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 · Philosophy · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Margarita Fenn

Part-Time Faculty · Philosophy · 21 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
PHIL 107065th of 65 instructorsPHIL 107171st of 71 instructors
What the overall is made of
57BC evaluations21 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
44RateMyProfessors28 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 25% 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
11thMore challenging than 11% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
80BC — “Intellectually Challenging”21 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 68 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
40thMore work than 40% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
48BC — “Workload”21 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: 28 ratings, 25% would take again, difficulty 68 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 21 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
755th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
773rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
713rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
733rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
692nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
734th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
797th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
766th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
490th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
652nd 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.
4840th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8011th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9267th 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 · 21 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.

PHIL 1070 Philosophy of the Person IOvr56Chal7thWork33rd
On this class's board65th of 65 instructors

11 sections on record · course itself rated 58 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1070.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202604535740
Fall 202503525740
Fall 202508545240
Fall 202403434860
Fall 202408555540
Fall 2023035057—
Fall 2023084044—
Fall 202203626260
Fall 202208695940
Fall 202103707160
Fall 202108727560
All 13 items for PHIL 1070
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
742nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
772nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
711st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
731st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
692nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
733rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
794th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
795th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
500th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
651st 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.
4933rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
807th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9146th 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.

PHIL 1071 Philosophy of the Person IIOvr58Chal7thWork33rd
On this class's board71st of 71 instructors

10 sections on record · course itself rated 59 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1071.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202603667060
Spring 202608555860
Spring 202503666060
Spring 202508646940
Spring 202403434340
Spring 202408435040
Spring 2023036063—
Spring 202308615940
Spring 202203575840
Spring 2022086159—
All 13 items for PHIL 1071
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
752nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
772nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
711st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
741st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
692nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
733rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
783rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
742nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
480th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
651st 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.
4833rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
807th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9254th 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.