Fall 2016 - Course Evaluation Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo Response Table Fall 2016 Raters Students Responded 38 Invited 40 Response Ratio 95.00% Course Related Questions for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II- Distribution of Responses 1. The course was well organized. 2. The course generally followed the syllabus. Mean 4.92 Standard Deviation +/-0.28 3. Class attendance was necessary for learning course material. Mean 4.65 Standard Deviation +/-0.54 4. The course was intellectually challenging. Mean 4.92 Standard Deviation +/-0.28 Mean 4.97 Standard Deviation +/-0.16 Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 1/12
Course Related Questions for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II- Distribution of Responses (continued) Compared to similar courses (ie core, major, etc), this course required: Mean 4.78 Standard Deviation +/-0.53 How would you rate this course overall? Mean 4.08 Median 4.00 Standard Deviation +/-1.04 Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 2/12
Instructor Questions for (Billy Soo)- Distribution of Responses 1. The instructor was prepared. 2. The instructor was available for help outside of class. Mean 4.97 Standard Deviation +/-0.16 3. The instructor returned assignments/tests conscientiously. Mean 4.59 Standard Deviation +/-0.69 4. The instructor showed enthusiasm about the subject matter. Mean 4.94 Standard Deviation +/-0.23 5. The instructor stimulated interest in the subject matter. Mean 4.92 Standard Deviation +/-0.28 6. The instructor's explanations were clear. Mean 4.57 Standard Deviation +/-0.83 Mean 4.68 Standard Deviation +/-0.58 Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 3/12
Instructor Questions for (Billy Soo)- Distribution of Responses (continued) 7. The instructor treated students with respect. Mean 4.86 Standard Deviation +/-0.35 How would you rate this instructor overall as a teacher? Mean 4.73 Standard Deviation +/-0.61 Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 4/12
Course Questions for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Benchmarks 1. The course was well organized. 2. The course generally followed the syllabus. 3. Class attendance was necessary for learning course material. 4. The course was intellectually challenging. Compare to similar courses (ie core, major, etc.), this course required: Compared to similar courses (ie core, major, etc), this course required: How would you rate this course overall? How would you rate this course overall? Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 5/12
Instructor Questions for (Billy Soo) - Benchmarks 1. The instructor was prepared. 2. The instructor was available for help outside of class. 3. The instructor returned assignments/tests conscientiously. 4. The instructor showed enthusiasm about the subject matter. 5. The instructor stimulated interest in the subject matter. 6. The instructor's explanations were clear. 7. The instructor treated students with respect. Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 6/12
Instructor Questions for (Billy Soo) - Benchmarks (continued) How would you rate this instructor overall as a teacher? How would you rate this instructor overall as a teacher? Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 7/12
Comments for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo What are the strengths of this course? Comment Professor Soo is incredibly knowledgable about the subject and about the relevant changes that will be taking place on the CPA exam in the near future, which is incredibly useful for many of us who will be taking the test soon. Honestly, Professor Soo is the strength of this course. It is clear why he is considered the God of Accounting at Boston College, because he quite literally is (pretty sure the Jesuit education does not encourage more than one god but honestly Professor Soo deserves the title so blasphemy is the least of my worries right now). Anyways, it was an honor to take Professor Soo, and he has gotten this course down to a precise science. I feel like I learned so much. I also really appreciated that Professor Soo still took the time to meet with students whenever we would reach out as I realize that he is incredibly busy with his new title, but meeting with him makes any FASTII concept understandable. Professor Soo is a Boston College treasure and I sincerely hope that he continues to teach FASTII among other courses. I was incredibly disappointed to see that he would not be teaching FASTIII in the spring and therefore, I did not take the course. After all, I am a loyal follower. I also fail to comprehend how he was able to return tests so quickly. Another clear sign of other-worldiness. Challenges students and pushes them outside their comfort zone. Exams help in preparation for the CPA exam (in length and difficulty). Professor Soo is extremely knowledgable and helpful. Professor Soo is a fantastic professor and was able to make very complex accounting principles understandable. He was a very fair grader and his expectations for the class were very clear. It is extremely challenging. Professor Soo is very knowledgeable about the subject. Having a printed version of the class notes is incredibly helpful so that I could focus in class on absorbing the material instead of furiously taking notes. Having end of the chapter problems with most if not all the "twists" and reviewing that in office hours also helped me feel far more confident before exams. While this class was certainly challenging, I do feel like I have learned a lot and am more confident in my accounting studies. Professor Soo knows his stuff and is always willing to answer questions in class. Gives good problems to do for homework that help prepare for the tests, as well as practice exams and quizzes from prior years. Class notes are extremely helpful