Class record · THEO · MCAS

THEO 5007

Mahayana Buddhism: Thought and Practice · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections

What the course score is made of

85BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2023 – Fall 2024

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

64thMore challenging than 64% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

93BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

This course explores Mahayana Buddhist thought, meditation practice, narrative, and ritual practice across Asia. We consider texts ancient and modern. After a basic introduction to Buddhism, we take up topics ranging from meditation, to compassion, nirvana, emptiness, Buddha nature, Zen, and Mahayana Buddhist ethics. Our focus is on fundamental theological questions: What are the causes of suffering? How can meditation and ethical practices illuminate sufferings causes, and put an end to them? What is the state of unconditioned awareness, freedom, and joy that lies beyond suffering? Most importantly, what does this all have to do with me? No background in Buddhism is required.

The only instructor on record

3 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Matthew ValeTheology	893 records	78th	64th	706 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Matthew Vale is the only instructor with evaluation records for THEO 5007, so the number is a record, not a position. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Matthew Vale

3 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
THEO 1430Buddhism and Christianity in Dialogue	1043 records	85
THEO 1725Contemplative Responses to Suffering: Buddhism and Christianity	12 records	79
THEO 8063God and the Ultimate	11 record	100

Other THEO classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
THEO 1402God, Self, and Society	55175 records	82
THEO 1091Perspectives on Western Culture II/Perspectives II	41125 records	86
THEO 1088Person and Social Responsibility I	19120 records	87
THEO 1401Engaging Catholicism	43114 records	78
THEO 1090Perspectives on Western Culture I/Perspectives I	33107 records	85
THEO 1089Person and Social Responsibility II	2598 records	90

The line

All 13 items · means across 3 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

9670th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9238th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9456th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9664th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8625th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8829th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9136th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8830th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

540th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

797th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9364th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

9038th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

3 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Matthew Vale	Fall 2024	01	86	84	60
Matthew Vale	Spring 2024	01	85	83	60
Matthew Vale	Spring 2023	01	98	89	60

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.