Hesselgrave, Bill  

If you are not a math person this class is definatly for you. It fulfills one of the ge's and you can take it intead of pre-calc (depending on your major). Each Friday there was a quiz about different mathematicians and basic math concepts (pythagorean theorem). The only homework you have is to read out of the "textbook" which just discusses math, it has no actuall math problems for you to do. We had to write two papers on articles we had read in class about mathematicans. The final for the class was a group presentation and a 10 page paper. I would recommend this class to any who does not like math, and is looking for an easier alternative to pre-calc.

This guy was totally wierd but his class was fair. Do the homework, quiz and test problems came directly from homework problems we went over in class. Ask questions, he'll make you feel like an ass for asking but he will then try to explain it to you. The final was harder than the midterms and quizes. He curves the final, the homework is applicable to what's going on in class. Somewhat entertaining

He is one crazy man but you can't help but love him. He's a lot of fun and is simply passionate about math. You can tell when he's excited with it. No homework grades, which kind of, reallly really sucks. He is always willing to help. I recommend him but seriously, GOOD LUCK. He's a hard one. Ask him to do an expansion 4X4 matrix and see what happens.

Bill is one of the best teachers I've had, especially in math. He knows just how to present the material so it's clear and understandable. There's a quiz every week but it actually makes you stay on top of your work. He's very very helpful in office hours and is always there if you need him. The midterms and final were all from problems we had done before...no surprises or new material. Take him if you can!!

Bill has a great sense of humor and is very fair. He doesn't collect homework, so that made me kind of slack off, but if you are a disciplined student, Bill is a great teacher.

Bill, as he liked to be called, was very in tuned with each student, and knowing them personally. I probably went to his office hours 15 times and each time he helped me just like the first. I've always struggled in math but he really helped me to understand the material by quiz time. Great guy, pretty funny too.

Bill is a HORRIOBLE teacher! He has no idea on how to present his lectures and just confused the sh*t out of me every time i ever asked him for help. He is trying to be a comedian and forgetting his real job!!! I missed class a few times for a sport at poly and if there was a quiz that day, he just blew me off and gave me zeros even if i told him i'd come in to make them up before i even left. He is a selfish man looking to FAIL YOU! Piece of s*it does not plan on helping you out at all. Worst teacher i've ever had!

Bill was definitely an excellent teacher for Math 118. He helps you to clarify things even if you have learned much of the information before. Do the homework and talk to him durring his office hours unlike me and you will do well. hes also really funny especially when u arent expecting it.

Prof. Hesselgrave is awesome! He explains everything very well and assigns homework but it is not due. You will learn a lot from him and as long as he sees you try hard and try to do your best, he will be a fair grader. I wasnt doing so well but he passed me with a C which was great. As long as you study and do your work, this class should be fairly easy. And yes, he does have a dry sense of humor...

he's quite entertaining. that's all i can say. one day, he said out of the cuts, "so... do you guys ever take shots of nyquil? at first, one shot and you're out, but when your body gets immune to it, 6 shots is nothing." he writes a lot on the board and it gets boring, but when he cracks a joke, you'll most likely wake up.

Bill is a great guy. He writes a lot on the board and it can be boring at times, but he truly cares about that students. He is funny and the way he presents the material is clear. His office hours are useful because he actually helps you out. Bill is one of the best professors I have had here at Cal Poly.

Bill is a great math teacher. He takes a bland subject and does a great job with it. This is my second time taking the course because I ended up with a horrible teacher last quarter. Bill has realistic expectations of his students and if you put in the effort you get the grade you earned, unlike the last math teacher I had. Another thing is that Bill actually teaches. Last quarter I ended up having to teach myself calculus, and it wasnt the easiest thing. Definitely take this professor... unless you feel like learning calculus on your own.

Bill Hesselgrave is a GREAT TEACHER...It was my first time ever seeing any of the material and he made it very easy to understand. Not to mention he always has random stuff to say to keep you on your toes, the guy is hilarious...he says the goofiest stuff. Ask him to tell you about Hedwig and the Angry Inch, in fact, tell him that it is your favorite movie..he

bill hesselgrave is a great professor PERIOD. take him!

I would definetly recommend Bill to any student. His lectures are cool and his assignments are easy. He grading has got to be the easiest by any teacher. I didn't even study for our second midterm which was only three questions and still got a C on it. As long as you write something on the paper he will give you some partial credit. The final was pretty easy too if you took time to study. I bet I could have got a better grade if I tried harder. One of POLY's best teachers

hesselgrave is awesome! his tests aren't that bad-and the final is basically just like the midterms. homework is worth a large portion of the grade-so that helps out a lot. did i mention that he kicks ass?

The best teacher at Cal Poly PERIOD! It just come down to some hw assigment, 2 mid term and one final. Also his joke will crack u up. Wish he was teaching 142 this spring.

probably the best teacher at poly!!! DEfinetly worth taking and makes you wanna come to class. I bet if there wasn't that fine ass chick sitting next to me I would have got a better grade.

Bill is a great math teacher. He gives lots of examples and clearly explains homework assignments. I personally did all of the homework assignments and I never felt surprised on an exam. Bill is very fair with grading, 30% homework, 30% final, 15% lowest exam grade, 25% highest exam grade. His exams definitely cover what he has gone over in class and with the homework. He also does a very "reflective of the test" review the class before a test. Aside from math, this guy has got a great personality and his extremely funny. Take this guy if you possibly can.

Bill was a very nice guy, but he was not a good teacher. In his class, he spent most of the time writing out every single word instead of doing more examples. I fell asleep a couple of times in his lecture because he makes it more of a writing class rather than a math class. I like him as a teacher because he was very generous and fair (sometimes too generous) about partial credits. He gives you a problem, and if you did not get the answer right but know how to do the problem, he probably give you from 75%-100% of the points. His grading policy is great because 30% is HW, 15%(lower midterm)25%higher midterm and 30% final. He is sarcastic and funny. I would recommend you taking this professor because he is a lot better than a lot of the math professor at Cal Poly.

Overall this teacher is a nice guy, but when it comes to tests he's very strict and gives absolutly NO partial credit. So if you forget a minus sign somewhere on a 5 point problem, he'll just give you a ZERO. So he doesnt necessarily grade on what you know just on how careful you are about the little details on the tests. He says he grades the homework to "scare" the students into learning, but...he never grades them, so that's an automatic free 20% added to you grade. Bottom line: only take this teacher if youre very careful about the little details such as a stupid minus sign.

Bill is probably your best bet for getting calculus. He fully understands the subject and is totally able to articulate every subject. I never made it to the office hours but I'm sure that they were informative. He has quizzes every week, which challenge to understand the material. He is funny and wants everyone to be engaged in the class. I believe he and retsek are the best calc professors here. Take this class if you can get it.

Professor Hesselgrave is the BEST math teacher I have ever had. He presents the material with ease and uses subtle humor to keep the class involved and awake. His door is always open and he is very willing to answer any question you might have about anything math-related. Hesselgrave is very worth taking and he might be the best math teacher on campus.

Professor Hesselgrave was THE BEST teacher ever. Not only did he teach everything very well, he made sure he was available to you if you didn't understand the material. He was by far the best math teacher I have ever had, and I plan to take him again whenever I can. If you have the opportunity, TAKE HIM!

Prof. Hesselgrave is excellent at presenting the material for the class, and the homework is adequate, but the midterms/final seem like they come out of nowhere. Everyone I talked to after said they were extremely difficult, but he grades on a curve so its alright. Take Hesselgrave for math 141 if you can, and go to his office hours.

Hesselgrave is smart and good at math but HE CAN'T TEACH. ***DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU LIKE SPENDING YOUR FREE TIME DOING FIVE HOURS OF HOMEWORK PER ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE ALL HE TEACHES YOU DURING CLASS IS HOW FUNNY HE THINKS HE IS*** Famous Hesselgrave quote, "See? It's Easy." Fuck you.

Hesselgrave is the best math professor I have ever taken PERIOD!!! If you ever have the chance...TAKE HIS CLASS!!!

This professor is one of the best math teachers I have ever had. Definitely take this class. He is great at explaining problems and does not skip any steps. He is always willing to help his students out during class or at office hours. His Quizzes are comprehensive and his tests are very fair. Do the homework if you decide to take this class, otherwise your going to do poorly

Hesselgrave is a good teacher. He presents the material efficiently, and will answer pretty much any questions you may have. He didn't collect homework when I took him, and our grade was based entirely on weekly quizzes, two midterms, and a final. I pretty much bombed the quizzes because I rarely studied, so that was my mistake. The midterms were super difficult too. I was surprised that I even passed. Barely. Hesselgrave reminds his students throughout the quarter that the only way you will learn the material is to practice a little bit every night, and he is right. Do that, and you will do better in the class. The concepts aren't that difficult, he just chooses difficult problems for the tests. Overall, fair, good teacher. I kinda wish he collected the homework periodically, maybe that would've forced me to do better, haha.

