<p>The math class in which my D is registered for spring semester has changed on MyBama from a particular professor to TBA. Since she built her schedule around that particular math class with that particular teacher, this is disappointing. It’s also the second time in as many semesters that this has happened with her math class. She has another class that has been TBA all along - that is frustrating but not as bad as having the professor changed. Is this a common occurrence? I guess it doesn’t really matter, since all other sections for both these classes are closed, but when do the departments usually fill in the TBAs?</p>
<p>Yes, this sort of thing can happen. A dept sometimes finds that they need to add sections for ANOTHER class, and then they have to juggle some profs to cover the change. Or something else happens which causes some rearrangement.</p>
<p>Some depts avoid this by leaving many of the names TBD so that they are free to juggle til the last minute. I don’t think there’s any rule that depts have to name their TBDs by a certain date.</p>
<p>There’s no way to avoid this happening. This happens everywhere. </p>
<p>My younger son chose his OChem class based on the named prof. As we all know, OChem classes can “make or break” a premed’s hope. About a week before classes started, there was a “prof-change” for his OChem class. It was a brand new prof, just hired after finishing his post-doc at UTexas (his BS/MS/PhD education had been in Italy). So, of course we were concerned about teaching ability and even English proficiency. In the end is was wonderful. Son LOVED that prof, his English was perfect, and he was very student-oriented.
<a href=“http://chemistry.ua.edu/faculty_profiles/marco-bonizzoni/[/url]”>http://chemistry.ua.edu/faculty_profiles/marco-bonizzoni/</a>
<a href=“http://bama.ua.edu/~mbonizzoni/Bonizzoni.html[/url]”>http://bama.ua.edu/~mbonizzoni/Bonizzoni.html</a></p>
<p>So a change can be a good thing.</p>
<p>My D was OK with the math prof she got this semester after the one she signed up for was changed, so I’m hoping the one she gets next semester will be fine as well. I guess the lesson learned is not to do gyrations over the schedule to get a particular prof if changes are not uncommon.</p>
<p>Who WAS the assigned math prof and which class is this?</p>
<p>Wei Hsia, MATH 355 Theory of Probability.</p>
<p>ohh…very good…older son had him. Really liked him and learned a lot. </p>
<p>Other son took that class as well. I’ll try to find out who he had.</p>
<p>Younger son had Hsia as well.</p>
<p>Looking at past history for that class, Dr. Hsia has been the main prof. The “other” prof has been different during various semesters.</p>
<p>Yes, and Hsia is still teaching a section other than D’s section that was changed. I checked and so far he doesn’t seem to be teaching anything next semester other than that remaining section of Probability. I keep hoping they’ll switch it back and he’ll end up teaching D’s section after all. But in the meantime there’s nothing to do, because D has classes at the other two times the class is offered and those sections are full anyway.</p>
<p>I did check out some of the other profs who’ve taught the class in the past. Two of them appear to be not so good, and the one who is good (the same one that D signed up for last semester but didn’t get because they changed profs) is already teaching a Calc class at the same time, so it won’t be him.</p>
<p>Interesting turn of events . . . D’s class is back to the original professor, but that professor’s other class has changed to a new professor. If we hadn’t happened to have looked at myBama, we never would have known about the first change. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, I guess. Now here’s hoping it sticks!</p>
<p>Glad to hear that your D now has Hsia back. Both of my kids had him and loved him. Excellent prof.</p>
<p>Sorry to resurrect this for my own purposes, but it also has to do with the Math department switching profs around. Basically all of the Diff Eq professors have changed, so that now instead of Tan Yu Lee I have Soumyadip Acharyya. Does anyone have feedback on the latter? More importantly, what about Nguyen Dat Duong or Yuanyuan Song? I believe all of them are PhD students, and these two aren’t on Rate My Professor. Feel free to message me.</p>
<p>I recommend getting to know these professors/PhD students and visit them during office hours, not only for help, but just to make personal connections. Here is a link to all PhD students in the Math dept at UA: [Graduate</a> Student Directory | Department of Mathematics](<a href=“http://math.ua.edu/graduate_program/graduate_directory/]Graduate”>http://math.ua.edu/graduate_program/graduate_directory/)</p>
<p>S had Soumyadip Acharyya this last semester and he thought he was pretty easy to understand and did not have any difficulties with his tests etc. My S said that he thought he went “too slow”. For some that might be a good thing but for him it made the class a little boring. S is a math major so math so far has been easy for him. (I am sure it will be getting harder as he goes along though.)</p>
<p>Awesome. Thank you!</p>