Laursen is pretty much one of the best professors I've ever had. He's very clear in his explanation, and always took time in activity to explain things if you had problems. He's pretty laid back. He gives quizzes every once in a while and a bit of homework, but it's not that terrible. Definitely recommend him.
Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Oct 2013
Professor Laursen is one of the best, if not the best professor I've ever had. He is the perfect teacher for teaching a new subject to students. He is organized, clear, and really invested in helping his students. Cal Poly has a winner in him.
ARCE 212
Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
May 2015
Laursen is very knowledgable in the course. He is a little bit hard to understand sometimes due to his accent and how he words his questions. Class participation is a thing in his class, but it's honestly not a big deal. He will randomly call on you in class, but it's okay if you don't know the answer, he'll just move on. The activity portion is very helpful and is almost usually on his tests. Laursen also has pop quizzes, especially when people don't show up to class. If you show up late while everyone is taking their pop quiz, you will not be able to make it up. Homework is reasonable. It's usually 5-7 problems due every week. It must be neat and stapled. He or his grader will take points off if it isn't neat or stapled. Activities aren't always graded (only maybe 3 were?), but he will check if you did it before you leave class / make you turn it in the next class if you didn't finish. Overall, I definitely recommend Laursen. He knows his stuff! Just be prompt and prepared with a stapler.
ARCE 223
Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2013
Peter is probably the best teacher I've ever had. He is very clear in his explanations, he grades fairly, and he is very accessible to answer any questions. Students universally love and respect him. He is a somewhat difficult, but you will learn a lot from him.
ARCE 306
Junior
N/A
Required (Major)
Nov 2016
Peter was awesome. His examples in class were always related to the homework assigned, and his midterms and quizzes were very fair. We were never given a problem we hadn't seen something similar to, and he was very careful in explaining his process in class. He worked hard to remember your name, and would call on people to participate during class. Always was engaging us, and if we didn't know an answer it was no big deal and he would either move on or help us figure it out. I would highly recommend him!! Very personable, funny, and understanding.
ARCE 412
Senior
D
Required (Major)
Feb 2016
If he's not making robot noises while he's doing mental math or frantically trying to cram fifteen minutes of lecture into the last five minutes of class, his Danish accent is going to have you absolutely mesmerized. He may not remember your name but that won't stop him from waiting for you to make eye contact so you can answer his question. But with a little bit of luck, you'll only mildly fail his class!