Class record · POLI · MCAS

POLI 1041

Fundamental Concepts of Politics · 10 instructors on record · 37 sections

What the course score is made of

76BC evaluations37 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

50thMore challenging than 50% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

90BC — “Intellectually Challenging”37 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

46thMore work than 46% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

56BC — “Workload”37 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.

Restricted to freshmen and sophomores only. This is an introduction to the study of politics through a consideration of some of the basic elements associated with governing: the political association, justice, constitutions, equality, liberty, conflict among citizens and between citizens and governments, conflict among governments. Each of the course instructors uses a different set of readings, drawing on a mix of political philosophy texts, works on international politics, novels, biographies. Emphasis is on interesting and important readings, discussion, and writing. NOTE: for academic-year students, this course is major restricted.

The board

10 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. 4 of the 10 rows carry a mark saying so.

Rank	Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
1	Kathleen BaileyProfessor of the Practice · Political Science	845 records	78th	52nd	8618 ratings · all classes
2	Hannes KerberAssistant Professor · Political Science Provisional fewer records	951 record	78th	82nd	1008 ratings · all classes
3	Candace HetznerVisiting Professor · Political Science	829 records	47th	57th	7813 ratings · all classes
4	Sam BiasiPolitical Science Provisional fewer records	901 record	—	—	1004 ratings · all classes
5	Paul WilfordPolitical Science Provisional	812 records	78th	93rd	885 ratings · all classes
6	Susan ShellPolitical Science Provisional fewer records	731 record	78th	40th	—no page
7	Alice BehnegarProfessor of the Practice · Political Science	7410 records	30th	41st	6615 ratings · all classes
8	Michael TangPolitical Science Provisional fewer records	601 record	93rd	29th	—no page
9	Dennis HaleProfessor · Political Science	726 records	39th	20th	869 ratings · all classes
—	Nicholas AndersonPolitical Science Provisional	—1 record	100th	100th	—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 10 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 37 records

The Professor4 items

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

8718th pctl

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

9025th pctl

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

8616th pctl

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

8713th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8625th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8517th pctl

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

8717th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8620th pctl

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

8114th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8418th 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.

5646th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9050th pctl

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

9039th 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

37 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Alice Behnegar	Spring 2026	01	65	64	40
Alice Behnegar	Spring 2026	02	74	73	60
Alice Behnegar	Fall 2025	01	75	71	60
Kathleen Bailey	Fall 2025	02	85	82	60
Alice Behnegar	Fall 2025	03	78	70	40
Hannes Kerber	Fall 2025	04	95	88	60
Michael Tang	Summer 2025	01	60	67	80
Candace Hetzner	Spring 2025	01	86	85	60
Alice Behnegar	Spring 2025	02	71	71	40
Candace Hetzner	Spring 2025	03	79	78	40
Alice Behnegar	Fall 2024	01	77	72	40
Kathleen Bailey	Fall 2024	02	87	85	60
Candace Hetzner	Fall 2024	03	83	83	60
Candace Hetzner	Spring 2024	01	76	70	60
Alice Behnegar	Spring 2024	02	78	74	40
Alice Behnegar	Fall 2023	01	62	58	—
Kathleen Bailey	Fall 2023	02	78	77	—
Dennis Hale	Fall 2023	03	64	67	—
Dennis Hale	Fall 2023	04	80	73	—
Candace Hetzner	Fall 2023	05	81	73	—
Sam Biasi	Summer 2023	01	90	80	—
Candace Hetzner	Spring 2023	01	89	84	60
Paul Wilford	Spring 2023	02	84	79	60
Alice Behnegar	Fall 2022	01	81	81	60
Kathleen Bailey	Fall 2022	02	88	83	60

Showing the first 25.

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.