Blaine T. Garfolo

Dr. Garfolo is one of the most difficult Professors at SFSU. You absolutely MUST read the material and not expect the course to be "spoon fed" to you. Enter this class with an honest desire to learn and not just "pass the class" and you will leave with solid knowledge. Your grade is basically up to you and your willingness to apply yourself and ASK QUESTIONS if you don't understand what is required. Take advantage of the Office Hours and one-on-one feedback. He has a genuine desire to see students excel, but little tolerance for laziness and lack of effort. He does not hand out undeserved grades and will not play favorites. Your grade is entirely up to you, so be prepared to take responsibility for what you receive. He appears stern and harsh during lectures, but if you meet with him in his office, he is much more approachable. You MUST apply yourself and work in this class. It's not easy, but it will serve you well if you really desire to learn. If you're lazy or unmotivated, you're sunk.

I reccommend taking this course if you actually want to be challenged and learn. By the way, I got a C, but he was fair, and I learned a lot of useful information. Be prepared to devote time and personal effort to getting through this course, and don't blame the instructor for your own lack of effort. It's very difficult so be ready to WORK. Good Luck!!

This teacher is a complete joke. His lectures don't help at all. He just reads off power point slides all day long. He said that you can view his lectures online nope they don't work. Test are a joke too. He said on the first day that 30-40% of the practice test questions are on the test nope not true. Power point slides don't help at all for the test. Just don't take this teacher. Horrible!!! O yea for the project you never even get a grade for it. You do all the work with no feedback at all. This teacher needs to get fired!!! He deserves an F, but if I do that you will not be reading my comment.

STERN, STERN, BUT FAIR

Don't bother go to his lectures or to even watch them online because absolutely nothing he says will be on the exams. Be sure to do all his 'reviews' if you can even find them on his messed up website. All the answers are in the book so if you are capable of reading, you can do well on exams. He actually gives a lecture on website design (hoping to help with the final project) and what NOT to do...and it's everything he DOES on his on website. Find reliable people to work on the final project because it is time consuming, mostly because Garfolo is vague about what he wants from the project. If you email him, you're lucky if you get more than a one-word response, if any. I would've never taken his course if he weren't the only one teaching it.

recomed everyone to take his class, i took his class last semester, it was fun class, you do not have to attend the class, exam little bit hard but he explain everythin just make sure you listen his lecture from his website

He teaches alright, his personality sucks though, kinda arrogant sometimes. unfortunately he was the only one teaching 363 the semester I took it. He speaks well at least. His exams are kinda tricky too.

EXAMS: The online Excel and Access exams are a waste of time. You have to set aside some time to do these tests on such basic things. I learned nothing from them. HANDWRITING: Never saw it. HOMEWORK: The way he assigned work for us was vague. Make use of your email account to ask him details that actually matter. LECTURES: 80% sarcasm. 15%non-subject matter. 5% useful. Your best bet is to read the book. Yes, it is tough aggravating having to bear through his trailer-park-mullet, butt-rocker antics. Just imagine Joe-Dirt ,without the humor, teaching you about info systems in an erratic manner. OUTSIDE CLASS AVAILABILITY: Just email him. There is no need to interact with him face to face. Or rather, face to mullet. PERSONALITY: Sometimes us students aren't in the mood for the sarcasms, personal life events, or whatever he seems to dilute the class with. The first 15-30 minutes of lecture, thats when most of his annoying personality is at its peak. PROJECTS: If the project using Excel had anything new to offer us, then yes, it would be good. Unfortunately, no. The Access one was pretty useless. The only hard thing about doing any of his projects, is motivating yourself to do somethin in vain. For the web project, he teaches HTML when you can just use FrontPage or something. Its total regression. Doing HTML is useless. SPEAKING SKILLS: Sure, he can speak colloquial about stuff we should be taking serious. Yet he can be serious about stuff we should even care about, like some trip to hawaii he had or how he got his checkbook stolen. DO WE CARE?

With not too many 363 teachers to choose from(2). He might be your only choice so bear through it. I guess the purpose of this class is to teach students how to bear through something so useless just because it is a part of life.

