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

Tone Svetelj

Philosophy · 20 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
PHIL 107042nd of 65 instructorsPHIL 107134th of 71 instructors
What the overall is made of
88BC evaluations20 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
82RateMyProfessors8 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
64thMore challenging than 64% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
90BC — “Intellectually Challenging”20 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 56 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
42ndMore work than 42% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
49BC — “Workload”20 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: 8 ratings, 75% would take again, difficulty 56 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 20 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9359th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9247th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9358th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9352nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9261st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9046th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9151st pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9165th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9476th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9157th 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.
4942nd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9064th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9795th 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 · 20 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 IOvr86Chal40thWork39th
On this class's board42nd of 65 instructors

10 sections on record · course itself rated 80 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1070.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202509918440
Fall 202533898260
Fall 202409898540
Fall 2024337972—
Fall 2023098272—
Fall 2023297774—
Fall 202209868160
Fall 202229908740
Fall 202121858160
Fall 202126908060
All 13 items for PHIL 1070
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9241st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9133rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9138th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9233rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9145th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8830th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8928th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9148th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9362nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8933rd 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.
5139th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8940th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9885th 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 IIOvr90Chal55thWork33rd
On this class's board34th of 71 instructors

10 sections on record · course itself rated 87 out of 100. See the full board for PHIL 1071.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 2026099187—
Spring 202633928940
Spring 202509939140
Spring 202533909040
Spring 202409918860
Spring 202429848140
Spring 202309918540
Spring 2023297875—
Spring 202221898560
Spring 2022261009360
All 13 items for PHIL 1071
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9453rd 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.
9452nd pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9444th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9357th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9146th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9245th 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.
9573rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9361st 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.
9155th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9781st 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.