Professor Soo was very good at teaching the material and the use of examples were very beneficial The course material was very difficult but Professor Soo did an excellent job of teaching it. This course teaches students more intermediate topics in accounting. Hard, but professor is good. The class was outlined well. real world accounting skills Feel very well prepared for the CPA Exam after this course. The coursepack with notes and practice exams was unbelievable. I wish every course was this well prepared and organized. Billy Soo is the best! Knows everything there is to know about accounting. Great professor. Slides/course pack make it much easier to learn a difficult subject. I have never learned so much from a class at BC. It is an EXTREMELY rigorous course, but no one goes into FAST 2 taught by Billy Soo and is confused about what will be expected of them, and how hard it will be. It's very tough, but it has allowed me to really learn so much more about business - everything from why Donald Trump can have massive write offs of taxes because of loss carry forwards and carry backs, to what it means for companies to report that they use the equity method on their 10-K. As challenging as it has been, it's very fulfilling to learn the material and be able to understand accounting better. Well structured. Notes that Prof Soo creates make course work manageable Really in depth understanding of accounting Very challenging and very important for accounting career Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 8/12
I <3 Billy Soo. Great CPA Prep class. Prepares you very well for the CPA, very knowledgable professor -covers many difficult chapters very thoroughly -prepares students for exams via practice problems and exams Professor Soo is by far the best teacher I have ever had. He is so genuinely passionate about the subject material, and he makes something as boring as Accounting for Leases seem interesting. I actually feel quire prepared for my internship this summer because I finally feel I understand accounting. I have taken a few classes of accounting before this semester with absolutely phenomenal teachers, but it was not until a semester with Professor Soo that it clicked. Prep for CPA. Gets very in depth. Tests us well Billy soo is a great professor. It's just that the material is so hard, and he expects you to know all the concepts and be able to answer all the questions. It will certainly prepare an accounting student for the CPA exam. The homework both written and done online are really helpful Challenged to deeply understand the course I have never learned more in any class than in this class. Professor Soo is amazing at teaching difficult and relatively dry material. The sample exams and problems he gives are very helpful in preparing for exams. Learned a deep understanding of the accounting concepts taught in class. The lectures and note slides provided clear explanation that was supplemented by practice tests and problem sets, along with in class and online homeworks. Provided a great framework for mastering this challenging material and preparing me for the CPA. How could the instructor improve the course? Comment I do not think that the Connect exercises were beneficial. It costs quite a chunk of money to get the Connect access and the majority of the problems ended up being outdated due to the new guidelines. Overall, I thought those online exercises were a waste of time and I did not gain much from them. Instead, I would suggest adding them to the problem set that is due in class. You do not necessarily need to go over them, but I feel that it is more beneficial to do the problem out on paper than try to type numbers online. I'm sure all your students will be enthused to have more work due in class, but they can suck it up because problem sets are how you fully understand the material. More complex in-class examples. It is so difficult that it seems almost impossible, and I think there are some discrepancies between the homework problems in class, the homework problems online, and the practice tests and practice problems. It could also be made more interesting and sometimes the explanations and lectures given in class do not make sense. Friday afternoon exams are not the best and I feel I could have performed better if they were at a different time. The Connect problems are frustrating because while they are time consuming, they rarely are helpful in preparing for quiz or exam problems. In fairness, I have yet to have an accounting class where I found the textbook very helpful or reflective of the difficulty of the class. Perhaps review a bit more before exams to get a better understanding of the types of problems you'll be expected to answer. N/A The instructor could improve the course by encouraging more class participation. I think it would also be beneficial to do some examples in class with groups of people sitting next to us. Learning from classmates can be very helpful! Nothing slow down and practice more NA Nothing comes to mind really other than it would've been nice to have a TA, but that's not the biggest deal More in-class problem working for students---less pure lecturing. Tough to say because class is hard Keep teaching? Idk...it was hard, and I feel like we all had fair warning going into it. If students did not expect the infamous "Billy Soo's Fast 2" course to be difficult, they should have done more research on it. I mean, really, auditors and accounting professionals who have been out of college for years and years STILL remember Billy Soo's Fast 2. I feel like I am part Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 9/12
