Class record · BIOL · MCAS

BIOL 4830

Research in Molecular Biology Lab · 1 instructor on record · 10 sections

What the course score is made of

92BC evaluations10 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

34thMore challenging than 34% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

88BC — “Intellectually Challenging”10 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

25thMore work than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

40BC — “Workload”10 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.

Satisfies the advanced experience requirement for the Biology major. An advanced project laboratory course for hands-on training in the experimental techniques of molecular biology under faculty supervision. In addition to formal lab training and discussions, students will have access to the lab outside class hours to work on projects intended to produce publication quality data. The research project will focus on environmentally-mediated gene expression in the organism Pseudomonas fluorescens. Methods taught include: DNA cloning techniques, DNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction, and the use national databases for research and analysis. It is ideal for students who desire a solid introduction to hypothesis-driven research in molecular biology through practical training.

The only instructor on record

10 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Ismael FofanaBiology	9310 records	25th	34th

There is no ranking to read here: Ismael Fofana is the only instructor with evaluation records for BIOL 4830, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Ismael Fofana

4 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
UNAS 1199Gateway to the Sciences Seminar	958 records	82
BIOL 4440Vaccination and Immunity	15 records	76
BIOL 4570Principles of Immunology	25 records	79
BIOL 5150Vaccine Development and Public Health	12 records	82

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 10 records

The Professor4 items

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

9665th pctl

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

9450th pctl

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

9565th pctl

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

9666th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8728th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9250th pctl

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

9463rd pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9361st pctl

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

8835th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8937th 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.

4025th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8834th pctl

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

9887th 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

10 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Ismael Fofana	Spring 2026	01	87	87	60
Ismael Fofana	Fall 2025	01	93	93	40
Ismael Fofana	Spring 2025	01	91	93	40
Ismael Fofana	Fall 2024	01	98	91	40
Ismael Fofana	Spring 2024	01	97	100	40
Ismael Fofana	Fall 2023	01	96	96	—
Ismael Fofana	Spring 2023	01	90	85	40
Ismael Fofana	Fall 2022	01	88	85	20
Ismael Fofana	Spring 2022	01	96	92	40
Ismael Fofana	Fall 2021	01	100	100	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.