Koofers

Koofers is a private company, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Reston, VA (a part of the Washington, DC metropolitan area). Koofers is an interactive community that serves the academic needs of college students through information sharing. College students have access to the service by creating an account with their e-mail address.

Koofers, Inc.
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Social network service
SaaS - Software as a service
DaaS - Data as a service
HeadquartersReston, VA
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleGlynn LoPresti (CEO)
Michael Rihani (CPO)
Patrick Gartlan (CTO)
Dan Donahoe (Software Architect)
IndustryEducation
URLwww.koofers.com
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedFall 2008

Koofers' services span the academic calendar from course selection through final exams, and include interactive flashcards, course & instructor ratings, professors’ grading histories, and an online library for sharing past exams and study materials.

History of the Word "Koofer"

The term “koofer” originated[1] in the 1940s at Bluefield College, a former extension branch of Virginia Tech, and was likely derived from the word “coffer” (synonym for a strongbox). It is often used as a verb in such constructions as “to coofer a problem,” also sometimes spelled “koofer.” A student from Bluefield College transferred to the Virginia Tech and first introduced the term there. The term then began to refer to tests or homework completed in an earlier course that is made available to students taking the course later, and used for studying or preparing.

Company history

Koofers.com was created in 2006 by then Virginia Tech students Michael Rihani and Patrick Gartlan, along with Virginia Tech alumnus Glynn LoPresti. Their aim was to enable students to make the, relatively opaque, process of class and teacher selection more transparent, by providing grading histories and professor reviews to help students shape their class schedules, based on their individual needs and learning styles. in 2019 the Company was acquired by Italian entrepreneur Riccardo Ocleppo, and is today part of the Docsity brand

Progression
  • May 2008 - Participated in Launchbox Digital's tech incubator Summer '08 program[2][3]
  • October 2008 - Was a top 25 recipient of the fbFund Developer Competition[4]
  • July 2010 - Was named as one of the 2010 "Hottest Washington DC Area Companies"[5]

Features & Services
  • Library of course materials - aggregates and organizes course materials.
  • Professor ratings – offers a 5-star rating system that looks at: knowledge, enthusiasm, preparation, communication, fairness, and availability.
  • Grade histories – collected from the universities, users can see the grading trends
  • Flashcards – creation of virtual flashcards, which also provides a unique “Wikipedia Suggests” feature.
  • Schedule maker – students can digitally map out different options and plan the perfect schedule.
  • Question and answer forum – shows the recent posts by students that either ask or answer questions of “general discussion” or relating to specific to courses.
  • Textbook center – aggregates the prices offered to textbooks from several vendors
  • Mobile learning – students using an iPhone can utilized Koofers’ mobile apps

References
  1. "Virginia Tech Traditions - coofer". Virginia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  2. "LaunchBox Unleashes Its First Nine Startups". TechCrunch. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  3. "East Coast Incubator LaunchBox Digital's First 'Class' Graduates". Silicon Alley Insider. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  4. "fbFund Winners". Facebook's Developer Blog. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  5. "Lead411 Launches "Hottest DC Area Companies" Awards". Lead411. 2010-07-06. Archived from the original on 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2010-07-07.

www.docsity.com

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