POLI 2339
State and Local Government · 1 instructor on record · 1 section
Boston College's ratings are bunched at the top — the median instructor averages about 88 out of 100 on the raw scale, and 44% of them clear 90 — so a raw score cannot separate anybody. Every figure here is ranked against BC classes and that rank is re-expressed out of 100, which is what turns a raw 88 — the middle of the university — into a figure that says where somebody actually stands. On this scale 77 is the median, 84 the top quarter and 91 the top tenth. Workload is then an adjustment on top of that, worth nothing at all for an ordinary one. Lighter work than 22% of BC classes.
The class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it — who taught it is the board below.
How is this worked out?
That is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between: the board carries each instructor's own score for this class, and the score above is the class averaged across all of them.
Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question. It is not a measure of difficulty, grading or workload.
How is this worked out?
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.
One of Boston College's five workload bands, not a number of hours. Higher means more work, not worse.
How is this worked out?
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.
Although national politics captures most media and public attention, state and local governments may well have a greater impact on citizens' daily lives. Consequently, this course examines the key institutions and processes that shape politics and policymaking at the state and local levels of government. Specific attention will be paid to how American sub-national governments raise revenues, allocate and manage their resources (zoning laws, regulatory takings), and provide important governmental services (public schools, fire and police protection, parks). Along the way, students will be introduced to and asked to evaluate key concepts and theories relating to the operation of sub-national governments (e.g., federalism, Tiebout sorting, the "homevoter hypothesis").
| Instructor | Curve | Easiness | Challenge | RMP overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael HartneyAssociate Professor · Political Science Provisional | 8796 raw · 1 record | 68−2 to the score | 69th | 885 ratings · all classes |
There is no ranking to read here: Michael Hartney is the only instructor with evaluation records for POLI 2339, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 1 record, which is thin — read it as provisional. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.
Also taught by Michael Hartney
6 other classes| Class | Instructors | Course score |
|---|---|---|
| POLI 1061Introduction to American Politics | 58 records | 77 |
| POLI 4933Honors Seminar | 33 records | 74 |
| POLI 3340Sem: Democracy and Our Schools | 12 records | 94 |
| POLI 2338Environmental Politics and Policy | 11 record | 93 |
| POLI 4395Interest Groups in American Politics | 11 record | 82 |
| POLI 4396Sem: American Subnational Politics | 11 record | 95 |
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 1 recordBars are ranks, not raw scores. Nothing here is graded good or bad.
What each item asks
- Explains Clearly
- The instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
- Available
- The instructor was available for help outside of class.
- Motivating
- The instructor motivated me to do my best work.
- Sparks Interest
- The course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
- Organized
- The course was well organized.
- Clear Goals
- The learning objectives for the course were clear.
- Useful Later
- What I learned is applicable beyond this course.
- Assignments
- Assignments and exams contributed to my learning.
- Fast Feedback
- I received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
- Useful Feedback
- The feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
- Workload
- How 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.
- Challenge
- The course was intellectually challenging.
- Attendance
- Attending class was necessary to do well in this course.
Why these numbers are curved
Both the number and the bar are the rank against every comparable record we hold, printed back out of 100. BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so on the raw scale every cell here would read in the high eighties and every bar would be nearly full — thirteen numbers that tell you nothing. Each cell prints its raw BC figure and its percentile underneath, so nothing is hidden by the transform. 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
1 section · newest first| Instructor | Term | Sec | Instr | Course | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Hartney | Spring 2022 | 01 | 96 | 91 | 60 |
How to read this board
Instructors 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.