TheCourseForum, a website intended to consolidate professor reviews and streamline the course registration process, has announced the official completion of its redesign project, just in time for spring 2014 course registration.
Announcing its redesign launch via social media just after 1 a.m. Monday, the new site offers a more user-friendly interface and more complete course data.
“We really saw a need to update the site due to inconsistencies in the data and a need to overhaul the design and refresh the look,” said fourth-year College student Marcus Rosti, a database management officer of the site. “I think we’ve made great steps in the right direction with what we’ve got running live on the site now.”
TheCourseForum was originally founded and built by 2005 College graduates Jeff Bordogna and Alan Webb to provide students with a way to personally review professors and courses. The site launched in 2005 and was an immediate success.
The site has grown immensely popular with students since its creation, with about 80 percent of students using the site at some point throughout their University careers, according to theCourseForum analytics.
But since Bordogna and Webb’s graduation, not much has been done to maintain the site. The pair reached out to a group of current University students to pick up the project in the spring of 2012, including third-year Engineering student Brian Whitlow, project manager for the relaunch.
Most of the data and course reviews were salvaged from the original website, Rosti said, but the sites infrastructure was completely redone.
“We had to completely scrap the original site and build it from the ground up, hence it has taken us over a year to finish the project — and we’re still tweaking things here and there and changing things for the better,” Rosti said. “So what you’re seeing is a totally new and fresh website.”
Alex Bergman, a third-year in the Architecture school and graphic designer for the new site, said the team aimed for a “simple, modern and classy” look.
“Some of the problems with the old site stemmed from the fact that it could be very confusing at times, in both content and layout,” Bergman said in an email. “The appearance goal for the new layout was focused on ease of access and coherency, creating a look that would be easy to understand and a system that would encourage people to use it and write more reviews.”
The team hopes to continue developing the site, eventually pairing it with Lou’s List, Rosti said.
“Our grand goal is to make theCourseForum the go-to for your entire course planning experience,” Rosti said. “Our vision is that you’ll be able to pick classes, times, professors and [have it tell you] requirements for every major and make it the entire suite of tools you need to make the most of
Bergman said the site provided a unique opportunity for University students, both as students and entrepreneurs.
“It doesn’t just make picking out classes for next semester easier, but it also brings together students in learning to create something valuable,” she said. “We hope that theCourseForum can continue to be a completely student-run enterprise.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article identified Brian Whitlow as a College student. He is a third-year in the Engineering School.
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