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 · English · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Joseph Nugent

Professor of the Practice · English · 34 evaluation records across 8 classes

On each class's board
ENGL 108024th of 90 instructorsENGL 2097only instructor on recordENGL 2098only instructor on recordENGL 4536only instructor on recordUNCS 22451st of 21 instructorsENGL 2208only instructor on recordENGL 2203only instructor on record ProvisionalENGL 5002only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
90BC evaluations34 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
86RateMyProfessors4 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 67% 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
74thMore challenging than 74% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
92BC — “Intellectually Challenging”34 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 76 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”34 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, 67% would take again, difficulty 76 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 34 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9357th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9464th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9361st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9465th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8527th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8732nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9154th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9061st 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.
5559th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9274th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9584th 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

8 classes · 34 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.

ENGL 1080 Literature CoreOvr87Chal39thWork78th
On this class's board24th of 90 instructors

10 sections on record · course itself rated 84 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 1080.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202618888460
Fall 202520948760
Spring 202510898560
Fall 202417959460
Spring 202422949160
Fall 2023109491—
Spring 202327928660
Fall 202211797560
Spring 202220686960
Spring 202221807960
All 13 items for ENGL 1080
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9132nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9346th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9135th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9444th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8831st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8622nd 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.
8728th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8013th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8417th 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.
8939th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9252nd 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.

ENGL 2097 Intermediate Modern Irish IOvr87Chal69thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

5 sections on record · course itself rated 83 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 2097.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501100100—
Fall 202403676760
Fall 202301100100—
Fall 202201806060
Fall 2021018787—
All 13 items for ENGL 2097
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9349th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9775th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9351st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9233rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
755th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
774th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9033rd 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.
9362nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9043rd 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.
9783rd 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.

ENGL 2098 Intermediate Modern Irish IIOvr94Chal74thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

5 sections on record · course itself rated 92 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 2098.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601100100—
Spring 202602100100—
Spring 20240110010040
Spring 2023019080—
Spring 202201808040
All 13 items for ENGL 2098
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9666th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9028th 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.
9448th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8831st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9363rd 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.
9152nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9464th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9253rd 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.
9474th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9888th 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.

ENGL 4536 Joyce's UlyssesOvr95Chal93rdWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

4 sections on record · course itself rated 93 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 4536.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601949060
Spring 202501939460
Spring 202401949560
Fall 202201989460
All 13 items for ENGL 4536
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9882nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9671st 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.
9983rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9039th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9363rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9457th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9364th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
768th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
786th 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.
9993rd 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.

UNCS 2245 First-Year Topic SeminarOvr100Chal—Work—
On this class's board1st of 21 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for UNCS 2245.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202508—80—
Fall 202303—86—
Fall 202203—91—
Fall 20210310097—
All 13 items for UNCS 2245

Nothing reported

None of the evaluation questions were reported for these records.

ENGL 2208 Explore the Irish: An Introduction to Irish StudiesOvr86Chal30thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

3 sections on record · course itself rated 81 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 2208.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501837940
Fall 2023019188—
Fall 202101867740
All 13 items for ENGL 2208
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9134th 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.
9033rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9556th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8012th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8110th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8927th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8832nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8013th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8010th 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.
8730th 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.

ENGL 2203 Introducing Ireland through Stage and ScreenOvr91Chal31stWork39th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 89 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 2203.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202401939240
Spring 202301888660
All 13 items for ENGL 2203
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9238th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9671st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9455th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9555th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8623rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8829th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9245th 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.
789th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8213th 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.
5039th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8731st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9148th 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.

ENGL 5002 Seminar: Podcasting James JoyceOvr89Chal74thWork—
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 86 out of 100. See the full board for ENGL 5002.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2021018986—
All 13 items for ENGL 5002
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9136th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9455th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9138th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9131st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9150th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9149th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9783rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9473rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8936th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8933rd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9474th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9466th 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. 1 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

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.