Mr. Garfolo's class isn't impossible, and you shouldn't be scared to take it. Yes, he is a jerk. He used online lecture time to harrass his sister in prison about how his parents loved him more than her. He comes across as being extremely arrogant and has a horrible sense of humor. The project is tough- but if you get yourself into a group with people who know how to make websites and databases then it won't be too hard.

i probably wouldn't have enjoyed this class no matter who the teacher was, so I'm not going to bash the content of this course. It was entertaining to watch his lectures because of how ridiculous he is- he's like that skit on Saturday Night Live with Jimmy Fallon playing "Nick Burns- Your Company's Computer Guy" except he's older, greasier, and you're stuck with him for alot longer than 5 minutes at a time.

By far the worst instructor I've ever had. Don't get me wrong, Garfolo knows his stuff, but unfortunately unable to convey or teach his knowledgeable skills and experiences to his students. Garfolo really lacks guidance towards his students. Projects, homework, etc are ridiculously unclear on how to completed them, or where and when they are do. If you take his class, be sure to clarify his syllabus. Another alternative teach is Beckman. Good luck. PS: Since when did pony tails come back in style?

Prof Garfolo is a PAIN!!! My goodness, I can't believe I managed to pass this class. Ok to sum everything up, here's what u should expect outta his class: 4 quizes- 10% total, 1 ecel quiz- 5%, 1 access quiz- 5%, 2 midterms- 30% total, 1 acumulative final- 30%, 1 project (includes web page, finanical report, marketing ad, access database)- 20%. If u actually manage to actually get a decent grades on all of them, then u lucked out. During our semester, he tried doing online quizes, which a lot of people eventually complained about since there was always something wrong, such as the computer crashing or the server would only give a certain amount of questions. Personally for one quiz, I had to retake it over 3 times since theres was always something wrong with it. Argh!!! Needless to say this was a major pain. Overall, I would recommend taking someone else, during the evening session or summer session, just avoid him at all cost if u can.

This was one of the toughest classes I've had since coming to SFSU. This was the first semester the class had an online portion, and I definitely took advantage of it. I went to class for the first month but found it too boring, so I decided to view the lectures online (but, honestly, I didn't even do that). The quizzes (4 altogether) were administered online, but I think that will change because it makes it very easy to cheat. The midterm and final were tough, but not impossible if you read the book or attend his lectures. The web site project is a pain in the butt because there's more to it than just the web site. You must created a database, finacial statements, magazine ads, ect. It is not an easy task. The excel/access homework/tests were pretty easy, but they only make up about 10-15% of your grade. Garfolo is not quite as bad as a lot of people make him out to be. I did go to his office once, and he was helpful (even though he did make me feel like I inconvenienced him). I can't really comment on him as a lecturer since I never really saw him lecture. In short, this class is not impossible to pass, but if you want to get an A or B you have to put in the effort.

Basically, what eveyone says is true...he is an ass and all you have to do is kiss it! I hated attending this huge class to the point that I went to Stonestown instead! The lectures and slides were from the book, so all you had to do was go over those and the old exams and you were OK. Get in a group early and work really hard on the website project. When I went to drop off my packet I talked to him (for the first time) and somehow got an A (I did it totally last minute!) So, personally, I think he likes cute chicks and getting his ego boosted...wouldn't reccomend him, but he is tolerable.

I've taken both BICS 265 and BICS 363 from Dr Garfolo and I think he often gets a bad wrap. At first i didn't care for him but in time he grows on you. The projects in both classes are challenging but if you complete the assignments and put in the effort you'll make it through. For BICS 265 all the quiz questions come straight from the textbook. And for BICS 363 there are copies of the tests on reserve in the library. Give him a chance and you might be surprised.

The first time I was in his class, I already felt that this class was going to be tough, and it sure was. His lectures didn't help much and the book was difficult to understand. Instead, i used several different C++ books which were more helpful. He often discourages and humiliates you. He often lacks patience whenever he explains anything to you. The only way to get through this class is to study with friends, the book and his online notes. He doesn't really lecture at all, he mainly reads off some notes from some publisher on the net. Now the good part: he allows you to retake and correct your own exams. Overall, you're pretty much on your own in his class.

