Class record · POLI · MCAS

POLI 2301

Policy and Politics in the U.S. · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections

What the course score is made of

68BC evaluations5 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

56thMore challenging than 56% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

91BC — “Intellectually Challenging”5 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”5 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.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors only. This course is designed to acquaint students with the major features of American policymaking at the national level by engaging in primary research and extensive memo-writing on selected policy issues. Each student will be expected to become familiar with at least three policy areas, understanding existing government policies and underlying tradeoffs and paradoxes; proposing intellectually defensible and politically feasible reforms; and suggesting political strategies for enacting these reforms. Possible topics include social security, environmental regulations, federal aid and mandates for education, affirmative action, welfare, and the use of public lands.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Rowell MelnickPolitical Science	735 records	78th	56th	543 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Rowell Melnick is the only instructor with evaluation records for POLI 2301, 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 Rowell Melnick

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 2360Seminar: Rights in Conflict	923 records	84
POLI 7726Democracy in America	13 records	94
POLI 4932Honors Seminar	22 records	86
POLI 2322Courts and Public Policy	11 record	63
POLI 3300Seminar: Diversity Debates	11 record	92
POLI 7720American National Institutions in a Mature Welfare State	11 record	93

Other POLI classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 1021How to Rule the World: Introduction to Political Theory	645 records	82
POLI 1041Fundamental Concepts of Politics	1037 records	76
POLI 2360Seminar: Rights in Conflict	923 records	84
POLI 1042Introduction to Modern Politics	519 records	83
POLI 2665The Question of Justice	919 records	80
POLI 2440A Continent on the Move: Immigration in Contemporary Europe	110 records	86

The line

All 13 items · means across 5 records

The Professor4 items

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

806th pctl

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

848th pctl

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

806th pctl

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

836th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8011th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8212th 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.

8517th pctl

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

8728th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8111th 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.

9156th pctl

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

9043rd 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

5 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Rowell Melnick	Fall 2025	01	74	71	60
Rowell Melnick	Fall 2024	01	74	71	60
Rowell Melnick	Fall 2023	01	66	59	—
Rowell Melnick	Fall 2022	01	79	79	60
Rowell Melnick	Fall 2021	01	71	61	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.