A.U. Shankar

This professor has taught: CMSC216, CMSC412, CMSC414, CMSC712, CMSC798

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A.U. Shankar CMSC412 Anonymous 05/06/2022	I've had Shankar for CMSC 216 and CMSC 412. Although Shankar has a stutter if you focus during lectures, write down some notes, and ask him questions, he will clear up any confusions you have. The difficulty of the exams he gives usually is written by whoever is proctoring the course. In CMSC 216, the exams given were written by Yoon so it was pretty hard. In CMSC 412, Shankar wrote his own exams, which were rather fair if you knew the material (much fairer than exams written by Yoon or Kruskal). The reason why I give Shankar 4 stars is literally because I think he did an ok job teaching 412. I think reviewing a professor's competence should account for the conditions of the course. The biggest change Shankar could've done is go over hints for the projects in the lecture, though this was mostly the job of the discussion section and the TAs. Other changes Shankar could've made were to make his slides less vague and provide more detailed practice exam solutions. 412 is hard because doing the GeekOS projects take too long, leaving students without much time for other classes and to understand other aspects of Operating Systems not implemented in GeekOS. GeekOS is designed by a UMD graduate, Jeffrey Hollingsworth, Neil Spring, etc. If one accounts for the fact that this project was given to everyone who took CMSC 412, one would realize that this pain is not the fault of the Shankar but the curriculum of the course. Sure Shankar could've changed this curriculum but I don't think this would be too fair.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/29/2022	Shankar expects you to engage with the material and THINK! CMSC216 can not be memorized and requires consistency with the material. It's a big step up from CMSC132. Shankar was an effective instructor. While his lectures did not rely as much on the slides, he conveyed the course content well, provided many detailed examples, and always answered questions. This class is tough, but if you are willing to put in the time, you can succeed. Do not rely on old practice exams too much, and focus on the code examples, making changes to it, and predicting the new output. Understand the purpose of every code example and every function used in the example. Be able to use the syntax and functions in novel scenarios. Truly understand the concepts so that you can apply them in novel problems. I recommend previewing the slides the night before a lecture and preparing questions to ask during lecture. Take note of key points and especially about code examples. Review after class. Form a weekly study group. Don't just start coding the assignments; spend time thinking through a plan and edge cases first. You got this!! Go to office hours! Shankar is extremely knowledge and patient. He really wants to see you succeed and cares to help you engage deeply and accurately with the course content.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting a B- Anonymous 01/28/2022	The course was co-taught with Jose... I dunno why everyone says Jose gave fair exams while over here I see a lot about the exam being ridiculous(which I agree with 100%). Just find it a bit weird over the inconsistency. Lectures from both professors were mid in my opinion- I found it really hard to study for the exams / be prepared as the questions were borderline random. No worries bc everything is "fair game". Grading took forever, and unfortunately the TAs were as knowledgeable as the students this semester. Overall, a dumpster fire of a class.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting a C Anonymous 01/01/2022	I only attended his lectures during important dates because I could not understand a thing. He teaches like you know the content already and its already hear to hear him. His exams are way harder than the practice exams given. If you are going to take him be prepared or have fun on repeating the course.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/26/2021	Dr. Shankar is for sure knowledgeable, but you really need to force yourself to pay 100% of your attention during lectures. He doesn't repeat information and assumes you have previous knowledge.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2021	Notice that most of the reviews for Shankar are by students that did not attend his lecture. I attended his lecture all semester, and I felt that he did a good job. I ended up with a good grade in the class. This is just a difficult subject. It was actually nice that everyone went to the other lecture. We had a more personal experience, and he had more time to answer individual questions. I'm even curious if students that went to the other lecture did any better.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Anonymous 12/20/2021	I only went to his lectures during the first week of school, and I did not understand a thing. He speaks incredibly softly and it is hard to hear him, and he teaches like you already know all of the content. He co-taught with Calderon this semester and I just attended Calderon's lectures instead. Half of the TAs were not even doing their job and some actually got fired and we never got any grades back on time, so we went half the semester without even having a single grade. Overall, this class was a mess.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Anonymous 12/09/2021	Shankar seems like a nice person from the very small amount of personal interaction I had with him during the semester in the form of fleeting after-class conversations and from Piazza. But - and this is a major BUT - he's a terrible lecturer. I got through the entire semester by reading from the slides posted online (as the class was cotaught this semester) and frequently skipped lectures, they were just straight up unhelpful. By the end of the semester, there were about 12 or 13 people still attending the lecture hall that should seat over 100. He seems incredibly knowledgeable, and I'm sure he's very very well-versed in the subject that he teaches, but his ability to convey that knowledge to the students in a lecture format is very poor.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Anonymous 10/06/2021	The stutter isn't even in issue if you pay attention - he's just a bad teacher. He talks like he expects you to already understand everything and doesn't repeat or clarify anything he says. It's almost as if he is just regurgitating a text book or something, his in person instruction is no better than what you would get from just reading the lecture slides. I ended up going to a different section for my lectures and my understanding of the material improved dramatically. Do not take his class.
