MyEdu helps set course load

Scheduling courses is usually a three tab job — one internet tab to look at distribution requirements, one to register on onCourse and another to organize everything into the correct timetable.

The website myEdu.com, which features an IU branch this year, will now help students consolidate all this information into one site,

MyEdu has many features other than just being a course scheduling aid. Students can find information about and rate all professors at IU, compare textbook prices and estimate their course workload by choosing difficult or easy classes. The site, which originally cost $20 to use, is now free for IU students.

MyEdu is financially beneficial as well, said junior Zain Ali, the IU campus representative for myEdu.

“The site knows what classes you need to graduate for your major, so you can graduate in four years,” Ali said. “It saves you money and helps you graduate on time.”

Not only does myEdu help students to plan their own schedule, the site also allows them to connect with Facebook so they can take classes with their friends.

While myEdu also gives students the opportunity to rate all IU professors, many do not have student-created rankings yet. However, the site does allow students to see professors’ grade distributions for each class they have taught before.

“MyEdu is really informative and breaks down all the information so it’s easy to pick classes that are worthwhile and to see what your professors will be like,” myEdu user senior Syma Raza said. “With my senior standing, I wish I had known about this earlier. There are lots of websites out there to help you, but this is the easiest to use.”

Other professor rating sites such as ratemyprofessor.com have a more thorough ranking system, with more student feedback. But the extent of information is limited on this site.

“Ratemyproffesor.com is not as interactive as myEdu,” Ali said. “It just has the professor and class aspect to it, where myEdu is very personalized to the student.”

Although myEdu is new to IU, Ali said students are starting to use it more with spring registration approaching.

Freshman Linden Spalding, who had not visited the site before, said she thought myEdu is a good idea.

“I think it would be really helpful especially for freshman and people who are new to IU because they don’t know much about the University,” Spalding said. “You don’t want to waste time in a class where you aren’t learning because a professor’s teaching style doesn’t work for you.”