McFarland, Lee  

Mcfarland is a really great guy, but he doesn't always teach very clearly. If you take his class, sit near the front and ask him questions--he's much better one-on-one than he is teaching the whole class. Go to office hours if you can, and if you don't understand a concept figure it out before the next week because there will be a quiz. The class is totally doable though!

Very good teacher. Class and lab were a little boring, but that's just because draftig is a boring subject. Lectures ended early, and labs rarely went the alloted 3hrs(usually about 50 min.). If you show up to lab you will pass.

Mr. McFarland's IME 130 class is cake. If you nedd to fill your schedule with units, take this class. You finish everything in lab and there is no work that has to be done at home. Take this class with McFarland.

Lee is a great guy. He's incredibly nice and a good teacher. This lab was a whole lot of fun. All we did was play with toys. For the final you race lawn mower carts.

Professor McFarland is a good professor. ME 134 is a really really easy class and some of the lectures got a little boring, but he was an interesting fellow to talk to. I recommend taking him!

I would love to take more classes taught by McFarland if he has any in the upperdivision courses. He is very helpful in his office hours and in class. Dont hesitate to even ask him for help. He is down to earth and tries to make the course materials as easy to understand. He's a great teacher to start off for freshmen.

McFarland was great for this easy, introductory course. The course is supposed to give an overall view of mechanical engineering. McFarland does a great job of this. A few of the lectures were boring. Sometimes the material was so easy it was boring, namely if you have already taken physics. Lab was interesting and not as easy as the lecture. I highly recommend McFarland if you get a chance to take him.

McFarland is the man. He explains everything about as crystal clear as it could be explained. His main goal is definitely to make sure everyone get the material, grades are secondary. Also offered a lot of advice on what classes to take over the next four years and is an all around great guy. Definitely take his classes if given the chance

McFarland is an amazing teacher. He didn't make students stress over grades by giving unecessary quizzes but instead he made sure that every student understood what was going on. I had him for lab and loved every minute of it. He really gets a chance to know his students which made class even better. Take him--he's so awesome.

McFarland is easily one of the best teachers i've ever had. He is so laid back and cool that it is not intimidating to joke around with him. He is a great teacher and explains all the necessary material incredibly well, while leaving time to tell stories

McFarland was easily the best professor I had my first year. He is very clear and relaxed. The class was an easy A because of how little work he gives and how easy it is to ask him for help for the work he does give. If you still don't understand, then his office hours are also very helpful. I only had to go to them twice during the year and both times he was very friendly and patient and helpful. Great teacher, highly recommended.

He is a great teacher. Really knows what he is talking about and is excited to help you learn more about me. I often didn't understand concepts and he made sure to make them completely clear.

McFarland is a good teacher and a good guy. He explains the material clearly, and is glad to help if anybody has a question. This class is pretty easy, especially if you already have drafting experience, but you still learn a lot.

McFarland is probably one of the nicest teachers I've ever met. He knows his stuff and teaches it well during lectures. He explains his labs really well, but if you don't understand something you can ask him and he'll show you exactly how to do it, and he has infinite patience for your questions. He's got a good sense of humor too. A really fun professor. I'm personally going to try to take as many classes with him as possible.

McFarland is a great teacher. He presents material clearly is quick to help when you have a problem. Srongly recommend taking MacFarland for ME151 lab.

Great teacher...take him if you can. Easy grader and a real nice guy.

I thought Mr. McFarland was great. His labs were interesting, I often got out early, and he was great to socialize with. He knew the ME151 lab was a soft-ball class, and didn't pretend it was anything. His final was tricky in places, but very fair IMO. Take him for anything if you can!

McFarland is an great man. He teaches clearly, doesn't expect rediculous things from you, and helps you when you need it. I'd take him for every class I ever took here if it was possible.

