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 · Finance · Spring 2024 – Spring 2026

Paul Romer

Finance · 7 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
MFIN 2275only instructor on recordMFIN 8805only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
61BC evaluations7 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2024 – Spring 2026
—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
11thMore challenging than 11% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
79BC — “Intellectually Challenging”7 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
4thMore work than 4% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
37BC — “Workload”7 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 7 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
734th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
784th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
734th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
787th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
510th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
600th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
743rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
671st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
601st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
672nd 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.
374th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
7911th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
7914th 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 · 7 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.

MFIN 2275 Digital Self-Defense with PythonOvr66Chal4thWork3rd
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

5 sections on record · course itself rated 58 out of 100. See the full board for MFIN 2275.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601100100—
Spring 202501402740
Spring 202502696240
Spring 202401685840
Spring 202402554220
All 13 items for MFIN 2275
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.
793rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
773rd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
803rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
550th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
620th 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.
681st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
672nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
744th 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.
353rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
774th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
754th 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.

MFIN 8805 Digital Self-Defense with PythonOvr49Chal25thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 42 out of 100. See the full board for MFIN 8805.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601535340
Spring 202501453040
All 13 items for MFIN 8805
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
670th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
731st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
660th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
731st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
410th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
550th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
630th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
630th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
400th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
480th 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.
8625th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9145th 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.