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 · Biology · Fall 2022 – Fall 2025

Welkin Johnson

Professor · Biology · 3 evaluation records across 3 classes

On each class's board
BIOL 40901st of 2 instructors ProvisionalBIOL 52101st of 2 instructors ProvisionalBIOL 6200only instructor on record Provisional
What the overall is made of
98BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – 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
91stMore challenging than 91% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
95BC — “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
86thMore work than 86% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
67BC — “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.
9891st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9790th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9894th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9782nd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9261st pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9157th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9792nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9485th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9258th 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.
6786th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9591st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9163rd 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

3 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.

BIOL 4090 VirologyOvr99Chal71stWork78th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 96 out of 100. See the full board for BIOL 4090.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501999660
All 13 items for BIOL 4090
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9986th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9881st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9986th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9985th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9782nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9992nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9779th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8939th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9676th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9462nd 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.
9471st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
8011th 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.

BIOL 5210 Molecular Basis of Infectious DiseaseOvr93Chal81stWork78th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 88 out of 100. See the full board for BIOL 5210.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501938860
All 13 items for BIOL 5210
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9456th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9457th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9667th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9659th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8936th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9042nd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9356th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9259th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
7910th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8010th 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.
9681st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9886th 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.

BIOL 6200 Graduate VirologyOvr100Chal79thWork93rd
On this class's boardonly instructor on record Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 95 out of 100. See the full board for BIOL 6200.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 2022011009580
All 13 items for BIOL 6200
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
100100th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
100100th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
100100th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9555th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9043rd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8519th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
100100th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
100100th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
100100th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
100100th 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.
9579th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9571st 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.