He's the best! I actually liked going to calculus everyday. He has a great sense of humor, and he presents the material really clearly. Take him if you get the chance.

I had him for 141 last year and he was AMAZING. He clearly explains the material and i would recommend him to anyone!! He gave weekly quizzes and recomended Hw! Do the hw and go to his office hours he really likes helping students! In class ask questions he likes it when students get involved in his lecture!

makes calc enjoyable. he is hilarious and explains things easily. tests are hard, but thats why you SHOULD do the hw. i would take him again and recommend him. definitely a cool guy!

Bill stands at the blackboard and does math. That's about it. Be ready for a lot of hard work, because he truly wants you to read out of the book and teach yourself the material. He only graded homework and the midterms.

Bill is a great Calc I professor. His teaching is easy to understand and his quizzes generally use examples from out of the book. His final was extremely difficult. Overall, the quizzes aren't too bad and as long as you keep up with the coursework, regardless of who you have, you should be fine. Bill's dry humor makes class worth it too.

I think that Professor Hesselgrave is a fantastic teacher. As long as you complete all of the homework assignments, you are prepared for his quizzes. The only reason that I didn't get an A in his class was because I started slacking off at the end of the quarter and stopped doing all of the homework problems and practicing other problems throughout each section that he tested on. I highly recommend taking him.

Bill is an awesome professor! He presents the material very clearly and will always answer questions during class and office hours. He expects you to know your algebra really well though so study up. He doesn't collect homework and he gives a quiz every Friday, with 2 midterms and a final. So if he is so great, why did I get a C? Because his tests are hard as BALLS dude, like you better study the homework because he will pick the most impossible problems. I have never looked at a test and had no idea what to do until this class. He curves generously though. I thought I failed the first midterm, and I got a C. I thought I destroyed the next midterm, and I still got a C. Guess what I got on the final. Take Hesselgrave if you are confident in your test skills and if you don't want to turn in homework. Pretty rad teacher overall, I'm going to try to take him for any other math classes he offers

He was a funny teacher, but all he did was stand in front of the class and present material that would not be covered on the exams. I did every single homework problem twice, and he chooses the most possible hardest problem to put on every quiz on Friday. The midterms and final's are extremely hard!! Overall did not like the teaching methods. His sense of humor made the class somewhat tolerable.

I loved Hesselgrave! He's awesome!

Don't let my grade fool you, Bill is an excellent teacher. He was able to keep my attention for 2 hour periods of calculus [not an easy task] with an occational joke or sarcastic remark. He tells you exactly what will and will not be on the midterm/final before you take it. I would take him again if I had the chance.

Okay...yes Hesselgrave is humorous...yes Hesselgrave somewhat explains material clearly...but what the hell. He puts the HARDEST problems on his weekly quizzes which count for 30% of your grade, so you pretty much end up getting a fat F for that part. Then he only has one midterm, which of course he puts the trickiest asshole problems on, so you will probably get an F on that as did most of my class. So right away your pretty much fucked...unless you REALLY understand calculus.....this guy is not nearly as good as everyone is saying...he is WAY too "fair" with everything. He doesnt give a shit about you..."you can take whatever grade you want from my class, i have no problem failing people, they deserved it themselves" Wow Hesselgrave, you dropped the lowest quiz...wow...what a sympathetic teacher. Bottom line: you have to do every problem of your homework (and he assigns a LOT), understand it extremely well, and think of different twisted ways that he could ask it on the quiz or midterm. And also, his office hours are the WORST. One hour per day is NOTHING close to acceptable....there were students lined out the door trying to peak in to hear what he was saying because the room was so crowded. It was a mess. Take someone else unless you dont want a social life.

I agree with what someone said two posts ago...Hesselgrave does indeed assign quite a bit of homework, and his office hours are indeed very packed. The questions on the quizzes and tests were pretty difficult as well. You need to have a fairly strong understanding of calc and be very motivated to learn things on your own. Obviously whoever posted the one before this has no idea what they are talking about. Just look at the time of their post. 4:30 am. Who the hell is up on polyratings at this time...yeah sure 'senior,' the kid before you is going to get kicked out of poly just for posting his opinion. Think before you speak.

Bill was one the best teachers I have had. He is a very good lecturer and is also very helpful if you have questions. He collects homework which is a bonus because he grades very easy on it so it boosts your final grade. He gives quizzes every week on the homework which are pretty easy if you understand the material. The midterm and final were straight foward if you had done your studying. Basically he will teach you calculus and you will do well in his class if you put the time in to do the homework and understand the material.

Like most students who take Mr. Hesselgrave, I enjoyed his class very much. He has a good sense of humor, knowledge of the material and the ability to make his students look forward to class, if only to hear him lecture. I definately recommend Mr. Hesselgrave to anyone considering taking his course.

Professor Hesselgrave was such an awesome teacher! He explained the material very well. Once a week, we turned in homework and took a quiz (two of which he dropped). The homework problems (evens and odds) weren't necessarily easy, but they should prepare you for the quizzes. When he hands back the quizzes, he gives you the answer keys, so you know how to do the problems correctly. Definitely go back and study those before the midterm and final! He was really good about answering homework questions in class and was very approachable in office hours (although it gets busy in there, so you may not get your question answered that day, but he'll probably answer it in class). The one midterm and final were both very difficult, but if you've done all the homework and done fairly well on the quizzes, you should be ready for the tests. I really enjoyed this class, and although it was challenging, I think I ended up learning the material thoroughly. Be ready to study, but take him anyway because it's really worth it!!

If you want to know one of the best professors here at Cal Poly, take Bill. He is very qualified as a teacher, and for such an uninteresting subject as math, Bill tries to take different approaches in order to give us a clear understanding of the material. His jokes can be uplifting sometimes, and even though I admit to having asleep, that does not mean he was boring. Just make sure you don't sit in the back of the class, that's all.

hesselgrave is one of the better math teachers i have ever had. he is not boring like most math teachers, he likes to have fun with the class and even swear, so play along with him and it will be much more fun. he is very good at explaining concepts, is more than fair with grading and is very helpful in office hours so i recommend going. i ended up with a c mostly because ive never taking trig so that was new to me. i could not recommend him more.

Bill is a hella awesome professor. He's so chill with everything, he lets you call him by his first name and everything. Homework is optional, but of course it's good practice. His grading system is extremely easy-going, where you have 10 quizes total, and the lowest 2 are dropped at the end of the quarter. You get 2 midterms and 1 final, which if you do well in the final, it will replace the lower of the midterms, pending if your final is actually higher than the midterm(s). Even though he does assign a lot of homework, it's best to do as many as you can/can handle before you go insane, and make sure you know the basic steps. He office door is open to all whenever you have questions. His teaching and testing is to the point, as well as his bluntness. I personally would definitely take him again if he was offering any other classes in my major. Even if you don't take my opinion of Bill, check and see how fast his classes fill up during registration times! Great professor!

Bill is the man! If you want a funny teacher, take Bill. He will make the whole class laugh at least every five minutes, which is nice when learning the perils of intergration. He has a quiz every Friday, and will drop your lowest two. He has two midterms and a final. His quizes and midterms are no cake-walk. He basically takes the hardest problems from the homework and manipulates them and puts them on the test. His test problems are never the simple ones. They are always the complex ones that really take some time to figure out. He assigns homework for every section but never collects it. You should still do it or else you will find yourself struggling in no time. I got really good grades in high school calculus and a 5 on the AP test, and this class was a challenge. However, Bill is an all around awesome teacher. Now that I know his teaching habits I would love to have another class with him.

Bill is a great teacher at math, but he is really impersonal. For such a small class (we had about 30 or so) he only learned half the students names. He is a wonderful teacher--funny and he knows what he is talking about. The quizzes aren't too difficult if you actually show up to his lectures and listen at least half the time. The examples he uses are very similar to the questions he has on his quizzes. The midterms and finals weren't too difficult, just make sure to do the homework. Great teacher, great class.

Bill is a really great lecturer, probably the best math teacher I've had so far. He covers exactly what you need to know and does it with a sense of humor. No homework collected and his grading scheme isn't unfair at all. Take him if you're looking for a good math prof. for a change.

bill is a great teacher and a great guy. i dont have much to say about the course, i thought 142 was really hard. but bill makes the class fun and he cares about his students.

Bill is one of the best math teachers you will have at Poly, period. He's got a great sense of humor in addition to actually making you think about integrals. Only reason I got a C was I didn't study with my end of the bargain. Put in just a little bit of work and Bill will help you the rest of the way.

