2.8
Quality3.6
Difficulty48%
Would Retake86
Reviews48%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
86 total ratings5
16
4
15
3
18
2
14
1
23
What Students Say
“Pros: nice respectable guy, always willing to help during office hours, gives clear outlines of what to expect on quizzes/tests, thorough grader, organized with handouts/resources on Canvas”
CHEM2045 - 3.0 rating“Alpheus is a really great guy, he's not out to set you up for failure”
CHEM2045 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
25%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.34 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM2045
3.2
(17)CHM2046
3.2
(5)CHM1025
3.0
(28)CHM2045
2.6
(24)INTROTOCHEM
2.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
CHM2045008
4.0
CHEM2046
4.0
CHM2045
3.8
INTROTOCHEM
3.8
CHEM2045
3.7
Reviews (85)
This guy is great. He is very kind and funny. His lectures are organized and he will do his best to help you out. If you study the power points and do the work in the book there is no reason you shouldn't get an A or a B. His tests are fair and cover the material well. Great chem professor!
Very funny guy. He will keep you entertained with his mannerisms and lecture. He is very helpful and will do his best to make sure you understand the material. His tests are medium difficulty depending on how much you study. He wants you to succeed!
Dr. Alpheus Mautjana Is A Really Good Professor. The Key To Getting A Really Good Grade In His Class Is To The Practice Problems In The Book!!! He Tells Us That Experience Is The Best Teacher And By Doing The Practice Problems You Should Get At Least A/B In His Class! He Wants Everyone To Succeed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! He Is 1 Of The Best
Hes funny, but not the easiest professor to understand especially if you struggle with Chemistry. His tests are fair, but a little unclear. Basically you have to study hard in order to get a B. Lectures sometimes feel a bit rushed. Would only recommend if you have a solid understanding of Chemistry.
This professor is a complete jerk!! He does not prepare you well for chemistry 1, and is super unorganized! He gets mad when he makes a mistake and you correct him! I would not recommend this chemistry professor if you needed to take upper level chemistries in the future.
Worst professor ever. I just can't understand what he saying. JUST DON'T TAKE HIM. TEST is very hard than what he taught us. He tried to explain and be kind, but you can't get a good grade.
DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR!!!REPEAT DO NOT TAKE!!!!! you have been warned. He is from south Africa and his english is hard to understand. he will spend about 75% of the class period talking about random stuff not pertaining to chem. if you need to have a strong foundation in chem DO NOT TAKE HIM, he will leave you struggling to catch up
This class was extremely frustrating. Chemistry is hard enough as it is and Alpheus did not make it much easier. He has a thick accent and is very hard to understand. He is very nice and he is understanding if you need extra help. However, I still couldn't understand him. Just be prepared to teach yourself chemistry if you end up taking him.
He does not really teach. He confuses students who work and study hard, and is unclear about many things. Lectures are cut short because of his random stories that are unrelated to the material. Accent isnt as terrible as some say.
Professor is only helpful if you visit office hours. Labs do not always correlate with lectures. Study Guide only given for final. When he says a quiz or test is off class slides, it can literally be any of the slides from the first day of class to the most recent class.
Nice guy, horrible teacher.
Honestly, not a great teacher at all. His accent is extremely thick and hard to understand. He passed back probably two of the numerous tests/quizzes/assignments we turned in. Very bad with communication - sent him numerous emails with no response. Would not suggest taking him.
Pretty awesome teacher. Chem is rough and it sucks. Most teachers are really boring and monotonous. M clearly loves chemistry and has a lot of experience. Demand your money's worth from this class, and you'll get it. Expect to sit and absorb the info, and you'll be sorely disappointed. I enjoyed the lectures & I liked the class.
Horrible teacher, in the 2nd test he took points off because too many people got a set of questions correct and he decided they were worth too much. He rambles on and on during lecture constantly making pointless analogies that don't even make sense. Also, his quizzes and tests aren't what he taught in class. Managed an A but had to self-teach.
The worst prof. I have ever had in my life. Chemistry was not a hard subject but he made it very hard. Does not teach at all. Screws up on exams. Does not offer a curve although all other chem prof. do. DO NOT RECOMMEND. I wish I'd heed the warnings of ratemyprofessor.
