UofT Student Helper MCP Server 🎓

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that helps University of Toronto students access their academic information through AI assistants. This server provides tools to interact with ACORN (course enrollment system) and Quercus (learning management system) to retrieve course information and syllabi.

🎯 Features

ACORN Integration

• View Enrolled Courses: Get a list of all courses you're currently enrolled in

• Course Details: Access detailed information about specific courses

• Course Schedule: View your class schedule and timetable

• Academic History: Retrieve past course enrollments and grades

Quercus Integration

• Access Syllabi: Download and view course syllabi

• Course Modules: Browse course content and modules

• Assignments: View upcoming assignments and due dates

• Announcements: Get latest course announcements

🏗️ Architecture

This MCP server is built using the Cohere North MCP Python SDK and provides the following tools:

Available Tools

1. get_enrolled_courses

   • Retrieves all courses the student is currently enrolled in

   • Returns: Course codes, names, sections, and credits

2. get_course_details

   • Gets detailed information about a specific course

   • Parameters: course_code (e.g., "CSC148H1")

   • Returns: Course description, prerequisites, meeting times, instructor info

3. get_course_schedule

   • Retrieves the student's weekly class schedule

   • Returns: Day, time, location, and course for each class

4. get_syllabus

   • Fetches the syllabus for a specific course from Quercus

   • Parameters: course_code

   • Returns: Syllabus content (PDF or text)

5. get_course_assignments

   • Lists all assignments for a course

   • Parameters: course_code

   • Returns: Assignment names, due dates, and submission status

6. get_course_announcements

   • Gets recent announcements from a course

   • Parameters: course_code, limit (optional, default 5)

   • Returns: Announcement titles, content, and dates

📋 Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher

• University of Toronto student account

• Access to ACORN and Quercus

• Cohere North MCP Python SDK

🚀 Installation

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Step 3: Configure Credentials

Create a .env file in the project root:

⚠️ Security Note: Never commit your .env file to version control. It's already included in .gitignore.

How to Get Your Quercus API Token

1. Log in to Quercus

2. Go to Account → Settings

3. Scroll down to "Approved Integrations"

4. Click "+ New Access Token"

5. Enter a purpose (e.g., "MCP Server")

6. Click "Generate Token"

7. Copy the token and paste it in your .env file

🎮 Usage

Running the Server

The server will start on http://0.0.0.0:3002 (or the port specified in your .env file).

Exposing with ngrok (Optional)

To make the server accessible from Cohere North or other remote clients:

Copy the HTTPS URL (e.g., https://abc123.ngrok.io) to use in your MCP client configuration.

Testing the Server

🔌 Connecting to Cohere North

1. Start your MCP server locally

2. Expose it with ngrok: ngrok http 3002

3. Log in to Cohere North

4. Go to Settings → MCP Servers

5. Add a new server:

   • Name: UofT Student Helper

   • URL: Your ngrok HTTPS URL

   • Auth Token: (if configured)

6. Save and test the connection

Example Conversations

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant:

• "What courses am I enrolled in this semester?"

• "Show me the syllabus for CSC148"

• "What assignments do I have for MAT137?"

• "When is my next CSC148 class?"

• "What are the recent announcements in my courses?"

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

Adding New Tools

To add a new tool to the MCP server:

1. Open uoft_student_helper.py

2. Add a new function with the @mcp.tool() decorator:

3. Restart the server

4. Test your new tool

API Clients

ACORN Client (acorn_client.py)

The ACORN client handles authentication and data retrieval from the ACORN system. It uses web scraping since ACORN doesn't provide a public API.

Key Methods:

• login(): Authenticate with ACORN

• get_enrolled_courses(): Fetch current courses

• get_course_details(course_code): Get course information

• get_schedule(): Retrieve class schedule

Quercus Client (quercus_client.py)

The Quercus client uses the Canvas LMS API (Quercus is built on Canvas).

Key Methods:

• get_courses(): List all courses

• get_syllabus(course_id): Fetch course syllabus

• get_assignments(course_id): List assignments

• get_announcements(course_id): Get announcements

🔒 Security & Privacy

Important Considerations

1. Credential Storage: Your ACORN and Quercus credentials are stored locally in the .env file. Never share this file or commit it to version control.

2. API Token Security: The Quercus API token has the same permissions as your account. Keep it secure.

3. HTTPS Only: When exposing the server publicly, always use HTTPS (ngrok provides this automatically).

4. Authentication: Consider adding authentication to your MCP server to prevent unauthorized access.

5. Data Privacy: This server accesses your academic information. Only run it on trusted machines and networks.

Recommended Security Practices

• Use environment variables for all sensitive data

• Rotate your Quercus API token regularly

• Use ngrok's authentication features for public exposure

• Run the server in a secure, isolated environment

• Regularly update dependencies for security patches

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'north_mcp_python_sdk'"

Solution: Install the SDK from source:

"Authentication failed" for ACORN

Possible causes:

• Incorrect username/password in .env

• Two-factor authentication enabled (requires additional setup)

• ACORN session expired

Solution: Verify credentials and check if 2FA is enabled.

"Invalid API token" for Quercus

Solution: Generate a new API token from Quercus settings and update your .env file.

Server won't start

Check:

1. Port 3002 is not already in use: lsof -i :3002 (Mac/Linux) or netstat -ano | findstr :3002 (Windows)

2. All dependencies are installed: pip list

3. .env file exists and is properly formatted

Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the Issues page

2. Review the Documentation

3. Contact the maintainers

📚 Resources

Official Documentation

• Model Context Protocol

• Cohere North MCP SDK

• Canvas LMS API (Quercus uses Canvas)

• UofT ACORN

• UofT Quercus

Related Projects

• MCP Server Collection

• Awesome MCP Servers

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature

3. Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add your feature"

4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/your-feature

5. Open a Pull Request

Contribution Guidelines

• Follow PEP 8 style guidelines

• Add tests for new features

• Update documentation as needed

• Ensure all tests pass before submitting

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This project is not officially affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the University of Toronto. It is an independent project created to help students access their academic information more easily.

Use at your own risk. The developers are not responsible for any issues arising from the use of this software, including but not limited to:

• Account security issues

• Data loss or corruption

• Violations of university policies

• Service disruptions

Always ensure you comply with the University of Toronto's IT policies and terms of service when using this tool.

👥 Authors

• Alice - Initial work - @Alice0416

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Cohere team for the North MCP Python SDK

• University of Toronto for providing ACORN and Quercus

• The MCP community for inspiration and support

• All contributors who help improve this project

📞 Contact

For questions, suggestions, or issues:

• Open an issue on GitHub

• Email: your.email@mail.utoronto.ca

• Discord: [Your Discord]

Made with ❤️ by UofT students, for UofT students

Last updated: January 2026