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 · PRTO · CSOM

PRTO 2402

American Commerce and American Culture · 2 instructors on record · 11 sections

What the course score is made of
87BC evaluations11 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – 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
37thMore challenging than 37% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
88BC — “Intellectually Challenging”11 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
39thMore work than 39% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
51BC — “Workload”11 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.

By any number of measures, the American social fabric is fraying. Long before the exacerbations of a global pandemic, polarization was increasing, trust was plummeting, deaths of despair were on the rise, civic participation was down, and we heard talk of a growing epidemic of loneliness. All this amidst a world-historical expansion of wealth, and falling rates of crime. What is going on? This course begins with the suspicion that Americanbusiness plays a central, underappreciated role in the ongoing evolution of our social fabric. It aims to ask: how do the business community's deep assumptions, values and practices shape our sense of ourselves and each other? Our senses of safety and precarity? Our inclinations to creativity and conformity? This course will examine key documents from management theory, social science, philosophy and literature to explore some ways that American commerce and American culture shape one another, and how this relationship can be brought into healthier alignment.

The board

2 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 2

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.

RankInstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
1Ethan SullivanSenior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Program and Chairperson · Business Law and Society Provisional961 record25th29thno page
2Ian CorbinUndergrad Management Honors/Ethics8910 records40th39th947 ratings · all classes

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. 1 of 2 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 11 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9241st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8612th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9239th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9449th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8626th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8620th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9463rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9046th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8115th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8315th 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.
5139th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8837th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9361st 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

11 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Ethan SullivanSpring 202602969140
Ian CorbinFall 202501847740
Ian CorbinFall 202502969660
Ian CorbinSpring 202501989540
Ian CorbinFall 202401939260
Ian CorbinFall 202402919260
Ian CorbinFall 202301757340
Ian CorbinFall 202302949260
Ian CorbinSpring 202301909060
Ian CorbinFall 202201757360
Ian CorbinFall 202202908640

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.