SLO Semester Navigator

Inspiration

Cal Poly SLO is converting from quarters to semesters starting Fall 2026, and it affects all 22,000 students on campus. The problem is that the information students need is scattered across dozens of different Cal Poly web pages, PDFs, and announcements. Some pages contradict each other. Some have not been updated yet. I watched students in group chats and Discord servers asking the same questions over and over because no one could find a single clear source. I figured if I could pull the most important pieces together into one tool, students would actually be able to make informed decisions about their schedules instead of guessing.

What it does

SLO Semester Navigator gives students three main features in one place. The Course Mapper lets you search through 30+ verified course mappings to see how your current quarter courses translate to the new semester system. Instead of digging through catalog pages, you type in a course and get a clear answer. The GE Comparison breaks down the differences between the quarter and semester GE requirements side by side. I pulled the corrected data straight from official sources — 72 units under quarters versus 43 under semesters — and laid it out so students can see exactly what changes and what carries over. The Decision Helper walks students through 10 different recommendation paths based on their year, major progress, and goals. It does not just give generic advice. It points you to college specific advising links so you can talk to the right people at the right office.

How I built it

I built this solo using React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Vite. The real backbone of the project was Kiro CLI with spec-driven development. I set up 4 steering files that kept the codebase organized and consistent as I built out each feature. Kiro cross-referenced the official Cal Poly catalog to verify that the course mappings and GE data were accurate, which saved me a ton of manual checking. I used Claude for architecture planning and early design decisions, and ChatGPT for a second pass on data verification. Running three AI tools in parallel was new territory for me, but having each one handle a specific job kept things moving fast without sacrificing accuracy.

Challenges I ran into

Building solo at a hackathon means you are the designer, the developer, the researcher, and the QA tester all at once. The biggest challenge was the data itself. Cal Poly has conversion information spread across department pages, catalog PDFs, advising websites, and administrative announcements, all in different formats and sometimes contradicting each other. I spent a significant chunk of time just tracking down the right numbers before I could write any code. Structuring the AI workflow across three tools was also tricky. I had to figure out which tool was best for which job and make sure they were not duplicating effort or giving me conflicting outputs.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I verified 30+ course mappings against official Cal Poly sources and corrected the GE unit data to match what the university actually published. The Decision Helper covers 10 distinct recommendation paths with college-specific advising links, so students are not just getting generic advice. On the engineering side, the entire codebase is 26 files, and every single one stays under 150 lines. Kiro's steering files made that possible. The code is clean, readable, and easy to extend.

What we learned

This was my first time using Kiro CLI and spec-driven development, and it changed how I think about organizing code. The steering files forced me to plan structure before writing a single line, and the result was a codebase that stayed manageable even as I added features under time pressure. I also learned how to coordinate a multi-ai workflow. Claude handled the big picture architecture, Kiro handled implementation and data verification against the catalog, and ChatGPT provided a second check on accuracy. Each tool had a lane, and keeping them in those lanes made the whole process faster.

What's next for SLO Semester Navigator

Right now the app covers a subset of majors and courses. The next steps are expanding to all 60+ majors at Cal Poly, building an automated catalog scraper that pulls weekly updates so the data stays current, integrating with the Cal Poly Degree Progress Report system so students can see their personal situation, and adding AI powered personalized schedule recommendations based on a student's remaining requirements.

Built With

• kiro
• react
• tailwind-css
• typescript
• vite