It started as a way for Mark Polson to stay on top of his homework while going to grad school, working and doing an internship.

Polson only had a limited amount of time to study, so he wanted to use it in the best way possible. He made up an Excel spreadsheet listing all his assignments and came up with an algorithm to determine how much time he needed to spend on each task every day. At the end of the semester, he not only brought his GPA up half a grade but also finished the semester with all A's.

As he thought about his experience, Polson realized other students might also benefit from a Web site that would come up with a homework schedule for them. He teamed up with friend and fellow University of Utah student Mac Newbold and Gradefix.com was born.

The site is designed to lower students' stress by more evenly distributing their work load. Students enter their homework assignments into the site, estimating how long it will take them to complete each one, and put in how many hours they have to study each day. The Web site uses an algorithm to make a daily schedule of assignments based on someone's available time.

"What it does is take bottlenecks of time and release (them) because you do your homework over a period of time instead of all at once," Polson said.

In January the site was re-launched with updated and improved features including allowing the student to enter his or her optimal time for each task, automatically readjusting someone's schedule if they miss a task, and putting assignments in sequence. The site also sends out e-mail reminders.

"If you have more homework than will fit into the time you have available (Gradefix) will spread out the load evenly among the days you have left. If you get homework dumped on you at the last minute, it will readjust," Newbold said.

The system is set up so users can input how far ahead they want to schedule assignments. If they have a syllabus with their assignments for an entire semester, they can put it into the system or they can enter homework as it is given. Users can choose to utilize the site for free and put in up to 10 tasks at once or they can schedule anything and everything with the premium plan for $5 a month.

"The first 30 days are free (with the premium plan)," Newbold said. "You can cancel anytime. There is no long-term evil contract."

One of the most surprising things Newbold and Polson have seen since the Web site first went public in September 2006 is the variety of users it has attracted. It is geared for college students, but high school, junior high and even elementary students have signed on to the site. The site has also attracted users from 30 different countries.

"It really goes to show how far the Internet's (reach) is. People put value in it or they wouldn't be telling their friends around the world about it," Polson said.

Newbold said they plan to continue to improving Gradefix.com.

"Our goal is to find ways to help students get better grades, wherever that path leads us," he said.

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com