Fiegel, Gregg  

This is a very pointless class. Most people slept through it. All you have to do is attend for credit. Don't bother buying the recommended books, they are not necessary unless you want to do some pleasure reading on becoming a practical CE. It was a waste of time but it's required for CE majors.

i thought the class was beyond easy and quite helpful. fiegel is a good guy who is kinda obsessed with geotechnical engineering and it shows in this lecture but still he presents good info to students wanting to go into any CE field. in response to the previous eval i have to say that this class is not pointless...im a 3rd year that switched majors and the stuff i learned in this class could have saved me time in previous years at calpoly.

this class is boring...take hw from another class or a cd player and sit in the back row. all he does is goes on and on about how good of a engineer he is and has stupid people come in to present on alcohol awareness...he is a bald fag

Intro class. Show up and get credit. Play with matches, write a one page paper, and that's about it. Great guy, easy class.

First off, this class is really easy. Just show up to every class, write one paper and do a simple project towards the end of the quarter. Your allowed to miss one class. Fiegel will just ramble on to his students about what you need to do to become a civil engineer. But most of the time he just brags about himself and how he has passed every test in the world. lol. Very chill class.

CE 111 is very very boring. Take homework from another class or have your buddy sign you on the attendence sheets. Thought the class was a waste of time. The matchstick bridge was kind of interesting, but it was one lousy project for the whole quarter.

Avoid the class. Its not even worth the one credit. Take it when you're a senior and Fiegel will dismiss you. I'm still not sure why I bothered.

Well, a CE intro class, pretty much a chilled class, not much but a 1 page about this reading, some other stuff, and a bridge project. I think that the bridge of matchsticks was fun. No final or any tests what so ever. Just show up as attendance counts in passing as it is credit/ no credit course. Pretty much an easy class, take it as you have to for CE majors.

This was my favorite class during my first quarter. Dr. Fiegel is a great speaker and makes the class simple and enjoyable. All of the lectures consisted of power point slides about what Civil Engineering is and what CE majors can do. My class had 3-4 fun group projects including a scavenger hunt, a few short papers, and a matchstick bridge. Most of the students are freshmen and I think the class is only offered during first and maybe second quarter, so take it in the fall. Have fun!

Honestly, it was impossible to fail this course if you just tried to do what he said. It was an intro course, so sit back, don't take notes, be in class, and try to do a good job on your bridge, because it is fun. There was some work that almost seemed like busy work, but really, little effort needed for the class. Fiegel is a nice guy too.

I'm sorry, but this class was kind of a joke... and I wouldn't be surprised if Fiegel feels the same way. He's an awesome guy, and there are a few important pieces of advice I'll keep in mind, but almost everything we did felt like busy work. Show up to class, sit through the powerpoints, do the short, easy assignments he hands out... credit! And don't waste your money on the book!!! Readings are supposedly assigned, but it's for your benefit only... he doesn't even bring them up at any point during the class.

super easy class, well presented and well taught. fiegel is a great engineer and knows his stuff.

Great lecturer, but he kept trying to get everyone to focus their major on geotechnical engineering despite no one liking it. He also had a weird obsession with looking at some dog rating website during class.

He is a LIAR. Don't try to take the most pictures or build the best bridge, the "prizes" don't really exist. He and all of his TA's know it. Also, I'm pretty sure he doesn't even look at any of the pictures for the scavenger hunt despite is comical stories about he and his wife. The only way to not get credit is to not go to the professional society meeting or skip class more than twice. Honestly, there's no reason to skip the class, but if you have to just get someone else to grab a form and sign it for you. The class is the easiest you will ever take.

Fiegel is a very well educated and helpful professor. He's a great engineer and knows his stuff. The only thing that bothered me was that he always focused on geotechnical engineering because that's what he's all about. For CE 111 you basically just have to show up to get credit.

Quite frankly this class is a waste of time. Fiegel does his best to try and keep you interested but I got the feeling he doesn\'t want to be there anymore than you do. All you really have to do is show up once a week for an hour and look like you put in at least an hour of work to your matchstick bridge. As well as turn in the two or three assignments he gives you. Non of which are particularly difficult but they are all required to pass the class.