McFarland is a really good guy. Extremely laid back. He doesn't go over much during the lecture besides telling stories, but he really teaches well during the lab. It is the kind of class where you are kind of on your own to learn the material. It isn't too tricky of stuff, and he will definitely iron out the lumps for you. Take him over Cooper ANY day. Lecture final is 25%, Lab final is 25%, I think lab assignments are 20%, homework is 20% and quizzes are 10%. Something like that. Take Mcfarland.

he is very helpful in both lab and lecture...and i heard in office hours too...really nice guy and very easy to approach...definitely take him if you can

I had Lee for ME 134 and 151 because he is a great teacher. He is laid back and seems more like one of your friends than your professor. He is a fair grader and is generally a nice guy. I recommend taking him any chance you get.

McFarland was my favorite professor for my first quarter at Cal Poly. I had him for 151 lab and lec. Drafting isn't too exciting but McFarland makes it easy to learn and helps you whenever you ask. He is a really friendly guy and I enjoyed his class.

Lee is a really genuine guy. He keeps the class fairly interesting and does a good job clarifying things. I can't think of much to say, but take Lee if you can. This course was pretty boring and is harder or easier depending on your ability to visualize 3D shapes. Which, for me made it quite easy.

McFarland is a pretty easy grader... you can pretty easily pull an A or B ... i didnt hear about anyone getting lower than that. The class is sort of time consuming and sometimes low scores are scarey but it ends up being fine.

McFarland is a great guy. He tries hard to make the class easy since it is a first year class. Lee explains the material well in class. And his office hours are just as useful. Take him if you can.

Wow, what a great professor. McFarland is one of the nicest guys you'll come across on campus. He presents the material very clearly and is very helpful in both class and lecture hours. Even though I had no drafting experience in high school, I still cruised through the class because McFarland made the work seem easy, albeit time consuming to do. Definately take McFarland for both first year ME courses, 134 and 151. You'll be happy you did.

McFarland is the man, definitely is willing to help with all your troubles. Presents the material really clearly, and can draft like a fiend. I'd take him again, and recommend him to all.

I actually had McFarland for 3 different classes this quarter, and am expecting 3 A's. This not becuase i work hard or am particularly smart. He is clear, concise and easy to listen to. He answers questions well and explains things a second way if the first doesnt work. His grading is fair. To top it all off, he has a pleasant and understaded sense of humor. The one and only downside i can think of is that his wife teaches kindergarten, and it gives him a slight "accent" in the way that he syas things. Not enough to be either insulting or condescending, its just something you notice.

McFarland is the greatest. I had this guy for ME 134 Lab, as well as ME 151 Lec & Lab. I never got tired of seeing him so often. He's very friendly and approachable. He's more interested that you understand the concepts involved in ME 134 Lab and ME 151. For drafting, I drew ellipses that looked more like footballs, and I got full credit. McFarland understands the frustration of drafting, and will explain things more than once if necessary. McFarland had some weird office hours when I had him. He knew this and allowed us to turn in assignments the day after they were due, and even showed us the answers before we turned them in. He curves the class, so don't be distressed if you failed an assignment. Chances are, most of the class did too. I'm very slow at drafting, but I managed to finish all my lab assignments in class. It also helps to get a drafting partner to work side by side on the homework, sometimes it just gets plain boring and tedious. If you find ME 151 hard, you're better off dropping out of school right now.

McFarland is the biggest chiller on campus. He is a great drafting teacher and knows what he is talking about. He is extremely helpful in lab, there is a weekly quiz in lecture but its usually pretty easy. There is not really anything bad you can say about the leemeister. However, I got near perfect scores on all of my drawings and quizzes and did well on the final and still got a B, so I have no idea how he goes about giving you a grade but overall I would recommend McFarland to anybody and everybody.

Prof. McFarland is an excellent drafting teacher. The best thing about him is that he always goes out of his way to help students, especially at lab. Usually most people get done and leave lab early, but for those who are slower and are left behind, McFarland would go to each student and help them finish. Great teacher for any drafting-related class.

One word describes McFarland. Stud. This guy is such a bad ass. Take him for ME 151 and ME 134 if at all possible. Hands down the nicest teacher who is VERY good at teaching these classes. Honest to god, if Chuck Norris and Lee McFarland did battle, Mr. Norris would go crying home to his mom. No joke.

