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 · POLI · MCAS

POLI 4395

Interest Groups in American Politics · 1 instructor on record · 1 section

What the course score is made of
82BC evaluations1 record · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2024
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
81stMore challenging than 81% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
96BC — “Intellectually Challenging”1 record · 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”1 record · 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.

The only instructor on record

1 section · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
Michael HartneyAssociate Professor · Political Science Provisional841 record78th81st885 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Michael Hartney is the only instructor with evaluation records for POLI 4395, 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
ClassInstructorsCourse score
POLI 1061Introduction to American Politics58 records77
POLI 4933Honors Seminar33 records74
POLI 3340Sem: Democracy and Our Schools12 records94
POLI 2338Environmental Politics and Policy11 record93
POLI 2339State and Local Government11 record91
POLI 4396Sem: American Subnational Politics11 record95

Other POLI classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
POLI 1021How to Rule the World: Introduction to Political Theory645 records82
POLI 1041Fundamental Concepts of Politics1037 records76
POLI 2360Seminar: Rights in Conflict923 records84
POLI 1042Introduction to Modern Politics519 records83
POLI 2665The Question of Justice919 records80
POLI 2440A Continent on the Move: Immigration in Contemporary Europe110 records86

The line

All 13 items · means across 1 record
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9135th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8714th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8926th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9343rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8727th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8934th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9672nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9681st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
693rd 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.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9681st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9886th 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

1 section · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Michael HartneyFall 202401848260

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.