Facebook used to organize class schedules

With help from a UCF alumnus and social media, registering for classes could become a little easier.

UCF alumnus Tim Parkin created and officially launched a website called Classpile that aims to make the class registration process easier, while giving back to a nation in need by donating a portion of the proceeds received from the site to Mission of Hope.

The website, www.classpile.com, which prompts users to sign in through Facebook, lets them search the database for the course they need, shows them the number of seats available, the times and days each section of the class meets, as well as the section professors, and then is added to the user’s schedule laid out in a weekly format.

Classpile will also inform users if a class might need a lab, and it will let them know if a class they need becomes available.

After completing the user’s schedule, the site provides the class numbers to easily copy and paste into the registration site and gives the option to share the schedule with Facebook friends to connect with others who might be in the same class.

Classpile costs $4.97 to use. However, 10 percent of the proceeds go to Mission of Hope, an organization that feeds and educates children in Haiti, which is currently the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. For each student who pays for use of the site, the 10 percent provides a day’s worth of food and education for the children.

Parkin said several of his friends were involved with Campus Crusade for Christ and had partnered with Mission of Hope and he thought it would be a great way to increase their involvement.

“We wanted to impact the world in a positive way,” Parkin said.

The idea to create a more efficient way to register for classes came to Parkin with help from friends during his sophomore year at UCF.

“I had been using myUCF for almost two years, and I realized it’s not the easiest thing to use,” Parkin said. “My friends suggested making my site, and seven years later, it’s real.”

Parkin says all the class information is publicly available through UCF’s website, so he doesn’t need to get the information through the university.

Although UCF student Tim Arnold was reprimanded for his U Could Finish app, which provided a similar service, Parkin said he hasn’t received any communication from UCF about the site and thinks that the fact that he is no longer a student has some bearing.

“I think we’re kind of under the radar for now,” Parkin said. “But, since we’re partnered with Mission of Hope, I think it would be in UCF’s best interest not to take action against us.”

Chad Binette, associate director of UCF News & Information, said in an email that he was not familiar with the website.

Parkin hopes to expand the site to schools nationwide, but for the time being is focusing on the top 100 schools based on enrollment. He said right now he is looking to expand it to the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Classpile was officially launched Oct. 16, and a press release was sent out Monday to correspond with the opening of class registration at UCF.

“So far we’ve received no negative feedback at all from students,” Parkin said. “I think it’s going to be successful, so we’re excited.”

Classpile can be accessed all semester long after paying for use of the site, making it easy to add, drop or withdraw from courses. Students also receive free song downloads from artists who support Mission of Hope’s mission.