Bill is totally awsome!!! He is absolutely hilarious and makes the class extremely fun and exciting while still teaching you what you need to know to get through the next level of math.

He thinks he's really funny. He's not. I don't understand the hype, but i guess it works for some. The class was sooo unorganized and always lost. Thank goodness I had taken this course in highschool and could look at those notes for help. Seriously, I felt as though i wasted my time in that class. He did go over and over and over the concepts that people struggled with most, but that often took time out of explaining other details that were very important later. and my favorite part... when was class over? as soon as the girl in the front would get up and leave. yea. i'm not kidding. so if you wanted to learn more, you had to talk it over with her because he basically listened to everything she said. we wasted so much time answering all the questions she had becuase she couldn't make office hours and decided to torture the rest of the class instead. he's not a focused teacher... easily sidetracked and just plain weird.

Bill is really funny and he has thorough lectures. his office hours are great and he gives weekly quizes on fridays with homework never being due. i just started to do his hw and now im getting good grades on my weekly quizes. but overall, bill is a boss!

Let's start off as clearly as possible: he's probably the best math teacher I've ever had. The way he presented all the material made it clear that he was really into it himself, and that enthusiasm helped keep my attention for practically the entire time in class. Also, his sense of humor is GREAT. It's not loud or even particularly prevalent, but he just puts things in ways that make total sense, and then he'll back it up with a little joke that's at least semi-relevant to the material. So if you've typically found yourself having a hard time paying attention in class, this is the guy for you.

I liked bill so much i took him for 142,144, and 241. he explains everything clearly and never throws anything on the midterm that wasn't in the homework/lecture. i recommend going to office hours, i went all the time and did well. you can tell he cares a lot about his students. He either does weekly quizzes or turn in hw every week, i had him when he did both, quizzes were a little tough if you didn't do the hw, but doing the hw and turning it in was just almost more difficult cause the graders are harsh. DEFINITELY take him if you get the chance!!!

I really enjoyed having Bill as a professor. I took MATH 142 over the summer, and was worried because I have heard that it can be difficult, but Bill made the class extremely understandable. Bill is a quirky guy. He can laugh at himself and is a little hyperactive, but in the best way. Initially I was concerned that he would be scattered with his teaching, but my first impressions were very wrong. Bill explains everything throughly; he likes to explain problems conceptually and in detail. He also gives plenty of examples that approach the same concept from various angles. I found this extremely helpful, as sometimes you think you understand a concept from an example, but when presented in a different form, it is nearly impossible to recognize what the underlying concept is. Bill is very approachable both in class and during office hours, taking the time to work the whole problem out with you, even if you're both stumped as to what went wrong. If you like to know WHY something is the way it is instead of just being told so and accepting it, then Bill is an excellent professor for you.

I loved Hesselgrave's class, great teacher who teaches at a good speed and listens to students' questions. I particularly enjoyed when he would let us work on homework and start discussing some higher-up math concepts that were very interesting. I wish I would've gotten him as my instructor for Calc 3

Bill is honestly the best! He is such a good teacher you should definitely take him if you get the chance. He is super funny and always keeps the material interesting. Go to his office hours!!

Bill is a great guy. He is funny in a sarcastic type of way. He knows to lecture slowly and clearly. He has no intention of fooling you as some teachers I have dealt with. he doesn't collect homework. Now some people hated this because they thought it would be hard to do well, but instead he gives assignments to do for practice and he quizzed us on those assignments, so if you did them the quizzes were easy. he just didn't have the time to look at copy after copy of the answer book. I like this way of doing things. It forces you to be adult about school, and it uts your score in the class on your shoulders and not that of the graders. I am trying to take him again because I actually understand what he is talking about. I only hope he teaches 241 and Differential Equations.

Hesselgrave??? i do not know from what planet that person who wrote the evaluation above was from, but he really does not deserve a 4 out of 4! I bet he even evaualated himself! He is not worst but not one of the best teachers i've had either. All he does in class is the examples and you cannot even read his own handwriting! He gives you a ton of the hardest EVEN homework problems in the back of the lesson..and barley goes through them. The homework is also graded harshly. His tests are difficult, but he gives a lot of good partial points for trying. He does not curve either and office hours he does not help. The only reason i did good in his class is cause i went to another teacher for help! He's an ok teacher i guess.

I have to say that Bill is one of my favorite professors here at Poly. He is extremely fair in his homework assignments and grading, and presents the material in a very clear fashion. He gives you every opportunity to do really well in his class, and if you take advantage of them you wiil learn a whole lot. If you have the chance to get Bill, for sure take his class. I absolutely recomend him.

Hesselgrave is a good teacher the only reason that I got a D was that I was just too damn lazy... He was teaching 4 classes of 143 and stopped grading HW. And when no one grades HW I just didn't do it... His quizzes were fair and came straight from HW problems. His test weren't too difficult but his HW problems were some of the hardest I've seen... Always the 30-60 numbers... very hard problems... His final is 45% of the grade so good luck.... Overall he's a funny professor who takes a boring and dry subject and actually makes you want to come to class... I would take him again if I had the chance and maybe this time do HW. Thumbs up for Hesselgrave and hope Sze gets healthy soon.

Bill was awesome!! He taught the material in a very clear, fun way, and he always recognized the dificulty of Calc 3. THe only reason why I didnt do better then a C was because i was lazy and never did the homework, but if you keep with it, I guarantee that you will do well in his class. THe final is worth 45% of your grade, but dont let that scare you, I actually felt that it was easier then his midterms, and he is an awesome grader. I would definately take this guy in the future!!

He was very good, the best I've come across so far. His midterms and quizzes weren't too bad, he told you exactly what would be on them. I thought the final was more difficult though, and it was worth 45% of your grade. This was his first quarter, but he was fun and interested in the students. I would recommend him.

I had never gotten above a C+ in math until I took Prof. Hesselgrave. He explains things so clearly and slowly that you can't help but understand the concepts. He writes full sentences on the board, allowing you to actually understand your notes when you are reviewing for a test. His quizzes were exact homework problems, and he basically tells you whats going to be on the midterms. On the midterms, it was actually possible to get A's, despite not curving them (a concept that is seemingly unheard of for Poly math). Also, he is very generous on giving partial credit, and very helpful in office hours. The only bad thing about his class was that the final was worth 45% of your final grade, and it was super hard. I thought I bombed it, but somehow ended up with an A in the class. So basically, he is a nice guy, very understanding, and a more than fair grader.

I am from Earth, and I have to say that Bill was the best teacher I have had since I first experienced the horrid thing known as the calpoly math department. I hate calculus, and I also have gotten nothing but Cs in it since senior year in high school. I got a B in Bill's class, and I had a fun time learning this stuff which for the first time in 2 years actually made a little sence. Bill is not a boring teacher, he kept me awake and listening during the 2 hour lectures, although sometimes he did go into a little too much detail in some cases. If you are really good at calculus and don't need everything explained very clearly you should take a different teacher, but if you struggle in calc like me and need the clear lectures take the class from this guy.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you can have the privlage of taking this incredible guy DO IT.. I mean it. he is so great. very attentive to his students. awesome in office hours and just one heck of a guy....by far the best math teacher at POLY....hes not like the other retards in the department. he is funny and smart. he is not like every other professor who thinks he is smart and isnt willing to learn. he is on a college level in more ways than one and will do his best to relate the material to you...the above evaluation is just because he is bitter. yeah so what is final is 45%...isnt everyones? put it this way if you want to LEARN take him. he isnt hard but you will definatly KNOW THE MATERIAL when you are done..

Bill was the best math teacher I have ever had!!! He has a great personality and teaches VERY well. His class is not only easy to do well in but you actually learn what you are supposed to. I have recomended him to all my friends and anyone who asks

This is by far the BEST MATH PROFESSOR I've ever had! He doesnt waste your time on things that you wont need to know in higher mathmatics, he might touch on it briefly and then tell you to forget about it because you'll never see it again unless your a math major. He assigns homework but doesnt collect it. The quizes are one or two of the homework problems he assigned. He gives fair exams and grades extremely fairly. I received a C when I probably would have failed with the average nit picky math professor. He taught me the essentials of 143 and now being in Diff EQs I am doing fine! Make this guy your priority, you'll love his humor and do well in his class.

This man knows what it is like to be a student as it wasnt too long ago that was one himself. He makes the class quite interesting and his sarcastic humor keeps people coming to his lectures. He is a generous grader but you can not get an A unless you spend plenty of time for his midterms and finals. His grading policy is also generous. In the end, highly recommended for any math class.

Presents the material very well and has a definite sense of humor. Quizzes tend to be very easy, but the two midterms and the final were much more difficult.