I would not recommend this teacher. He is horribly incompetent, has faulty exams, and did teach everything that was on the final. He is a nice guy... But not a nice teacher.
Mautjana lectures from his slides which are all I needed to make an A on the final. Great teacher, despite all the whiny students in the class.
He reads directly off the slides which can be a bit annoying, but he really cares about his students. Ask questions and he will try 105% to answer them- you just have to ask. His tests are only hard if you didn't study notes, do homework, and a few problems. He is the king if half credit. Very sweet teacher.
STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! Even on the first day work on everything he mentions. This class is difficult to pass if you don't on the material outside class and reviewing will not cut it. You really must practice the material.
When I went into chem-1 I was expecting all of the horror stories of ratemyprofessor reviews.. but this class was actually really easy if you studied and did the work. He really wants people to pass and do well. He gave an extra test to make up for one the class did bad on. I ended up with an A in the class. if you try you should do fine.
Great guy! He really is a kind and extremely helpful in his office! His lectures are very long and dreary and he usually goes over class time (like 10 minutes), but if you really pay attention and ask questions, you'll do fine. His tests, compared to other professors are simple (multiple choice) but people still failed. Put the work in,worth it!
A good guy, bad at explaining, isn't a Chemistry expert himself, exams and lectures are relatively irrelevant, way too many metaphors during lectures, which makes his class rather boring, he made me lose interest in Chemistry.
Lectures can be a bit jumbled some times(uses a lot of metaphors) that seem to go off track of the subject. The class consist of 4 test all which are passable, yet many people still failed them. Go to office hours and he will do what he can to help you pass. Compared to other CHM professors at Santa Fe who all are rude... Mautjana is very kind.
Alpheus is awesome! I had no interest in Chemistry before this semester. He ignited a passion in me. He was very helpful! His accent took me about a week to get use to, but it isn't bad. Great guy, passionate about chemistry, very funny, truly inspirational! I would take him for any chemistry he is teaching. Do the work and study Good grades.
He has an accent but it is easy to understand him. He is always there to help and his tests are easy (for chemistry) if you study. He is a lenient grader and gives quizzes to help prepare you for his tests. i recommend emailing him about studying for tests because he does not give study guides. Go to his office hours! He wants you to succeed.
i love the teacher he is great. he makes chemistry fun. you jusr have to practice and take notes
He is a fantastic teacher. For sure take this guy.
Alpheus is an amazing teacher who really cares about his students. He makes himself available outside of class and is always willing to go the extra mile to help you understand tough concepts. I can honestly say he is one of the best professors I have ever had. Go to his office hours, read the book, and you'll pass.
Professor Mautjana is a great guy, but his class is horrible.
THICK ACCENT! gets confused a lot, and does not know how to break it down for students. Vague explanations for lab. Expects too much. Very monotoned. Talks past class time. Made me lose interest in chemistry :(
Professor Mautjana is an amicable person who has a great deal of passion for his work. His lectures are thorough, and his tests are reasonable. He gives ample help after class hours. I highly recommend this professor.
Wonderful as a person, not so great as a teacher. Take him for intro but steer clear for anything higher.
Professor Mautjana is a very sweet man. No surprises on the tests/quizes. he is lenient when grading and always in a good mood. if you're the kind of person who asks a lot of questions in class, take him.
Alpheus is a really great guy, he's not out to set you up for failure. He's available after hours for any additional help you may need, not going to lie you have to work for your grade but its chemistry... it's not supposed to be easy. If you're like me and like to teach yourself then this class is for you.
I took Mitchell for intro and Alpheus is the complete opposite of him. Mitchell is a terrible guy but a great teacher; whereas, Alpheus is a great guy but terrible teacher. Also take the lab earlier in the week, have a thursday lab and I swear we don't learn some of the things till the lab after the test.
Started the class with hope, after achieving an A in intro I felt I could at least get a C in this class. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. The tests were incredibly difficult and when the highest grade in the class on test two was 67% he refused to go over the material briefly to help us understand what we had done wrong.
