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 · MFIN · CSOM

MFIN 8896

PhD Sem: Topics in Empirical Corporate Finance · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

What the course score is made of
99BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025
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
93rdMore challenging than 93% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
99BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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
100thMore work than 100% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
100BC — “Workload”4 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 Ph.D. course considers topics that are at the center of ongoing research in corporate finance. We will cover both new theoretical research and the applications of empirical methods to corporate finance. Examples of topics that we will consider are: corporate governance, financial contracting with applications to debt contracts and executive compensation, and the market for corporate control.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallenge
Vyacheslav FosFinance974 records100th93rd

There is no ranking to read here: Vyacheslav Fos is the only instructor with evaluation records for MFIN 8896, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Vyacheslav Fos

3 other classes
ClassInstructorsCourse score
MFIN 8807Corporate Finance1022 records85
MFIN 8888Ph.D. Seminar28 records96
MFIN 8875Ph.D. Seminar: Research Topics in Finance37 records99

Other MFIN classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
MFIN 1021Fundamentals of Finance1297 records83
MFIN 1127Corporate Finance983 records80
MFIN 1151Investments1172 records82
MFIN 8801Investments627 records84
MFIN 2270Data Analytics in Finance325 records81
MFIN 8807Corporate Finance1022 records85

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9883rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9884th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9778th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9773rd 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.
9990th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9993rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9887th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9888th 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.
100100th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9993rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
100100th 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

4 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Vyacheslav FosFall 202501100100100
Vyacheslav FosFall 202301100100
Vyacheslav FosFall 2022018994100
Vyacheslav FosFall 202101100100100

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.