Bill Siever

Overall not too difficult of a class and really interesting in general. As a professor Siever was clearly passionate and cared about his students. Lecture attendance was not mandatory though studios are. Homework difficulty was variable but generally nothing too surprising or out there from what was taught.

12/16/2025

Very energetic dude who is passionate about his job. I thought it was kinda hard to keep up with the large variety of subjects covered in 260. I also think the policy of "you fail unless you get above a 70 average on exams" is pretty insane. If i got above a 64 on exam 2, I would finish with an A- but below 57 I would fail the course.

12/11/2025

the toughest grader in washu. give you zero even when you make the smallest mistake

10/10/2025

Professor Siever brings a really energetic vibe to the classroom and 260 is very interesting and doable if you put in the time. Homework can be pretty time consuming but it gets better. Lots of reading for pre-lecture prep but they really help in understanding what's presented in lecture. Responsive on Piazza. Free candies during studio every week!

5/10/2025

Professor Siever did not do the best job teaching CSE 247 in Fall 2021, but he has gotten a lot better. His lectures were funny and he explained the content in a way that was to-the-point. The class was a bit too slow, but it made me very interested in learning more about the uses of FPGAs and how more complex computer architecture is designed.

5/8/2025

Infinite improvement over WDR for 260. It was his first semester teaching it, so the pacing could be improved. Some of the early homework assignments were tedious but that got better over time. Overall pretty fun class. Lecture attendance isn't mandatory but I'd recommend going. Labs on Thursdays were mandatory and always felt a bit rushed.

12/21/2024

I dont understand why people rate him so highly while the credit is mainly for the design of the course. He is a jerk who didnt care about what students were thinking

12/23/2020

I took CSE 131 with him in Fall 2019 and TA'd for him in Spring 2020. He was both helpful and personable when I took the course and tried his best to help students understand the material. He was also helpful during test review sessions and explained confusing problems and topics well. Definitely take a class that he is teaching.

5/16/2020

131 was the first computer science course I have ever taken, but the assignments in this class, as well as the resources made available, definitely made it doable. I didn't interact with Professor Siever much, due to the sheer size of the course, but when I did he was very helpful. He takes student feedback very seriously when planning!

4/27/2020

I had Siever for CSE131, so I didn't interact with him a ton. However, I found he gave helpful feedback and was very friendly towards students. I would definitely take more classes with him. And CSE131 in general is a fantastic class that I would highly recommend.

12/21/2019

131 is a very self taught class, there isn't much professor involvement. However, whenever help was needed, Siever was incredibly helpful. He really knows what he is talking about, he is very passionate, and very approachable. He makes you want to take more computer science classes. I strongly recommend!

12/11/2019