McFarlen is one of those profs that when you have to use the computer lab as a senior and he is teaching a class, he'll remember you and help you with your project if he can. This guy is awesome and after having Cooper for 152 now (I want to cry, really), I wish he taught more classes just because it just makes sense when he teaches. I've never taken a drafting class before, and he was super helpful whenever I wasn't really sure what's going on. So if you have to, wait a quarter for this prof if Cooper is teaching, and then take as many of his classes as you can.

AWESOME PROFESSOR!!! He's a great guy and an even better teacher of the material. I don't have one bad thing to say about the guy. He helps you understand the material clearly all throughout the quarter. The material throughout the year is more complex than the material on the final. He simplifies final rather than trying to trick you. He wants you to succeed.

Mr. McFarland's grading is ridiculously hard... but it's alright because he curves pretty generously. That's the only way I got an A in the class. He's a good teacher, though I think he gave us a bit too much homework. The final is straightforward as well. Overall, a good teacher for this class.

Professor McFarland is a great teacher who really strives to have the student learn the material and understands that we don't always remember every detail and wants to help bring it back. He is very easy going and very plesant.

McFarland was the best teacher I had my freshman year, by far. He is nice, helpful, and knowledgeable about drafting. Lectures are a little boring, but he makes up for it in lab. You can go to him with any question, and he'll clearly lead you through the problem. They should clone him like 50 times and make him the teacher of everything!

Mcfarland is a great teacher. I had never had drafting, and at the beginning of the quarter I was having some problems, but then I went to his office hours, and started asking him for help during lab, and he was a great help. Any question I had no matter how small, or how many times I went up to his desk during lab, he was always willing to help, and was great at explaining it. I don't think there's another teacher for this class, and if there was I would heavily advise against taking them. Mcfarland was definitely one of my favorite teachers I've ever had.

Great professor take him if you can. Explains stuff well in class and extremely helpful in office hours.

Mr. McFarland teaches clearly, gives you the right amount of work, and has infinite patience if you\'re fuzzy on anything. Few other professors are able to approach what they\'ve mastered from the beginning student\'s perspective in the way he does. His in-class quizzes are poorly-written on occasion, but I don\'t think they had much weight in the final grade (and the final was basically a compilation of all the labs and in-class quizzes, so you knew what to expect). Bottom line: Great guy. Take him.

McFarland is a great guy. Sometimes goes fast on the presentation of new material, but always is willing to repeat topics to make sure that the class gets it. The pop quizzes didn\'t really affect the final grade. This class was enjoyable and I highly recommend taking him if you can!

McFarland is one of the BEST professors you\'ll get. He explains really well and he is really helpful in office hours. He is really kind and patient. I had his lab on Fridays at 8am and I came 1 hour late about 3 times. Actually, I woke up 1 hour into the final exam and came to class and he wasn\'t angry at me. I took it and finished on time. But you shouldn\'t do that because you might not finish on time :) But anyway, McFarland is the bomb.

He is a very cool guy with a good sense of humor. He seems to like his job and like teaching. He presents the material in a comprehensible manner and addresses questions effectively.

Great teacher who teaches the material well.

ME-151 was a lot harder for me than it probably 'should' have been. And it took me an unusally long time to understand what I was learning in this class. I regret to say that I did 90% of my learning in office hours. But fortunately, all of the concepts were relative throughout the quarter- and I've learned SO much. After week two, I saw that I wasn't understanding the course material that well so I started going to office hours. I went to so many office hours this quarter that I was receiving help from both Professor Larson AND McFarland. But as the quarter progressed, my grades on the weekly packets kept declining. I continually made so many small mistakes that, when I looked at my grade at the end of week 7, I saw that I had a 56.64%. Although McFarland reassured me that I wouldn't fail the class, the mere thought of receiving an F (at the time) in this class made me shudder. Professor McFarland offered everyone a total of 3 extra credit assignments for helping his Ergonomics class, he let me redo some of my packets to regain points, and he even regraded some of my packets that the TA screwed up the grading on. Provided that the lab was 70% of the total grade, and the lecture 30%, I was able to make a comeback and save myself from potentially having to repeat the course. Above all, I have to thank McFarland for all of his patience and assistance because I asked him dozens of questions in-class and every time I went to office hours- which probably got annoying sometimes. This class won't be difficult for most, but for the select few that find themselves in a similar predicament as myself, you shall not worry. Work with McFarland, go to office hours, ask questions, and remain faithful. He will see that you learn the material and receive a passing grade.