I was not impressed with Bill's teaching method. Yes, he kept me awake during his lectures and occasionally pulled a few laughs but when it comes to weekly quizzes he puts the most ridiculous questions on the exam. The questions that you usually think he wouldn't put on there because it's the most anal problem in the homework usually shows up the quizzes. He is approachable during office hours when there isn't about 10 people in line. I worked my butt off doing his homework and studying to pull off a C. Maybe he's not of a good teacher, or maybe I'm just not good a Math.

I've taken 4 Math classes, in each of them I recieved an A. So, I find it peculiar that suddenly I find myself with a B- I havn't changed, so what could possbily be the cause of my sudden decrease in gpa. Oh I know, Hesselgrave! He didn't respond to my email, he changed his office hours midcourse, then when I asked them what they were he didn't know, so he asked a student what they were and he gave me the wrong information. He loves to have students teach his class for him. I'm not paying to learn from a student fyi. I got one question wrong on a midterm due to a simple algebra mistake, and recieved an 82. That's with partial credit. Why do teachers grade this way? He has a charming personality so I'm sure many people find him entertaining, but I'm not in class to be charmed by his wit. Compared to the other Math teachers, I learned less, and did worse and tried twice as hard.

Hesselgrave won't wait for you to understand the material. It was a hard enough class being 143, but Hesselgrave confused me more than helped me. A class that should have been review from high school turned into 4 credits of hell. You be the judge

Bill kicks ass, plain and simple. He's funny, knows how to teach and how to keep the class interested, entertained, and focused all at same time. The only reason I did badly in this class is because I did no work whatsoever. If you want an excellent calc teacher, take Hesselgrave.

This was my first college calc course, and I thought it would suck because it had been so long since I'd taken any calc, but Hesselgrave did a great job presenting the material and always used great examples of the problems we had to do. Exams call for a solid understanding of the material, and so you have to think and make connections that aren't explicitly laid out in the homework, but if your goal is understanding the material and you don't just care about a good grade, this shouldn't be a problem. He has a really laid back teaching approach that I liked, but it may get on the nerves of some if they are having trouble with the course. He teaches this like a college level course, and he doesn't waste his time doing every part of every problem (i.e. algebra, integration) with the expectation that you will do the necessary work. But it forces you to do the work understand it better. Great prof.

Hesselgrave is funny and makes classes enjoyable. He breaks down the material in easy to understand steps. Homework is not required to be done in this class. His quizes are challenging but as long as you keep up with the homework, the quiz will relate to it. DO YOUR HOME WORK AND GO TO CLASS. The midterms were harder but is like the homework. In fact, some problems from quizes and midterms are exactly the homework! He rewards those that tries and do the homework. The midterm had an assigned chapter review problem! Boy was I glad i did my homework! If you have questions, ask!!! He is very helpful in his office hours and wants you to understand the subject! Take him if you can!

Pretty much amazing. There are 8 quizzes, two midterms, and a final. He drops your lowest midterm if it'll help your final grade in the class, making the final worth half of your grade. He also drops the TWO lowest quizzes so that's even better. For my class, there wasn't enough time left to give an eighth quiz so he gave us a questionnaire that would count for full credit on a quiz--pretty dope. Go to his office hours if you don't understand! He's extremely willing to help and genuinely wants you to do well. Also, he says a lot of what's gonna be on the quizzes, midterms, and finals. He expects students to respond during class and yes, sometimes students will teach also, but that's just a way of getting the student to have a different perspective and understand the material in a different way. If you took calc bc in high school, only about half the stuff will be new material and only lines and planes (ch 13) get's really difficult. It seems everyone loves this guy and for good reason--this is a professor you'll WANT to take if you have the chance.

Bill is amazing, he wants to help you if you let him, homework isn't collected for those of you who want to things like that. Overall I recommend him to any student for any class.

Professor Hesselgrave's lectures are sufficient, but he does not regularly go over homework. If you have trouble doing all the homework, you should attend his office hours. Be prepared for his midterms by making sure you can correctly complete ALL the homework problems. The midterms and final are much more difficult than the weekly quizzes.

Bill is a great teacher. He explains everything very clearly, he is open for questions during class, even mid sentence if you feel its necessary. it was also quite fun to come into class on Mondays expecting Bill's new review on the movie he saw the previous weekend. I would definitely recommend this teacher.

Very funny, laid back guy. Class is definitely not boring and always seems to go by quickly. He presents material in a way that you can pretty much have it stick the first time you see it. For MATH 143 he does Sequences/Series (CH12) first, then Parametric/Polar (CH11) and Vectors/3-space(CH13). 2 midterms and a final. Homework seems pretty straightforward and he doesn\'t assign too much--which you don\'t turn in. If you get the hmwk, then you should get the quizzes no problem. His tests are more or less harder quiz/hmwk problems but they really pry your mind to see what you really know. But, sometimes he almost jokes too much of the time. He\'ll often take legitimate student questions and turn them into jokes and sidestep the concern for a spectacle in front of the class before discretely only half-addressing the issue at an unknown later time. Lectures are pretty clear, but he often he skips parts of chapters at whim or leaves holes in the material that you pretty much have to figure out for yourself--which isn\'t inherently bad in math, but it\'d be nice if he were a little more generous on the teaching side at his office hours. He has a way of teasing students with his responses at office hours which might leave many confused or frustrated. He would definitely rather have students learn from each other than him. A lot of times it felt as if the material was only being half taught and even in taking my own initiative to learn the best I could on my own it felt like I was learning less than I\'ve otherwise experienced with other teachers. But, Bill is definitely an above average professor.

Yes Professor Hesselgrave is a nice guy. But there are always some downfalls with people like this. He took alot of furlough days at the end of the quarter which made it hard to start to study for the final and ask him questions. He always told us to not worry about our grades, but in the end some people like me should have been worrying. He tells you everything is going to be ok but it wont be. His tests are very hard and take the problems in the book to the next level. He gives partial credit, but not enough. One mistake and you automatically get half of the points taken off. I didnt really enjoy his sense of humor. I studied very hard for all of his tests and went to office hours many times and still had issues. I think this tells you something.

He is a very concise and well-spoken lecturer who seems excited about the material and to be teaching. Calc 3 is a hard class and he's very helpful and dedicates a lot of class time to answering questions and going over material he's already covered. Overall a very good teacher and a really cool guy.

Hesselgrave is an awesome math teacher. He explains things really well and gives you an understanding of WHY things make sense instead of just expecting you to memorize things. He gives a medium amount of homework that is due once a week. He grades it for completion, not accuracy. The midterms are pretty difficult, but all the problems you've seen before, so if you just go over all the homework/quizzes/notes, you're good. Bill's pretty clear with what he's going to put on the tests-- there's not really any surprises. If you ask what's on it, he'll tell you. During his office hours, he sits in a fishbowl while students work on homework, and he answers any questions you have. It's really informal, and very helpful. Def recommend this professor.

Honestly Hesselgrave is one of the best professors at Cal Poly. Hes funny as hell, he teaches well, and most importantly: he is not boring. First day of class he makes you introduce yourself to the entire class and he somehow magically remembers your name even if you never talk the entire quarter. His tests aren't hard at all. He also is into movies and loves Pulp Fiction and pretty much if I had a choice, I would have taken every calc class with him. Pretty much if we were in prison, I would protect him the showers.

BILL, is a fucking g. enough said. take him. youll like it. youll wanna study and not fail his tests because he is that cool and if your not an idiot and want a good gpa. he is relatively easy with quizes on fridays that are easy if you keep up with the homework and the two midterms are reasonable but not easy if you havent mastered calc. ASK HIM ABOUT HIS OBSESSION WITH NATALIE PORTMAN, itll creep you out..

Great guy and down to earth but all he does is proofs, not examples of problems which I think will actually help you get a grasp of the material. Don't get me wrong he is cool and will help and challenge you but take if you are a math person cause test are nothing like the test.

Bill makes this relatively dry class all about derivatives interesting. His sense of humor is outstanding and is kind of an odd bird at times but endlessly entertaining. He definitely knows what he is doing and is very knowledgable about any math question you could possibly have. The class is basically him just working problems out on the board for students as we all have an open discussion about the problem and everyone asks questions and Bill clarifies. There are group quizzes every friday, and the questions are directly off the homework so do the homework, show up to class, and you're golden. Take Bill if you can!!

Hesselgrave does a terrible job at conveying the information to the students. All he does are ridiculous examples of problems that are no where near what he tests you on. He will give you a formula to remember, then take 10 minutes proving that the formula is what it is instead of just saying, remember this its on the test. Overall he was a horrible teacher and I would not recommend him.