He's a nice enough person and definitely knows a lot about chemistry, but he has no business being a professor. Lectures were jumbled and he would often go off on tangents into things way beyond our level for an hour. When asked what we should study for tests he would refuse to even tell us the chapters. Labs failed to produce results. DO NOT TAKE.
He definitely cares about his students, and he has a childish charm about him. As a teacher he is severely lacking in focus. Lectures often get derailed by his attempt to explain things in metaphors. Even when the class already understands. Or he confuses himself while writing on the board and has to erase. Overall frustrating. I think 3/4 dropped
terrible teacher, hard to stay awake in class. Gives examples that don't help you further learn anything.
the hardest thing about this class is staying awake during his lectures. Also uses the full lab time for no reason, will take forever to explain the most simple things but gloss over the difficult/ confusing instructions in lab.
Alpheus is one of the best professors I've taken at SF. Extremely caring and approchable and wants his students to succeed. He eventakes the time to learn each of his students by name. He is however a tough grader and sometimes lectures and labs can be very long BUT I would take him over any other Chem professor at SF in a heartbeat!
Don't think I've ever had this much trouble understanding course material. His lectures are not very engaging, his teaching style comes across as messy and disorganized, a lot of his philosophies on teaching are great in theory but don't work well in reality. Usually goes off on a tangent and doesn't clarify material well. Very nice, bad teacher.
He was one of the hardest professors I've had to deal with thus far. His exams never correlate with what he teaches in lectures. I spent all of my free time having to teach myself and get outside help to even pass his class. He grades all his assignments thoroughly, especially the labs
He is very caring and a really good person. Sometimes his lectures can be hard to understand but he really wants you to succeed. Study and go to office hours, if you do that youll do great.
Ok, Alpheus is a great guy that will pull a smile out of your face. He is very, very meticoulous in his lab grading. He can go off tangents in lecture and explains topics very slowly. However, if you pay attention to everything he explains and study a lot you will do well in this class. You NEED to keep up with the lectures, the hw, and study .
Chemistry was hard. He gives 4 quizzes, 4 tests, homework is minimal. I had to google some things for understanding. Received a 32 on the final, but passed the class with a C. Labs are hard, but you have a week to finish them. Will take him again for Chem 2.
He is a very nice and caring professor. However, his lectures get very confusing and he doesnt give labs back. His tests are not hard but I would advice taking another Professor if chemistry is a key class for your major
Lectures are not helpful and if anything only add to the confusion of an already hard class. He has a thick accent, which isn't inherently a bad thing but it makes him hard to understand. If you have the misfortune of taking his class do not be fooled by his grading scale, it is lenient because his tests are difficult and he grades harshly.
Alpheus is a good guy but not the greatest teacher. Sometimes his lectures can become very confusing when he tries to explain certain things with very vague metaphors.. I got high A's on all the quizzes and tests, but somehow got a D on the final? (I passed the class with an A). Attendance makes a big difference, and so does writing good notes
Takes attendance but not really required. Lectures are confusing and gets off topic easily. Entire semester was behind on the modules, literally missed an entire chapter to test on. Labs are hard, only because he makes them himself, however, his grading is all over the place. Lab partner and I have the exact same work but receive different grades.
Pros: nice respectable guy, always willing to help during office hours, gives clear outlines of what to expect on quizzes/tests, thorough grader, organized with handouts/resources on Canvas. Cons: sometimes lectures can veer off topic and become confusing, grading papers can take a while (especially labs), lab write-ups are often difficult
He class is a little hard. He does help a lot if you need it. He is willing to help if you need it.
Dr. Mautjana is one of the best professors I have taken at Santa Fe. He cares for his student's grades. always accepting questions and if you need extra help you can always find him in his office hours. He is king and inspiring. He always inspires his students to do the best they can. He posted his powerpoints on canvas and the test are just like
I didn't have a problem with his teaching but it was sometimes hard to understand everything he was trying to teach. Make sure you go to Office Hours he is the most helpful there. He does try to make class fun sometimes but overall it is a hard class
I honestly gained more from just learning the material on my own using the workbook and lecture notes, but attendance is a grade and he does not like when people miss. Show up to class, pay attention, asks questions, and he'll like you- but the tests aren't easy and ALEKS is due every week so grades slip easily. And DONT miss lab!!
