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 · University and Capstone · Spring 2022 – Spring 2026

Howard Thrasher

University and Capstone · 8 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
87BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors1 rating · 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
3rdMore challenging than 3% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
73BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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 40 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
3rdMore work than 3% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
31BC — “Workload”8 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: 1 rating, 100% would take again, difficulty 40 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 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9251st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9140th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9145th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9034th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9155th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9157th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8729th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8423rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8422nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8526th 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.
313rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
733rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8222nd 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 · 8 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.

UNAS 1016 Designing Your Career: An Exploration CourseOvr88Chal6thWork25th
On this class's board6th of 7 instructors

5 sections on record · course itself rated 79 out of 100. See the full board for UNAS 1016.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202603877940
Spring 202502877740
Fall 202402877340
Spring 202402868340
Fall 2023029184
All 13 items for UNAS 1016
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9240th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9238th 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.
9026th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9251st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9252nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9030th 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.
8420th 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.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
796th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8624th 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.

UNAS 3337 Cross Currents: Thinking about Multicultural LeadershipOvr86Chal0thWork0th
On this class's board3rd of 12 instructors

3 sections on record · course itself rated 75 out of 100. See the full board for UNAS 3337.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202301826320
Fall 2022019210020
Spring 202201856320
All 13 items for UNAS 3337
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9241st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8923rd 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.
9022nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9039th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd 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.
808th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8216th 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.
200th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
660th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
786th 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.