Spring 2027

Process Dynamics and Control

Systematic introduction to dynamic behavior and automatic control of industrial processes. Labs use conventional hardware and real-time digital computers for instrumentation and control.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Ross Swaney2.8/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Ross Swaney

One student found the content so challenging that they preferred sleeping in class to trying to understand the instruction.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Identify, formulate, and solve linear chemical process dynamics problems

  • Use techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for the practice of chemical engineering

  • Design and conduct laboratory experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data, in particular to determine the efficacy of control designs

  • Design a control system to meet desired needs for a given process

  • Communicate effectively, through laboratory experiences

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

CBE 326 and (CBE 430 or concurrent enrollment)

CBE 470

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.32/5 from 34 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: 1.5/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Ross Swaney

Ross Swaney taught CBE 470 with a heavy emphasis on theory and few examples. Students found his instruction difficult to follow, with one noting it was easier to sleep than understand the material, while another mentioned he was helpful if students sought him out for assistance.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2019: 2.99 GPA, 41.3% A/AB (n=63 letter grades); Fall 2020: 3.03 GPA, 44.4% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.83 GPA, 29.2% A/AB (n=48 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ROSS SWANEY is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2014, Fall 2017, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2026. 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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 640
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 640

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Ross Swaney

Students described the course as theory-heavy with few examples, noting that understanding the material was difficult. Ross Swaney was seen as helpful only if students actively sought his assistance.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.16 GPA, 61.8% A/AB (n=68 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.12 GPA, 52.5% A/AB (n=40 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.83 GPA, 29.2% A/AB (n=48 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Ross Swaney

One student found the content so challenging that they preferred sleeping in class to trying to understand the instruction.

Past student reviews · Ross Swaney

A reviewer noted that while the instructor was helpful, students had to proactively seek out his help to get support.

Topics

  • Dynamic behavior of industrial processes
  • Instrumentation and measurement of process variables
  • Linear chemical process dynamics
  • Real-time digital computer control

Skills

  • Solve linear chemical process dynamics problems
  • Design control systems for specific processes
  • Conduct lab experiments and analyze control design data
  • Instrumentation and measurement of process variables

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.28 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

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

1280 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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
CBE 470 · Spring 2027

Process Dynamics and Control

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:220:002688",
    "course_id": "CBE 470",
    "course_uid": "course_5abad86202afee538d45ce3e",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "002688",
    "source_subject_id": "220",
    "title": "Process Dynamics and Control",
    "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
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "b44e6c9ca9eea9f5f36e1c51015ef12e1f9a280c9c7d788d573562f2d1bd43f2",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}