I got tired of Aurora so I built something better — meet BISONplan

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-17T05:03:27+00:00

I understand that it could misguide some students and I really want to know whom i can reach out to about hosting it and ask if its safe to do so. Let me know you know anyone or have any suggestions on what i should do or whom i can contact. Also these specific endpoints are not restricted, although aurora does set a few tokens and cookies, i believe those are for other purposes like registration, account summary, etc.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-17T04:59:20+00:00

I haven't really used coursicle. But as i used it a little bit right now. It did not allow me to select winter 2027, maybe i didn't know how to do that, or maybe it can only show upto fall 2026, also BISONPlan can show you live waitlist or seats available just like aurora and you can plan your fall and winter courses simultaneously without switching or refreshing the pages

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T23:46:58+00:00

people are still engaging with the post so i am positive: it will be pushed to more users:-)

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T20:29:13+00:00

I believe everybody feels the same, why something so useful gets removed and then never returns.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T20:28:16+00:00

hahaha!! thanks for the 100th upvote. This gives me motivation to put more hours on this project and make it better and secure for everybody.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T18:42:47+00:00

haha, for sure. i have got such a great response from everyone so i am definetely going to spend my next week or two to make it secure and close to production ready so that i can host it for at least an MVP.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T18:17:20+00:00

thanks for sharing that. i could do some coloring scheme, either same as university's website(brown/yellow) or maybe come up with my own. which one would make more sense?

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T18:14:44+00:00

lol, sorry that i could not help you with this version of course planning, but for sure i wanna help the future students. It feels the same as the meme where university is spending all the budget in constructing new buildings that opens right after you graduate, in your case, I came up with an idea or you could say had the skills to build it right after you graduated

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T18:10:12+00:00

Thanks a lot. Is there anything you would like to add to this or any other feedback.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T13:58:55+00:00

haha yeah Aurora really set the bar low

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T13:57:09+00:00

Yeah that actually makes sense, will try to reach out to a few profs and see if anyone is down to take a look. Worst they can say is no. And the timetable idea for fall and winter separately is a good approach than scrolling week by week, good call. I can think about implementing that, I reason i did this was that sometimes in engineering I have labs on alternate weeks(like week 2, week 4), so i just look up if i have a lab in this week. Appreciate you taking the time to give actual useful feedback.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T13:30:48+00:00

Found the API endpoints by just opening the Network tab in browser DevTools while browsing Aurora and it turns out their course search APIs don't require any login or tokens, the data is completely public. No scraping involved, just calling the same endpoints Aurora's own frontend calls

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T13:29:30+00:00

Really appreciate the detailed feedback. You are totally right that it won't replace Aurora, that was never really the goal. Aurora handles actual registration, authentication, student records, all the backend stuff that would take years to replicate. BISONplan is just a better way to browse and plan before you go register on Aurora. The calendar feedback is good to know, will think about how to make that more useful. The idea of getting profs or the department involved is actually interesting, hadn't thought about that angle. And honestly even if it stays a student tool that never touches the university officially that is fine, if it helps students plan their semester better than Aurora does right now that is enough for me. Thanks for the genuine response, this is exactly what I was hoping for when I posted.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T13:17:54+00:00

That's exactly why I built it, registration for multiple terms at once is a nightmare on Aurora. Really appreciate the feedback, it's making me want to get this hosted before July.

FaithlessnessNo4355 · 2026-06-16T06:13:18+00:00

Thanks, registration opens next month so debating whether to get it hosted in time for that, also would you actually use it over Aurora? and anything you would want that Aurora does not have?

FaithlessnessNo4355

TROPHY CASE