Though the frustration of fall scheduling is past, a new program may ease the process for the spring semester.

The Schedulizer, a program designed by former Cornell University student Ross Skaliotis during the summer after his freshman year, was released at Cornell in fall 2004 and is now available to Penn State students.

One thousand students signed onto Schedulizer in the first week at Cornell, and the program now serves two-thirds of Cornell's student body, Skaliotis said.

Schedulizer is based on convenience.

The idea behind the program is to type in the courses you need and the times you want to take them, and then the program generates schedules to meet these criteria, Skaliotis said.

"Schedulizer allows students to specify whether they want Fridays off or no morning classes," he said. "If you don't want classes on Mondays, Schedulizer can do that. If you want a period for lunch, Schedulizer can do that, too."

Since 2004, Schedulizer's popularity has grown. After introducing Schedulizer to Ithaca College, Binghamton University and Louisiana State University, Skaliotis said the new focus is on the Big Ten.

Two weeks ago, Schedulizer was introduced to Penn State and Ohio State.

Through fliers and word-of-mouth, several hundred students have signed on at Ohio State and 50 more join each day, Skaliotis said.

Penn State has been slower to catch on.

He said only 150 students have signed up so far at Penn State, leaving most unaware of the service.

"My roommate mentioned something about it," said Eileen Gibbons (junior-premedicine), "but that's all I've heard."

Unlike Ohio State, Penn State already has the scheduling tool eLion, so Schedulizer is not as necessary. Nevertheless, some students seemed excited by the idea.

Steve Schiappa (sophomore-bioengineering) said the service would save a lot of time because it figures everything out for you.

"It would be nice to choose when you have class," Laura Karelitz (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said, "especially if you wanted to leave early some days."

Karelitz said she thought students would be happier with their schedules with the new procedure.

Steve McGuire (senior-American studies), who has less schedule flexibility, also expressed interest.

"I'd look into anything to make scheduling easier," he said. "I'd give it a try."

When asked whether Schedulizer would threaten eLion's popularity, Robin Anderson, director of customer communications for information technology services, said eLion is more than just scheduling.

"It's looking at your bursar bill. It's transcripts," she said. "As far as a threat, Schedulizer is not as robust."

Skaliotis, however, said he is not finished.

After transferring to Ithaca College as a junior, Skaliotis said he continues to improve his program, and textbook swaps and a different version of Rate My Professors may be in the future.