ECE-651
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Not in Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students generally rate the course well. Best for students who are genuinely interested in the topic and willing to engage with the course on its own terms. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
DepartmentELEC&CMP
Terms offeredSpring
Typical enrollment42–42
Semesters of data1
8.4
Hrs / week
27
Responses
42
Enrollment
64%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.3
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.4
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.4
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.6
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysislow
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 60 comments across 1 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students generally rate the course well. Best for students who are genuinely interested in the topic and willing to engage with the course on its own terms. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Instructor ratings are strong even when the comments do not cluster around one obvious positive theme.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who are genuinely interested in the topic and willing to engage with the course on its own terms.
Watch out for
• Most of the signal comes from a limited sample, so be careful about over-generalizing.
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
I learn many aspects about software engineering. It should be required for the software track guys.
Spring 2025 · Hilton, Andrew
OOP principles. Basics of working in a team for larger projects (requirement spec). Testing
Spring 2025 · Hilton, Andrew
design pattern design principle write code
Spring 2025 · Hilton, Andrew
1. Systematic approaches to designing, building, and maintaining software, including agile methodologies, iterative development, and continuous integration practices. 2. Ability to balance individual tasks with collective team goals and deadlines. 3. Confidence in systematically approaching and resolving difficult software errors.
Spring 2025 · Hilton, Andrew
learned a lot about software engineering, design patterns as well as how to work in a team to develop software with other people
Spring 2025 · Hilton, Andrew
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2025 | Hilton, Andrew 3.1Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.1Difficulty3.6Would retake31%Based on 23 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.3 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 42 |
Instructor
Hilton, AndrewELEC&CMP
Also teaches
ECE-551D PROG, DATA STRUC & ALGO IN C++3.9ECE-553 COMPILER CONSTRUCTION4.5