Fall 2026

Introduction to Chemical Process Modeling

Introduction to chemical process modeling and computational analysis tools.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Katelyn Dahlke2.9/5

Summary

1 / 7

Reviewers consistently report a heavy workload, citing weekly homeworks, quizzes, and large projects that often require 40 to 70 hours of work. Some students found the assignments excessive and disconnected from class content, while others noted the volume consumed all free time.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(CBE 250 or concurrent enrollment) and (MATH 319, 320, 376, or concurrent enrollment)

CBE 255 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026

Katelyn Dahlke

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.43/5 from 28 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 2.1/5 raw quality · 4.1/5 difficulty · 15 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Katelyn Dahlke is described as helpful and caring, with some students noting her flexibility and fair grading. These reviewers appreciated the support provided to beginners and the use of extra credit and late tokens to manage workload.

Many reviewers report that Dahlke’s projects are excessively time-consuming, unclear, and graded harshly or subjectively. Some students also cite her condescending attitude, frustration with difficult concepts, and lack of clear expectations as major concerns.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 2.78 GPA, 32.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.94 GPA, 33.3% A/AB (n=63 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.95 GPA, 34.8% A/AB (n=66 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Ross Swaney describe a computer science course where students struggled with Matlab application and homework difficulty. While some found him unhelpful and boring, others reported he was fair, helpful one-on-one, and that exams aligned with homework.

JENNIFER REED is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KATELYN DAHLKE is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROSS SWANEY is recorded teaching in Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction42 / 600
DIS 301Classroom Instruction16 / 150
DIS 304Classroom Instruction15 / 150
DIS 306Classroom Instruction11 / 160

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Katelyn Dahlke’s teaching receives polarized reviews, with students describing her as either supportive and flexible or harsh and condescending. Experiences range from high satisfaction with her care for student well-being to severe frustration with unclear expectations and excessive workload.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.94 GPA, 33.3% A/AB (n=63 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.83 GPA, 45.8% A/AB (n=48 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.95 GPA, 34.8% A/AB (n=66 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Reviewers consistently report a heavy workload, citing weekly homeworks, quizzes, and large projects that often require 40 to 70 hours of work. Some students found the assignments excessive and disconnected from class content, while others noted the volume consumed all free time.

Students report conflicting experiences regarding clarity and support. Some praise her helpfulness and clear explanations, while others criticize vague instructions, strict grading, and condescending behavior when concepts become difficult.

Topics

  • Chemical process modeling
  • Computational model analysis

Skills

  • Chemical process modeling
  • Computational analysis of models

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
CBE 255 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Chemical Process Modeling

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:220:023133",
    "course_id": "CBE 255",
    "course_uid": "course_9a8e10f977a1af3ad895a6ba",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "023133",
    "source_subject_id": "220",
    "title": "Introduction to Chemical Process Modeling",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d8090adfcf7fd25b87523576dfd46403fe1ccfda1b9c60d3f90b39a83cc2f760",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}