I struggled to understand the basics of intro to Chem but after taking this course chemistry has been a breeze. As long as you show up to class and answer the questions he asks during lectures you should make a decent grade. The only negative thing I can say is that his tests do sometimes have mistakes but if you find one and email he will fix it.
Nice guy, but this class is rough. His slides are informational but you really need to rely on outside sources for practice. His office hours did help. Also, keep in mind he is not very forgiving in terms of misunderstandings or extenuating circumstances. Keep up with ALEKS weekly objectives otherwise you can really tank your grade.
Very important to come to lectures and labs. Don't miss any since you can easily fall behind. Tough subject but he gives great lectures and is readily available for help and very easy to talk to. Exams may have mistakes but he will fix them and give you extra credit for it. ALKES intensive so keep up with the MANY topics. Labs are pretty fun!
You'll be teaching yourself for the entirety of this class. He's a fair grader. Don't purchase his workbooks.
Even though Chem is a hard class he makes it as easy as possible with his lectures. He truly cares and will help you especially if you go to his office hours. He is a fair grader as well. There is Aleks work but honestly it helps cement what he teaches in the lectures. He is honestly probably the best professor I have had at Santa Fe!
He is better teaching CHM2045, but during CHM2046 he lectures only on vague content and hardly teaches or works out applied problems to show us how to ACTUALLY do it. You'll be teaching yourself for the entire semester. ALEKS is super tough.Textbook is expensive and the majority of it is hardly used except for the few labs. Many quizzes!
I am one of the students that got screwed over by the chemistry department when our primary chemistry professor left. Prof was nice, but difficult to understand and the tests and quizzes were really difficult. The syllabus change to include quizzes lowered my grade and made the class 10x harder. I would not recommend taking this Professor.
Mautjana is by FAR the best professor in the department. He explains things in such detail that you'll understand the material just by going to class. He's the most caring professor I've ever had, and will do anything to help you personally. He keeps lecures entertaining, and is always in a good mood. Don't let his bad ratings fool you.
I took this several years ago. Rambling, off topic lectures, being insulted when I asked before an exam 'Is there a study guide?' and, on the first day of class, the professor using a comparison of attempting suicide and actually committing suicide to describe activation energy. I took AP Chem and came out of this knowing less than when I came in.
Can't communicate with the students. If you take his class you will have more questions than answers. Waste of time going over the same topic over and over again. I don't know where he learned to teach but he can't do it to save his butt.
dont even bother taking this professor, he is a cool guy but a lousy professor. tests are easy but you will be learning everything by yourself. its almost like he doesn't know what he's doing. the class started with 30+ students and ended with no more than 5 people attending lecture. don't recommend to anyone. One upside, he has easy tests.
Alpheus is a good man, but a very below-average professor. He reminds me of the kid that everyone likes, but you pick last in a game of kickball because you know he won't perform like everyone else. He has a fairly strong accent. He wouldn't effectively teach concepts he would only talk about them. Overall, if he is your only option you'll survive
Very difficult to understand his lectures; he has a strong accent. Doesn't explain concepts just puts up a slide and rambles for over an hour. Quizzes almost every week and 3 exams: all are difficult. Is not understanding at all when it comes to misunderstandings/extenuating circumstances. Doesn't care to help you succeed; does the bare minimum.
His lectures are enthusiastic but he goes off on tangents and it's hard to apply what he's saying to the material. The class average of one of our exams was a 50% and he didn't curve anything. He offers some extra credit opportunities, but I had to teach myself most of the material at home, despite having perfect attendance throughout the semester.
He has great office hours and informs you on items that will be on the upcoming tests and quizzes
Very sweet guy, I really do like him as a person. As for understanding him, his accent is heavy but manageable. His tests are fair and he's a very funny man. For sure a personality hire and I'm not mad at it. He will meet with you to try to understand the concepts but I never leave with a better understanding. The effort on his side is there.
