Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Positions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted.

Class record · ADEC · ADV

ADEC 7500

Ethics, Economics, and Public Policy · 2 instructors on record · 26 sections

What the course score is made of
87BC evaluations26 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 1 2023 – Spring 2026
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
25thMore challenging than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”26 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
80thMore work than 80% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
65BC — “Workload”26 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.

The focus of the course is to ascertain how public policy makers decide to either regulate or legislate how an industry/firm will operate in society. We will examine the process from three different vantage points: ethics, economics, and policy. The first part of the course will be spent examining the role (or lack thereof!) that ethical thinking plays in motivating public policy makers to take action. The second part of the course examines how economic pressure comes into play as policy makers try to establish bounds on an industry or a firm. Finally, we explore the role that social pressures such as the media and various interest groups play in influencing how public policy makers react to various issues that confront an industry or a firm.

The board

2 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 2

Scores are real averages. The order also accounts for how many records back each one — the count is under every score — so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them.

RankInstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
1Can ErbilProfessor of the Practice · Economics969 records79th51st9257 ratings · all classes
2Richard Mc GowanAdvancing Studies8417 records81st15thno page

How this board is orderedPositions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted. The comparison here is the class itself: a thin record is read against how this class was rated overall, not against the university.

Every instructor with an evaluation record for this class is on this board — it is not a top ten, and nothing is hidden behind a “show more”. Overall is the instructor's blended score for THIS class only, and its one contributing source is Boston College's evaluations for the sections in the row's record count — nothing on this board is an average across the other things they teach. Workload and Challenge are RANKS against every class we hold, not scores: BC's questions all sit near the top of the 1-5 scale, so a raw number would put almost every row in the high eighties and tell you nothing. Challenge is BC's “intellectually challenging” item, which students answer positively about courses that stretched them — it is not a measure of difficulty or grading. Neither column is ever marked better or worse. The RateMyProfessors column is an instructor's overall figure across everything they teach; that site has no course dimension, so it is shown for information and kept out of the ranking.

The line

All 13 items · means across 26 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9239th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9240th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9032nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9337th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8729th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9043rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9137th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9041st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9254th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8829th 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.
6580th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8625th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9144th 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

26 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Can ErbilSpring 202601868660
Can ErbilFall 20250110095
Richard Mc GowanSummer 2025019310060
Can ErbilSpring 202501888860
Can ErbilFall 20240197100
Richard Mc GowanSummer 202401404060
Can ErbilSpring 202401989860
Can ErbilFall 2023019898
Richard Mc GowanFall 2023039087
Richard Mc GowanSummer 2023018780
Can ErbilSpring 2023011009660
Richard Mc GowanSpring 202303808060
Can ErbilFall 202201968980
Richard Mc GowanFall 20220310010080
Richard Mc GowanSummer 202201100100
Can ErbilSpring 2022021008860
Richard Mc GowanSpring 202203808060
Richard Mc GowanFall 202101737360
Richard Mc GowanMidterm Spring 2022018876
Richard Mc Gowan2024FALL102889280
Richard Mc GowanMidterm Fall 2021027167
Richard Mc GowanMidterm Fall 202202878760
Richard Mc GowanMidterm Fall 202302808460
Richard Mc GowanMidterm Fall 202502898660
Richard Mc GowanMidterm Spring 202502949780

Showing the first 25.

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.