He is an ass....., but he is really trying to make students work for the degree and in the course, so even if you are not perfect in the end he expects it.

In general, I hate large lecture classes. I end up learning very little or nothing at all, as was the case in BICS 363. Garfolo's lectures weren't so bad (compared to Weirsba's BICS 263). My main complaint is many of the exam questions are worded so poorly. In some cases, you have to read it two to three times before you get a hint of what he is really asking. Your best bet is to borrow someone else's old exams and study from that. However, I wouldn't completely disregard the chapter readings. It will be to your benefit to read the book, because Garfolo throws in a few new questions now and then.

I particularly enjoyed creating a website, because I've always wanted to learn how to do it. I used Dreamweaver, and this made my life so much easier. What I recommend is to start this project early. If you wait 2 weeks before it's due, you're guaranteed a bad grade. Garfolo requires tons of attachments--so start right away!!!

I would recommend other students to take another professor. Unfortunately, Garfolo is the only one who teaches it. I'd say just suck it up and stick it out.

I suggest getting tests from friends who have already had the class. It's not worth getting the $90 book! Get in a group for the big project- again get a friend's project to look at. You don't have to go to class- just turn in the stuff on time. This class is more of a waste of time than anything.

Don't take him as you can, this teacher is arrogant and he thinks he is superior than students. I don't think he is like most of his fellow instructors. He is too busy with other work than his students. I don't think a lot of people like him nor getting A's. If your want your A then take the night class. He only counts mostly tests which are very details written in the text. If you only take this class and you want a lot to do then this class is for you. As you can see, 90% of students dislike him, and only 10% of those gets good grades. Only those students evaluate him as a "cool" teacher.

If you can see past Garfolo's arrogance (and believe me, he has an awful lot of it) he's actually not a bad guy. When I've spoken to him in his office he's OK - I think he just likes to show-off when he's lecturing. Before dropping the class based on his personality, go to his office and talk to him one on one - I found it to be much more productive.

As for his exams: phew! Be prepared to go into a level of detail you have never gone into before and, most likely, will never go into again. I agree with some of the other reviews that the exam asks questions on stuff which is totally useless and will never come up in the "real world".

His project is incredibly time consuming. You'd better stay on top of it throughout the semester, otherwise you'll be pulling some serious all-nighters. If you like to sleep, do not leave things until the last minute.

There is a lot of work involved - besides the text book (which is so boring it makes my head swim) there is the project PLUS you have to do Excel and Access in the lab. This class is not one of those where you can skim the text book and get an A. You do need to put in the time.

I graduated from SFSU in 1994 and plowed through Dr. Garfolo's tough class. It was one of the most time consuming classes I had, but also has proven to be one of the most useful in the "real" world. After leaving SFSU I began working with a technology devoid Marketing Research Company. After a while I started the IT department and am now the Director of IT. My only computer class ever was his BICS class. And Yes I called Dr. Garfolo a few times at the begining for some pointers and still talk with him 6 years later. His class was only hard for those that didn't study - like me. I received a B. I'm building a CRM and Knowledge Management system right now and I still can remember him standing in front of the class making sure that we knew to have all parties involved sign off on the storyboards. I can tell you that that single piece of information has saved my but on 3 projects so far and I'm sure it will prove effective on this new initiative as well.

This whole thread sounds like a few students who really haven't worked hard enough. The material isn't that difficult if you plug in and get help. I spent quite a bit of time using his office hours to figure out what I screwed up on . . . ASK HIM!!! I was there a bunch.

Anyone who's looking to take his class. . .plug in to the material. I didn't have any idea of being in IT and I am. My budget is 1.2 million dollars per year. I have developed 2 really strong websites (and one just okay). I'm leading a team that is putting together an Internet company with a privately held, self funded business model. It will work.

His class works!

