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 · BIOL · MCAS

BIOL 5010

Nobel Prize Winning Research in Medicine or Physiology · 1 instructor on record · 12 sections

What the course score is made of
94BC evaluations12 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
25thMore challenging than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”12 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
28thMore work than 28% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
44BC — “Workload”12 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 only instructor on record

12 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
David BurgessProfessor · Biology9412 records28th25th327 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: David Burgess is the only instructor with evaluation records for BIOL 5010, 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 David Burgess

1 other class
ClassInstructorsCourse score
BIOL 3040Cell Biology39 records67

Other BIOL classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
BIOL 2040Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology Lab2176 records87
BIOL 1310Anatomy and Physiology Lab 1443 records78
BIOL 1330Anatomy and Physiology Lab 2443 records76
BIOL 2210Microbiology for Health Professionals Laboratory341 records84
BIOL 4260Human Anatomy with Lab135 records86
BIOL 4330Human Physiology128 records85

The line

All 13 items · means across 12 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9454th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9242nd 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.
9663rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9575th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9575th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9570th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9470th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9146th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9149th 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.
4428th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8625th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9462nd 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

12 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
David BurgessSpring 202601889340
David BurgessSpring 202602919140
David BurgessFall 2025011009840
David BurgessSpring 20250110010040
David BurgessFall 202401949440
David BurgessSpring 202401969640
David BurgessFall 2023019396
David BurgessFall 2023029189
David BurgessSpring 202301959840
David BurgessFall 202201869140
David BurgessSpring 202201919160
David BurgessFall 202101989660

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.