Schedulr, a web app originally launched July 26, was designed to relieve some of the pain of scheduling classes every term. In anticipation of Winter term 2015, the app has received a number of updates from co-creators Nishtha Dalal, an informatics and information systems major, and Tushar Soni, a computer science major.
Schedulr has become increasingly popular among Drexel students over the past few months as an alternative to Drexel’s Term Master Schedule. After being shared on Facebook, a link to getschedulr.com received over 150 hits in a single night; and over the course of the following week, that number rose to more than 1000. Dalal and Soni have since continued to improve upon the app since its initial launch, while witnessing a steady rise in users, aiming to time any updates to coincide with course registration.
“The development of the updates has been on-going, but we rolled out the latest version about three days ago. We already saw a spike in users after Drexel sent out the registration email, and we wanted to make sure we were ready for when the big traffic hits,” Dalal and Soni wrote in an email.
For many students, the app is a godsend, removing the routine headache of planning course loads ahead of time. Carley Roche, a history sophomore, for example, praises Schedulr as an easy and convenient escape from class signups. “My first term [in] freshmen year, I actually missed the first day to sign up for classes, because I just didn’t understand the whole process. But I got back from summer break and a friend of mine showed me the website, and I was so happy I wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore,” Roche said.
According to Dalal and Soni, comments from student users are not only encouraging, but have been vital in the further development of Schedulr. “We have received great feedback so far from students through various channels. A lot of the feedback indicated the need for the blockers, and we had already planned for it, so we rolled that out first,” the creators said.
“Blockers are essentially chunks of time during the week where you don’t want to take classes. It could be for any reason, like you hate waking up early, or you have a part-time job with fixed hours, or you just don’t want to go to class on Fridays. The new update allows for users to add these blockers to further narrow down their options,” they continued.
The second major update, other than improved load times, is the inclusion of a new summary page. “We realized that not a lot of people were able to find their course registration numbers when needed, and while we had the summary page in place, we saw that few people were going through to the end,” Dalal and Soni noted.
“The new summary page comes with a unique URL that’s yours to keep, and revisit on registration day, or share with your friends. The Summary page is equipped with CRNs and links to the actual course so students can check the course on TMS to confirm any restrictions that may apply,” they went on.
There are already early plans for other additions to the app, per the recommendations of fellow Drexel students.
“We are also receiving some suggestions on enhancing how the app handles pre- and co-requisites, so we are working with Drexel Information Resources and Technology to see how we can fix that,” the creators mentioned. “We recently gave a talk in the Foundations of Business class about Schedulr and the students had some great suggestions that we cannot wait to integrate into the app,” they said.
Such an evolution of Schedulr has students who are already familiar with the app enthusiastic about it returning in future terms.
“I don’t think I’ve used it since it’s been updated, but the changes sound helpful and I’ll definitely be trying it out,” Carley Roche said. “I mean, I’m sure they wouldn’t have bothered adding those things if they didn’t make it better. And it’s cool that they’ve actually been listening to what people want.”
Senior Nathaniel Stanton, on the other hand, had never used or even heard of Schedulr, but was more than open to trying it out. “Honestly, I wish this was around a few years ago. I’ve been dealing with Drexel’s system for four years,” Stanton said. “I guess it hasn’t been that bad, but this site just seems so much better.”
While support of Schedulr continues to grow, Dalal and Soni expressed their optimism surrounding the prospective development of their app, as well as a desire to cooperate with Drexel students and faculty to ensure Schedulr meets its full potential.
“As for long term plans, we are still discussing our options at various levels within the Drexel administration. We have seen great support from faculty in LeBow College of Business, the Director of College Operations Kevin Montgomery who has helped us take the app higher up in the chain, as well as from our new vice president of IRT and the [Office of the Provost],” Dalal and Soni said, before promising a bright future for Schedulr. “We are constantly looking to enhance the scheduling experience for students at Drexel and we are doing our best to deliver on that.”
Schedulr is now available for students to plan their Winter Terms at getschedulr.com.