This class is basically all about derivatives, so it could get super dry, but Hesselgrave did a great job keeping it light with his sarcasm and weird humor. He did a great job explaining the material, and usually took questions from the homework and put them straight on quizzes and tests. He's not into memorizing though so he spends a long time proving that formulas exist instead of just telling you the formula which is a little annoying. I'd still definitely recommend him to anyone!!

Bill is a legend. He is the best math instructor I have ever had. His sense of humor is absolutely hilarious. He takes a boring subject like Caculus and keeps it fun and interesting because he is always making jokes. Take Bill if you can. He does group quizzes which really helps your grade. Exam and quiz questions are right off of the homework. 10% of your grade is homework so its basically free points. 10/10 would take again.

bill was an amazing teacher. i started taking calc in college.... so pretty much not knowing anything, and he was able to clearly explain the concepts and ideas with plenty of examples at a good pace. there are three midterms and a final. the final is heavily weighted, so be sure to review the previous midterms because the questions are similar. TAKE THIS TEACHER! it is easy to do well in this class if u have somewhat of a grasp on the material.

Bill is one of the realest professors at Cal Poly in that he is bluntly honest with students, and most people I've talked to love that. His sense of humor permeates his lectures and keeps them interesting, which can make dry material sound fun! Honestly, if I had him for more than one class, I imagine he might inspire me to be a math teacher with the kind of enthusiasm he brings to certain topics. He is also extremely easy to talk to; when I was struggling with one of the book problems, I remember asking him for help with it on three separate occasions in the same office hour, and he gradually nudged me towards the answer until I understood the concept thoroughly. Finally, he is extremely understanding; one of my friends missed the final because she thought it was 3 hours after it was (lol) and he ended up accommodating her during office hours. All in all, Bill is a great teacher and a great guy. PS always go to his office hours, you'll be motivated to study there and between him and your fellow students, there's always someone who can explain whatever you're struggling with.

All the reviews pretty much say the same thing, and most are pretty true. He is really (dark sarcasm) funny, and a real nice guy. The only issue I had with him is that he's used to teaching engineers and architects, and I don't think he lowered the difficulty of the material for business students, since we don't need to know it as much.It seems like the majority of the class was struggling, and he was always saying it was boring for him to teach because it's so remedial. I've always struggled with math but got straight A's in math in high school; I was lucky to pull off a C in this class.

Bill is a very funny professor. I enjoyed the class, but it is not any easy class. He is very fair and tells you what you need to know. If you do the homework or at least understand all of it you will be fine. He is very fair and accessible. He is a good math teacher, not great, good. Personally i think he was bored teaching bus. calc so he wasnt that into it, but overall her is very knowledgable and very fair.

Hess is the man. Noone could be a better math teacher. He jokes around in class, makes the time youre there enjoyable. His grading is very reasonable and will take time to help you out when you need it. Had him for 143 and 241 and really wished he was teaching 242. ABSOLUTLY THE BEST.

i think bill is an OKAY teacher, he does make you write a lot of notes, i felt like i was rewriting the textbook the whole quarter. His examples in class werent really helpful because he would never really finish them, just start them and tell us to figure them out on our own without any way of knowing whether we'd get the right answer or not. I think he's really laid back (in other words lazy) and takes forever to return anything back so its kinda hard to know how you're doing in the class. Also his midterms arent bad but the final does suck to be careful to do well during the quarter so the final wont hurt you soo much.

My Favorite teacher. The guy is funny and yet somehow still manages to teach math. For instance, one night we were all sitting in class and he was talking about a "tree method" involved in partial derivatives. He looks at the tree he has drawn, says, "that looks like pot. Do any of you smoke pot?" and then moved right along. He didn't wait for an answer and refused to explain himself. I guess you had to be there... but trust me, his class is very fair. Homework assignments are fair and a VERY accurate representation of what will be on the tests. Take this guy, he's AWESOME

Hesselgraves is one of the best Math professors here. You'll have a lot of fun if you take him. There were two midterms I believe and 1 final. I had the class twice a week for 2 hours at a time. When midterms came around, I had 2 hours to take it, which was more than enough time. Homework is collected once a week. It is usually the same day but sometimes there were class votes and we extended it a day or so. He answers all your questions during class and during office hours. Get to know him, as he will get to know you. Class is very fun and lecture is designed very well. Easy to follow notes on the board. Answers all questions on the spot. Take him if you can.

Bill is a great teacher, and he really knows what he is talking about. His tests are very fair, and similar to the homework and example questions. If you have any questions he is very helpful in the few minutes after class or in his office hours. He isn't the easiest teacher, but if you care to learn the material and try, then you won't comlain...

This guy is awesome. Laid back, young, clear, humorous. Sometimes his writing is hard to see on the board. His midterms are easy to decent, not hard, and graded pretty fairly. He gives a decent amount of partial credit - not too much, not too little. Homework is collected, but you REALLY NEED to do the homework for this class to know what's going on anyways. For the double/triple integral midterm, most of the problems were setting up the integral only, not solving - which what it should be, awesome. After that, Math 241 goes into vector fields, line integrals, and surface integrals, which he teaches pretty well. The final was not cumulative and based only on the last set of material after the midterm, which was good.

Bill is awesome. I was totally lost the entire quarter because I suck at math, but he still passed me. As long as he knows you are trying, you will pass any of his classes. Talk to him about any new movie and he'll love you. Go to his office hours and get help on the homework that I guess he collects now. I've had him for other classes and he didn't collect it, but he said he was tired of too many people failing so he collected it for my class. His tests are EXTREMELY HARD, but he curves. He is a good teacher worth taking any class from.

Like the guy below me, this is my 2nd time with Bill as the professor. He is BY FAR the best professor in the math department and one of the best at poly. He is funny, entertaining, nice, and overall cool guy. Everything from the homework he assigns (not too much and most problems actually reflect what is actually on the quizzes on tests) to the way he lectures is what makes him such a great lecturer.

Okay, so Hesselgrave is an awesome professor, don't get me wrong. He can teach anybody and he really makes class fun. His quizzes are easy as well, and he gives out a lot of freebie quizzes, like "come to class on friday and it counts as a quiz." However, his midterms and finals were really hard. He didn't use problems that were like examples in class or in the book, they were all extremely hard home-made problems that kicked my butt. It might have been just me, but i thought his tests were crazy.

Bill is a beast. If you dont know whats goin on at some point during the quarter, he's willing to spend whatever time it takes for you to get it. The one downer is that theres a quiz every friday and therefore you have to show up to take it/ no makeups. uhhh yea he's pretty funny as well, so it dosnt get too dull. Take Bill if you have the chance

Hesselgrave explains everything very well, quiz material is pretty much always taken directly from the notes, homework is what you would expect for any math class, and he gives study guides for all of his tests. I'm taking him again whenever possible.

I've had 4 different Calc Teachers, Bill was the best. He is very clear on what he wants his students to know for his tests (though the last part of the quarter gets kind of crazy). He's funny and looks vaguely like Will Ferrell. It was definitely an easy hour to sit through.

I learned AND had fun!

No doubt Hesselgrave is a fun professor but he is absolutely amazing at helping you understand and visualize problems. That is essentially the hardest part of multi-variable calculus. I hear he is very helpful in office hours although I never needed to go because I understood everything the first time. It seems like he is willing to bend over backwards to help a student do well. I'm pretty sure his grading policies change every so often but this last quarter was two midterms and a final each worth 25% and homework was worth 25%. Do the homework. He gives some partial credit. I highly recommend him.

Hesselgrave's dry sense of humor will keep you entertained the whole quarter. I was impressed at how he was able to be so funny without getting off topic at all. Most of his jokes are related to the math he is teaching, so if you are nerdy you will think he is hilarious. Definitely a good professor. Take him!

Dr. Hesselgrave was super funny and entertaining. He presents the course material in a fairly adequate fashion, but really is sense of humor makes the class worthwhile. If you work hard and go to his office hours, he really appreciates it and you can tell it is reflected in the grading of your exams. Show him you will work and he will probably give you an A unless you are totally clueless. Take Hesselgrave!

Professor Hesselgrave is an excellent professor! He assigns a moderate amount of hw that is not due. He has weekly quizzes and two midterms. He is helpful during office hours and very funny. Calc 4 is fun with Professor Hesselgrave!

