“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Raw average: 1.68/5 from 56 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: 1.0/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 2
reviews
RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.
Bo Yang is described as rude and unhelpful, with students reporting he flips out for no reason and fails to teach R skills. Reviewers advise avoiding him, citing his inability to teach effectively.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.76 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=57 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.72 GPA, 80.6% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.77 GPA, 92.2% A/AB (n=64 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.76 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=57 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.72 GPA, 80.6% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.77 GPA, 92.2% A/AB (n=64 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
BO YANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
ZHIFENG CHEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, 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
Fall 2026
Schedule loads here as you scroll.
Section
Mode
Enrolled / capacity
Waitlist
LEC 003
Online Only
70 / 86
0
LEC 004
Online Only
3 / 10
0
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Bo Yang receives severe criticism for rudeness and poor teaching, with reviewers advising avoidance.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.76 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=57 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.72 GPA, 80.6% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.77 GPA, 92.2% A/AB (n=64 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
One reviewer notes the course content was manageable due to prior job experience, though they earned an A.
Reviewers report that Bo Yang provides no support for gaining R skills and is difficult to interact with.
Topics
Conditional expressions, loops, and functions.
Data matrices and arrays.
Text data extraction.
High-level data visualizations.
Skills
Writing control structures and functions in R.
Manipulating data matrices and arrays.
Extracting data from text.
Creating high-level data visualizations.
Grades
Historical instructor
Fall 2026 · Projected
Before grades are released
3.633.63–3.873.87average GPA
Approximate 80% prediction interval
0.04.0
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.
5 earlier forecasts · 0.07 GPA average error.
Grades over time
Through Fall 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Where this course fits relative to
Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels
3.773.77GPA
Higher than 5959% of other courses
in this group.
Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range
6464letter grades
More recorded grades than 4747% of other courses in this group.
Typical course in this group: 66.066.0 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.