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 · History · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

David Quigley

Professor, Robert L. and Judith T. Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties · History · 6 evaluation records across 3 classes

On each class's board
HIST 1630only instructor on recordHIST 1704only instructor on record ProvisionalUNCP 4615only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
91BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors4 ratings · weight ×2.0
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
77thMore challenging than 77% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
92BC — “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 70 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
59thMore work than 59% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
55BC — “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: 4 ratings, difficulty 70 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.
9465th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9360th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9471st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9568th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9473rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9259th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9156th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9377th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8942nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9155th 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.
5559th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9277th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9689th 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 · 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.

HIST 1630 The Meaning of Boston: History and MemoryOvr90Chal84thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

4 sections on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for HIST 1630.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2023019486
Fall 2023028891
Fall 202201888660
Fall 202202918960
All 13 items for HIST 1630
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9343rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9131st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9348th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9666th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9679th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9469th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9242nd 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.
9149th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9044th 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.
9684th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9781st 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.

HIST 1704 The Worlds of Moby-Dick: What Historical Forces Shape a Book's "Greatness"?Ovr97Chal69thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 93 out of 100. See the full board for HIST 1704.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101979360
All 13 items for HIST 1704
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9773rd 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.
9774th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9768th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9363rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9779th 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.
9044th 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.
9780th 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.

UNCP 4615 Mapping and Our Search for Meaning: A Capstone SeminarOvr86Chal14thWork25th
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 UNCP 4615.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601868040
All 13 items for UNCP 4615
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9454th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9667th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9456th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9025th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8935th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8727th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8614th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9045th 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.
8937th 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.
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.

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.