Best personality of any teacher ever but not the best educator. Doesn't focus enough on students getting practice on the concepts. Few times we do practice problems, he walks around checking every student's page, which wastes time we could've spent getting more practice or covering more topics. Great for 1on1 Q's. Do your ALEKS or don't complain!!!
I got a D+ because he curved my grade. Honestly, struggled really badly in this class. His lectures are really bad, but he's really helpful during office hours. He's a really nice and happy person, but that only goes so far when your grades aren't so fun. If you take him GO TO OFFICE HOURS, lectures suck and no extra credit. Its passible, but hard.
Nice teacher. Read your PowerPoints before class because he doesn't go over them in class. He is ok at teaching, but not good enough to where you do not need outside resources such as youtube. The tests and quizzes were easy if you understand the concepts. He is very approachable, and willing to help if you are struggling. Overall 5/10.
i was in the hospital for a week diagnosed w/lifelong disability&he refused to let me re-do ANY assignments&ignored all emails,but emailed me saying i cheated, due to me exiting a test on accident due to disability.said i could fight it but even if it proved innocence it would go on my permanent record or take the hit.btw scored 50% b4 he zeroed it
He's a very nice professor but he really doesn't do a good job of teaching all of the material and you'll have to rely a lot on his slides on Canvas. The course is organized in a pretty weird way and he simultaneously ignores ALEKS and makes it a large portion of your final grade. Also pretty test heavy with weekly quizzes and tests.
Heavily relies on Aleks. His lectures which are attendance grades are hard to follow as he gets distracted and goes on tangents. Sometimes he didn't explain topics well, i recommend learning commons. The tests were relatively easy and so were the quizzes and labs were easy to finish fast.
I would recommend this class if you are majoring in something non stem related(basically, if you don't actually need to understand chemistry). This is because the tests and labs are super easy and you don't really have to have a deep understanding to do well. That being said, he is a hilarious teacher and I did enjoy my time as his student.
Mautjana definitely cares about his students, you can tell he wants them to succeed, and he's clearly passionate about chemistry. That being said lectures can drone on. Attendance is graded, and he takes off points if you're on your phone. Labs are easy. Quizzes and Tests can sometimes have some trick questions, but usually fine. Good class 👍
This is one of the best professors I've ever had, take bad reviews with a grain of salt! He is clearly passionate about what he does and cares about your success as a student. He makes learning a difficult subject enjoyable. He is understanding and quick to correct errors, misunderstandings, and offers opportunities to boost ur grade. Great guy.
Alpheus is a good man. A true person that cares about you and your success. He teaches from the bottom of his heart; he makes mistakes sometimes. Quite often you will face some mistakes on tests or on the board in class, but he is a very good professor. Attendance is mandatory. If i could rate him based on his teaching i would give a solid 8/10
I honestly don't understand the bad reviews at all. Professor Alpheus is one of the best professors I've ever had. He explains chemistry in a way that actually makes sense took him for both Intro Chemistry and the 10-week Chem 1 course, got an A in both, and now I'm in Chem 2. I would 100% recommend him to anyone!
This professor is a nice guy; however, he is one of those professors who have been teaching for so long they forget it's a difficult topic and teach it like it's the easiest class ever. He's horrible at teaching chem2, his study guides mislead you, and my friend and I would pull all-nighters and day studying, and it still wouldn't do us any good.
CHEMISTRY is hard, not Professor Mautjana. He's one of the best options you have for a tough class. He does tend to forget that chemistry isn't easy, but he's such a nice guy that you should have no issues talking to him in lecture, email, or office hours to have things clarified. He's the best professor I've ever had regarding answering emails.
Professor Mautjana is super funny and caring. His class is not difficult as long as you show up to the lectures and do the labs. Make sure to stay on top of ALEKS assignments. Tests are multiple choice and are not exceptionally difficult.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
25%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.34 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM2045
3.2
(17)CHM2046
3.2
(5)CHM1025
3.0
(28)CHM2045
2.6
(24)INTROTOCHEM
2.5
(4)Difficulty by Course
CHM2045008
4.0
CHEM2046
4.0
CHM2045
3.8
INTROTOCHEM
3.8
CHEM2045
3.7