A new website, Ultrinsic, is allowing students to bet on the grades they make in their classes.

The site works by allowing students to put money on the site via credit card and allows them to bet on their future grades.

But campus officials say they have lingering questions about the site based in Garden City, N.Y.

According to the site, the purpose is to provide an incentive for students to do well in individual classes or overall in a semester. The idea stemmed from two University of Pennsylvania students, Jeremy Gelbart and Steven Wolf.

The site lists its availability at 36 schools nationwide, including N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest and Duke.

The site says Ultrinsic provides cash incentives to students for academic achievement. According to the site, regardless of whether the students win their bets, if they tried harder and improved their academic standings even slightly, the experience was worth it.

On the FAQ page, it says students are not required to give Ultrinsic their login information. But once a student registers with the website, it appears to require their University login information. The website says when students enter their login information, it will be downloaded automatically.

Multiple calls to Ultrinsic’s media relations and toll-free number went unanswered. In a live chat session offered on the site, Alex, an operator with Ultrinsic who refused to give his last name, said the phones were not working at the office.

“[The] phones are ringing off the hook today,” Alex said in the chat session.

According to the OIT website, students should never reveal their passwords and letting anyone use their accounts violates OIT policy.

Thomas Stafford, vice chancellor of student affairs, said he hadn’t heard of Ultrinsic until the Technician contacted him Thursday. Stafford said he was unsure about the site and concept.

“It doesn’t seem like a really great idea to me,” Stafford said. “I’m anxious to learn more about the website.”

According to the site, Ultrinsic offers a type of insurance as well as incentives. Course incentives are for reaching target grades in individual courses, semester incentives are for reaching target GPAs and multicourse incentives are for reaching target grades in multiple classes.

“You buy incentives to do good, insurance if you need a consolation prize in case you do bad,” Alex said in the chat session.

The Wake County District Attorney’s Office refused to comment on the legality of the site because they were unfamiliar with it. Ultrinsic also states that, although available at N.C. State, it’s not affiliated with the University.

Stafford said it is illegal to bet in certain ways in North Carolina.

“I want to have a conversation with the University’s legal counsel regarding this website,” Stafford said.

Keith Nichols, director of news and communication, said he doesn’t think there’s any contract between the University and the site.