MyEdu serves as database for classes, professors

The student aid Web site was formerly known as Pick-a-Prof.

By Jared Grafman

Published Jan. 29, 2010

Pick-a-Prof, the database of college courses, majors and professors, is back under a new name, MyEdu.

The restructured student helper Web site appointed sophomore Mindy Bruning as campus liaison and school representative for the corporation, according to a Jan. 12 news release.

"MyEdu combines rich academic information with powerful web applications to help students save money and increase their success in college," the release stated. "By working with leading colleges and universities over the past decade, MyEdu, formerly Pick-A-Prof, has assembled the largest academic warehouse of course, professor, grade history and degree information in the United States."

Bruning said one of the most valuable features of the site for students would be its schedule planner.

"At the beginning of the semester, students can select their courses and organize their desired schedule," Bruning said. "Unlike MyZou, MyEdu supplies information about the professors teaching each section of a course, such as average drop rate and grades historically given in the course, as well as personal student reviews. Students can also share and compare schedules among friends in their network."

One difference between MyEdu and its former model, Pick-A-Prof, is that MyEdu charges an annual fee to use its features. MyEdu Chief Marketing Officer Cheri Bergeron said the improvements and additional features MyEdu offers will justify the $10 to $20 annual membership fee.

"We changed our business model from an advertising site to a paid membership site," Bergeron said.

Bergeron said the model change and annual fee allow MyEdu to collect more information for students, present more accurate and timely data, deliver more applications to customers and provide responsive customer service.

Among the features MyEdu offers are professor reviews, which are written by students.

"Unlike other free sites, we personally read every member submission to ensure that it is substantive and does not include profanity or personal attacks," Bergeron said.

Bruning said the benefits of using MyEdu include saving students' money.

"MyEdu saves students' money by helping them choose the right courses required for their degree and keeping them on track to graduate in four years," Bruning said. "If a student is still deciding on a degree to pursue, MyEdu's Degree Analyzer can compare two or more degrees, which makes it easy to understand the workload and courses that each requires. This way, students don't waste time and money taking unnecessary courses."

MyEdu also supplies information high school students might be looking for when selecting potential universities, Bruning said.

MyEdu works closely with advisers and professors, encouraging professors to proactively ask students to submit reviews, Bergeron said.

"We believe that MyEdu's services provide a nice complement to a student's interaction with their advisers and are by no means intended to be a replacement for the valuable counsel that they provide," Bergeron said. "In fact, MyEdu enables advisers to support their students more efficiently since their degree plan, course schedule and academic history is all in one place and readily available online."

Bergeron also said MyEdu acquires its information directly from official university sources so the data provided by MyEdu is the same as the data the university provides to its students.

MyEdu is a multi-functional tool for college students.

"MyEdu is an organization tool as well as a constant adviser, no meetings required," Bruning said. "Its format is simple, intuitive and always accessible. Other Web sites provide similar information; however, MyEdu offers the most information, and it's all in one place."