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 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2026

Thomas Kuchar

Earth and Environmental Sciences · 8 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
What the overall is made of
80BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2022 – Spring 2026
72RateMyProfessors9 ratings · weight ×2.0 · 50% 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
47thMore challenging than 47% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
88BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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 74 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
26thMore work than 26% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
40BC — “Workload”8 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: 9 ratings, 50% would take again, difficulty 74 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 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8725th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8823rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8417th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8931st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9047th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8838th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
764th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8529th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8732nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
767th 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.
4026th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8847th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8428th 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 · 8 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 1150 AstronomyOvr79Chal31stWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

4 sections on record · course itself rated 73 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 1150.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501777240
Fall 202401807440
Fall 202301787240
Fall 202201817340
All 13 items for EESC 1150
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.
8715th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
839th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8817th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8937th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8831st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
772nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8518th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8731st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
765th 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.
8731st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8520th 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 1177 CosmosOvr82Chal36thWork25th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record

4 sections on record · course itself rated 75 out of 100. See the full board for EESC 1177.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601858140
Spring 202501837540
Spring 202401827340
Spring 202201797140
All 13 items for EESC 1177
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8820th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8820th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8512th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9022nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9044th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8831st 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.
8621st pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8625th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
765th 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.
8836th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8419th 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.