Professor Zhu is a nice guy, but his class is way too hard for how it should be. Labs are hard to follow and I'm rather chasing the way too general instructions most of the time instead of learning GIS skills. No clear lab grading criteria, which is rough when it makes up most of your grade. Would not recommend.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
A-Xing Zhu
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
A-Xing seems passionate about his field, but this does not translate well into his teaching skills. Online lectures are extremely dry. His accent is difficult to understand, and no reliable subtitles are provided. Exam questions had many grammatical errors and some did not make sense at all. Lectures also haven't been updated since 2020.Rate My Professors ↗
The class is fun and the material that he presents is very educational. The lecture videos are also pretty solid. However, his English writing makes it very challenging to understand the exam questions and the written lectures. In addition, a lot of the class is just memorizing what he says is the correct answer in his lectures.Rate My Professors ↗
He is obviously very passionate about GIS and really wants to make sure his students know what's going on "under the hood" with many of the spatial methods and tools that he covers. The broken English that he uses in his readings and tests can be irritating, but as long as you understand the material you'll do fine. Very nice guy and truly cares.Rate My Professors ↗
He seems to be a nice guy, but with broken English in lectures and quizzes, which make it so hard, boring and despair for me. The quiz is like choose the most correct but with the broken English (you know it's gonna be nightmare).Rate My Professors ↗
Seems like a nice guy, but his lectures were so boring. It takes days for assignments to be graded and you don't really know what you have in the class for the whole semester. Exams were pretty difficult and the grading for them is pretty harsh.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with A-Xing Zhu
An introductory course on Geographic Information Systems covering automated procedures for storing, analyzing, and displaying spatial information, including databases, software systems, and case studies.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Axing Zhu
Students reported A-Xing Zhu’s lectures were sometimes difficult to follow due to his accent or unclear explanations, though others found them enthusiastic and clear. One student noted five pop quizzes and exams with obscure questions, while others criticized labs for vague instructions and unclear grading criteria.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026GIS and Spatial Analysis
4 creditsPrinciples and algorithms for spatial analysis in GIS, covering point, line, polygon processing, interpolation, smoothing, overlay, query, network, terrain analysis, and classification.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Axing Zhu
A-Xing Zhu emphasized the underlying spatial methods in his lectures, though students found the content boring and his broken English in readings and quizzes difficult to navigate. While one student felt the material was manageable if they understood the core concepts, another described the assessments as a nightmare due to language barriers.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Research and Thesis
1–9 creditsResearch and Thesis provides individual mentored study for completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Independent Work
1–3 creditsINDEPENDENT WORK is an independent study course arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377 | An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems |
| Spring 2027 | GEOG 579 | GIS and Spatial Analysis |
| Spring 2027 | GEOG 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | GEOG 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2026 | CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377 | An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems |
| Fall 2026 | GEOG 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | GEOG 970 | Seminar in Geographic Information Science |
| Fall 2026 | GEOG 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | GEOG 999 | Independent Work |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_f384b64777d9860aaf177c05",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "azhu",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "A-Xing Zhu",
"email": "AZHU@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 21,
"quality": 3.14,
"difficulty": 3.19,
"quality_count": 21,
"difficulty_count": 21,
"profile_id": "rmp:498049",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/498049",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 19:30:18.355973+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_0fc0cd82ff33418ed88db7a0": {
"review_count": 13,
"quality": 3,
"difficulty": 3.38,
"quality_count": 13,
"difficulty_count": 13
},
"course_aea60f765c77d26cf83af000": {
"review_count": 4,
"quality": 3,
"difficulty": 3.25,
"quality_count": 4,
"difficulty_count": 4
},
"course_66d7ac008db0aafe030fc769": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 3,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.3932651612177898,
"prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_0fc0cd82ff33418ed88db7a0",
"course_id": "CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377",
"title": "AN INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS",
"credits_min": 4,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": 3.28
},
{
"course_uid": "course_590f53e642fa9433232a332f",
"course_id": "GEOG 999",
"title": "INDEPENDENT WORK",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 4
},
{
"course_uid": "course_a3711445a11ea9b101636ef3",
"course_id": "GEOG 990",
"title": "RESEARCH AND THESIS",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 9,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_aea60f765c77d26cf83af000",
"course_id": "GEOG 579",
"title": "GIS AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS",
"credits_min": 4,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": 3.543
}
],
"revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/A-XING_ZHU"
}