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.

Instructor record · Advancing Studies · Fall 2021 – Fall 2023

Andrea Defusco

Advancing Studies · 4 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
ADEN 2050only instructor on recordADEN 10601st of 4 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
93BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2023
100RateMyProfessors7 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 100% would take again
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

Sources are averaged by how much we trust each one and by how many records sit behind it, so a handful of reviews nudges the number rather than replacing it.

What the challenge rank is made of
28thMore challenging than 28% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
84BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question — 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. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 48 out of 100 for difficulty — that IS a difficulty measure, but it is about the person across everything they teach, not about any one class, so it is shown here rather than folded into the number above.

What the workload rank is made of
80thMore work than 80% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
60BC — “Workload”4 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload 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.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 7 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 48 out of 100. Difficulty is not a quality signal in either direction — a harder course is not a worse one.

Anyone can post there — no @bc.edu check and no enrolment check — so it is weighted alongside the evaluation data, never above it.

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9790th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9891st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9895th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9679th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9261st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9157th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9365th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9485th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9366th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9159th 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.
6080th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8428th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8427th 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.

Class by class

2 classes · 4 sections

How each position is worked outPositions 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.

ADEN 2050 Graphic NovelsOvr93Chal17thWork
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

3 sections on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for ADEN 2050.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023019287
Summer 2023019090
Fall 2022019695
All 13 items for ADEN 2050
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9672nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
100100th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
100100th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9446th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9043rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8727th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9033rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9471st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9254th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9148th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8417th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8213th 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

ADEN 1060 Literary WorksOvr95Chal21stWork78th
On this class's board1st of 4 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for ADEN 1060.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101959060
All 13 items for ADEN 1060
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9886th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9774th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9882nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9363rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9574th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9569th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9367th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9362nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9250th 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.
8521st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8726th 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.

How to read this pageScores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Almost every class scores high on that scale (the median is about 90), so challenge and workload are shown as a rank against every instructor we hold rather than as a score; the raw figure is in the breakdown above. Neither describes quality, and neither is ever marked better or worse anywhere on this site. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero. The position printed against each class is this instructor's place on that class's own board, computed from the same records the board itself is built from.