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 · EESC · MCAS

EESC 5549

Climate Change Debates · 1 instructor on record · 2 sections

What the course score is made of
99BC evaluations2 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2023
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
74thMore challenging than 74% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
94BC — “Intellectually Challenging”2 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
78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
60BC — “Workload”2 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 advanced seminar seeks to provide an overview of the science of global change and a critical evaluation of the literature through a survey of current scientific debates. We will cover a wide range of issues from topics in radiative forcing, oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere, paleoclimate, biological feedbacks, and impacts. Students will be expected to read papers and lead discussions, write assessments of each climate debate, and prepare a final term paper evaluating the scientific consensus on climate change in the context of the debates we cover.

The only instructor on record

2 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallenge
Jeremy ShakunAssociate Professor · Earth and Environmental Sciences Provisional1002 records78th74th

There is no ranking to read here: Jeremy Shakun is the only instructor with evaluation records for EESC 5549, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 2 records, which is thin — read it as provisional.

Also taught by Jeremy Shakun

6 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
EESC 6691Earth Systems Seminar49 records79
EESC 2205Environmental Systems: Climate Change38 records82
EESC 1174Climate Change and Society25 records81
EESC 6696Broader Impacts and Integrated Research Seminar23 records92
EESC 3396The IPCC Scientific Assessment12 records84
EESC 5396The IPCC Scientific Assessment12 records95

Other EESC classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
EESC 1720Crisis and Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change532 records74
EESC 2201Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint516 records72
EESC 1717Making the Modern World: Design, Ethics, and Engineering315 records82
EESC 1507Powering America: The Past and Future of Energy, Technology, and the Environment314 records80
EESC 1146Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth113 records77
EESC 1180The Living Earth I313 records67

The line

All 13 items · means across 2 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9986th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9988th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
100100th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
100100th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9886th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9992nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9989th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
100100th 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.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9474th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9678th 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

2 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Jeremy ShakunFall 20230110010060
Jeremy ShakunFall 2021011009860

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.