College students looking for additional class notes, study guides, handouts and other course-related assignments can now go to a new website founded by a Sacramento State alumnus.

“The idea behind NoteUtopia is students collaborating and sharing class materials that they upload, which ideally makes preparing for class easier and more efficient,” said Ryan Stevens, founder and president of NoteUtopia.

Stevens called the website NoteUtopia because it is a perfect community for students to access everything they need.

“They can interact with their friends through the site’s social networking features, they can ask questions about the class, form online study groups, and download and upload notes and study guides from their specific courses,” he said.

Stevens, who graduated with a business degree in May 2009, came up with the idea of a note-sharing website one night before an economics exam.

Stevens said his professor did not give his class an exact breakdown of what was going to be on the exam. He also could not get a hold of friends, who were mostly business majors and had previously taken the course.

He then thought, “How cool would it be to go online and have all this information available to me?”

College students statewide also have the ability to charge other students for the course-materials they have downloaded. The NoteUtopia website suggests students charge $1 for daily class notes, $2 for study guides and $5 for a released exam.

Other features include a five-star rating system for uploaded materials, a preview of uploaded documents and an area to rate professors.

Students had mixed reviews about NoteUtopia, which launched in August.

Supporters felt the website had “a lot of potential” to become a resource widely used by students. Others felt the website resembled SacCT, Sac State’s course management system that allows professors post grades, send e-mails, interact with students, and upload syllabi and other class-related materials.

Undeclared freshman Jillian Knox said NoteUtopia is a great idea because it is convenient for students.

“I think the idea behind NoteUtopia is great because students are always online anyway &- so why not help each other out in the process? It also seems like the company is trying to go green which is really hip and cool,” Knox said. “I definitely see myself using the website.”

Sophomore environmental science major Devon White said he is hesitant to use NoteUtopia and does not feel comfortable downloading students’ notes.

“Every student takes notes differently. Why would I use student-submitted notes, when I could just download the professors’ notes,” White said. “I mean that is what SacCT is for, right?”

In recent weeks, Stevens has visited Chico State and Sac State promoting his company and passing out “goodie bags” filled with mini scantrons, information cards and mints. He will soon be visiting other California campuses, such as CSU East Bay, San Francisco State and Sonoma State.

Stevens said he came back to his alma mater because he is familiar with the campus and feels indebted to the education he has received and the resources made available to him during his academic career.

“I was fortunate enough to have some really inspiring professors and to be president of Delta Sigma Pi, a co-ed professional business fraternity,” he said. “In fact, it was while I was president of DSP that I learned professionalism and was really able to sharpen my leadership skills.”

Stevens said his business professor, Seung Bach, was his most influential professor at Sac State.

“Anyone who has taken Professor Bach knows that he is one of the most inspirational and energetic people they will ever meet. Every single class he brings it and encourages students to constantly be innovative,” Stevens said. “In his entrepreneurship class I was able to really work on creative ideas for my business. I owe a lot to those classes.”

Bach, who said he was “honored by Stevens’ acclaim,” recalled Stevens as a very bright and passionate student.

“He never hesitated to speak out for exactly what he needed, whether it was a lecture point, case point or discussion point,” Bach said. “I was lucky to have a student like Ryan in my class because that is how I am able to run my class discussions &- in a smoother and more enriched way.”

Stevens said the best business advice he has received was a warning from business professor Edward Street.

“He warned us not to be our own enemies when it comes to following through with a business idea,” Stevens said. “He asked us, “What do we have to lose?’ We don’t have families to take care of, mortgages to pay, or any other financial responsibilities. So why not?”

Stevens has some business advice of his own. He made the mistake of keeping his business idea under wraps in its early stages, mostly because he did not want anyone to capitalize on his idea.

He now urges anyone who has a business idea not to keep it a secret because it is important to receive feedback, whether positive or negative.

“You never know what insights your peers may have to offer. Two people can have the same two business ideas, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will both come out the same,” he said.

Laila Barakat can be reached at [email protected].