The easiest class Ive ever had. Its just pass/fail so all you have to do is show up to 9/10 lectures, turn in few really easy homework assignments, and construct a matchstick bridge. Its a short 1 hour lecture that seems to pass by in 25 mins. I used this class as the perfect time to set up my Fantasy Football team before the weekend. As long as their aren't guest speakers you may bring your laptop and just browse facebook or even skype people.

CE111 is a basic intro class. It's only an hour once a week but take it seriously because it's a resource to help you and it really does help. Go to every lecture because you'll learn something new everytime, things that really do help you. So even though you could go and just space out or do homework and not pay attention, your there anyways and you might as well learn something.

Fiegel seems like a good professor, I had him in CE111 which was not much of a course, but he guest lectured in CE381 and presented the material well. However, as a freshman I forgot to turn in a meaningless paper about civil engineering in general. I apologized and offered to write something more extensive to make up for the mistake. He made me write how bad engineers cause failures that hurt people. Then told me I would be a bad engineer because I forgot his sheisty little paper. Great professor, but can be self-righteous at times.

For CE 111, just attend all the classes. You have to build a bridge out of matchsticks but just plan ahead with your teammates and you will pass.

Since the course I took with him was the most basic Civil Engineering course, there is really not too much to say, as the course itself was a simple introduction to the major, and the class consisted of about 200 other students. Nevertheless, there is really nothing bad to report, except that it was a little bit too easy to fall asleep during a powerpoint.

There is no doubt that the class i had Dr. Fiegel for was extremly easy. What i enjoyed about him is that he encourages everyone to take advantage of all the resources they have at Cal Poly. In my own experinces he has helped me with w/ everything i have had a doubt about, and makes sure he has help me to the his ability.

161 is hell. Plain and simple. The homework is insane and the projects are over the top. Oh, and you also have community service requirements that you're supposed to fulfill without any guidance from the Honors Admin. The microthemes (weekly essays for homework) are graded as if it's your English Master's thesis or some shit. 161 is the first of 3 classes (161, 162, 163) you take your freshman year as an honors student. So buckle up. However, Fiegel is THE man. He responds to emails within 10 minutes (provided that you send them at a reasonable hour) and he provides an in-depth answer, no matter how dumb you may think your question was. There are no dumb questions in Fiegel's eyes. tldr; fuck yeah to Fiegel, HELL FUCKING NO to 161.

This dude is the nicest person on the planet. I would love to have him as a professor for another class sometime. HOWEVER, HNRS 161 is the most bullshit class on campus. It is two units and you have to write 10 essays and do a group project. They act as if you aren't taking other classes and just assign you hella shit. If you are in the honors program, great job, but I feel bad for you having to take this class as well as 162/163. Good luck not shooting yourself in the head when you see how much work is required in this class.

161 is not that bad. This is one of the few classes I took my first quarter that I actually felt was a college course. The course requires biweekly micro theme essays that rely on assigned reading from the week before. If you budget your time, the readings really aren't that bad and if you have an interest in sustainability and globalization, this class is great! Fiegel and Trice Co-teach this class and from what I've heard, Trice grades easier. Both instructors are so engaged in the content and seem to genuinely care about their students which is really refreshing. Simply put: you get out of this class what you put in.

More of the same.

Fiegel is one of the best professors I've had at Cal Poly! He is very organized and easy to understand during lecture. He has you print out lecture notes for each topic covered in class and you pretty much just follow along and take notes on what he writes on the board. There is no homework in this class, but he gives you practice problems at the end of each note packet that directly relates to his example problems and are very helpful in preparing for the quizzes and exams. There is usually a quiz at the end of lecture, so it greatly pays off to do the practice problems beforehand and go over your notes. He also randomly calls on students, which I honestly think is very helpful and gets you very engaged in the material. As long as you went to office hours, went over the note packets, practice problems, and quizzes, and actually went to lecture, you will have an easy time and be very prepared for the midterm and final. I definitely recommend Fiegel! He is an amazing professor and made this class very interesting!

Here is in my opinion the best professor in the department. Not only is he great during lectures but also very helpful during office hours. He treats students with respect (only guy I know that remembered my name after the first lecture) He is fair and his grading policy is great letting you choose the weight of the final. The only negative remark might be that he is a soft-spoken man, which can be a problem in those 8 am geotech courses.

