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 · Romance Languages and Literatures · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Mary Schipa

Romance Languages and Literatures · 10 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
FREN 22091st of 4 instructorsFREN 22101st of 3 instructors
What the overall is made of
92BC evaluations10 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
96RateMyProfessors4 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 75% 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
61stMore challenging than 61% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
90BC — “Intellectually Challenging”10 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 70 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
33rdMore work than 33% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
45BC — “Workload”10 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, 75% would take again, difficulty 70 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 10 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.
9037th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9573rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9460th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9158th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9046th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9048th 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.
9894th 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.
4533rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9061st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9896th 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 · 10 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.

FREN 2209 French Conversation, Composition, and Reading IOvr89Chal49thWork30th
On this class's board1st of 4 instructors

5 sections on record · course itself rated 80 out of 100. See the full board for FREN 2209.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202504878760
Fall 202404867540
Fall 2023049180—
Fall 2022049076—
Fall 202104938340
All 13 items for FREN 2209
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9346th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8716th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9348th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9131st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8938th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8832nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8820th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9045th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9886th 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.
4730th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9049th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9784th 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.

FREN 2210 French Conversation, Composition, and Reading IIOvr94Chal43rdWork28th
On this class's board1st of 3 instructors

5 sections on record · course itself rated 86 out of 100. See the full board for FREN 2210.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202604988840
Spring 2025041008840
Spring 202404908240
Spring 2023031008860
Spring 202204848240
All 13 items for FREN 2210
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.
9242nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9667th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9661st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9358th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9144th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9350th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9150th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9886th 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.
4428th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9043rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9887th 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.