Casey Scholar

What is a Casey Scholar?

Casey Scholar is an AI assistant for course materials designed for students, operated by Hao Gang Yu in California, United States. It uses the classroom slides and reading materials to which the user has granted access in order to answer questions, and it links those answers to the relevant course documents.

It is not the Casey legal research product offered by Caseway, nor is it a platform for having essays written on one’s behalf. Its main purpose is to assist with reviewing course material, identifying examples used in class, revisiting concepts, and organizing the sources needed for assignments.

Main functions

Answer based on the course materials

• Users can ask questions in natural language regarding classroom concepts, case studies, reading assignments, and homework.
• The system first retrieves relevant documents from the course materials, and then forms an answer by combining the content found.
• The example answers will list the names of relevant documents and excerpts from the course materials, to enable users to refer back to the original text for verification.
• Issues not covered in the course materials may lack a basis, and even when references are provided, it does not mean that the answers are absolutely correct.

Synchronization and management of multiple courses

• Casey Scholar allows multiple courses to be grouped under one account, reducing the time needed to search for slides and reading materials separately.
• The product emphasizes automatic synchronization of course materials, so users do not need to manually reorganize them after subsequent updates.
• The specific learning management systems, cloud storage services, file types, and school accounts that are supported have not yet been made public.
• Before granting access, it is necessary to check the scope of synchronization to prevent irrelevant courses, students’ data, or restricted content from being made available as well.

Quoted-style learning Q&A

• It is suitable for finding the examples, definitions, frameworks, reading sections mentioned in class, as well as the differences between various concepts.
• The answers can serve as a guide for review and to help organize knowledge, but they should not replace the textbooks, class notes, and instructions given by the teacher.
• When it comes to exams, grading assignments or papers, AI use must be disclosed in accordance with the school’s rules, and the necessary reasoning must be carried out independently.
• Citations should be verified one by one against the original course text, to avoid mistaking summaries generated by AI for the actual words of the instructor.

Usage process

1. Accounts can be created using the login portal; the registration terms require users to be at least 18 years old.
2. Choose the free version or Pro, and specify the weekly issue limit as well as the renewal period.
3. Follow the product’s instructions to authorize the course materials, and first connect only to a low-sensitivity course for testing.
4. Check the synchronized courses, document names, and update times, and remove any unnecessary access levels.
5. Use specific examples to illustrate courses, topics, time periods, or cases, in order to reduce confusion between different courses.
6. Open the relevant documents listed in the answers, and check the context, page numbers, definitions, and the teacher’s explanations.
7. Organize the results into your own review notes, and decide according to the course policies whether they can be used for assignments.
8. When it is no longer in use, cancel the subscription, revoke the authorization for external accounts, and submit a request to delete the account or data.

Input, output, and platform

Suitable for users and scenarios

• University students and postgraduate students: Review classroom concepts, find case studies, and organize reading materials.
• Students taking multiple courses: Allow for the centralized management of materials from different courses, and specify the course context when asking questions.
• Case study-based courses: Identify the companies, events, definitions, and decision-making frameworks discussed in class.
• Exam preparation: Create review outlines based on the course materials, and then check for key points and any omissions.
• Task preparation: Locate relevant materials and sources, but do not use the resulting answers as the final submission.
• Not suitable for minors who wish to register on their own, for users who need to search external academic databases, or for those who require comprehensive citation management.

Price packages

Monthly and annual plans offer the same maximum number of public weekly queries; the main differences lie in the settlement period and the total cost. Taxes, promotions, and actual deductions are subject to the account’s settlement details.

Limits, renewal, and refunds

• The free version resets to 10 questions per week, while the Pro version resets to 200 questions per week.
• The public information does not indicate whether unresolved issues are carried over, nor does it state whether a single complex issue is counted multiple times.
• Subscriptions are automatically renewed, and users can cancel them at any time from their account; the cancellation takes effect at the end of the current payment period.
• No refunds are provided for any purchases under these terms; cancellation before completion does not result in a refund for the remaining time.
• Prices may change; before making a purchase, it is necessary to confirm whether payment is on a monthly or annual basis and to check the date of the next deduction.
• Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal are supported; payment data is processed by Stripe.

Advantages and capabilities boundaries

Privacy and data considerations

• The service may collect names, email addresses, mailing and billing addresses, account details, device information, IP addresses, usage records, location data, and educational information.
• Payment card data is processed by Stripe, and users should be aware of the data policies of the payment service provider as well.
• Account, identity, and educational information is usually retained throughout the duration of the account, while location data is kept for a period of 6 months.
• After an account is deleted, some information may remain for purposes such as fraud prevention, investigations, resolving disputes, enforcing terms, and fulfilling legal obligations.
• The policy states that reasonable organizational and technical security measures are employed, but it does not guarantee absolute security for data transmission and storage over the network.
• The specific retention period for the course materials, the purposes of model training, as well as the third-party AI service providers and data locations have not yet been made public.
• The privacy policy covers the handling of data from social login services; it is also stated that no information is collected from third parties, and approvals should be given carefully in accordance with the actual login process.
• The service is not available to users under 18 years of age; educational institutions should also assess student privacy, course copyrights, and school policies before using it.

Copyright, Commercial Use, and Academic Integrity

• The platform and its content are licensed only for personal, non-commercial use; commercial use requires separate written permission.
• Users must have the permission to allow the service to access course slides, reading materials, and other files, and must not bypass the restrictions set by the school or publisher.
• Contributions made publicly may be granted a wide range of usage permissions on the platform; private learning materials should not be posted in public areas.
• Feedback and suggestions submitted to the platform may be passed on to the operators and used to improve the services.
• Different schools have varying rules regarding generative AI, collaboration, citation, and the independent completion of assignments; it is necessary to review the course requirements before using them.
• Using AI to locate materials does not equate to having permission to copy them; when using content from teachers, textbooks, or classmates, it is still necessary to comply with copyright and attribution rules.

API, GitHub, and open-source status

Summary

Casey Scholar is suitable for adult students who wish to quickly locate answers and review relevant materials from their course content. Its advantages lie in the context provided by the courses, hints from related documents, and the ability to synchronize multiple courses. Before choosing the Pro version, it is important to compare the weekly usage limits and the billing cycle, and to pay close attention to the policies regarding access to course materials, data storage, and training, as well as the school’s requirements regarding academic integrity and the rules regarding refunds.