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 · Economics · Spring 2022 – Fall 2025

Hanno Foerster

Economics · 10 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
ECON 3303only instructor on recordECON 8086only instructor on record
What the overall is made of
92BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Fall 2025
—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — 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
44thMore challenging than 44% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”10 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.

What the workload rank is made of
80thMore work than 80% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
60BC — “Workload”10 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.

The line

All 13 items · means across 10 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9574th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9683rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9148th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9460th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9265th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9153rd 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.
9592nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8628th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8732nd 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.
6080th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8744th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9268th 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

2 classes · 10 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.

ECON 3303 Economics of the FamilyOvr92Chal69thWork29th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

6 sections on record · course itself rated 87 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 3303.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501958840
Fall 202502928640
Fall 202401948960
Fall 2023019487—
Spring 202301908840
Spring 2022019084—
All 13 items for ECON 3303
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9562nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9347th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9242nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9340th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9363rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9363rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8926th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9470th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8832nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8727th 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.
4529th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9369th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9250th 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.

ECON 8086 Labor Economics IIOvr91Chal6thWork93rd
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

4 sections on record · course itself rated 86 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 8086.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 20250110093—
Spring 2024018080100
Spring 2023011009580
Spring 202201857560
All 13 items for ECON 8086
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9561st 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.
9032nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9555th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9146th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8727th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9565th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9788th 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.
8624th 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.
8093rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
806th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9253rd 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.