<p>DS met with his advisor. We will be looking at his class schedule together over break. He asked for my advice, but being a non-STEM type, I am not much help.</p>
<p>DS’ concern is Statistics/ Physics II / Math (either Linear or Dif Eq).
He’ll round out with STEM MBA (1.5) and a required AEM 2 credit class
He can take either the above for 13.5 credits for the semester or
add a UH 3 credit course for 16.5
or take both Linear and Dif Eq. for 16.5.</p>
<p>In general 16.5 seemed doable to him, but upper class men advised the homework time with Statics/Physics II and one Math is very time consuming and should not be treated as other semesters with 16.5. </p>
<p>He has the AP credits that taking 13.5 won’t negatively impact future semesters, so the advisor said he is fine either way.</p>
<p>My understanding is Statics is to Engineering what O’Chem is to pre-med, bio, chem kids. I see it as a weed out and a foundation block. Best to fully comprehend to move on easier.</p>
<p>I also understand the Engineering College re-vamped Statics so there is only 1 section with a very strong professor in order to provide a coherent delivery.</p>
<p>Any thoughts, advice, etc. is appreciated</p>
<p>YES, Statics for Fall 2014 will be AWESOME! Dr. Hubner is THE BEST (all according to my S). 
Whatever courses your student takes, make sure he goes to all of the extra help sessions and the recitations/reviews (whether they are mandatory or not, and whether attendance is taken or not). Hubner is difficult, but fair and very willing to help motivated students. (My S might be a TA in that class in fall - I will PM you if so.) My S took Linear Alg, Diff EQ and Statics all in the same semester his FR year, and he did fine in all 3. Algorithms on top of it all can bite, tho, so be careful of that class. Have your S get a good, positive relationship going with Prof Unni from the very start. He will be approachable if you make the effort. I like the idea of registering on the upper end of total class credits, to leave room for dropping 1 class, if needed. I know you cannot drop a course taught only in the Fall…but the AEM flowchart shows that you should be taking the course list you outlined above, so it is ‘doable’. Good luck w/ these decisions!</p>
<p>Thanks Aeromom. DS gets along well with Prof Unni. DS is soon the fence. He pushed his schedule this semester and is starting to really feel the pressure. His grades are fine, but his sanity and sleep schedule are in question. </p>
<p>Statics is a notorious class for eng’g. It and thermal classes are what students across the USA dread. lol</p>
<p>Well, if Bama has determined that one prof is an excellent teacher, then maybe it should assign another prof to take his class…seriously…and learn his style. lol</p>
<p>Riddle me this about difficult engineering classes: a student says he is doing very poorly in a certain eng’g class. His test averages on two tests so far have been <70%, something he is not at all proud of. The class average has been 40-50%, however, so that makes him look like a comparative genius when the prof curves. Is that just uber difficult material…or really poor teaching if that many students can’t get the majority of the material correct? Do we need a NCLB act for eng’g?! <lol-face></lol-face></p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>My son was one of those in Dr. Wahidi’s statics class last semester (that resulted in the fairly lengthy thread on here). At mid-term he had a D, but really thought he would be able to pull it up to a passing grade. He was VERY frustrated because he kept telling me that material was really fairly easy and he thought he understood it, but then when they took the tests, they did not seem to relate to what he thought he knew at all. He didn’t put enough time into the class at the beginning of the year, but after struggling he started putting more time and effort into it and studied A LOT for the final. Immediately after taking the final he knew he’d failed and that he wasn’t going to be able to pull his grade up like he’d hoped. He later said that rumor was about 40% of the students in his class would be retaking it (40%?!?!?), but I can’t confirm that. This semester retaking the class with a different prof, his midterm grade was an A.</p>
<p>Is that because of the instructor? Is that because he already has a foundation in the material? Is that because he learned his lesson and is spending more time and effort this semester? Or is it some combination of all of those. I wish I knew so we could avoid the situation ever repeating… </p>
<p>There is no Dr. Redha Wahidi listed on UA’s website, nor in COE search. Yet he/she is teaching again this semester. Who exactly is that prof/instructor?! When my S took Statics last year, he had a graduate student as his instructor. For such a FUNDAMENTAL course, I was surprised by this. She was very capable, and my S did well and I’m confident he learned the material. But from an outsider’s point of view, that does not look entirely kosher, and that class needs a really solid, experienced prof. I think (if I read between the lines) COE recognised that, and that is why Hubner is the sole prof this coming fall. He is excellent. I am now wondering what % of students had to re-take the Statics class the last 2 semesters…</p>
<p>My son will be in Statics in the Fall and he is thrilled that Hubner is teaching it!</p>
<p>I was the one who started that AEM 201 thread last semester. My S was also a student of Dr. Wahidi’s (he is a male), and was one of the MANY who did not receive a passing grade.</p>
<p>As an ME student, he was unable to schedule the next two classes this semester because of Statics being the prerequisite. Juggling of the schedule was required, and there was some serious sweating regarding the co-op that begins this summer in Houston.</p>
<p>S is re-taking Statics this semester, with a different professor, and is earning an A- without nearly the time that he spent last semester. He attributes this to “already seeing this material”, and feeling that he is simply “reviewing”. I was sure that my son had learned/understood an adequate amount of material last semester to pass this class, and I am confident that his understanding from last semester, along with REASONABLE testing by this current professor, is the reason that he is doing so well this time around.</p>
<p>Dr. Wahidi did apparently fail a large percentage of students last semester. According to a comment on ratemyprofessor, the Dean of the COE needed to step in because Wahidi did not utilize a standard final exam for both of his sections. He also never informed his students of review sessions…my son found out about them through thoughtful parents on this website, and from other students in different sections. Ratemyprofessor has nothing kind to say about Dr. Wahidi, but of course one must take these comments with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>I chuckled when my son told me that he has the grades this semester to be considered for a TA for Statics for next Fall. How ironic that someone who failed the class 3 months ago is now a “top” student.</p>
<p>I think the change for Statics…one large lecture taught by one professor…will alleviate the issue that my son, and MANY other students dealt with. I actually wish this theory would be considered for Thermo 2…</p>
<p>Denthyg - It was your post that had me tell DS to talk to upper class men about the class. </p>
<p>Aeromom - I always hated the “curving” of a grade. To me, if you can’t get a class grade on a bell to begin with, then the material and delivery are wrong. But, I am old school and still believe majority of kids should get “C” equaling Average of the students taking the class. This C is the new F irks me. All students shouldn’t need to be above average to be productive.</p>