Dr. Fiegel is a great professor. He has a great understanding of all the material, and teaches it in such a way to let you discover the material through his lectures. He is fair in that he allows you to weight the final grade. Try to get your hands on some old quizes, but most importantly, do ALL the suggested homework...(even the first day)...most of his quizes are straight from the HW. He will give you a quiz everyday and expects you to keep up on it. It's hard, but you learn alot. And he is MUCH better than any other Geotechnical professor....no names (DR. DeNatale)

fiegle is probaly one of the best instructors in the department. he lets you wieght you grade based on the performance on quizzes. keep up with the material and you should be able to get a decent grade without taking the final. the book is useless (unless you plan to take more geotech classes). he gives you a notes packet with the suggested hw. the solutions are in the library, so just study them for like 20 min. before the quiz and youll do fine. the quizzes are pretty much straight from the homework, hes clear, straightforward, and easy to get along with.

Dr. Fiegel is great. This has got to say something when a student walks away with a F and still likes the professor. His office hours compensate for the monotone-ness during lectures. He explains things like it's a performance. Completely organized in his explanations and will make what was confusing clear as daylight. If it's too monotone for you, sit up front, it might spice things up.

Choose Denatale over Fiegel. Denatale is straight forward, a straight shooter, and clear, concise, and the way he explains things are overall more understandable than Fiegel. Fiegel is soft spoken, and seems like he's not really excited about the material. His tests seem like they are written by him, or anything but a textbook; the problem statements are confusing and wordy. I do not recommend this professor for this class.

Dr. Fiegel is an excellent instructor w/ high standards. I took most of his classes (including deep and shallow foundations) and found him a consistently good lecturer. He takes interest in students and can become a friendly face during your senior year. Respect the guy and he'll respect you back. In brief: high expectations, semi difficult material, good presentation, good prof.

Fiegel: What is the permeability of Clay? A. 0.0101 B. 0.01001 C. 0.0110 D. 0.00101 E. 0.1001 F. 0.010101 G. 0.01000 H. 0.0110 I. 0.0011 J. None of the above K. Some of the above L. Two of the above M. Three or less of the above N. Between two and four of the above O. Not greater than 4 of the above P. Clay doesn

So are you saying that the permeability of clay is four orders of magnitude less than => J.) None of the above? Guess you failed to read all the answers, common mistake on Fiegel

I was very happy to have taken 381 with Dr. Fiegel. He is a tough professor who requires you do a lot of outside work to do well in his class. The class is structured so that you print out the entire course's lectures in almost a book form (he wrote them). He goes through them each class meeting, filling in and clarifying things as he goes. I found they were extremely helpful, as I was able to simply listen and really focus on what he was saying through each lecture (instead of scrambling to write everything down and walking out of the class nearly as clueless as I was when I walked in, which is how I typically feel). He writes all of the homework, so they are tailored to his style of asking questions. The homework is never due, but you must do it to do well and keep up in the class. Daily quizzes are given, and constitute 30% of your grade (for ~15 quizzes). One midterm is given halfway through the quarter, and is a 30 question multiple choice test worth 35% of your grade. The final is worth the other 35%, and is also multiple choice. The tests are conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative, so know your stuff going into them. The quarter I took CE 381, the midterm was curved 4 points... but I'm not sure if that's a typical range or not. I went into the class not expecting to enjoy geotech (I'm more into water), but Fiegel made me enjoy it so much that I'm taking 481 this quarter.

Fiegel is a must. He puts so much effort into teaching you the best he can. If every teacher were half as devoted as he, polyratings.com probably wouldn't exist. Some might say he demands a lot from you (quizzes just about every day) but they're an easy A if you completed the homework (not collected). His voice can sometimes put you to sleep in the early morning, but just drink coffee. He's super approachable, loves every question you ask, and is just a great guy. Take him.

