Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Avoid at all costs. Not what it looks like: barely any ethics, mostly vague debates like "what is engineering?" Graduate-level readings with ~2 days' notice. More work than all my engineering classes combined. Feedback: video-only, few assignments, 1+ week late. Often two exams in one day, then a quiz next class. Take another class, anything.Rate My Professors ↗
I took INTEREGR 397 over the summer. We had mandatory 2-hour lectures twice a week, and a long reading assigned between each, with a writing assignment due every week. He takes a philosophical lens to the course, so get ready to discuss the "ethics of technology" quite a lot.Rate My Professors ↗
Easy grader, but SO MUCH WORK!! Be prepared to read. Much more time consuming and WAY more reading and philosophical than other professors.Rate My Professors ↗
He may care, but the class is unreasonable. Expect 100+ pages of reading per week—or every 3 days due to last-minute assignments. Discussions are always about abstract philosophy, feeling more like a PhD-level philosophy course than an engineering communication class. Other professors stick more closely to the course goals with FAR less work.
Great professor. Really cares about what he teaches. But the course is very difficult. You will not get a good grade in this course if you're not prepared to put in the work.Rate My Professors ↗
"Lets Thank Our Speaker"Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Intro course on college-level communication, academic research, and engineering ethics, focusing on written/oral skills, audience analysis, and credible sources.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Patrick Fessenbecker
Patrick Fessenbecker's course prioritized vague debates over ethics and assigned graduate-level readings with roughly two days' notice. Students reported the workload exceeded other engineering classes, with exams and quizzes often clustered on the same days. Feedback was limited to video-only responses and arrived over a week late.
No recorded grade history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | INTEREGR 156 | Introduction to Writing, Speaking, and Ethics for Engineers |
| Fall 2026 | INTEREGR 156 | Introduction to Writing, Speaking, and Ethics for Engineers |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_c531a11bd4881936339257ee",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "fessenbecker",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Patrick Fessenbecker",
"email": "FESSENBECKER@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": 9,
"quality": 3.11,
"difficulty": 3.67,
"quality_count": 9,
"difficulty_count": 9,
"profile_id": "rmp:3012373",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3012373",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 18:46:26.156500+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_66966e4ec32912b4aa013042": {
"review_count": 8,
"quality": 3.38,
"difficulty": 3.5,
"quality_count": 8,
"difficulty_count": 8
},
"course_22286be819a541753a8fc1f5": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 1,
"difficulty": 5,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.4887541934458413,
"prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_22286be819a541753a8fc1f5",
"course_id": "INTEREGR 156",
"title": "INTRODUCTION TO WRITING, SPEAKING, AND ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": null
}
],
"revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/PATRICK_FESSENBECKER"
}