CBE students benefit from collaboration between CBE and Computer Science Department

Students at the College of Business and Economics (CBE) can now calculate their CBE GPAs instantly, thanks to a collaboration between CBE and Western’s Computer Science Department.

As a Senior project, Computer Science students created a GPA calculator which helps students pursuing majors at the CBE to see where they stand and forecast various future GPA scenarios by adding courses and potential grades. The calculator is a Chrome extension that students can download for free.

“This project is a great example of how Western works collaboratively to benefit students,” said Teri Hall, advisor for the CBE. “Accurately calculating CBE GPA was confusing for CBE students and I kept wishing there was an app for that. Computer Sciences Program Coordinator, Mary Hall, pointed me toward the senior projects CS students do each year. After CBE staff were invited to help develop the requirements for the calculator, Dr. Aran Clausen considered our proposal to see if it would be an appropriate senior project. A student team was assigned and created the calculator during 2015-16, with oversight from their faculty advisor Dr. James Hearne. In summer, one of the student team, Jesten Herrild, worked to refine and finalize the project and staff members from CBE and Central Advising helped to test the calculator for bugs. Now we have a great resource for CBE students.”

Thanks go to Dr. Aran Clausen, Dr. James Hearne, Jesten Herrild, Jake Whitten, PJ Prins, and Timothy Narvaez for collaborating on the project.

Information about the CBE GPA Calculator can be found on the CBE’s website.