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Coursicle means easier scheduling, course registration

Miami students registering for spring semester classes this fall have a new resource to use--Coursicle, a course registration and planning app.

Coursicle allows students to easily browse classes through filtered searches and plan their schedule online on its website or through a mobile app.

The idea for the app came when Coursicle co-founder Joe Puccio, then a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, was registering for classes and got into only one of the five he needed to take.

"That night, I started working on a program that would text me when a class I wanted next had an available seat," Puccio said.

A friend of Puccio's suggested he open up the system to other students. The system proved to be so popular that by the end of UNC's registration period, 900 people registered using the app. The following semester, the number doubled. The increased demand for the text service led to the creation of the iOS and Android application that would send push notifications instead of texts.

Puccio says the main goal of Coursicle was to make planning a schedule more time-efficient, as well as to keep students from having to refresh a webpage to see if classes have become available. The app sends push notifications when seats in desired classes become available and helps students avoid double-booking classes.

Coursicle also allows students to compare the price of textbooks at their college bookstore with prices on Amazon, Chegg and Abebooks, and compare schedules with friends on Facebook.

Puccio says that last week, Coursicle added a new feature that allows students access to free premium services if they get three friends to download and register on Coursicle. The next major update to the app will most likely include more course information, such as names of the professors and dates and times of classes.

Anneli Dillon, a junior at Miami, has recently tried using the app.

"I wanted to use it for winter term classes, but I realized it only works for spring and fall semesters," Dillon said. "I definitely like the idea of the app and plan on using it again next time I register."

Puccio said around 140 Miami students have registered for classes through Coursicle, and 300 have used the course planning calendar.

jeffrea2@miamioh.edu

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