Class record · CSCI · MCAS

CSCI 2244

Randomness and Computation · 8 instructors on record · 19 sections

What the course score is made of

68BC evaluations19 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

71stMore challenging than 71% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

94BC — “Intellectually Challenging”19 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

79thMore work than 79% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

64BC — “Workload”19 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.

This course presents the mathematical and computational tools needed to solve problems that involve randomness. For example, an understanding of random variables allows us to efficiently generate the enormous prime numbers needed for information security, and to quantify the expected performance of a machine learning algorithm beyond a small data sample. An understanding of covariance allows high quality compression of audio and video. Topics include combinatorics and counting, random experiments and probability, random variables and distributions, computational modeling of randomness, Bayes' rule, laws of large numbers, vectors and matrices, covariance and principal axes, and Markov chains.

The board

8 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 3

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. 2 of the 8 rows carry a mark saying so.

Rank	Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
1	Usman KhanProfessor · Computer Science Provisional	912 records	78th	64th	—no page
2	George MohlerComputer Science Provisional	911 record	25th	55th	1002 ratings · all classes
3	Howard StraubingProfessor · Computer Science	774 records	78th	55th	588 ratings · all classes
4	Jessica FinocchiaroAssistant Professor · Computer Science Provisional fewer records	791 record	78th	71st	—no page
5	Hsin Hao SuComputer Science Provisional	722 records	78th	65th	—no page
6	Sergio AlvarezAssociate Professor · Computer Science Provisional fewer records	652 records	78th	69th	802 ratings · all classes
7	Carl MctagueComputer Science	675 records	85th	82nd	7216 ratings · all classes
8	Jose Bento Ayres PereiraComputer Science Provisional	522 records	100th	91st	—no 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. 6 of 8 rows are marked provisional: fewer than 3 records stand behind the number. That is thin evidence, not a bad instructor — the record count is in every row. 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 19 records

The Professor4 items

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

783rd pctl

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

8613th pctl

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

804th pctl

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

836th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

798th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

809th pctl

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

815th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8210th pctl

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

789th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8010th 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.

6479th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9471st pctl

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

8315th 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

19 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Usman Khan	Spring 2026	01	93	85	60
Carl Mctague	Spring 2026	02	73	67	60
Carl Mctague	Fall 2025	01	71	71	60
Usman Khan	Fall 2025	02	89	90	60
Jessica Finocchiaro	Spring 2025	01	79	65	60
Sergio Alvarez	Spring 2025	02	63	57	60
George Mohler	Fall 2024	01	91	88	40
Hsin Hao Su	Fall 2024	03	80	83	60
Howard Straubing	Spring 2024	01	79	69	60
Howard Straubing	Spring 2024	02	87	79	60
Carl Mctague	Fall 2023	01	70	67	—
Sergio Alvarez	Spring 2023	01	67	62	—
Howard Straubing	Spring 2023	02	68	61	60
Jose Bento Ayres Pereira	Fall 2022	01	44	32	100
Jose Bento Ayres Pereira	Fall 2022	02	60	60	—
Carl Mctague	Spring 2022	01	68	68	80
Carl Mctague	Spring 2022	02	51	47	80
Howard Straubing	Fall 2021	01	74	72	60
Hsin Hao Su	Fall 2021	02	64	62	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.