McFarland fulfills the required specifications and tolerances for a drafting professor: grumpy but lovable old white guy who has been teaching and drafting forever and thinks all the other grumpy old white guys teach it wrong. Has a lot of pet peeves and specifics that he will rant on about. Fortunately, this is actually a very effective way of teaching drafting. there's no doubt that McFarland knows his stuff, and he's pretty good at communicating it as well. He's not so good about communicating his expectations for the assignments or helping students who struggle.

Great teacher, would take him again in a heartbeat. Very knowledgeable, funny, fun, easy going, likable, and fair. Teaches subject content very well without dragging it out while still trying to leave nobody behind. Homework is given once a week from the Lecture, its usually short, not too difficult and outlines well what will be done in Lab. In Lab he teaches very well, clearly, concisely. Don\'t be afraid to talk to him, questions or just friendly. Great guy.

Wow, I'd forgotten what an old fuck this pencil dick is. I've taken him a couple of years ago but seeing this old asshole made me remember to tell you what he's really like: his class is extremely easy, but you won't learn anything. As someone who's never had a real job in his life, his only experience comes from the book and that's what he'll teach you. For drafting, go to Larson, he knows what the hell he's talking about.

BOYCOTT!!!

pretty boring lectures. quiz every class. (PRINT THE NOTES BC THE QUIZ IS OPEN NOTES AND SOMETIMES WE GOT QUIZZED ON STUFF WE HAVE YET TO BE LECTURED ON). hand drafting homework. a lot less work than ME 228. easy to do well if you put in the work.

McFarland is a cool guy who works hard to keep class entertaining. He incorporates real world examples into his lectures, which helps students see the purpose behind the course. The workload is fair and reasonable (one assignment due each week, usually no more than 10 problems). I felt that midterms were also fair (open-book too). If you understand the material in class and have been doing fine with all the homework the midterms are no sweat. The only major issues I had with this class were the final project (a huge spreasheet economic analysis paper, which wound up being about 20 pages long, with 10 spreasheets), which was pretty tough and the fact that a lot of time was spent going over homework. I would have preffered if more time was spent on lecture, so that material could be learned prior to doing homework, but thats life. All in all it was an interesting class and McFarland did a good job. I would encourage you to take him for IME 314 if you have the chance.

Let me start of by saying McFarland is an amazing guy. He is about as cool and nice as they come. With that said, he is not fit to teach this class. He did a terrible job all quarter. You had to spend hours and hours teaching yourself the material each night, and the lectures were a waste of time. He knows the material ok, but not great. The final project was completely unreasonable and took a huge amount of time durind dead week. He spends most of the lecture going over about 2 or 3 (of the 10) problems assigned during homework so you go into every homework assignment without even having a starting point from lecture. I gave this professor an overall D, and the only thing that saved him from an F was his personality and willingness to help students. He is probably a great teacher for other classes, but a poor one for IME 314. Avoid him unless you have some extra time to devote to the class (if so, he actually might not be a bad choice because his exams are pretty straight forward).

McFarland really is a great guy, we just had the misfortune of taking him for IME 314. He was definitely NOT equipped to teach it. It seemed as though he were learning the material himself for the first time and he was only a chapter ahead of the class. It was sad, pathetic, and very frustrating, especially having to teach yourself the material because homework was assigned on material that we never went over in class. When grading the midterms, he rushed through and made lots errors. Also, his grading was very arbitrary because he said one thing in lecture and graded using different criteria on the exams. One good thing is that he curved according to whoever had the highest points in the class, which is the only way I got a B, cuz I bombed the 2 MTs. Another good thing is that if you improve on the 2nd MT and final exam, he weights those grades heavier because he believes in rewarding improvements. So, overall, I gav him a 'C' because even though he made huge mistakes, he did take measures to even out the score. Also, hee's pretty good in the ergo classes (IME 319 at least).