Hesselgrave is the shit. Coolest professor I have ever had. He manages to make the dull, monotonous world of vector calculus semi-exciting. He manages to get his whole class laughing at least twice per class meeting. He is a great, organized lecturer who assigns relavent homework and has doable exams and quizzes. Not only the coolest professor I have ever had, but the best. Take his class, you will not be dissapointed.

overall he is a good teacher, calc 4 was really hard for me, so like sometimes he would be explain stuff and i wouldn't be able to understand it, so to even have any chance of understand the stuff for the next day you should really do the homework everyday, it is not collected though. I ended up with a B+ in the class, i think there was a better big curve in the end though which was really nice, all for all though, he is a really nice guy

Bill is basically awesome. He was always very helpful in class and he's HILARIOUS! I loved having him for math because he actually made it fun. He has weekly quizzes that were pretty difficult for this class, but he gives 2 freebies and drops the lowest in the end so don't fret. His tests were very fair and he doesn't care if the whole class does better on average than the C+/B- stuff. Take Bill, I would do it again immediately.

This guy is a boss. Has a very funny sarcastic humor which makes class more fun. Teaches the material well and is thorough. I'd recommend him to anybody, and he likes Louis C.K.

Although his lectures are sometimes confusing, he is definitely one of the better professors here at Cal Poly. He is rather generous with grades. He is awkwardly funny, which I find rather fitting with his style of lecture. I'd recommend him to anyone taking calc 4. Really enjoyed his class above all else.

During lecture, Hesselgrave presents a streamlined version of the material. He attempts, with minimal success, to explain the conceptual side of the material, and ends up merely making you copy his notes without understanding what you're copying. The book, Thomas' calculus 12th edition, is even worse. The exercise (HW) problems barely correlate to the example problems given in the text. Furthermore, even Hesselgrave's lecture example problems do not correlate to those in the book. The only problems which are even remotely similar are the midterm (not the final, which sucks by the way.) My mistake this quarter was not going to office hours enough. Unless you are able to somehow teach yourself the material from a poorly written book and a teacher who barely teachers, office hours are your only hope. If Hesselgrave is your professor, I bid you good luck.

Hesselgrave's a great guy, but frankly not the clearest math teacher *for my preferences*. I think he's pretty guilty of grade inflation, I did not deserve an A, though I had mastered the material, but that was long after it was tested for on the midterms. But hey, why complain. He kept reminding us throughout the quarter to not fall behind, or else it'll get very difficult, and I learned that was correct. He's not the best drawer, which is a huge help with all the visualizing in Calc 4, so I had to resort to *Khan Academy, which I hugely recommend for Calc 4*, just because visualization is so important to me. By the time the final rolled around I was sufficiently psyched by my lack of knowledge that I rallied and performed great on the final, so maybe Hesselgrave was cognizant of that and thus the great grade... I imagine my situation was shared by many. */TL;DR great guy, safe bet, watch Khan Academy.

Bill is the GOAT. He's passionate about what he does and relays the content in a clear, understandable fashion. He is approachable and helpful during office hours. The last month or so of the course gets ugly, so office hours are recommended. He's a fair grader, giving weekly group quizzes and homework assignments, as well as review assignments before midterms, all of which resemble the exam material pretty closely. Take Bill if you can.

Bill was the BEST. He has a way of really connecting with his students and making sure that they understood the material. His office hours are super helpful if you come in with a specific problem or question that you don't understand, but honestly he does such a good job of answering questions/explaining things thoroughly, you don't even have to go to office hours to understand the material. Bill is my favorite.

This was an amazing class. Bill truly knows how to teach calculus to all students who take his class. He is always able to explain the material to anyone, even those who math does not come to easily. His lectures are always fun and informative, and he runs the class well. Every week, there will be three lectures and then one quiz day, but the quizzes are done in groups and are never stressful. The midterms and final are definitely difficult, but the questions are always fair. He does a great job of mainly testing material only covered in his class. Additionally, he often went out of his way to help students learn. Take this class, you won't regret it.

Hesselgrave is a fantastic professor and a must take if you can get him. He's one of the best math teachers I have ever had. He makes everything so simple and easy to understand, which is really helpful in calculus 4 with all the dimensional/ vector derivatives, surface derivatives, etc. His homework is easy (until the end of the quarter) and his midterms are fair, probably on the easy side. I didn't get to take his final due to COVID-19, but I assume it would have been like a slightly longer midterm. 100% recommend, it's clear he loves math, which is a great trait to have in a math professor.

This was my second time with Bill and he continues to be my favorite teacher at Poly. He explains everything very clearly and will help you both in and out of class if cant get something. Also he is very funny and every day in his class is a like party.

He was a great teacher. All his exams were really straight forward and he is not the type to trick you. If you study and do the homework you should be fine and he tries to be funny and keep classes upbeat which is always a plus in math!

I get to be the first one to evaluate Bill for MATH 244, and let me just say that you shouldn't take this course unless you got him for your lecturer. Terrific guy, but like others say, he writes a lot on the board so you will find yourself with hand cramps trying to catch up, but the upside to that is that you barely ever have to read the text, his notes has everything you need. Excellent grader on tests and gives tons of partial credit, and the tests almost couldn't get any more straight forward and taken from homework (which isn't collected but is assigned). He also gives quizzes, which is a big part of your grade (25%). 2 midterms and 1 final is what you'll also have to go through. I absolutely hated MATH 142 and 143, but I LOVED 244 with Bill as the teacher. He's very friendly and easy to approach (and funny!) and walks you through any problem you may have. Awesome dude, he's ranked #1 on my list out of the whole Math Department!!

One of THE BEST teachers I have ever had. He keeps you awake with his sometimes slightly weird humor, he writes on the board as if he's writing the exact notes you should be writing (and you should), grades fairly, adjusts his teaching to the class, and gets the information directly into your head. Great teacher. I still have to take the final, but I know that for whatever grade I get in this class, it will be fair, and he made the material as easy to learn as it could be.

Hessel is the shit, no joke. We all know math sucks, but Bill makes for an exception. I loved his class, and actually got amped when it came time to take the tests and show off what I learned. He made this class a piece of cake, just do the homework and you'll get great scores on the tests cause they are straight from homework. He grades homework 25% of the total grade for the quarter, which means easy A there, then the midterms are graded as follows: 25% for your better midterm, 15% for the other midterm. Sound grading policy if you ask me!

Hesselgrave is awesome. His lectures are very clear, his tests are not hard at all, he is very helpful, and he actually is able to make a boring subject (which 244 definately is) interesting. Do not pass up the opportunity to take this professor!

Bill is by far the best professor i've had so far. This was my second time taking this class, and he made it seem like an entirely different subject. He writes excellent notes on the board, and if you copy them, you'll have no problem doing the homework. He always keeps the class awake, and is so in tune to what the class does and does not understand. If you complete all the homework, you'll pretty much get full credit. He totally prepares you for his exams and final. He is also always available and very patient in office hours. If you need to take this class, take this professor!

Honestly, Hesselgrave is one of the best math teachers we have at Cal Poly, if you like a little bit slower pace and very detailed explanations he is your man. From what I heard, he doesn't go into as much depth as some other math teachers,for 244 and 344 at least. But he is funny, easy to talk to, and he is helpful in his office. He tries to make sure everyone, in his class understands the material, but that means if you are usualy on the top of your class the pace might seem redundantly slow. Hesselgrave has a great sense of humor. He makes his lectures interesting enough you would not want to miss class. Take good notes in his class and you will be fine. No curvballs on the tests. He tells you exactly what you need to know for tests and the final. The grading policy is extremely generous. If you do the homework and pay attention you will get an easy A.

Bill Hesselgrave is a wonderful math teacher. He is personable, humorous, and very good at conveying what he is trying to teach. I might even go so far as to say he's the best math teacher I've had at poly. One thing though: the guy's office hours were horrible. A lot of students showed up. OK. That can be managed. But Dr Hesselgrave would let the same guy and girl sit in front of his desk the WHOLE FREAKING HOUR EVERY DAY!! Hello?! I got up way early to come to office hours too, why don't you try making them GET UP someday so that the other people lined up into the hall can actually fit in your office and possibly get a chance to ask a few questions. That was extremely frustrating. The week of finals Dr Hesselgrave gave us the opportunity to make appointments for office hours. I emailed and he gave me one. I come that day, and the same freaking girl and guy are there!!!!!!!! On top of that theres like 7 more people and he only stayed for an hour. I never got to ask him anything. I guess when he said we could schedule "appointments" what he really meant is we can schedule "appointment." Multiple people. One appointment. ... but yeah great instructor, I would recommend.

Bill rocks! Great sense of humor! Knows the subject, cares about his students, will go out of his way to help you outside of class. He tries to build relationships with all his students. Some people do think his tests are hard, but they test the CONCEPT which is important because in the real world, the computer will crunch the numbers for you, but you have to be able to tell the computer what to do. Take him if he is available.

