When sophomore Abby Wang went to register for a required class last week, she saw — to her dismay — the required class she needed to take was full. In the past, professors have just told her to wait until the beginning of the semester to see if a spot opens up for the class, but she couldn’t do that this semester.
“As a biology major, I needed to fulfill my core requirements, and I couldn’t get into the class that would fit into my schedule, so I used BU Ninja,” the College of Arts and Sciences sophomore said. “Within a week, I got a text and an email that there was a space open in the class that I wanted.”
BU Ninja has been at Boston University since last September, and students have increasingly begun to use the website BUNinja.com in lieu of class waitlists, since the service notifies students immediately when seats become available in full classes.
Students sign up using their email and phone number and select the class they want to monitor. They then receive an email, text and phone call as soon as a spot opens up in the class. The first class monitored is free, and additional courses incur an extra charge.
David Lowe, founder of BU Ninja, said he brought the service to BU after starting a similar program called perfectschedule.com at Arizona State University. He worked with individual BU students and with BU’s Advertising Club to create a brand ambassador program and ad campaigns for the website.
Lowe said BU Ninja has roughly 1,000 users — largely sophomores and juniors — and has grown more than 100 percent since it was first introduced on campus. Lowe said he’s noticed upticks in users at each class’ respective registration date.
“It’s strictly word-of-mouth at this point,” Lowe said. “The students are just telling each other about it.”
Lowe said students use BU Ninja for reasons ranging from balancing school with work to simply wanting to sleep in.
“We’ve got all sorts of customers,” Lowe said. “People who are just looking to get a more convenient schedule in terms of not having to go to campus as much, work around a work schedule or simply don’t want to get up early in the morning to take an 8 a.m. when a 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. is available.”
Lowe said BU Ninja is not intended to be a replacement for waitlists, but a tool to use when waitlists, which many students find ineffective, are not available to students.
“In an ideal world, sites like BU Ninja wouldn’t be necessary because of wait listing, but wait listing has been around a very long time, and schools are still reluctant for some reason to fully embrace them,” Lowe said. “I’m sure they have their reasons, and that’s where BU Ninja comes in.”
Lowe also said BU Ninja is working on implementing new features, such as a “parent link” where parents can give their students money to pay for course monitoring.
University Registrar Christine Paal wrote in an email that BU works hard to ensure students are able to get the classes they need.
“Having been a Registrar at BU School of Public Health, I know my colleagues work very hard in setting up semester class schedules months ahead of registration,” Paal wrote. “They analyze enrollment patterns and monitor class enrollments closely from day one of registration.”
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said there is no evidence that the lack of available classes prevents students from graduating on time.
“We have a really high percentage of four-year degree completion, and in some cases, three and a half years, and some even at three,” Riley said, “so we know that we offer enough sections.”
Riley also cautioned that while tools like BU Ninja can be helpful, students shouldn’t depend on them to get the classes they want and need.
“I think the most practical way to go about it is to plan ahead, [and] know exactly what courses you need as you go through your degree program,” Riley said.
Elizabeth Loizeaux, associate provost for Undergraduate Affairs, wrote in an email that BU is currently working to improve its waitlist process, which currently differs between schools, departments, and professors.
“Our registration system is not able to keep waitlists, and that’s a frustration for faculty, staff and students alike,” Loizeaux wrote. “But the university is working toward an online system for waitlists that will be in place in a few years.”
Other students who have used BU Ninja said they found it helpful for securing spots in popular classes, enrolling in classes with professors they liked and developing schedules that worked for them.
Nicole Marino, a College of Communication sophomore, said she started using the service after hearing about it through Ad Club.
“I found out it was a useful service to get into classes that aren’t available, especially the ones that go really fast, when people are trying to get that one spot,” Marino said. “Being able to find out on the spot when it’s open, and you can just go grab it, it helps free up your schedule.”
Skyler Vernon, a CAS sophomore, said she was impressed with how quickly BU Ninja alerted her to an open seat.
“It worked pretty quickly,” Vernon said. “They notified me literally within three or four days.”
Jennifer Small is a junior in the Boston University College of Communication, majoring in journalism and minoring in media science. She is one of the Co-Campus News Editors for Spring 2023.
