Three 5.0 scores, a 4.3 and a chili pepper all add up to seven in this equation.
RateMyProfessors.com, a website allowing students to score and review professors across the nation, released its annual top 25 professor rankings Tuesday. Bridget Middleton, a Santa Fe College professor, was listed as No. 7.
“Most students go online to complain about their teachers,” Middleton said. “I’m really honored that my students think this highly of me to go make positive comments.”
Middleton is an academic foundations professor teaching developmental mathematics at SFC. She has been a professor for 15 years and started teaching at SFC in 2001.
“Her students come into my office and say glowing things about her,” said Kathleen Arnold, SFC mathematics department chair.
Middleton said she loves teaching at SFC because it is a school that values its students. It makes sure their needs are always put first, she said.
RateMyProfessors allows students to score their professors, schools and classes based on a few set criteria. Each year, these points are totaled and tallied to make a list of the top 25 rated professors to be released on its webpage.
Middleton was given a 5.0 for helpfulness, clarity and overall quality, a 4.3 for easiness and even a chili pepper for hotness, which is a nonacademic rating the website uses to scale a professor’s physical attractiveness.
Students on RateMyProfessors have described her as “the best teacher I’ve ever had,” “very aware of her students” and “highly recommended.”
Academic Foundations Department Chair Carole Windsor, described Middleton as meticulous in making sure each student understands the material taught in her classroom.
“She is very popular,” Windsor said. “She treats all students with respect, creating a safe environment for them to ask questions and learn.”
Middleton credits her success to her high school math teacher, who inspired the way she chooses to teach her students today. The fact that she cared and took the time to help no matter the situation was a big deal to her, she said.
A former student, 22-year-old Tabitha Gathright, said even after she was finished with her class Middleton would stop her on campus to ask how she was doing.
“Commitment,” Middleton said when asked the difference between a good and a great professor. “Caring and commitment to your students.”
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 9/19/2013 under the headline "Santa Fe math teacher makes the grade on RateMyProfessors"
