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 · Chemistry · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Shih-Yuan Liu

Chemistry · 9 evaluation records across 5 classes

On each class's board
CHEM 55371st of 2 instructorsCHEM 11186th of 6 instructors ProvisionalCHEM 22417th of 10 instructors ProvisionalCHEM 55231st of 3 instructors ProvisionalCHEM 66115th of 10 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
74BC evaluations9 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – 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
83rdMore challenging than 83% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
93BC — “Intellectually Challenging”9 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
92ndMore work than 92% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
73BC — “Workload”9 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 9 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
798th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8826th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8214th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8416th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
7810th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
787th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8417th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8217th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9051st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8628th 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.
7392nd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9383rd 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

5 classes · 9 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.

CHEM 5537 Mechanistic Organic ChemistryOvr77Chal82ndWork93rd
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 73 out of 100. See the full board for CHEM 5537.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501807560
Fall 2024017976100
Fall 2023017165—
Fall 202101787880
All 13 items for CHEM 5537
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
839th 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.
8615th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8818th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8831st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8622nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8719th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8830th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9467th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8938th 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.
8093rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9682nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9676th 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.

CHEM 1118 Honors Modern Chemistry IIOvr45Chal90thWork100th
On this class's board6th of 6 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 45 out of 100. See the full board for CHEM 1118.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2026013836100
Spring 2025015254—
All 13 items for CHEM 1118
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
510th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
837th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
640th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
680th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
580th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
590th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
741st 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.
8936th 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.
100100th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9890th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8937th 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.

CHEM 2241 Honors Organic Chemistry IOvr84Chal93rdWork78th
On this class's board7th of 10 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 61 out of 100. See the full board for CHEM 2241.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202101846160
All 13 items for CHEM 2241
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9242nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9455th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9028th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9022nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
755th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
732nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
762nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
819th 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.
8831st 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.
9993rd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9990th 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.

CHEM 5523 Organometallic ChemistryOvr98Chal79thWork—
On this class's board1st of 3 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 98 out of 100. See the full board for CHEM 5523.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2023019898—
All 13 items for CHEM 5523
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9880th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9881st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9876th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9357th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9574th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
100100th pctl
Assignments & Feedback2 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
100100th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9356th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9579th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
100100th 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. 2 of 13 questions were not reported and are left out rather than shown as zero.

CHEM 6611 Scientific Communication in ChemistryOvr84Chal1stWork25th
On this class's board5th of 10 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 66 out of 100. See the full board for CHEM 6611.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202401846640
All 13 items for CHEM 6611
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8819th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8715th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8616th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8713th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
788th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
819th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
838th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
819th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8215th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8830th 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.
681st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
702nd 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.