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Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

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Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#31

Post by jwenig »

leetrout wrote: post #30

I'm super interested in this because I've developed an opinion about software used in higher ed: It. All. Sucks. Not one piece of software I have used (Canvas, Sakai, Slate and numerous in-house tools) are easy to use or easy to integrate with. A group of students here at UNC created https://www.coursicle.com/ which deals with the student scheduling side of things and actually looks pretty great but I've not used it.…

Appreciate your interest, Lee. Coursicle is a pretty cool product: lots of users and engagement and really nailed the B2C2B play.

I'm inclined to agree that the best Higher Ed products are not actually all that great. Some of the VC's that I've spoken with joke that a B+ product in Higher Ed is a unicorn.

As for the CIO's - we're able to standardize a lot of that using something called the HECVAT which is basically a tell all for security reviews. If you're interested in learning more, looks like you have a super interesting github and would love to connect, just shoot me your email

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#32

Post by TCR19 »

jwenig wrote: post #29
TCR19 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah of course. Are you guys mainly focused on classic 4 year universities or do you have your sights on/have you worked with community college and trade schools as well?

We have lots of community colleges and one trade school. Not to get philosophical, but CC's are some of our favorite schools to work with because you feel so close to the mission. CC's have huge huge huge scheduling problems that actually impact grad rates

I agree with this whole-heartedly. I've moved over to the tech industry now, but was pretty focused on community college education for a while. If it's fine with you, I'm going to grab your email from another thread and send you an email about connecting.

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#33

Post by bnj »

Really cool to be introduced to coursedog. It’s funny to hear your experience of higher ed software, because I work in a public high school and we have a very similar challenge re: catalog management and curriculum planning, but the landscape of solutions is nonexistent.

If anyone knows of a provider that would work with a high school on these points, we would be first in line.

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#34

Post by lettergram »

If you haven’t checked it out, I have a similar product for UIUC, WU, among others. Haven’t updated it in years, but is still highly used:

http://easy-a.net

Tells students the difficulty of their semester, estimates hours they will have to work, expected grades, etc.

Happy to discuss, feel free to reach out.

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#35

Post by jwenig »

lettergram wrote: post #34

If you haven’t checked it out, I have a similar product for UIUC, WU, among others. Haven’t updated it in years, but is still highly used: http://easy-a.net Tells students the difficulty of their semester, estimates hours they will have to work, expected grades, etc. Happy to discuss, feel free to reach out.

Yeah we’ve come across easy a and loved some of your blog posts. Will shoot you an email to connect! Nice product :)

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#36

Post by jwenig »

bnj wrote: post #33

Really cool to be introduced to coursedog. It’s funny to hear your experience of higher ed software, because I work in a public high school and we have a very similar challenge re: catalog management and curriculum planning, but the landscape of solutions is nonexistent. If anyone knows of a provider that would work with a high school on these points, we would be first in line.

Is your student information system handling that for you? I know some powercampus schools handle it that way. I can ping some folks and follow up if I get any recommendations

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#37

Post by thebradbain »

Congrats you guys! I’ve been following Coursedog for a while, and if there’s anyone who I believe can crack this market, it’s you two. As someone who just spent the past summer creating software integrations with legacy learning management systems like Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, and Sakai, I can’t emphasize enough the need for disruption in this space.

They’re a rocketship!

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#38

Post by ishwarn »

bnj wrote: post #33

Really cool to be introduced to coursedog. It’s funny to hear your experience of higher ed software, because I work in a public high school and we have a very similar challenge re: catalog management and curriculum planning, but the landscape of solutions is nonexistent. If anyone knows of a provider that would work with a high school on these points, we would be first in line.

Hi! I work at Abl and this is related to what we do. Take a look at our site, ablschools.com. You can shoot me a note if you’d like: ishwar@ablschools.com

Re: Launch HN: Coursedog (YC W19) – Resource Planning Software for Higher Ed

#40

Post by justinkelly »

Congrats on the launch of Coursedog!

I work in HE in Australia and a number of unis have switched from manual/xls to Akari [0]

A comparison page on your website with CourseDog vs X would be welcome – just so it’s easy to see what you provide vs the market

A scheduling tool that works with academic workload models (not sure if this is Australia specific thing) that optimises[1] academic and resource/room allocation would be very welcome

* No. 1 complaint from students is class scheduling!

[0] http://www.akarisoftware.com/index.cfm/page/solutions

[1] with multiple optimisation models

  - students want more classes at student friendly times that allow work+study
  - universities want less classes
  - academics want classes in work friendly hours etc...
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