Class record · BIOL · MCAS

BIOL 4030

Deep-Sea Biology · 1 instructor on record · 8 sections

What the course score is made of

82BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – 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

41stMore challenging than 41% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

89BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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

77BC — “Workload”8 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.

Roughly 80% of habitable space on this planet is in the ocean below 1000 meters where sunlight never reaches. In this course we will dive into this rarely visited habitat that occupies the majority of our biosphere. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, as studying the deep requires the integration of geology, chemistry, ecology, physiology, and engineering. We will investigate fundamental aspects of biology such as how organisms adapt to challenges posed by their environment. Students will also gain an appreciation for how much of the planet remains unexplored and learn how scientists study the inaccessible ecosystems of the deep.

The only instructor on record

8 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Heather OlinsBiology	878 records	87th	41st	7833 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Heather Olins is the only instructor with evaluation records for BIOL 4030, 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 Heather Olins

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
UNAS 1199Gateway to the Sciences Seminar	958 records	82
BIOL 2010Ecology and Evolution	222 records	79
ENVS 1075Understanding and Protecting Our Oceans in the Wake of Global Change	317 records	75
BIOL 1706Understanding and Protecting Our Oceans in the Wake of Global Change	313 records	75
BIOL 2050Gateway Biology Discussion I	211 records	83
BIOL 3200Ecology in a Changing Climate	12 records	86

Other BIOL classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
BIOL 2040Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology Lab	2176 records	87
BIOL 1310Anatomy and Physiology Lab 1	443 records	78
BIOL 1330Anatomy and Physiology Lab 2	443 records	76
BIOL 2210Microbiology for Health Professionals Laboratory	341 records	84
BIOL 4260Human Anatomy with Lab	135 records	86
BIOL 4330Human Physiology	128 records	85

The line

All 13 items · means across 8 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.

9028th pctl

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

8824th pctl

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

9027th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9149th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8936th pctl

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

8821st pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8414th pctl

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

8523rd pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8622nd 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.

7787th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8941st pctl

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

8729th 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

8 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Heather Olins	Spring 2026	01	88	78	60
Heather Olins	Summer 2025	01	94	94	100
Heather Olins	Spring 2025	01	78	70	60
Heather Olins	Summer 2024	01	91	93	100
Heather Olins	Summer 2024	02	75	65	100
Heather Olins	Spring 2024	01	85	77	80
Heather Olins	Spring 2023	01	91	86	—
Heather Olins	Spring 2022	01	95	88	40

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.