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 · Communication · Fall 2021 – Fall 2023

Ann Barry

Communication · 8 evaluation records across 1 class

On this class's board
What the overall is made of
90BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2023
80RateMyProfessors2 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
34thMore challenging than 34% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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 30 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
26thMore work than 26% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
40BC — “Workload”8 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: 2 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 30 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 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9571st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9140th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9467th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9465th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8630th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8838th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9260th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8631st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8525th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9052nd 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.
4026th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8634th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8737th 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

1 class · 8 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.

COMM 3377 Visual Communication TheoryOvr90Chal24thWork25th
On this class's board2nd of 2 instructors

8 sections on record · course itself rated 85 out of 100. See the full board for COMM 3377.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023018778
Fall 2023029288
Spring 202301949040
Spring 202302908540
Fall 202201939140
Fall 202202817440
Fall 202101918940
Fall 202102898840
All 13 items for COMM 3377
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9558th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9132nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9453rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9449th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8625th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8830th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9245th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8621st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8522nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9043rd 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.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8624th 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.