It’s that time again. Time to spend hours bonding with Wolverine Access, browsing the courseguide and meeting with academic advisors in hopes of discovering that perfect schedule for next term.
But Business School senior John Hostetler is familiar with this anxiety and has introduced a new free tool to help University students find the perfect schedule – www.mischedule.com.
Users choose the term, and the website links to Wolverine Access’ databases to provide students with course availabilities. The site allows users to select up to eight courses, submit time preferences – late riser, no Fridays, four-day weekend – and section preferences. It then compiles all of the information and produces up to 10 possible schedule combinations.
“This really saves students time,” Hostetler said. “I remember going through Wolverine Access and trying to find classes that would fit – it was a pain. This allows you to take the classes you want to take at the exact time you want to take them, to make the best possible schedule.”
“I think it’s a really good idea because it makes doing your schedule much more efficient,” LSA freshman Shauna Minning said. “I’ve spent hours trying to find a schedule that works for me, and this will save me a lot of time,” she said.
The website was created two years ago by Hostetler’s brother, Dan, a University alum, as part of an independent study project.
Dan Hostetler, now a computer programmer at Comshare, an Ann Arbor company, said he included more student-friendly features for mischedule.com in response to his own experience scheduling with Wolverine Access.
“When Wolverine Access came out, I really didn’t like it. I thought they could have made it a lot better, and then I realized it actually can be made better,” he said.
Dan’s website received a positive response when it first piloted in spring 2001, and served around 3,000 people, he said.
“People e-mailed me saying they couldn’t find a working schedule on their own, and would not have found one without the site’s help,” he said.
Dan said one of the most annoying aspects of Wolverine Access was that he could not always log on. Students can access mischedule.com at all hours, and can sift through large courses with multiple lectures and sections.
“If you’re taking five classes or are a second-year student, where most classes have hundreds of sections, there is no way to figure out the best way to fit it all in. There are millions of combinations,” he said.