Another professor was assigned to teach the class, but Dr. McFarland did a fine job! I loved the class, and i he really cared about the students understanding the material. Plus, he really wanted us to understand the material so we could apply it in the real world. Very helpful in his office and is willing to give his time for his students. God bless the man. He deserves an A.

I had McFarland for both ME 151 and IME 314, and he actually remembered who I was (I didn't even talk to him that much). He is a very helpful teacher, who seems to understand student difficulties. A lot of the material we covered was really really boring, but that's not McFarland's fault. In ME 151, I was one of the few people who got a B in drafting, but in all honesty, I was really bad at it. It took me a long time to do the assignments and the labs. In most other classes, I probably would have gotten worse then a B, considering the quality of work I produced, but McFarland could tell I worked hard so he gave me a B. In IME 314, a more math intensive class, I often turned the homework into McFarland's box and missed many classes (I took 20 units). However, I wasn't penalized for this, and the tests were far easier then any of the homework assignments (they were easy and they were open book). This class is pretty much a breeze (a time consuming breeze) if you just do the homework, and know the example problems. I've heard a lot of negative things about Yang's class, so taking McFarland should be a no brainer. McFarland is a straightforward teacher, who explains things in a clear and logical manner. He also happens to be a fair grader and a friendly person, with some cool stories. Combining these attributes makes a great teacher, and I am suprised more haven't picked up on this technique.

Easy (good) teacher + easy material = easy class.

McFarland is awesome. He is always willing to help and is real easy going. Definitely take as many classes as you can with him!

McFarland is a really nice guy and will answer any questions you have, but for the most part i didnt get a whole lot from his lectures. not that i struggled, more like i could have done it just as easily without going to lecture most of the time. maybe the course was just straight forward. there is nothing to fear here, you might here some cool stories and what not. fine, solid teacher.

Take this class with Lee! He can be a bit boring at times, but he is really nice and wants everyone to get an A, and learn a thing or two. The class isn\'t the easiest, but he makes it very straight forward and really wants you to learn it, because it will help you make great economic decisions for the rest of your life. If you want to learn, but not stress take him. Oh and you will become a pro at excel spreadsheets.

Lazy retired teacher. May as well read the book instead of going to lecture.

McFarland is an old, retired, industry engineer. His teaching prominently lacks conveying subject material and he is often unprepared to teach for a full lecture period. The grades break down into 40% quizzes, 20% homework, 20% project, and 20% final. Quizzes are weekly and open book; look for a book example problem related to the quiz question and you will basically get an 80 or better on each quiz. Homework made no sense most of the time because of how invaluable lectures were, so teach yourself or copy it. The project is absolutely ridiculous because he expects you to analyze an entire business proposal model using excel, which if you have no experience in excel is extremely difficult. The final was also open book and essentially a bunch of quizzes stapled together. I highly recommend not taking McFarland, but you dont have much of a choice because all the 314 professors suck, which is unfortunate considering this is actually an interesting and important class to financial engineering decisions. OVERALL interesting subject, but bad professor, and frustrating class because of him. Good luck.

He's nice, but old and retired and he shouldn't be teaching anymore. His quizzes and project are way to difficult for how little he teaches us or gets us involved.

Tie yourself to whatever chair you're sitting in, because this review is going to be a rough ride. For those of you who are thinking of taking mr. mcfarland - JUST DONT. Dont get me wrong, he is a sweet man. He cares for his students just as a puppy cares for his master. But he is past his expression date. I may be more biased than most, but in class i can think of a 1,000,000 different reasons for why this guy needs to retire already. He does not clearly explain the material needed for his quizzes and comes unprepared to class. He does not tell you what to study for his quizzes, even if you ask. Honestly, I had this class at 8 am, and it was the worst way to start my mornings. And the one final aspect that irks me about this man, is that he is completely oblivious to his own faults. He has no idea his lectures are unorganized and unprofessional. Oh yeah, one more thing, He doesn't write nearly enough on the board. He abbreviates every single god damn word. And if you didnt catch what the abbreviations mean, mine as well be reading hieroglyphics. Thank you for reading. Again, he is a nice man. I have went to his office hours and have had a real, deep conversation with the guy. He is a loving father and humble man. This review is PURELY intended for his job. I do not mean to personally attack his character, im just saying that he is not a good teacher.