of a club. It would have been a gigantic help to have TA's that held office hours. Professor was very available to schedule office hours but could occasionally have used some more assistance. -check student understanding via problems before proceding -give students some time to look at problems as we go over in class It is very, very time consuming, and I am a very involved student, so I could not feasibly receive the marks required to get an A in this class given time constraints. Normally I would complain about this, but I felt I learned so much that I do not think I would change anything. He does a great job It would be beneficial to spend more time on each subject if at all possible. The class often felt sort of rushed. Partial credit for multiple choice quizzes Friday evening exams are certainly not fun Align the online homeworks better with the class material, problem sets, and practice test questions. Hire a TA to assist students who need help or different explanations outside of class. Would you recommend this course to other students, majors, etc.? Why or why not? Comment 4000% Yes. I think everyone should have to take this course, because Professor Soo is the bomb. Everyone should be required to pay tribute to the god of accounting. But in all seriousness, I think every accounting major should be required to take Professor Soo. If you can't handle Soo, probably a good sign that you won't be able to handle accounting in general. I feel like I learned so much in this course; it made my tuition worth every penny. Yes. This course is challenging but really teaches you a great deal. Yes. As an accounting major, this was the most challenging class I have ever taken, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any other accounting major. No. I would highly recommend other students NOT to take this class. It is way more challenging than necessary, very uninteresting, and simply much more work than necessary. I'm not sure if I would recommend it because it was very hard, although I did learn a lot. Yes, I would definitely recommend this course to accounting majors, and perhaps finance majors as well. This class covers a lot of material in depth and I think it will be a helpful step in preparing for the CPA in the coming years. Definitely don't take it if you don't have to, but Soo is a good choice if you do I would not recommend taking this class for fun because it is required but I would recommend taking it with Professor Soo if you have to take it Yes, I would recommend this course to other students who are interested in becoming more serious about accounting. Yes Would recommend to ACCT majors Very difficult subject. Course is required and would recommend taking Billy Soo if you have to take the class. Honestly I would say to other accounting majors what was said to me - FAST 2 with Billy Soo is incredibly hard, but it is worth it to really understand the ins and outs of financial accounting and it will prepare you for the CPAs better than another teacher. However, Billy might not be teaching the class anymore but I would still recommend taking FAST 2 as I have learned so much from it. If they are willing to put in the work yes Only if you're interested in accounting Yeah I would recommend only if with Professor Soo, he is the best. For accounting majors who plan to take the CPA only. Not your everyday course for finance majors (Run along now...go read the WSJ and pretend you know what you are talking about when you quote your ratios...let the accounting majors do their job). Yes would recommend - prepares you well for the CPA, but is very difficult and requires a large time commitment. Yes, Prof Soo is the best accounting professor I've had at BC I would strongly recommend any Accounting major that aspires to take the CPA to take this course. Only CPA pursuing (not like myself) Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 10/12
If you want to actually do well in accounting, take the course. he teaches a lot of in depth and hard material. but if you just want to take a class that will give you good grades, i do not recommend. I would recommend this course only to accounting students- not those outside the major. It is very difficult and may ruin the GPA of a non-accounting CSOM student. Only for accounting majors Definitely to accounting majors. Prof Soo is an amazing teacher and while the class is very difficult it is very fair. Yes, I would. Professor Soo is a legendary professor who has greatly prepared me in mastering this material. It is very challenging and a lot of work, but I appreciate it for the outcome. Additional Comments: Comment Seriously Professor Soo is so smart that its overwhelming. Its awesome. Long-term goal is to be half as smart as Professor Soo. This is genuinely not a joke at all. I really enjoyed this class and would have really loved to take FASTIII with Professor Soo. I think that Professor Soo is asking too much of his students in this class. I do not feel that it is fair in grading and that it is far too difficult. Thanks Professor Soo for a great semester! Hard. I remember one time for the second exam, I woke up from a nap and felt numb from how much stress I was under resulting from prepping for it. I am doing better in this class than I did in FAST I, which clearly shows how great at teaching Professor Soo is. I think Billy Soo is really good at breaking down complex problems and walking you through step-by-step. Also his available outside of class and his one-on-one help really helped me, specifically for the second midterm. In speaking with BC alumni (in public accounting) who have taken FAST II, all of them have said they have yet to encounter problems in real life (or on the CPA exam) that were as difficult as those found in this class... granted this is a double edged sword, as successful completion of this class implies higher probability of success in accounting post graduation, but it certainly makes for a difficult semester Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 11/12
Course Report for ACCT330201_2017F_FINAN ACCT STDS/THEORY II - Billy Soo 12/12