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 · Sociology · Fall 2024 – Fall 2025

Viet Phan

Ph.D. Student · Sociology · 3 evaluation records across 2 classes

On each class's board
SOCY 100116th of 26 instructors ProvisionalSOCY 3129only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
84BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2024 – Fall 2025
—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
47thMore challenging than 47% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
88BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 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
35thMore work than 35% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
47BC — “Workload”3 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 3 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8935th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9246th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9038th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9140th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8944th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8838th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8835th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9168th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8630th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9366th 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.
4735th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8847th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8530th 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 · 3 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.

SOCY 1001 Introductory SociologyOvr81Chal19thWork25th
On this class's board16th of 26 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 76 out of 100. See the full board for SOCY 1001.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202503847940
Fall 202405787440
All 13 items for SOCY 1001
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8718th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9131st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8821st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
8818th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8730th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8622nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8616th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8935th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8523rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9039th 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.
8419th 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.

SOCY 3129 Dirty hands vs. Clean models: Sociology, Economics, and Economic SociologyOvr90Chal72ndWork78th
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 84 out of 100. See the full board for SOCY 3129.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501908460
All 13 items for SOCY 3129
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.
9453rd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9455th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9663rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9253rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9253rd 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.
9683rd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8833rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9887th 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.
9472nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8624th 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.