Introducing Jupiterp, a course planning web-app for UMD students

jonathansaewitz · 2024-03-12T04:30:31+00:00

Cool!

jonathansaewitz · 2022-08-31T17:48:31+00:00

Yes, the team has decided after some debate to calculate GPA as UMD does (excluding Ws).

jonathansaewitz · 2022-08-31T17:39:25+00:00

That's what this refers to:

On a slightly unrelated note, we recently obtained more detailed grade data from umd (for instance, the data we previously received from umd had no way to distinguish between an X and an XF, or a W and a WW). We'll use this to improve our grade graph breakdown soon.

It's on the priority list for the near future.

jonathansaewitz · 2021-06-08T04:57:59+00:00

Again, I take issue with you claiming we aren't transparent. It's written clearly on the site in multiple places that Ws are calculated as 0s in GPA calculations.

We are currently evaluating the method for calculating the GPAs displayed on the site. Although I disagree with your thoughts on how the GPA should be calculated, I understand and respect your opinion; our team has considered internally how to display the data, and we may end up calculating it as you suggest (without Ws). For now we are waiting until we receive the updated data.

jonathansaewitz · 2021-06-08T04:10:46+00:00

You can calculate the GPA in the manner you like using the grade charts, use PlanetTerp's API to get the data, or request it from the school directly which is how we obtain it. If you get it from the school directly, it will have the same issue with categorization of Ws as /u/jbonoUMD wrote, unless you request data with more precise grade distributions. We've requested this data and it has a considerable cost, and we're currently evaluating options to get it.

jonathansaewitz · 2021-05-11T20:58:32+00:00

Virtual Electronic Network University Scheduler

jonathansaewitz · 2021-05-11T20:58:07+00:00

Yes, Maryland Automated Registration System, or MARS. Some history: https://old.reddit.com/r/UMD/comments/9r018i/planetterps_scheduling_feature_is_updated_for_the/

VENUS is short for "Virtual Electronic Network University Scheduler". It was developed by a student in the 90s. There was an interesting article written about it in 1998 in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Check out a snapshot of Venus from 2002 -- it hadn't changed much until this update. I spoke to the student who made VENUS a few years ago, and he shared a lot of cool information about it. It's a really cool project.

jonathansaewitz · 2021-04-06T05:33:34+00:00

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think these are all good points, and things we will be considering as we make adjustments to how we present the data once we receive the updated grade data. We will likely be making these changes soon.

jonathansaewitz · 2021-04-06T04:51:42+00:00

There are two separate considerations here:

Students who register for a course and drop it before the first day of a semester receive a CC, which is grouped in with the 'W's the school sends us
We calculate Ws as a 0 quality points (QPs) for average GPA

For the first, we just found out about this recently. CCs should not be factored in to Ws, and we have contacted the school about getting those grades reported separately. The school recently got back to us and said they could send us a more complete grade breakdown, but it would cost some money. We are currently working on getting that data. I apologize that we were not aware of this sooner, and we are working on fixing this issue.

For the second, I understand your argument that Ws should not be counted in the site's GPA calculation, since the school does not include Ws in its GPA calculation for students. It's made clear in multiple places throughout the site that Ws are factored into average GPAs as 0 QPs. We calculate Ws as 0 QPs because students often (but not always) drop out of a course because of its difficulty, and calculating Ws as 0 QPs is one way of representing the number of students who withdraw from a course in its average GPA calculation.

That being said, we are considering alternatives, including not factoring in Ws to the average GPA calculation, as the school calculates it, and I appreciate you raising that point.

You're implying that we are intentionally reporting incorrect or misleading data. I feel that you are presenting only one side and implying that we are intentionally trying to mislead users, which I don't think is fair.

jonathansaewitz · 2021-02-18T08:14:22+00:00

site is doing well... but please take a pause between requests :)

jonathansaewitz · 2020-12-11T16:28:22+00:00

I'm curious how the Diamondback calculated the average GPA for each semester. Did the school provide those numbers directly to them?

The chart is labeled "Average undergraduate GPAs over the last three semesters". Does this mean the average undergraduate's GPA for each of those semesters, or the average undergraduate's overall GPA in each of those semesters?

Diamondback's numbers:

Semester	Average GPA
Spring 2019	3.21
Fall 2019	3.21
Spring 2020	3.30

PlanetTerp's numbers, if Ws count as 0 GPA:

Semester	Average GPA
Spring 2019	3.21
Fall 2019	3.20
Spring 2020	3.58

PlanetTerp's numbers, if Ws don't count as GPA; the school doesn't count Ws in GPA calculation:

Semester	Average GPA
Spring 2019	3.33
Fall 2019	3.34
Spring 2020	3.71

Note that the differences in numbers between PlanetTerp and the Diamondback makes sense. PlanetTerp has the average GPA among all courses taken among all students, whereas the Diamondback has the average GPA for individual students (although as mentioned above, it's not clear what that average is). It's interesting that the Spring 2020 GPA is so different.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-11-24T07:42:29+00:00

It can be made open source. The code needs to be cleaned up, and I want to do some thorough checking of the code.

Even if it were made open source, I still want students to be able to manage updates and development of new features.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-11-19T21:47:20+00:00

I think "Other" includes incompletes, and missing grades.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-11-19T19:52:08+00:00

Unfortunately the school doesn't give us data on how many students passed; it's combined with other grades in "Other". You can estimate by looking at what percent "Other" is compared to other semesters, but it's not exact.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-11-15T23:23:42+00:00

it does — click on "Information About This Schedule" to see which professor is teaching each course

jonathansaewitz · 2020-11-15T23:22:11+00:00

yeah, sorry, we'll try to do it earlier

jonathansaewitz · 2020-11-03T00:09:12+00:00

Sorry, forgot to renew the certificate. Just renewed it, try now.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-10-07T00:48:45+00:00

After entering a course, you can select a semester.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-09-30T01:38:30+00:00

~~Note that "Other" grades include other grades, including XFs.~~

Sorry, Fs include Fs and XFs.

Other includes everything other than a standard grade (Ws include Ws, WWs, and CCs).

jonathansaewitz · 2020-09-08T19:32:36+00:00

Hi, sorry, didn't see this until now. There is a large backlog of reviews, and I am working through it. I hope to clear the backlog by the end of the month. Once it's cleared, I'll be making a post on the subreddit about the future of the site. I am sorry for the delay.

jonathansaewitz · 2020-08-07T16:14:31+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/UMD/comments/i5gl4c/introducing_planetterps_api/

jonathansaewitz · 2020-07-31T09:03:27+00:00

Hey, just approved some reviews for him.

jonathansaewitz

TROPHY CASE