I think the person that gave DR.GARFOLO a B- was way too generous. The fall 1999 semester was a joke of a class. The last post pretty much summed up the foibles. Having the class in the Stonestown theater was a big lesson in how the cheap the school is. It was also interesting to note that only 5 people got a full A in a class of 400!! Garfolo uses his scatter method to give you a grade, so unless you're above the 90%, you really don't know what you're getting until the very end. In the labs, there was rampant-unbridled cheating. The lab assistants did nothing - almost to a point where cheating was condoned. Asking the lab assistants anything was a waste of energy and time. They knew nothing about the assignments and seemed generally confused about the organization of the class. I do not fault them for their english skills as I suspect they were ignorant about the class and Garfolo's expectations. The lack of english skills may be directed more toward cultural difference. I'm sure they are bright in computer science.

I studied very hard on the chapters and the overpriced software manuals, yet the questions asked on the tests had little to do with the readings - or they were about the detailed minutia. Then to find out that he was going to throw out the first few tests -- the straw was piling on the camel's back quickly.

I was also angry that the FrontPage CD was not included in the book, which meant that he was not going to use it next semester. He could have at least told the bookstore that he hasn't decided yet, so that we could recoup something for this lousy book.

Garfolo can be faulted for not being organized with his lab assistants, lack of foresight in choosing the test software & books, lazy in taking the shortcuts in using a powerpoint presentation in regurgitating the book, spineless or incapable of standing up to the administration for getting most of the sections shoved into one section at the Stonestown theater, vague in his assignments, and tells bad jokes. I suspect he means well, but good intentions and $1.50 can only get you a cup of coffee these days.

Did i learn anything? Yeah. Most shortcuts that I didn't know in Excel and some Access. The rest was "intellectual polution."

For those of you that have to take this class, good luck - because I know there is little to no choice other than to take Garfolo.

As a non-business-major, perhaps I had a unique experience with Dr. Garfolo (ALWAYS call him 'Doctor Garfolo'). I found that the course he teaches is useful for the skills that it develops, but that Garfolo adds little to the syllabus. This semester, a new teaching format was used; all sections of the class met in the Stonestown theatre, and then had seperate lab sections supervised by assistants. Originally all of our tests were supposed to take place online in the lab, but the collosal incompetance of SFSU's technical staff rendered the first half of the semester's test grades useless. Dr. Garfolo accused dozens of students of cheating, but I suspect that actually students were simply attempting to finish unfinished tests caused by computer crashes. Our last two tests, and the final, all took place in the theater via scantron. There were no essay tests at all; the only thing Dr. Garfolo will actually grade himself is the final project, a combination of website, database, finacial spreadsheets in Excel, and a written business case. I was already familiar with Excel and an expert with Access, so I found that portion of the course material easy, but students who were unfamiliar struggled. The textbooks we used this semester were overpriced and poorly written; Dr. Garfolo was very angry with the publishers for not including the website development software with the textbooks, even though they provided it with his evaluation copy, so I expect he will be using different materials next semester.

Dr. Garfolo's lectures consisted entirely of PowerPoint presentations. Every slide was taken verbatim from the main textbook. If you actually study and read the assigned chapters, there is no real reason to go to class at all. Just show up for the tests, and you will do fine. As for the big project, I suggest you don't procrastinate, and start working on it from the beginning of the semester. Dr. Garfolo does a poor job of explaining exactly what he wants to be handed in, so ask specific, direct questions, and don't worry about the expression on his face. Despite personality problems described by other students, Dr. Garfolo will answer your questions and provide whatever help you ask for, provided you are willing to prove you are working hard too. I respectfully suggest that many of the other reviewers of this class are crybabies; yes, this is college, and sometimes you have to really work at a class to be successful. Dr. Garfolo's tests require you to learn all of the material, not just skim it and then BS your way through. The concepts are not difficult, and he only assignes one chapter every two weeks, so you have plenty of time to learn the material.

Forget about the lab. Use the computers if you need them, but do not expect any help from the incompetent student assistants. Mine had poor english skills, and when I overheard other students asking pretty basic questions, her answers were unhelpful, innaccurate, or clearly demonstrated that she failed to understand the question. If you need help with excel, access, or HTML, try one of the many excellent sources online.

Overall, this course took some work but was not as hard as some seem to make it sound. I had no background at all in finance or business, just some computer skills, and I will be recieving an A.

