AskYourClass has always been a place for students to find and leave course reviews. Now there is a path for the other side. Lecturers, department coordinators, and teaching assistants can set up a verified presence on the platform and communicate with students directly, in the same place students are already looking up their courses. And before you ask, no. The Feedback channel will not be monitored by departements. It will always be a place for students only. No one will be able to delete a post written by a student. That is their comfort place.

This is not a Moodle replacement. It is something that does not currently exist: a persistent, public space where official course updates and student questions live together, and where answers written today are still findable by next semester's cohort.

TL;DR: German university departments can now join AskYourClass with a verified account.

• Setup takes one email and completes in under a day
• Departments get a verified badge, so students know which account is official
• Announcements and Q&A persist across semesters - future students find answers without asking again
• An AI course assistant feature is planned for department accounts to handle routine questions automatically
• Contact: hello@askyourclass.io

Why course communication at German universities is scattered

Most departments run at least three communication channels in parallel. Moodle or a faculty learning platform holds materials and graded assignments. An email list or university portal handles formal announcements. A WhatsApp or Telegram group absorbs everything informal: quick questions about deadlines, requests for last semester's exam, the panicked message at 11pm before a Klausur.

The WhatsApp group is where the genuinely useful information lives. The problem is that it evaporates. A student asks whether the Vorleistung is graded or pass-fail. Someone who took the course two semesters ago replies with the correct answer. That answer is read by four people who happened to be online, and then it is gone. The same question comes back next semester. And the semester after that.

Students who arrive without a network - first-semester students, international students, exchange students - often cannot access these informal channels at all. They rely on official descriptions that do not mention actual workload, exam difficulty, or what a Schein requires. The gap between the formal and the practical is exactly where students make poor course choices, or arrive underprepared.

A verified department presence on AskYourClass closes that gap. Answers live in public, tied to the course, findable by search. You write it once.

What a department can do on AskYourClass that Moodle cannot

Moodle is built to host materials and collect submissions. It is not built for discovery, and it is not built for conversation that outlasts a single cohort.

Here is what the department model on AskYourClass looks like in practice:

• Post announcements where students are already browsing, not locked behind a login or a separate portal. Exam date reminders, changes to prerequisites, updated office hours - these reach students who are looking at the course anyway.
• Answer questions persistently. A Q&A thread tied to a specific course does not reset between semesters. A student asking about the grading split in October 2026 will find the answer you gave in February 2026.
• Verified badge. Students can see clearly which account belongs to the department and which belongs to a peer. There is no ambiguity about whether an answer is official.
• AI course assistant (coming). Department accounts will be able to connect an AI assistant trained on course materials to handle routine questions automatically. Straightforward questions about deadlines, exam formats, and prerequisites get answered without waiting for office hours.

The distinction from Moodle is not about features competing. Moodle handles the materials side; AskYourClass handles the conversation and the reputation side. The two work differently and neither replaces the other.

How does a department get set up?

The process is three steps.

1. Email the team. Send a message to hello@askyourclass.io with your university, department, and the courses you want on the platform. No form, no lengthy application.

2. Verification and setup. The AskYourClass team confirms your university affiliation and configures the department account. This takes less than a day. The verified badge is applied at this stage.

3. Go live. Your department appears on the platform with a verified presence. You can start posting announcements and responding to student questions straight away.

The turnaround is intentionally short. There is no trial period or waitlist. Once your affiliation is confirmed, you are live.

What to post as a verified department

The most useful department posts are the ones that answer questions students ask repeatedly. A few concrete examples:

• Exam logistics: date, room, allowed materials, format (Klausur vs. oral, closed vs. open book)
• Changes to course structure, reading lists, or assessment weighting
• Updated office hours or tutor contact details
• Clarifications on prerequisites and whether prior modules are strictly required or recommended
• Host discussions regarding course content (tutorials, lecture videos, etc.) and organize discussions by creating different channels, subchannels and topics.

If you are thinking about reviews and whether a department presence affects them: student reviews remain independent. Students write their own assessments of courses and those are not moderated by the department in any privileged way. The department's role is communicating outward, not managing what students say.

Is this relevant outside Germany?

The model works wherever course-related communication is fragmented. The current focus is German universities, where AskYourClass already covers 25,000+ courses across 21 universities. As the platform expands to other countries, the department collaboration model expands with it.

If your university is not yet on AskYourClass, that is not a blocker. The team handles the course setup as part of the onboarding process.

Frequently asked questions

Can any university department join AskYourClass?

Yes, as long as the team can verify your affiliation. The current focus is German universities, but the setup process is open to departments at any institution. Send an email to hello@askyourclass.io with your university, department, and courses, and the team will confirm whether onboarding is available.

How long does verification take?

Less than a day. Once you send the initial email, the team confirms your affiliation and completes the setup. You receive a reply within 6 hours in most cases. There is no waitlist.

Will students see a badge showing my account is official?

Yes. Verified department accounts display a badge that makes clear which account belongs to the department. Students can distinguish official announcements and answers from peer comments without any ambiguity.

What is the difference between a department account and a regular student account?

A department account is verified against a university affiliation and displays a visible badge. It can post announcements tied to specific courses and respond to student questions in a way that persists publicly. Student accounts can leave reviews and tags. The two roles operate separately and neither can edit the other's content.

Does having a department account affect student reviews?

No. Student reviews are independent. Departments cannot moderate, remove, or respond to reviews in a way that alters their content. The department presence is for outbound communication and Q&A, not for managing what students write.

If you are a lecturer or coordinator and this sounds useful, the next step is one email. Send your university, department, and the courses you want to set up to hello@askyourclass.io. The team handles the rest.

Students looking for course reviews, workload estimates, and peer tips can browse the platform at askyourclass.io.