Derek Gibbs, an MBA student at the Wharton School and vice president of innovation of the Wharton AI & Analytics Club, has created a prediction algorithm that, with assistance from AI, helps MBA students more accurately forecast their class schedules.
Wharton utilizes a unique course scheduling system called CourseMatch in which students express their preferences (called “utilities” in the MBA program) for a class on a 0-100 scale. If a student is really excited about a class, they might score it 100; if they’re marginally interested in a class, they might mark 50; if they are unenthused about a class but willing to take it, they might put 1 or 5.
However, Gibbs says students often struggle converting their preferences to numbers and have no idea what classes and overall class schedule they will receive. They could get all, one, or none of them.
Gibbs’ prediction algorithm, which he is calling CourseCast, solves this problem by informing students what classes, on average, they’re likely to receive from the CourseMatch system.
“It gives you the likelihood of getting specific classes,” he says. “It’ll say you have a 90% chance of getting class A, an 80% change of getting class B, and the same is true for entire schedules. It’ll say you have a 50% chance of getting classes A, C, E, and F.”
This story is by Greg Johnson. Read more at Penn Today.
Posted: April 11, 2025
