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 · Earth and Environmental Sciences · Fall 2023 – Fall 2025

Katherine Willis

Earth and Environmental Sciences · 6 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
87BC evaluations6 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2023 – 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
19thMore challenging than 19% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
82BC — “Intellectually Challenging”6 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
55thMore work than 55% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
53BC — “Workload”6 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 6 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9039th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9353rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9042nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9038th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9047th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9047th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9583rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9796th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9368th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9580th 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.
5355th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8219th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8532nd 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 · 6 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.

EESC 4480 Applications of GIS (Geographical Information Systems)Ovr88Chal50thWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

3 sections on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 4480.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501959360
Fall 202401868860
Fall 202301838460
All 13 items for EESC 4480
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9451st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9240th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9453rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9448th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8935th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9462nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9684th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9148th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9358th 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.
9050th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8728th 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.

EESC 6680 Applications of GISOvr86Chal3rdWork30th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

3 sections on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 6680.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501909040
Fall 202401979040
Fall 202301709060
All 13 items for EESC 6680
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8615th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9345th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8717th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8713th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9145th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8937th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9672nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9890th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9675th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9780th 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.
4730th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
743rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8417th 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.