Hesselgrave is the epitome of "fair". He explains EVERYTHING straight to the point, very clear and concise, and will NOT deal with BS. He even told us not to BS on his tests because it drives him nuts. He grades VERY fairly, and if you don't know how to solve the problem, just somehow show that you know what you're doing (i.e. write down the steps to solve the problem) and he'll give you fatty partial credit. He does not collect homework, but assigns a bunch that you should do to prepare for his tests. His tests are very fair and accurately test you on what you should know in the course. He is VERY good at answering student questions and explaining things. His humor is a bit...quaint...though. And he likes drinking wine :)

This man is an awesome teacher! He will never bore you to sleep in his lectures, and explains everything very clearly. He was also very helpful in his office hours, if you could get into them. I think the fact that so many people go to his office hours is a testament to how helpful he is during that time.

I like Bill as a person, but not as a professor, at least not for this course. Bill stresses concepts in this course more than anyone I've ever known. I am very proficient in math, however Bill made this class a nightmare for me. The homework problems never resembled problems on the exams, and the lectures are long and arduous. When he did examples, he wouldn't finish them, or he would start them halfway through, and then give up later because he didn't want to do the algebra. This ofcourse isn't an ideal method of instruction. If you have to take Math 244, take Todorov if he's available. His course is incredibly easy and you will actually understand the material.

Bill is a very fun guy and a good Professor. He can be a bit confusing on some of the explanations and can sometimes get lazy when it comes to answering questions. Be ready to answer theoretical questions on the exams and know the material inside and out. Make sure to do the proofs.

He is really funny and friendly in class, I thought the tests were a little harder than they needed to be, but otherwise the class was doable. He is not my favorite math professor, but its easy to see why a lot of people do.

This guy just plain sucks. Was going thru withdrawls in class after having told us he quit drinking so much damn wine. Tests are NOTHING like the homework, dont take him if you are not a math major, he only cares about theories and not actually solving any problems. Always looks like he just rolled out of bed and somehow thinks his 50 minute lecture is an oportunity to do stand-up comedy for 30 minutes and 10 for movie reviews and the last 10 to scribble theories on the board.

Bill is probably the best math teacher I have encountered at calpoly thus far. He is extremely helpful during office hours. If you show that you're willing to learn the material, he goes out of his way to help you understand it. If you want to do well in this course, simply show up to class and take notes, attend office hours before the midterms to clear any doubts and you should get atleast a B.

Hesselgrave is a good teacher. His lectures are clear and straightforward and he is a fair professor. His dry humor and ability to reason with you through the class make him an awesome prof.

Bill was amazing! Fair grader, great explainer, real friendly guy, super helpfull in office hours (which is why is office always has several students in it). His class IS "like a party"! Most fun I've had in calc EVER period.

Hah his class is definately NOT a party. I admit I saw his high polyrating and jumped at the chance to take him but unfortunately I think he dropped the ball either just for MATH244 or just for our class. He expected us to learn about 50% of the material from the book and by simply figuring it out, which was frustrating when I had multiple hw's to do thursday night. He IS a funny guy and makes class interesting but he kind of drops the ball teaching. Could be better but not a bad teacher

I wish I had a different teacher for Linear Analysis I. He is a cool guy but with this class, he makes it extremely hard on you. Class average for the first midterm was 64% with the highest grade a 84% and there is 8 problems. He expects you to truly understand EVERYTHING while many teachers only want you to understand the mathematical approach of the problem. I believe he is great for every other class besides LINEAR. If there is someone else, TAKE THEM INSTEAD unless you have alot of time to understand what he expects of you. I am still taking this class and wanted to let you know how he is since he doesn't have many MATH 244 ratings.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!! I have yet to talk to someone who doesn\'t have to bust their ass in this class just to hang on by a string. There are some good scores on the tests, but you can tell that they had to work their butt of to teach themselves the material because it obviously wasn\'t hesselgrave who did the teaching. He assigns weekly hw which is better than some linear teachers, but the problems are all mixed around and are all the very complicated problems. for instance 29, 30, 31, and 36 of 50 problems in a chapter. The basic problems that help you master the technique are left out. so to learn the material, you either have to fight through the headaches of doing a long difficult problem and then finding out you made a mistake along the way and redo most of the problem or you have to add homework problems for your own learning on top of the hw he assigns. If you choose the latter of the two, you could be turning a 4 problem hw assign into a 10 problem homework assignment and still miss the problems he actually assigned. Its a rough course compared to my friends who are taking the same course with a different teacher. Take someone else for linear if you can. It does not need to be this difficult or this strenuous.

Bill is the greatest. Funny, smart, and friendly. His lectures are very easy to follow and understand. But all of his lectures are very important and if you miss just one class you will be pretty far behind. There are quizzes every week but they are very easy (if you did the homework) and the midterms were pretty straight forward. I would highly recommend Bill for linear.

He is a good professor, I enjoyed how he made it suspenseful at the end of each class which made you want to come back next class. Bill is very intelligent and knows both the subject and how to teach. The only downside is that there is a lot of stuff to know, and he goes pretty quick. If you miss a class you will probably find yourself falling behind. His office hours are usually packed which hindered my studies a little bit and I still don't know what diagonalizable means. However he is a good guy, he gave handouts to help others who were going to take 344, even with other professors. Hes pretty funny too although it can get a little too much sometimes, but overall, good professor and a real stand up dude.

Avoid him for linear. I jumped at his high rating but was very disappointed and ended up working very hard to get a B.

Hesselgrave is awesome. His lectures are really clear and the homework makes sense after lecture. This is a change after some of my other math professors at Poly. He made linear interesting and presented it in a way that it made sense. He made it my favorite math class. People say he's difficult, but he's only difficult if you don't put in the work. If you do the homework and go to him for help during office hours when you are stuck, the class is fairly straightforward. I loved his class and he was an excellent teacher. Wish I could take more classes with him.

Bill is an extremely laid back, funny guy. He cares about his students and is very good at realizing when people do, and when people don't understand what he is lecturing about. Most entertaining math professor I have had at Poly. Fair tests, and offers a helpful study session before the final. If you take him, you will enjoy it as much as you can possibly enjoy a math class.

Bill is, as many other reviews said, extremely funny and can teach EXTREMELY well. He is amazing one on one; very good at explaining things, and very personable. I would definitely classify him as one of the best (if not the best) professor/s I have had. However, his tests are not easy. You will be crunched for time, unless you have a very good grasp of the concepts. They are not unfair by any means; simply hard. Don't let his awesome personality fool you into not studying. This class definitely requires studying. The fact that he had due homework helped me immensely (he does not every quarter; I heard from others that he had weekly quizzes in the past).

He is very enthusiastic about the class, but he is so condescending. He laughs at his own jokes and always has this stupid self-satisfied look on his face. He lectures very quickly but always skips important details while working examples. His tests are fair, but you need to put your own time into it. He was very unaccommodating to his students.

HE DOES NOT DESERVE HIS 3.5 POLYRATING. He is funny, yes, he lectures fast and provides enough, yes, but just isn't as useful as he could be. He never explained the qualitative part of the course to us so I was just reproducing calculations not understanding what I was doing. I had 2 other friends in the class and they said the same thing. However, he expects you to know all of that stuff, and really well for the test as true/false can get difficult. It is a hard class too, so be prepared. Basically, you will not learn much, but will be able to succeed. I did exactly this and walked off with an A- somehow. I've heard he adds a pretty favorable curve to the course, so a B+ probably turns into an A- would be my guess, but you can't know for sure. Take other teachers if possible, but he's not the end of the world either. I'm not taking linear II so I don't really care how much I learned anyways.

Hesselgrave is very unaccommodating to his students. I emailed him 3 times during the quarter and he didn't respond to any of them. He had no office hours during finals week for a Friday final, rather he held a 2 hour office hour the saturday before the final in Einstein's. He gets lazy while lecturing and doesn't want to fully work a problem because of time constraints. I have also had other friends taking Linear here at Cal Poly and couldn't even study with them for midterms or finals because Bill goes over so much more than other linear classes. The end of the class felt really rushed too because he tried to cram in 2 topics on the last day of class AND STILL put them on the final. Overall I wasn't too satisfied with Bill, and would recommend taking a different teacher for Linear

If youre taking linear, go for Bill all the way because he knows his shit. His notes are really good in aiding your studies. The way he lectures however, might not be the best for some students, as he does skip steps and assumes you know how to do them because of time constraints, and also because he believes that at this point in your math classes you SHOULD know how to do them. I think its also because he knows his stuff a little too much and can be a little conceited. Hes a little bit condescending and in some ways a jerk, and my come off a little unhelpful during lectures, and I repeat, DURING lectures. But honestly, if youre the 'ideal' student and you ask him for help during his office hours or after class, he will treat you totally different. In class, you might just feel like just any other student and he might treat you as any other student, but if you put in that effort into the class to talk to him, youll totally get on his good side (which doesnt really help you). His office hours can get packed, which is why he books them in the library, so students can also work together. Grade is based on quizzes (once every friday on nonmidterm days), two midterms and a final. He can be pretty funny. I also had him for MATH 141, but I personally didnt give a shit about that class and wouldnt have even cared to give him a review at all. I did pretty bad in that class, but enough to pass. For that class, grades were based on hw that were due every Tuesday, two midterms and a final. Looking back, if I tried in that class, I would probably have aced it. With every professor though, if you put in your effort, then most of the time, youll probably end up liking some of the qualities of the professor. Theres really no reason to hate Bill, just do your part, and he does his, and if you seek for more help, then he'll give you a little more.

