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 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Joseph Quinn

Economics · 16 evaluation records across 3 classes

On each class's board
ECON 3363only instructor on recordECON 22422nd of 2 instructorsUNCS 224514th of 21 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
96BC evaluations16 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors2 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
70thMore challenging than 70% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
91BC — “Intellectually Challenging”16 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
27thMore work than 27% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
42BC — “Workload”16 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, 100% 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 16 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.
9571st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9682nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9681st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9479th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9478th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9582nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9163rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9688th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9689th 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.
4227th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9170th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8952nd 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 · 16 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 3363 Micro Public Policy AnalysisOvr97Chal60thWork26th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

10 sections on record · course itself rated 96 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 3363.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601999840
Spring 202602959640
Fall 202501999840
Spring 202501989440
Spring 202401959440
Fall 2023019998—
Spring 202301989640
Fall 202201969560
Spring 202201989440
Fall 202101969840
All 13 items for ECON 3363
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.
9558th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9774th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9768th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9574th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9571st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9571st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9254th 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.
9783rd 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.
4226th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9260th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9042nd 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 2242 Public Policy in an Aging SocietyOvr95Chal41stWork25th
On this class's board2nd of 2 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for ECON 2242.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202501969040
Spring 202401958840
Spring 202301948940
Spring 202201948740
All 13 items for ECON 2242
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.
9563rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9562nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9659th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9357th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9357th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9353rd 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.
9569th 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.
8941st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8833rd 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 SeminarOvr90Chal—Work—
On this class's board14th of 21 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for UNCS 2245.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202526—87—
Fall 2021149093—
All 13 items for UNCS 2245

Nothing reported

None of the evaluation questions were reported for these records.

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.