Class record · BIOL · MCAS

BIOL 2010

Ecology and Evolution · 2 instructors on record · 22 sections

What the course score is made of

79BC evaluations22 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – 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

32ndMore challenging than 32% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”22 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

87thMore work than 87% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

74BC — “Workload”22 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.

Foundational course required for Biology majors with a focus on the ecology and resilience of living systems across all levels of spatial scales. Topics introduced in this course include evolution, population dynamics, behavioral ecology, ecosystems, co-evolution, and human ecology.

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.

Rank	Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
1	Heather OlinsBiology	8417 records	93rd	31st	7833 ratings · all classes
2	Jeffrey DacostaAssociate Professor of the Practice · Biology	825 records	46th	34th	7026 ratings · all classes

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 22 records

The Professor4 items

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

8821st pctl

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

8819th pctl

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

8616th pctl

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

9022nd pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9145th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9043rd pctl

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

8513th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8519th pctl

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

8832nd pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8212th 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.

7487th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8732nd pctl

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

798th 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

22 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Jeffrey Dacosta	Spring 2026	01	82	75	60
Heather Olins	Fall 2025	01	78	69	60
Heather Olins	Summer 2025	01	84	80	100
Heather Olins	Summer 2025	02	80	77	100
Heather Olins	Summer 2025	03	100	93	60
Heather Olins	Summer 2025	04	80	80	—
Jeffrey Dacosta	Spring 2025	01	82	74	60
Heather Olins	Fall 2024	01	78	70	60
Heather Olins	Summer 2024	01	82	80	—
Heather Olins	Summer 2024	02	85	73	100
Heather Olins	Summer 2024	03	87	77	100
Heather Olins	Summer 2024	04	68	88	—
Jeffrey Dacosta	Spring 2024	01	83	77	60
Heather Olins	Fall 2023	01	84	76	—
Heather Olins	Summer 2023	01	92	84	—
Heather Olins	Summer 2023	02	92	86	—
Jeffrey Dacosta	Spring 2023	01	78	71	60
Heather Olins	Fall 2022	01	82	75	60
Heather Olins	Summer 2022	01	92	96	100
Heather Olins	Summer 2022	02	80	80	100
Jeffrey Dacosta	Spring 2022	01	83	77	40
Heather Olins	Fall 2021	01	82	77	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.