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 · Physics · Fall 2022 – Spring 2026

Cyril Opeil

Physics · 6 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
PHYS 11002nd of 3 instructors ProvisionalPHYS 11011st of 4 instructors ProvisionalPHYS 43501st of 2 instructors ProvisionalPHYS 4515only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
82BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors3 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
31stMore challenging than 31% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
85BC — “Intellectually Challenging”6 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 54 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
35thMore work than 35% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
47BC — “Workload”6 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: 3 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 54 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 6 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8620th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8617th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8623rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8828th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8838th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8629th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8314th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8424th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8527th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8113th 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.
4735th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8531st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8221st 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

4 classes · 6 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.

PHYS 1100 Structure of the Universe IOvr78Chal14thWork25th
On this class's board2nd of 3 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 72 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 1100.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501827540
Fall 202401736840
All 13 items for PHYS 1100
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8411th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
837th 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.
8418th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8416th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
793rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8414th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8730th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8111th 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.
8314th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
787th 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.

PHYS 1101 Structure of the Universe IIOvr79Chal24thWork25th
On this class's board1st of 4 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 77 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 1101.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601827840
Spring 202501767540
All 13 items for PHYS 1101
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8410th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
848th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8411th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8611th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8831st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8831st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
805th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8416th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8421st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8010th 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.
798th 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.

PHYS 4350 Experiments in Physics IOvr100Chal69thWork78th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 100 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 4350.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 20230110010060
All 13 items for PHYS 4350
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
100100th 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.
100100th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
100100th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
100100th 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.
9361st 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.
9369th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
100100th 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.

PHYS 4515 The Physics of Conventional and Alternative EnergyOvr77Chal9thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 80 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 4515.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202201778060
All 13 items for PHYS 4515
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
773rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
804th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8310th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
837th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8317th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
733rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
839th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
774th 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.
681st 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.
809th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
775th 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.