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 · Theology · Fall 2022 – Spring 2026

Joseph Kimmel

Adjunct Faculty · Theology · 24 evaluation records across 3 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
94BC evaluations24 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – Spring 2026
94RateMyProfessors7 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
35thMore challenging than 35% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”24 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 38 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
31stMore work than 31% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
44BC — “Workload”24 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: 7 ratings, 100% would take again, difficulty 38 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 24 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9679th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9576th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9470th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9463rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9793rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9691st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9047th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9166th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9790th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9687th 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.
4431st pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8635th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8844th 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 · 24 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.

THEO 1422 The Sacred Page: The BibleOvr94Chal22ndWork25th
On this class's board1st of 11 instructors

15 sections on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for THEO 1422.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202603938940
Spring 202604949040
Fall 202502918840
Fall 202503949340
Spring 202503928940
Spring 202504989540
Fall 202402969640
Fall 202403969540
Spring 202403888140
Spring 202404959140
Fall 2023029488
Fall 2023039894

Showing the first 12.

All 13 items for THEO 1422
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9564th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9564th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9452nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9445th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9783rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9677th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9136th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9148th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9782nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9674th 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.
8522nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8937th 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.

THEO 1420 The Everlasting Covenant: The Hebrew BibleOvr95Chal41stWork46th
On this class's board1st of 18 instructors

7 sections on record · course itself rated 94 out of 100. See the full board for THEO 1420.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Summer 202501969880
Summer 202502979760
Summer 202401989540
Summer 202402868860
Summer 2023019895
Summer 2023029894
Fall 202203939040
All 13 items for THEO 1420
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9776th 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.
9564th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9659th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9785th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9888th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8928th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9361st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9781st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9782nd 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.
5646th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8941st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8520th 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.

THEO 1421 Inscribing the Word: The New TestamentOvr92Chal14thWork25th
On this class's board4th of 18 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for THEO 1421.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202401929040
Spring 202403939040
All 13 items for THEO 1421
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9665th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9457th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9457th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9444th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9887th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9783rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9029th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8834th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9678th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9568th 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.
8832nd 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.