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 · English · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Brian Zimmerman

English · 26 evaluation records across 5 classes

On each class's board
ENGL 1010133rd of 136 instructorsENGL 100910th of 12 instructors ProvisionalENGL 10799th of 13 instructors ProvisionalENGL 108050th of 90 instructors ProvisionalMCEN 10105th of 5 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
75BC evaluations26 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
72RateMyProfessors14 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 71% 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
52ndMore challenging than 52% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
88BC — “Intellectually Challenging”26 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 88 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
62ndMore work than 62% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
57BC — “Workload”26 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: 14 ratings, 71% would take again, difficulty 88 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 26 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8314th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9250th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8315th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8621st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9048th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9050th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8731st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8630th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9154th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8839th 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.
5762nd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8852nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9375th 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

5 classes · 26 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.

ENGL 1010 First Year Writing SeminarOvr74Chal34thWork46th
On this class's board133rd of 136 instructors

22 sections on record · course itself rated 74 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1010.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202617606740
Fall 2025026767—
Fall 202532767540
Fall 202535888340
Spring 202528584760
Spring 202529787860
Fall 202417777760
Fall 2024206765—
Spring 202418888860
Spring 202424848660
Fall 2023328489—
Fall 2023338482—

Showing the first 12.

All 13 items for ENGL 1010
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
839th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9240th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
828th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8612th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9043rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9043rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8717th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8620th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9147th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8830th 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.
5646th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8834th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9357th 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.

ENGL 1009 First Year Writing Seminar for Multilingual StudentsOvr82Chal60thWork78th
On this class's board10th of 12 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 78 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1009.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202201827860
All 13 items for ENGL 1009
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9030th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9240th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
827th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8817th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8832nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9460th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
808th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9677th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9887th 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.
9260th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9676th 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.

ENGL 1079 Literature Core for Multilingual StudentsOvr83Chal48thWork78th
On this class's board9th of 13 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 83 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1079.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202301838360
All 13 items for ENGL 1079
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
839th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9774th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8717th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9025th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
100100th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9363rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9356th pctl
Assignments & Feedback2 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9367th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
100100th 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.
9048th 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

ENGL 1080 Literature CoreOvr87Chal42ndWork78th
On this class's board50th of 90 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 82 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1080.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202604878260
All 13 items for ENGL 1080
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8616th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9559th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9134th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9232nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9464th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9250th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8616th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8834th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9781st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9148th 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.
8942nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9675th 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.

MCEN 1010 First Year Writing SeminarOvr63Chal76thWork—
On this class's board5th of 5 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 64 out of 100. See the full board for MCEN 1010.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Summer 2024016364—
All 13 items for MCEN 1010
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
681st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8510th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
806th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
782nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
723rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8211th 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.
8210th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8318th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
691st pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9576th 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

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.