Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Top of the board1.ECON 9902962.LAWS 8856973.PRTO 3300984.BSLW 2299975.PHIL 4932986.LAWS 8308987.SCWK 9960998.EESC 99011009.MUSP 16609610.UGMG 10109811.UNCP 55119712.SCWK 883197

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 · International Studies · Fall 2021 – Spring 2024

Austin Williams

International Studies · 8 evaluation records across 3 classes

On each class's board
INTL 55632nd of 8 instructorsPHIL 10708th of 65 instructors ProvisionalPHIL 10719th of 71 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
97BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2024
96RateMyProfessors4 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
66thMore challenging than 66% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
90BC — “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 50 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: 4 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 50 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.
9995th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9789th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9894th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9891st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9794th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9795th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9687th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9593rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9792nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9790th 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.
9066th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9795th 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

3 classes · 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.

INTL 5563 Ethics, Religion, and International PoliticsOvr97Chal—Work—
On this class's board2nd of 8 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for INTL 5563.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023039884—
Fall 2023049787—
Fall 2023059585—
Fall 2023069896—
All 13 items for INTL 5563

Nothing reported

None of the evaluation questions were reported for these records.

PHIL 1070 Philosophy of the Person IOvr98Chal42ndWork25th
On this class's board8th of 65 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 93 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1070.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023369691—
Fall 2021131009540
All 13 items for PHIL 1070
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9880th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9563rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9987th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9984th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9887th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9681st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9678th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9684th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9679th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9679th 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.
8942nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9678th 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.

PHIL 1071 Philosophy of the Person IIOvr98Chal52ndWork25th
On this class's board9th of 71 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 94 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1071.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2024369690—
Spring 2022131009840
All 13 items for PHIL 1071
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9988th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9884th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9883rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9774th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9784th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9889th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9570th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9576th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9887th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9780th 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.
9152nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9885th 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.