AU students can now receive text message or e-mail alerts when a class they want to take opens up, according to Joel Croft, a sophomore in the Kogod School of Business who wrote the program.
The ClassAlert Web site, classalert.joelcroft.com, checks the university registrar's online course schedule every 10 to 15 minutes and then notifies students who have signed up for the service if a class they want has opened up, according to Croft.
Croft said he wrote the software because he could never get into all the classes he wanted.
"I realize that a lot of students have the same frustrations that I do," he said.
The registrar's office did not return an e-mail asking for comment.
Matthew Fanelli, a sophomore in Kogod, said ClassAlert got him into classes he might have missed if he had checked the registrar's Web site the traditional way.
The registrar's office did not return an e-mail asking for comment.
Since Croft started the Web site a week ago, 43 users have registered for alerts as of press time, according to the Web site.
The Web site is free to use and available to anyone. Croft already had a personal Web site and was able to put the ClassAlert site on that server space, he said.
To register, students enter their name, e-mail address, cell phone number and which course sections they want to take. The program saves previous searches of the registrar's site and compares the status of each course it is watching, Croft said.
As of press time, ClassAlert was monitoring 150 classes, according to the Web site.
Lindsay Barbour, a sophomore in Kogod, said she wanted to take an easier science course and ClassAlert let her know when one opened up.
"When I got the alert, I was taking a nap ... and I was really excited and woke up and was able to register," Barbour said.
Andrew Addison, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he used the program during his initial registration to see if the classes he wanted were still open.
"There was no stress involved at all - I got into all five of the classes I wanted," Addison said.
Erik Altieri, a sophomore in CAS, said he had not heard of the ClassAlert system.
"I would definitely use it - it would make the hassle of scheduling classes you wanted easier," Altieri said.