One more comment; I fault SFSU administration for forcing all sections of this class into one room. 400 plus students in one lecture hall means that most students remain anonymous and have little or no direct attention from the instructor. Also, this class should require a basic HTML class as a prerequisite, or else eliminate the website requirement of the final project; non web-saavy students have an unfair disadvantage in the project and will probably recieve lower grades as a consequence.

Prof. Garfolo I feel is an outstanding professor. I would recommend him to anyone who is interested in the CIS field. His exams are hard, but not too hard if you study. Everything he lectures on is in the textbook, no surprises. And even with everyone saying that "he has his favorites" he is still quite fair with everyone with his grading. I am one student that he is fond of, but he doesn't even know my name and I received a "C" for my 1st midterm. So him having his favorites means nothing, don't feel threatened by that. He is really eager to help students during his offices hours. Garfolo likes to joke around and some people are just too sensitive and takes his jokes as humiliation, but please that is what makes Garfolo so unique, don't take his jokes personally, would you rather have a stuffy, boring, serious professor who never smiles and is intimidating? He is very helpful when students ask questions, and he will answer it, even though he may tease you a bit first. I totally recommend Prof. Garfolo and he is one of the best teachers so far that I have had being here at SF State for over three years now.

I had Dr. Garfolo in the spring of 1999 and I am quite surprised at all of the personal comments that have been put on this site. I thought we were supposed to review the teaching abilities of the professors here. I found Dr. Garfolo to be a hard and demanding teacher. He was harder at times I feel than he had to be, but I always believed that he had the student's best interest at heart and his being difficult was how he challenged you to produce more. I think that he could have explained things better and helped a bit more than he did but perhaps that is his style. I worked hard and when I needed guidance, he was available. His lectures were always well prepared and he often brought into the classroom real world examples and problems that he had been working on. I especially liked this as I think to many teachers here are instructing from past knowledge and experiences, not fresh live ones like Dr. Garfolo brought to the class. As for his alleged unprofessional conduct towards women, I found him to be one of the few professors that did not look down my blouse when speaking to me or up my skirt when I was walking up a flight of stairs. I thought that he was always professional, albeit gruff and overzealous about the topic. All in all, however, he was a decent instructor and I did learn from him. These are the types of comments I think the public needs to know when selecting a professor to study under, not the personal mean spirited comments I see in many of the reviews.

"Teach" is not a word I would use to describe what Garfolo does -- he creates an atmosphere where students have no choice but to teach themselves. Read the textbook and follow along in class (remember those books on tape with Tinkerbell? - well just delete the bell and there's Garfolo's class). Homework is nonexistent except for the semester-long group store/website project -- don't wait until the last minute to do this project. ANYTHING can be seen as a collectible, down to cow-crap sculptures. He has a very annoying way of imitating students, but don't let that throw you. Exams are EXHAUSTIVE (not just 'essay') of the points he feels are worthy of writing on the board in diagram form, and don't forget examples -- preferrably the ones he gives in class. Exams are graded fairly arbitrarily, so it never hurts to ask for more points, especially if you're a woman. (side note: ask him to write more legibly on the board, it really gets his goat!) All in all, he's funny but hard; probably a good preparation for the real world.

Mr. Garfolo is not a very good teacher. The lectures were straight from the book, which you have to spit out for the essay tests. He claims that he wants to see that you "think" on the tests, but you really don't have to because it is all memorization. Garfolos ideal student would be a pretty female who enjoys making web pages, creating databases, and memorizing stuff. For the people who hated the html part of it, they are being kinda lame because html is not that hard and they probably waited until the last minute to do it. On the other hand, Garfolo should have gone over the database setup because who remembers how to set up a DB from BICS 263? If you like computers and don't mind memorization I would suggest this class, otherwise don't bother.

I would rate Dr Garfolo a "BIG A". The reason is that he teaches you everything from real life expereince something that you don't get with much of the professors. As far as you students that are giving him f's and d's. I have one question for you. What grade did you get in his course? the reason he does what he does is because he has no room for slackers.

Dr. Garfolo is a very good lecturer. His tests are hard since they are essay questions but it is possible to do well if you try hard enough. His lectures keep you awake and aware of what he is trying to teach you. After teaching you how to make web pages, you have a lot more options for your future career. One problem about him is that he does get rude with students when they try to participate. He also gets a little irritating when talking about his favorite collectibles but other than that, his lectures and tests are fair and beneficial to students' futures.