Dr. Fiegel is one of the best, if not the best, professor I have ever had at Cal Poly. He is impressively organized and his notes are extremely thorough. He has a PDF of his notes for the quarter that you fill in as he lectures. He color-coordinates as he writes on the board. Dr. Fiegel lays out everything you need to know and there was never a curveball question on a quiz or test. The only "downside" of this class is that there are quizzes almost every class. We had 19 quizzes total during the quarter I took 381. The homework questions at the end of each topic are very relevant to what he would ask on the quiz or test. So basically, do the homework problems and if you understand them, you will be fine. Lastly, Dr. Fiegel does not make this class easy. There is a lot of material to cover too. During office hours, he is the so understanding and very mellow so you should not be intimidated by him at all. His blunt sense of humor is pretty funny also. :)

Great teacher. Like everyone below me said already, do the hw and know how to do every problem. All the quizzes should be a walk in the park, however the tests were a little more challenging. The final seemed much more challenging than the midterm or the quizzes, however I'm thinking it was heavily curved. He doesn't provide the solutions to the hw so make sure you do them early, because when you're studying for the test the night before, you won't know how to do them unless you had gone into office hours previously.

Fiegel is the kind of guy you like when you first meet, then slowly start losing that quality the more you get to know him. He is very friendly under most circumstances but often gives very difficult questions on tests and quizes. He has a good grading policy, which helps you a lot, but doesnt do the homework he assigns so he doesnt know if it has an answer until after you turn it in. Decent teacher, but there are better ones.

Dr. Fiegel is a very good professor overall. I felt like he made this material a little harder than it needed to be and I wasn't able to raise my grade much even with extra effort at the end, but that was obviously my fault too. The hardest part about this class and the secret for doing well is to study for the quizzes that are at the end of EVERY CLASS. It really makes you stay on top of the material

FALL 2012 REVIEW. HOMEWORK was not collected. It was 'suggested', and I HIGHLY SUGGEST putting aside some time to use them as review problems the day OF and the week OF to really get the Geotechnical material into your head. Fiegel is VERY VERY organized, and that was sort of my downfall in going into the final with a B+ in hopes of an A or A-, but falling to a B- because of not putting his organization to my benefit. Even though things are written out for you, if it helps you to rewrite your notes and do the example problems from class over again, DO IT. TESTS were harder than the homework, but just a little. They are exactly on par (plus a lil more oomphf) as the practice homework problems. LAB 382. Great Lab, REPORTS ARE KEY to a good grade. Hopefully you like to put trust into people and you make a group work, because that's what will help. Labs are easy, and it reinforces the concepts from the previous week in Lecture. Just make sure your LAB FORMAT is exactly as he wants it, and make a True Clean Read and Effort in your research and report writing. Think of them as official documents =)

The professor can be very picky on the labs. He looks at every single detail on the reports and sometimes even checks to see if the work cited is accurate. It was hard to get an A on the labs. However, we averaged around a B average on them. Labs can be finished less than 3 hours. There is a lab report due almost every week and then the final during dead week. The final wasn't hard and it tested basic knowledge of the labs each week.

This guy could be such a wonderful instructor if he would just put some heart into it. He just seems completely bored and zoned out. What a shame

Sorry, but the permeability of clay is at least four orders of magnitude less than any of the answers below. Apperntly the student who previously rated Fiegel doesnt care about doing his/her homework. Fiegel wants students to excell, and he is extremely methodical in his teaching method. Wheather its multiple choice or partial credit, the students who TRULY know the matieral do well, and the others complain. Do your homework and go to his office hours if you need help. I strongly recommend Fiegel.

This is the second class I have taken with Fiegel. He is an excellent instructor who provides detailed class notes and does a very good job when teaching. He assigns weekly homeworks that can be quite extensive (around 3-4 hours), but these directly prepare you for the exams which then requires minimal studying for the exam. His tests can be difficult but are not impossible. They were given in two parts: a closed book portion that was short answer based off of the lectures and an open note/open book portion that was question based and are just like the homework. In my opinion, this class was much easier and more interesting than his 381 course. Overall, I would absolutely recommend Fiegel and 481 Shallow Foundations as an ATE.

This was the hardest class that I ever taken at Cal Poly. Dr Fiegel cares about his students. He actually tailored the entire syllabus to what the students wanted to learn by handing out a survey. I am a structures engineer, but I wanted to learn a bit more about geotech. This class is designed to be the last course you ever take at Poly if you are a Geotech, so for me I felt very lost. However, Dr. Fiegel was very helpful at answering all of my questions. I just felt I didn't have enough background knowledge when entering the course. If you are a geotech, I highly recommend this course with Dr. Fiegel.

BOYCOTT!!!