BetterCampus became available for OnQ this fall, allowing students to customize and add productivity features to learning management systems (LMSs).
Headquartered in New York City, co-founders Jake Silver and George Mills run BetterCampus. The extension works with major LMSs, digital platforms that organize teaching and learning, including OnQ, and has more than 2.5 million users globally.
In an interview with The Journal, Silver said the platform’s main productivity features focus on assignment management, grades, and studying. Its planner page syncs with users’ calendar, while its grades management tool allows students to use a grade calculator. Users can also create notes and study sets either manually or by using AI-powered lecture recordings, or by uploading files to create flashcards, quizzes, and student games.
The company has also developed a standalone version that students can use without connecting to OnQ or other online learning platforms.
In a statement to The Journal, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) Gavan Watson said Queen’s is aware that third-party browser extensions exist that work with learning platforms like OnQ, noting how BetterCampus is an independent product that is not affiliated with the University.
The platform was originally created in 2020 as a browser extension that can be inspected, audited, and modified by anyone, called Better Canvas, according to Silver. It became an independent browser extension — preventing itself from being modified by external sources — in 2025 and was renamed BetterCampus.
The extension is currently developing virtual study rooms as well as digital pets that reward users for productivity.
“BetterCampus makes a student’s education more fun and easy,” Silver said.
Brightspace and AI
OnQ is built using Brightspace software, an LMS run and developed by D2L. However, Silver said BetterCampus does not require a formal partnership with Brightspace to operate.
Silver noted that partnerships with companies could allow BetterCampus to receive “sandboxes,” meaning access to test versions of those platforms. The platform currently has a partnership with one educational institution in Illinois, which he declined to name.
Queen’s would not know if a student installed BetterCampus on OnQ unless the extension was installed on a university-owned device, according to Silver.
In his statement, Watson said browser extensions like BetterCampus can read what students see in OnQ and send that information to outside servers and AI services.
“Students are free to make their own choices about their own personal information,” he said. “What they see in OnQ though, often includes material that isn’t theirs […]. Sending that content to outside services raises intellectual property and privacy concerns.”
He also emphasized that students should not record classes or upload course materials to third-party services without their instructor’s permission. He said that students “should read the fine print carefully,” referring to both BetterCampus’ honour code and Queen’s academic integrity policy.
According to Watson, BetterCampus’ honour code says students are responsible for following their school’s academic integrity rules and their instructors’ directions.
“The company has written its terms to protect itself,” he said.
Silver added that the company is developing a feature that would allow institutional users to disable AI tools across the platform.
Data collection and pricing
When asked what information BetterCampus collects from users, Silver said the platform collects “disgustingly little.”
He said the platform collects users’ names, birthdays, email addresses, and the names of their educational institutions.
The extension offers free and premium plans. At the time of publication, the premium plan costs approximately $19 a month or $9.92 a month with an annual subscription. According to Silver, the plan provides users with unlimited access to the platform’s features.
Silver said he hopes institutional subscriptions will eventually become the company’s primary revenue source, rather than individual student subscriptions. He said he would rather see universities allocate funds to provide BetterCampus to students because students already face enough financial burdens.
Tags
BetterCampus, OnQ Extension, Productivity tool
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