2011
His lectures are awesome - if you are taking 303 with Newcomb you should try to sit in on Franklin's lectures if you can. His notes are very neat and clear. His lectures can become somewhat disorganized, but it's just because he always asks students questions and tries to pick apart what they don't know. Whether you think this is good or not is up to you. He also has pop quizzes in his lectures. They are multiple choice and count for a substantial portion of your grade. I think quiz were like 20%, HW like 10% and the rest was midterm + final. His exams are extremely hard. Prepare well, do EVERY homework, and study like mad. Show *ALL* your work, even on multiple choice questions, as he gives lots of partial credit if your reasoning is good.
Manoj Franklin

Xin
11/25/2009
He is boring, has a thick accent, can't teach, and is a total jesus freak. The enee206 lectures are pointless to go to. You don't learn anything at all. He posts the powerpoints online so just review them at your dorm before you go to class. He is nice though.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/23/2009
AWESOME professor! For all EE students: u'll be better off taking this prof for whatever class he teaches. He has an awesome curve. First of, you have to pay attention in class for the multiple choice lecture quizzes. And you have to note that these are almost the same questions on the exams. Also, you have to go over and solve the practice exam questions since the exam questions are similar to those. Also he is a little difficult to catch for office hours. So in case you need help you have to talk to him after class. Because he takes some time before replying to emails.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

swieneck
09/09/2009
I took professor Franklin for both ENEE303 and ENEE313 and can honestly say that he has been one of the best professors I've ever had. What I like most about him is that he explains things in a very clear and understandable way. Also he is a really fair grader, and the problems you get on the test are usually the same or very similar problems to what was in the homework or in examples from the book.
Manoj Franklin
ENEE303

Anonymous
08/27/2009
He is very organized on the board. He is very helpful at office hours. His exams are similar to homework and exams from last year. Overall, a great guy.