A new finite help website Finite Plus is helping to fundraise for IU Dance Marathon. Founder Therin Alrik said he is donating 10% of all new $35 membership fees from Nov. 1-Nov. 17.
“As the business is having money come in, I want to return some of that money to the IU community,” Alrik said. “IUDM is just part of the fabric of IU so it just seemed like the best place to start.”
Alrik said he wants to use Finite Plus to raise money for other charities in the future.
In addition to fundraising for IUDM, Finite Plus’ main goal is helping students with their Finite classes.
Alrik graduated from the Media School in May 2018 and he and his friend Zachary Watt decided to use their video production skills to help students learn.
They, along with junior Max Weger, created the website as a resource for IU students taking Finite. The website is heavily centered around short video tutorials, but also includes study guides, practice quizzes and unlimited e-tutoring from Alrik.
Finite Plus was launched in August. Alrik said it took about a year and a half to build.
“It’s this whole experience of being able to sit in your dorm and get the help you need with Finite without having to leave the comfort of your pajamas or pay an exuberant amount of money,” Alrik said.
The e-tutoring consists of students submitting questions to Alrik which he then answers. Alrik posts these problems with his work and answers to the website so other students can benefit.
“I’m trying to build essentially this database of student-submitted questions,” Alrik said.
Alrik guarantees an answer to a student’s question within 48 hours, but he said he has answered 83% of the questions within an hour.
Senior Jenna Roganovich said she has been using Finite Plus almost all semester. She started using the website during the third week.
Roganovich said she likes Finite Plus because of the length and quality of the videos.
“He does a really good job of explaining stuff clearly, I think, and since they’re shorter videos it’s a lot easier to use them to study,” she said.
Roganovich said she uses the e-tutoring regularly. She credits Alrik’s help as the reason she has an A on WebWork.
Roganovich said she thinks Finite Plus is worth the money.
“With Finite Plus I can email him for help on a homework question and he’ll get back to me right away and then I can watch his tutorial videos whenever I want,” Roganovich said.
Alrik said he would like to lower the price as more people sign up.
“I want it to be accessible to as many people as possible,” Alrik said. “It’s really not about me making money.”
Alrik said he is only looking to be compensated for the time he puts into Finite Plus.
Alrik is the only person who answers students’ questions through the e-tutoring. He said he wants to keep it that way because it ensures reliable, consistent answers.
One of Alrik’s main goals is to raise the GPAs of students in Finite. Alrik said the average GPA points awarded for Finite right now is 2.45.
“I really want to make sure that we’re helping people’s grades so they can be qualified to apply for things later in life,” Alrik said.