I really enjoyed Hesselgrave for Linear. His lectures were solid and entertaining, even though some people complained he didn't show all of the steps (like an easy derivative or integral which you should already know how to do). There are quizzes every friday, two midterms, and a final which make up your grade. There is weekly homework that you MUST DO/UNDERSTAND to do well on the quizzes and tests. Even though the homework is not graded, all of his exam/quiz questions were exact replicas of homework problems. If you are having trouble, he schedules office hours in the library which are very helpful, but sometimes crowded. At the end of the quarter he knew we were all ready for summer and busy with other classes, so he gave us a few free-be quizzes and a noncumulative final. I would definitely recommend Hesselgrave if you want a smart funny guy who knows his shit, and if you are willing to work hard to understand the material.

Hesselgrave is the man. Makes math very enjoyable! Awesome sense of humor and taste in movies(Pulp Fiction). Take him!

Hesselgrave will probably be the best professor you have in your Freshman/Sophomore year at Cal Poly. He makes paying attention fun by adding humor to his lectures. I would not be surprised if someone told me that he used to be a standup comedian. Great professor. Take him.

Bill Hesselgrave is easily the best math teacher I have ever had. He knows the material is difficult, but presents it in a fun and exciting way. He also does his office hours in a fish bowl in the library. Take my word for it and go every chance you can. First half of the quarter, I was pulling a C. I began going to his office hours and seeking additional help from him and ended up with an A- in his class. I plan on taking Math 248 from him in the future. Wonderful professor. Would recommend!

Bill is without a doubt knowledgeable on math, and makes linear analysis seem much easier than other professors might. He assigns weekly homework and gives weekly group quizzes, with two midterms and a final. Take into account everything covered in class and over the homework and you're set for the exams! Bill is a great teacher and definitely knows his stuff. Take advantage of office hours!

Linear is a tough class for two reasons: it moves incredibly fast, and there are a ton of big words which you must learn. Actually doing the math is not the difficult part, but understanding the 'language' is. It gets very abstract, but if you keep up with the homework and use other resources when things are unclear, everything will be okay. Hesselgrave is a chiller

Hesselgrave is the most competent math teacher I have ever had at Cal Poly. Not only is he incredibly intelligent, but he is a fantastic teacher and conveys concepts very clearly to his students. Linear Analysis can be a bit of a pain since it can be difficult to teach chronologically (concepts fit together at the end but for a while it can seem like none of the topics are connected) but I felt that he juggled this very well. This class was composed of two midterms, a final, and weekly homework and quizzes. The quizzes were done in groups and were only 4% of the grade, so they served more as a way to complete problems with people to strengthen our knowledge of the subject and work together. The homework was graded for completion, not correctness, and was worth 12%. The midterms were not cumulative and were worth 24% each. He seemed open to curving but on both occasions the average was above a C. The final is worth 36%. I highly recommend taking Hesselgrave, he is hilarious, a fantastic teacher, and will help you succeed.

Honestly don't know why he has such a high rating. I really did not enjoy the way he presented the material and would always be confused after every lecture and could never complete the homework. He's generally a nice guy but really doesn't teach very well and made the class way too difficult to learn.

I had bill for calc 4 and linear 1 simultaneously. I could not imagine a better learning experience than I’ve had at cal poly. I got pretty sick during week 9 and he was super understanding and helpful with covering missed topics and preparing for the final. The things that he taught me in this class have helped a ton in other classes. If you have the choice take bill!!!

I've actually had Bill for two classes, 241 and 304. He is a great teacher, and I would highly recommend taking him if you have the chance

BEST PROFESSOR EVER!!! If you get the honor to take a class with Bill, you'll be grateful. He's the nicest guy and really tries to relate to you, the student. Very easy to talk to, office hours were EXTREMELY useful/helpful, the exams were very doable, quizzes weekly (yea, ok, they sucked, but the final made up for em), and real easy-going lectures. Another great thing about Bill is that he's really realistic in his lectures--he will definitely not bore you with tedious details that everyone understands already. If someone has a question, he'll make the time to make sure that student *understands* the answer. Oh yea, that's the other thing... he wants you to *know* the material, not just memorize a bunch of equations. He's super funny, which made the class very entertaining. Dry subject + boring material + Bill = motivated to class early and leave late. ;) Take him if you can!!!

Best teacher ever! I had to retake this class after doing miserably in it with VanLingen. I hated the material and dreaded taking the class again however Hesselgrave was such a great teacher that I actually began to enjoy the class (which was 2 hour lectures at night)! I wish that I had known about him sooner in my career at Cal Poly, I would have tried to take him for all my math classes!

Hesselgrave is the best math teacher EVER. He explains everything so thoroughly and always makes sure that everyone understands before he moves on. He's hysterical, I never thought that a math class could be so funny, and he's also extremely laid back. My only complaint is that he so cute that it was kind of distracting when you're trying to learn partial differential equations.

Hesselgrave is the man. The guy is insanely funny, and quite the professor. Everything is flexable with this guy depending on the situation. We scrapped our third exam because he didn't think the class was really ready for it, and turned our once cumulative final into a non-cumulative one that covered what our third exam would have. He's a great explainer, and makes class very enjoyable. Take him if you can!

Bill is the greatest math teacher! He explains everything that you need to know, and I mean everything. By the end of the quarter your notes should be nearly full. His test are straightfoward and are like HW problems or examples he does in class, so no tricks. He really cares about the students learning and doesn't want anyone to fail. So if you care and try hard, you will most likely do well in the class.

Great teacher with a great personality. By far my favorite professor at Poly thus far.

Hesselgrave was the best math teacher that I have ever had at Cal Poly. His lectures are very detailed and help you through most of your HW problems. If you have any problems with your HW he answers any of your questions in his office hours. I highly recommend him to anyone.

Great teacher. Worth taking for any math class.

Great teacher. Test are straight foward, easy to take notes, and good at explaining in office hours.

Hesselgrave is the shit! Lectures are clear and makes the material understandable. Make sure to take the HW seriously b/c 40% of your final grade is from HW. Bill is also a great person just to talk to. Definitley take him over any other prof.

Bill presented the lectures organized and clear. He is very student oriented and approachable. Only one midterm was given; however, the midterm was doable and not as complicated as other professor's teaching the same course. Massive amounts of HW were assigned but went over the difficult problems in class. I do not agree with the last posting, obviously that person will be kicked out of Poly.

Great professor. Lectures are awesome and straight-foward. Nothing out of the ordinary on the test. But there is a lot of HW to do. Just put in the time and you will do well.

One of the best math professors at Poly. Knows the material well, and is willing to work with you. Lectures were entertaining, even at 8 am, and he presented the concepts clearly and even used decent examples. There was one midterm and the final, and both were long and fairly difficult. Lots of homework (and it's 40% of the grade), but no more than expected in this level of course. Overall, an excellent professor and I would take him again if I had the chance.

Pretty clear and covers most all the material. He assigns alot of homework, but it is very doable. His tests are pretty easy, but make sure you study everything he suggests. Likeable guy, but doesn't seem to put that much work into the class.

Not your typical math professor. He has a very laid back attitude and great sense of humor; Makes a very boring class entertaining. He has a great enthusiasm for the material and makes a sort of lame subject seem relevant to me (Mechanical Engineer). He does bring a very Math-Majory, intellectual slant to some things, but he doesn't get bogged down in them too much. There are two midterms and a final (not comprehensive) each worth about 30% of the grade with the remaining 10% from weekly quizzes. The quizzes usually are pretty easy since they are usually similar to homework problems or class examples. Homework is mostly a pretty reasonable length and not collected. Overall, C subject + A professor = B Grade. Would definitely get him again.

Hesselgrave is amazing! He is really laidback and funny. His lectures are really clear and he can answer any question thrown at him. He also really cares if the students understand the material. Do the homework even if it is not due!! Not necessarily all of it, but it helps for the Friday quizzes.

Prof cried today.... What a weirdo hahahah get a grip of your life.