Webassign: dreaded by students, adored by academics

The dreaded red ‘X.’ Students in 1500 academic institutions across the country know what a red ‘X’ means on a Webassign assignment, and how nothing feels worse after countless hours of working than to see the casual red ‘X’ pop up.

       

        Well, how would you like to be a part of the team that actually develops and codes the questions that cause the occasional cursing from dorm rooms, or the slamming of doors due to warranted frustration…because Webassign is hiring!

       

        Webassign , a private company, has a rich and cultured history here at N.C . State. Many students and faculty don’t know that an NCSU company launched the program in 1997.

       

        John Risley , CEO of Webassign and professor of physics, started the program with the help of physics graduate students and has been working with them ever since.

       

        “Webassign is all about changing the world of education; from students to faculty, we are working to improve the learning experience for everyone,” Risley said. 

       

        Webassign is a versatile online homework tool that correlates with the learning going on in the classroom page by page. Students have the opportunity to answer questions and check the answers almost instantaneously.

       

        Mark Santee , director of marketing at Webassign , said that before Webassign , students would have to shuffle through papers before going to the instructor or TA and sometimes would even go without a purpose.

       

        “With the growth of this online homework service that is simply accessible at any computer, students know exactly where their troubles are and can get help right away without wasting valuable time,” Santee said.

       

        The benefits for universities have been immense. When dealing with budget cuts, departments can revert to Webassign , using teacher assistants to grade and record the homework.

       

        The main Webassign office is located on Centennial campus, and is thus very helpful for the University. The employees at the main office can work closely with professors to get ideas and feedback on what can make the program a better educational experience. 

       

        Although the suffering from Webassign is ubiquitous within the student population, the benefits seem to outweigh the frustration. Webassign offers numerous practice problems that have been integrated with actual textbooks that students use in class. The results are immediate and directly impact students. It’s so efficient that Kay Sandberg, professor of chemistry, has been employing Webassign exams for organic chemistry classes. 

       

        Joshua Armstrong, junior in chemical engineering, was baffled at first when asked to take tests on Webassign , but later he found it useful.

       

        “I was really confused when my organic [chemistry] professor said our tests would be online,” Armstrong said. “I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t sign up for an online class, right?’ But later when I found out how Webassign became acclimated in the classroom, I thought the interaction was great and actually preferred Webassign tests because I knew my score right away.”

       

        For underclassmen, the opinions are varied. 

       

        Alex Williams, sophomore in computer science, said, “I thought it was really refreshing when you actually got something right; it was super practical because it was a really good drill of knowledge.”

 

        Williams also found that students using Webassign can directly change and impact the growing program. “I actually went to a focus group one time for Webassign to let them know that their mathematical values for some of their physics labs were incorrect,” Williams said. 

       

        Almarie Lambert, sophomore in nuclear engineering, has a differing opinion. “Webassign never clicked for me,” Lambert said. “I’d rather wait for a couple days to get positive feedback from an instructor or TA and then just know if I got the question right or wrong. For me, it was pointless.”

       

        The Webassign experience, however, still sees widespread growth with leaps and bounds, according to Santee . “We add a half a million students every term and integrate over a hundred new textbooks every year,” Santee said.

       

        Even though it started at NCSU , Webassign is teaching tool for over 1500 academic institutions across the country now. 

       

        The office on Centennial campus is still where the magic happens.  About 150 employees work out of the main office, doing everything from application development to content editing. 

       

       

        “The best thing about being so close to the academic setting is that we receive wonderful student feedback for things they would want to see implemented,” Risley said.

 

        Risley said Webassign is working on catering to the student. Specifically, making it so students have guided support through homework, where they don’t only get questions wrong, but receive conceptual feedback on where and how they went wrong. “That is something we are actively working on because this is all about the customer experience — the customer, of course being the bright students of today,” Risley said.

       

        Webassign is working on releasing a social media application next fall that would give students across the country the ability to leave user feedback and just interact with other students and faculty in the same field.

       

        “Webassign is without a doubt moving forward to improve student education. It’s our manta, it’s our mission,” Santee said. “Based on our location, we are hoping to utilize faculty, students and anyone at this campus to get involved and help improve the application further for the future.”