| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Michael Crosno Chris Chilek John Cunningham |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
| Area served | United States |
| Industry | Education |
| Website | www.myedu.com |
| Type of site | SaaS - Software as a service DaaS - Data as a service |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | Spring 2008 |
| Current status | Active |
MyEdu is a private company founded in 2008 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. MyEdu works by collecting data from college students, as well as official academic data from universities, to identify patterns that lead to unexpected costs.[1] MyEdu also provides interactive web applications to aid those seeking a college degree[2], including services that focus on college decision making, such as degree planning & requirements, class schedules, courses, and professors. These services concentrate on helping students organize their academics. In fact myedu.com allows students to pick the teachers who give the highest grades[3][4]
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MyEdu was founded in 2008 by Michael Crosno, Chris Chilek and John Cunningham. The company, formerly known as Pick-A-Prof, officially changed its name to MyEdu in the summer of 2009.[5]
MyEdu is reported by academic institutions to have scraped college websites for student e-mail addresses. The company than proceeds to send unsolicited mail to these students and creates accounts for them on the MyEdu site without permission.[6][7][8]
On October 18, 2011 the UT System announced a $10 million investment in MyEdu. It admitted the personal connection between MyEdu and the UT System. The co-founder of MyEdu, John Cunningham, is the son of William Cunningham, who is a former UT System chancellor, former UT-Austin president and current faculty member at the McCombs School of Business. William Cunningham has had a financial stake in MyEdu.[9][10]
The investment agreement designates MyEdu as "a UT System official" with permission to access student records.[11]
Critics have pointed out that the UT decision bypassed vetting by the university's investment advisers.[12]