A.U. Shankar Anonymous 05/21/2021	He was actually a good teacher, he just talks slow so you have to force yourself to pay attention.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/15/2020	shut the fuck up about his stutter. if you think a stutter makes a class hard to teach, how about you cut off your tongue and see how hard it is to ask questions. he goes slow in lectures, yes, but he's not unprepared. I had this class online so it was co-taught with Herman, and yes, if you want a "better instructor" in terms of quantity of content and breadth of content covered go for Herman. But Shankar knows his stuff when it comes to explaining concepts in memory with diagrams. he is thorough in his lectures, but yes, slow, and perhaps, for you folk who can't sit down and listen, you will "lose interest quickly". at times, he might not fully divulge the nuances for concepts that require more exposition, or detail verbally. he will not explain the slides for a lecture, or clarify them in the clearest way (in my case, it was with: register spilling, clarifying the functions of registers, and the instructions to load values into registers). That being said, the way the course is designed itself is very good. the homeworks, worksheets, and projects are your ticket to a good grade in this class. The lectures, resources, and textbook correspond to a good majority of the content, and you will not have to fuss to find more content to learn from if you pay careful attention to the content given.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/10/2020	Taught in joint with L. Herman. Although I feel horrible saying this, he is very hard to listen to (stutter). He seems like he really cares about students, but his lectures were boring. He's always willing to take questions, unlike Herman, and always willing to take the time needed to answer them. The only interaction I had with him was during one office hours session, were he was quick to find the issue and resolve my problem. Probably would avoid him if possible, but take him over Herman.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Anonymous 11/23/2020	Took his class when it was co-taught by Herman. He is, in my opinion, a far better lecturer than Herman IF you can pay attention through his stuttering. It was definitely more interesting and easy to understand the concepts Shankar taught. Again, this is if you can pay attention through the stuttering. I can't really speak about his exams or quizzes though b/c I'm pretty sure they were Herman's, at least for my year.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting a B Anonymous 10/29/2020	Nice guy, much nicer than Herman. Knows the course material very well and is response to students. Unfortunately, he has a stutter that makes his lectures very hard to understand.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/03/2020	Horrible lecturer. He is very hard to listen to and doesn't seem prepared for lectures. I ended up going to a different section's lecture for the class because I couldn't focus on him.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A+ jschne55 04/10/2020	Lectures were basically useless because of the stuttering and volume, ended up just going to Larry's lectures. Definitely knows his stuff, just can't teach it very well.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/17/2019	Stutters, which makes his lectures impossible to follow. You're better off reading the slides or just showing up to Herman's lecture.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A- Anonymous 10/20/2019	He is very nice if you talk to him, but if you want to understand the material I would recommend either looking for another teacher or preparing to rely heavily on the textbook.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting a B Anonymous 04/11/2018	Shankar is a nice guy if you were to ever speak with him. However as a professor i would avoid completely. The class relied heavily on a generous curve and the entire semester was a struggle to stay afloat. Good luck if you have him
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/23/2018	One of the worst lecturers I have had so far. He has a stutter and doesn't communicate material well. Be prepared to teach yourself everything. His PowerPoints are incoherent and you would be better off using Wikipedia or a textbook as a resource. He does curve to compensate for the lower averages, however if you really want to learn something I would suggest taking another teacher.
A.U. Shankar CMSC216 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/19/2017	Stutters. Slow lectures. Exams are exactly the same as Herman's but the coding problems are much harder. Do not take.
A.U. Shankar CMSC412 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/02/2013	Lectures are pretty dry and difficult to follow. Exams are based mostly on lecture material, so looking at his online notes to prep is a must. Projects are very time-consuming and specs are often frustrating as they do not accurately reflect what actually needs to be done in a clear way. By far the longest and most complicated programming assignments I've ever had in an academic environment; make sure to start early and ask lots of questions. Overall, not a great experience. Maybe not quite as terrible as its reputation, but projects can get pretty ugly. Best bet is to take the class with people you know and discuss with them about the projects (at a high-level).
A.U. Shankar CMSC412 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/23/2012	Professor: He does have a stutter, but if you pay attention you will have no trouble understanding him. This does however make his responses to questions slower than normal. He will also give tips on how to do well in his class and stuff like extra non graded assignments if you need more practice if you ask him. Coursework: Projects are very difficult. Start early (no really.) on all of the projects and be prepared to ask for help from the TA's. Exams are medium. He grades hard, but his cut offs are low. So even if you do bad on one test you can easily make it up. If you study you can do well on the tests. But studying can be a problem if you get behind on a project (projects are sometimes due 3 days before the exam date). Grades: He curves the tests and does something with the projects (I did badly on a lot of them yet still passed the class). He will not give you any extra credit or extra assignments if your doing badly. If you fail you fail. Bottom Line? It will take a lot of work to do well or even pass this class. However you will learn a lot about OS's. Its also looks good on the resume and can give you a idea of how good of a programmer you are. Not recommended for a senior class unless you need 4 credits.
A.U. Shankar CMSC412 Expecting a CD Anonymous 10/29/2012	This is a horrible class. The projects are impossibly difficult and the professor is terrible lecturer. His stutter is distracting and notes are all over the place. Average for a midterm is around a 46/80. Exams are really difficut You will have to end up learning all of the material and then doing all of the projects yourself. Dont take this class with him if you dont have to.
A.U. Shankar CMSC412 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/24/2012	I have a lot of respect for Dr. Shankar. He is extremely knowledgable on the subject matter. I did feel that too much of the course was spent on lectures about synchronization, but clearly this guy knows that stuff in and out. He does have a little bit of a speech impediment, but it didn't hinder his communication of the material to me in any way. We are all human right? Too many students used the excuse that they couldn't do a project because it wasn't heavily discussed in lecture, but not once have I had a CS course that went into detail about a project, not even 131! It may have been the fact that I was very well prepared for the course because of ENEE350. Shankar is very approachable, in his office or in class, much more so then most professors. He also spent the last class taking suggestions from students about how he can revise the course to better teach his students for the next time he is teaching it. How often do you see that? This guy actually wants his students to learn, and isn't out to make your life a living hell. His exams can be tedious, but they are definitely curved. He is a very fair grader, though you may find that your TAs are not so much. All in all the project is very time consuming, and is worth about 50% of your grade. The project though is not curved! I enjoyed this class a lot, and felt that this class really strengthened my understanding of a vast amount of topics.