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 · Music · Fall 2021 – Spring 2022

Donald James

Music · 4 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
MUSA 13004th of 5 instructors ProvisionalMUSA 2320only instructor on record ProvisionalMUSA 2410only instructor on record ProvisionalMUSA 33501st of 2 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
85BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2022
80RateMyProfessors2 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 50% 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
4thMore challenging than 4% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
74BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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”4 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, 50% 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 4 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9354th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9032nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8934th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9247th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8216th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8837th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8315th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8318th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
611st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
756th 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.
744th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8634th 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 · 4 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.

MUSA 1300 History of Popular MusicOvr76Chal0thWork25th
On this class's board4th of 5 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 81 out of 100. See the full board for MUSA 1300.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101768140
All 13 items for MUSA 1300
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8923rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
793rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
794th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8921st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8316th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8832nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
815th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
818th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
330th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
370th 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.
660th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
776th 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.

MUSA 2320 Music and AmericaOvr84Chal9thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 78 out of 100. See the full board for MUSA 2320.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202201847840
All 13 items for MUSA 2320
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9135th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9134th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9137th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9130th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
713rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8211th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8411th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8725th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
672nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8935th 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.
809th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8935th 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.

MUSA 2410 The Music IndustryOvr87Chal4thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 84 out of 100. See the full board for MUSA 2410.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101878440
All 13 items for MUSA 2410
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9345th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9345th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8719th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9338th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
755th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8520th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
826th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
763rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
601st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8416th 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.
764th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8522nd 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.

MUSA 3350 The Beatles: From "Yesterday" to "Tomorrow Never Knows"Ovr93Chal2ndWork25th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for MUSA 3350.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202201939040
All 13 items for MUSA 3350
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.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9881st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9555th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9887th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9574th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8513th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8830th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8317th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8933rd 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.
732nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9355th 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.