**** Four Stars! I highly recommend Dr. Garfolo's class. He loves to teach and it shows. His exams are difficult but fair. There are no trick questions in his exams. You just need to read the book and take good notes in class. I find his lectures very enjoyable.

Dr. Garfolo is a fantastic teacher; I wish there are more like him. I can't understand why some students in this review bash him. We are talking about the same B. Garfolo with the long hair aren't we? I always enjoy his lectures. I've learned alot from his class. Never mind his long hair. He's never boring.

I found Garfolo's class enjoyable. I especially liked the WEB page portion of the project. From looking at what my friends did in other classes, he took us further than the other instructors did. His exams are all essay, so be prepared to write. He likes detail, not 1 sentence answers. This is good as it gives you a chance to explain what you know unlike most of the lazy professors scantron exams. Be prepared to work and you will do well. Class participation is a must as half a letter grade depends on it. Many people complained that they got C grades but if they participated in class discussions, they could have gotten a B-. He also does well in relating his outside industrial experience with the classroom lecture.

He is to the point and loves to teach. His lectures are prompt and he lets you work on a major class project in class. He talks very load so everyone can here him. There is a major project to be done which sucks, but if you like computers and designing, this is for you. You work in a group, the good part, but have to do major research. His test are hard, but if you listen to the lectures and come to class you will do fine. The only thing is that you are based on 3 test instead of four, and all the tests are essay -based. Trust me, you will LEARN something in this class! There is little homework, which is a very very good thing!

I just had Garfolo. I agree, he is a lot of work, but I did learn alot. He is very passionate about his subject. He knows the field well and gives many examples from work he is doing. Some of what I have learned from him is already being put to use at my job. He is not easy, but if you give him a chance you will find the course to be very rewarding. Contrary to popular belief, he did not once sprout horns or spit fire while I had him.

this guy really dont know how to teach or maybe the way i learn things is different. his lectures are not productive at all. he just read off the book. if that is what is needed then i shouldnt be taking the class at all. for me the book is just for reference and if the instructor is good at LECTURING about the content, then the book isnt necessary. you can study your brains out and still get a bad grade on his so called exams. i was actually excited about the web project because it was something i had never done before. but all he did was show his example, passed out a html sheet and you were on your own. when i went to his office, he actually kept me waiting for 30 minutes while he was taking care of some unpaid bills or soemthing. and he obviously has favorites and the favorites tend to do much better in his class. go figure. like i said, the way he "teahces" isnt the way i learn things. whatever his method is,its not working. for some maybe but not the majority and i doubt everyone who got a bad grade in his class is lazy. he really needs to outline what he wants, what he is looking for and what students can expect. and PASS OUT A SYLLABUS. is that so hard for someone with a PHD?

CLASS DESCRIPTION: In this one and a half hour class, we get out in a half an hour. He comes in, shows us a java program that he did, and lets us copy it on our disks. I'm not even sure that he wrote those programs because I saw one on the web EXACTLY like the one he showed us in class. So he doesnt really lecture. He justs gives us all these java programs and expects us to analyze it, understand it, and apply it to our homework or projects. There is no set curriculum. He makes up the curriculum as he goes. Well, I dont know if thats the BACS dept fault for just adding this course in the last minute or what. He gives us whatever homework, test, or project he feels appropriate. Yes heshard teacher. But thats only because we have to learn by ourselves. If I wanted to learn by myself and receive sample java programs, I would just look on the Web.

TESTS: So far had one in-class exam and one take home exam. Hard.

INTELLIGENCE: Hes very smart. Especially in database stuff I heard. So I feel sorry for all those ppl taking his database classes. OFFICE HOURS: When I went to his office hours and told him my programming problems, he told me to go and ask another student, like he was busy or something. Hello???....I thought office hours were for students and not for using the time to work on some huge outside non-school project.

PERSONALITY: Hes a cool guy, but not a good teacher.

OTHER COMMENTS: There are about 10 ppl left in class.