Website gives new meaning to high-stakes testing

Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg slammed the website Ultrinsic Motivator, Inc. during a Sept. 8 news conference for offering college students the chance "to wager" on their own grades.

The for-profit site, started by two former college students and run out of a Cedarhurst office, asks students to create accounts. At the start of each semester, students log into their accounts and select the courses for which they're registered at their colleges or universities. The students then choose their target grades, and based on their academic histories and the amounts that they choose to wager, a possible cash reward is calculated. The website accepts credit card and electronic transfer payments.

When the semester ends, students send their official transcripts to Ultrinsic, and if they have achieved their target grades, prize winnings are credited to their accounts.

"College students are subject to a lot of pressure," said Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick who represents the 19th Legislative District. "The economy is bad, it's very hard to get jobs, and they want to get good grades. The last thing our children need is someone to be taking advantage of their situation for their monetary gain."

The site is currently available to students at 36 schools across the nation. Of those, six are New York schools, including CUNY Queens College, SUNY Binghamton, Syracuse University, St. John's University, New York University and Columbia University. The site is in no way affiliated with the schools.

The website was launched in the summer of 2008 by then-college students Jeremy Gelbart and Steven Wolf. According to Denenberg, most school officials with whom he spoke were unaware of Ultrinsic's presence on their campuses. Brian Browne, the St. John's University government relations director, who was also on hand at the news conference, said he didn't know that Ultrinsic existed before Denenberg notified him about it.