Blackboard, the online “course management system” that supplements class curriculum across West Chester is raising its prices, as the State System of Higher Education plans to expand its use across its 14 universities. Currently West Chester pays an annual fee of $7,500 for license to Blackboard’s basic Level 1 program. This allows each of West Chester’s professors the option of creating a webpage through www.blackboard.com to post messages to their students, such as dates and announcements, and also to distribute course material and study guides.
Blackboard has announced it will now charge schools based on their number of full-time users, essentially the volume of students. West Chester, the second largest school in the State System, will pay $9,500 to renew its license for 2005. While use of Blackboard will continue to be left to the discretion of each professor, the State System of Higher Education plans to consolidate the technology of its universities by standardizing its communications provider, updating to Blackboard’s Level 3 “Enterprise Edition.”
Kelly McVeigh, a support specialist for West Chester’s Web-based instructional technology, is acting as the system administrator for Blackboard. “When we first purchased Blackboard a few years ago, we paid $5,000 a year,” she recalled. “The cost has almost doubled, but we’ve gone from a few hundred students using it to thousands. The return on our investment has been positive.”
Dr. James Fabrey, chair-person of the computer science department, agrees that as students and faculty have learned more about Blackboard they have taken advantage of its benefits. “The majority of students here have at least one course that they can look up on Blackboard,” he said. “Students should be using it more than they do, and over time they will.”
Fabrey said that he supports the State System following West Chester’s lead in using Blackboard. He praised the system for allowing students and professors to communicate regardless of location, helping to avoid the confusion of changed e-mail addresses, and accommodating those who are not particularly computer savvy. Fabrey added that the computer science department is so comfortable with the technology that the professors use it not only to manage their specific courses, but to dis-seminate department news to their advisees.
“Blackboard’s great as a reinforcement of lectures,” said senior Sean Finnegan, a criminal justice major. “My objection is when professors abuse Blackboard by making it their primary tool. It doesn’t replace the need for teaching.”
“I think it’s a great program,” said Joe Cotter, a sophomore majoring in history. “It’s a reliable way to study class notes, plus if I forget when an assignment is due, I can easily find out.”