Don't listen to the post below this. I know exactly who posted that because she seemed to be the one person confused every day in the class and asked a ton of questions. She is a blonde girlwho sat in a second row seat near the door. Anyway, McFarland was a good professor. He really knows his stuff and is very nice towards the students. He forced the students to truly understand the subject material by giving us a term project at the end of the quarter. Definitely take McFarland. It's fairly easy to do well in the class and he teaches valuable information.

I know you're looking at your IME options and you're like omg Yang looks like sucks and the other people are average, let me get Mcfarland! Dude, mcfarland may have been a good professor but at this point he's really old, forgets shit constantly, has a terrible old calculator which he takes ages using to calc stuff, refuses to hear feedback when he's wrong (and he's wrong all the time and won't correct himself cause of his pride). He's really nice and has a ton of experience, but as someone who pays for my own education I feel like I wasted my money on making Mcfarland feel like he's still useful when he's just an old grumpy dude with dementia. I had some interesting conversations with him in office hours and he seems like a great guy but he honestly shouldn't be teaching. Do yourself a favor and take someone else for this class. PS He will also say slightly racist or aggressive things and not think a thing about them cause he comes from a different generation. Forgive him, he's not really aware. He means well

Professor McFarland is a great guy but he is not great at conveying material. He messed up every problem he does on the board. In order to do well in this class, you need to teach yourself the material from the book, go to his office hours since he's better at teaching in there, and start the final project early!

McFarland is awesome. He explains the material very well and even shows hilarious pictures of \"non-ergonomic\" things. If you have some kind of Irish sounding name, you should have no problem getting him to like you...plus he likes to let students do experiments that invovle alcohol (like memory retension). On an unrelated note, when he was setting up his computer for my presentation, an \"adult website\" popped up. It wasn\'t hooked up to the projector (thank god for that) so I was the only one who saw. His face was priceless as he paniced to close the window.

I learned a lot from the course and really enjoyed having Lee as a teacher. The material was fairly simple and the tests straight out of the class lectures. There is a final project but nothing to stress about.

This class was the best, I hate school for the most part but this class was interesting, organized as there were no secrets involved. I would have got an A but I didn't do all the homework. Take this class if you want to take a chill pill and relax and learn. Lee is personable so go to him about any questions.

Lee really helped me out in not only his class but others as well. At the time I took his class (fall 01), he was also taking classes at poly to advance his degree. He still understands what it is like to be a student and will help you out any way he can. He also helped a room-mate of mine get a great job after she graduated. I would recomend taking a class from him!

McFarland is a great guy and always made lecture entertaining. He covered the material well and gave interesting examples from his own experiences in industry.

Totally awesome professor. Loves teaching and having a conversation with you. Pretty easy and kicked back. Take McFarland any time you can.

Nice guy and laidback. The lectures were kinda boring though. There was one Midterm and the final, along with a project. The project was pretty easy. The midterm and final were multiple choice. If you keep up with the reading you'll be fine. Basically he lectures on what's in the book. So you don't even have to go to class, you can just read the chapters.

Despite the fact that Prof. McFarland does not have a Mechanical Engineering background, his down-to-earth outlook is tremendously helpful when working on a long-term project. He places a lot of value on the actual progress of the project. He is fairly easygoing and is helpful in pointing out resources when there is something beyond his expertise. He does have a bit of a tendency to ramble on about his time at 3M and other companies, but I found these stories pretty entertaining/informative.

i don't really know how to rate a professor for this class, becasue they don't really do anything but sit there and listen to your presentation, but he gave me an A and is a super chill guy and if i had any more classes to take that he was teaching i would sign up for them.

This guy is a dick. He'll be super cool to you in class, tell you you're doing really well, and then give you a shitty grade for a lame reason. 463 is supposed to be an easy A. I've never met anyone else who hasn't gotten an A in this class. The grade was based on one presentation and attendance/participation. I never missed a class, asked questions regularly, and my group had a great presentation. And then he gave me a B. Avoid this guy. He's a dick.