Mark Fontenot is a Computer Science professor at Northeastern University rated 3.46/5 by 892 students, with 3.5/5 difficulty and 54.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Mark Fontenot professor reviews and ratings: 3.46/5 from 892 student reviews at Northeastern (54.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
This guy decided to create a new assignment a week before the group project was due stating that It would help with the group project. When most groups had already gotten past that part of the project which was the easiest part. Also very condescending according to others, I never paid attention much to see this happen tho.CS3200 2026-01-29 20:52:17 +0000 UTC
Dr. Fontenot is far and away my favorite professor at Northeastern. Aside from great teaching skills, he's a great human. Always available to connect outside of class and cares deeply about his students. Also, if you have the chance to apply to the dialogue he runs, 10/10 recommend. Great professor and great mentor, if you can handle a little sass.CS3500 2025-12-03 20:12:49 +0000 UTC
Took this course when he taught it Spring 2025. He made sure that EVERYONE got something out of the class, whether it was through lectures or group projects. He made sure that everything came together nicely so no lecture was ever useless. Fontenot taught us important industry concepts like RAG and AWS.DS4300 2025-11-20 21:07:35 +0000 UTC
He was asked to leave his previous job at SMU for being racist btwCS3200 2026-01-26 18:31:29 +0000 UTC
Hiis lectures are literally useless, spends more time reminiscing about his time in industry than the material Final project was impossible with his rushed semester schedule I'd avoid this professor like the plague if you don't need this class to graduate Don't take this class if you want to learn anything, especially for resumes/co-op interviewCS3500 2025-11-05 00:15:43 +0000 UTC
Fontenot is a great lecturer and his classes are enjoyable. You learn a lot but he's slow at grading and responding outside of class. This semester, he introduced the concept of 'Practicals' which were like mini projects so in total we had 4 HWs (if you submit early you get 2 bonus points), 2 practicals, 1 final project, and 1 exam. Fair grader.DS4300 2025-04-28 18:45:27 +0000 UTC
This is the most realistic response for this class.His exams are pretty difficult I failed both despite studying a lot. For the second exam he lied about what would be on it, and he's genuinely the sassiest professor I've met. He rushes lectures ESPECIALLY the final project. The ONLY reason I passed was extra credit, and he only gives during class.CS3200 2025-12-15 02:02:12 +0000 UTC
I took this professor for a summer section of OOD. He didn't know what we learned in Fundies II and what we were supposed to learn in OOD other than Java. He spent more time making snarky comments and setting up his PowerPoints than actually teaching. The homeworks were often unrelated to or far beyond the scope of the material covered in class.CS3500 2025-04-11 02:10:29 +0000 UTC
I hate to give him a low rating because I genuinely enjoyed his class and what we learned. But the grading is so slow. Stuff we submitted in February still hasn't been graded and we have no idea how well we're doing throughout the class. Also very rude in class, makes students feel uncomfortable by calling them out and drawing attention to them.DS4300 2025-04-25 20:31:26 +0000 UTC
The lectures were not that great, and he often had a condescending attitude. The final project is difficult and rushed, with limited support.CS3200 2025-12-09 19:05:52 +0000 UTC
Classes are heavy, sometimes takes attendance as extra credit. If choose cs3200, make sure to find reliable team members, start the final project earlier! First hw for ds4300 is difficult: write the logic for binary search tree in python and run it. If you meet problems just go to his office and ask him. Final project need you go to every classes!CS3500 2024-12-19 07:41:41 +0000 UTC
Fonte is awesome. Genuinely very caring, hard working, knowledgable. If you put in effort in his class it will pay dividends. Prof is dedicated to creating new engaging assignments that go beyond the book and teach you real skills.DS4300 2025-04-21 21:11:29 +0000 UTC
Very divisive for a few reasons: he's a very knowledgable professor who (I think) cares for students. However, his general demeanor in class, while amusing at times, can be questionable and discouraging for students. Also, gives extra credit but grades harshly, and the final project is quickly paced and not well supported by class lectures.CS3200 2025-12-08 04:54:17 +0000 UTC
Whilst this class was very time intensive, as long as you attended lectures and reviewed materials from labs, everything was very doable. Additionally, I found Fontenot's lectures very engaging and easy to follow.CS3500 2023-09-07 00:07:06 +0000 UTC
Easily the best professor at NU and if you're up in these posts complaining about him you should look inwardDS4300 2025-04-10 15:50:38 +0000 UTC
Mark Fontenot has an average rating of 3.46/5 from 892 student reviews. 54.0% of students said they would take them again.
Mark Fontenot's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.5/5 based on student reviews.
Mark Fontenot has taught CS3200, CS4535, DS4300, CS1200, CS3520, CS3500 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.