Grade 'A' notes taken last semester may be worth a hefty penny, now that GradeGuru.com has turned quality note taking into a profitable business.
The Web site, designed to aid students in their studying, allows students to upload class notes in exchange for cash.
Thousands of students are sharing their notes daily, and 322 universities are already registered, according to the site.
Bri Kim, a senior finance and marketing major and campus ambassador for GradeGuru, explains that students earn points by receiving ratings from their peers.
'I've already uploaded six or seven notes. The more people view your notes, the more money you make,' Kim said.
Other students can also leave comments on those notes or offer suggestions.
According to the site, 100 points is equivalent to a dollar and a typical set of class notes is worth about $50. Points earned by students and campus organizations can be redeemed for cash or gift cards from one of GradeGuru's reward partners, such as iTunes, Starbucks and CampusFood.com.
They can also donate their money to a not-for-profit organization such as Rainforest Alliance.
Emily Sawtell, GradeGuru founder and director of new business ventures at McGraw-Hill Education, believes that through the use of social media, students will be able to interact with others by giving feedback and essentially creating a virtual study group.
'We've done extensive research on the idea and found that students often turn to their peers for support … we saw an opportunity to put that online,' Sawtell said.
In her research, Sawtell has also found that many students feel material resonates better when it is looked at and learned through someone else's perspective.
'Collaboration is well-recognized on GradeGuru. It's a really good way to see how other people do stuff and also [students] know they are sharing their notes, so through the public aspect, people are more committed to putting together more solid study materials,' Sawtell said.
GradeGuru has a no tolerance policy for plagiarism. The site has partnered with TurnItIn, one of the top services utilized by academic institutions to prevent plagiarism. Any uploaded notes for a course that uses TurnItIn will be detected and examined.
Kim became a campus ambassador for GradeGuru through an internship program at UB. Campus ambassadors are top note sharers on the site and work within their universities to promote this new way of studying.
'It's a community that feeds off itself,' Sawtell said. 'Campus ambassadors are telling friends about it and spreading the word.'
GradeGuru's ease of use is what initially attracted Kim to the site.
'I like it because it's so easy to search on,' Kim said. 'You just put the class name and hundreds of notes will come up … you can search it, click it, download it and bam.'
Sawtell and her team are working on a new version of the site that will be coming out soon. It will include a school finder widget and Facebook Connect integration so students can find notes for specific classes at their university.
Sawtell says that the site is by no means a substitute for going to class. It is a way for others to learn from each other and offers incentive for good note taking.
www.gradeguru.com
