After the completion of a year-long (2003-2004) pilot program to evaluate three course management systems (CMS) that included Blackboard 6.0, WebCT Campus Edition 4.0, and MyCLE, faculty members on the CMS Task Force voted to recommend Blackboard for use at Clemson University. The group met on April 22, 2004 and the recommendation was sent to Provost Doris Helms for final approval. During the spring semester of 2003, the CMS Faculty Task Force was appointed. Several representatives from each College were invited to participate and twenty-one faculty members agreed to participate.

The group, along with several CCIT staff members, met several times before the evaluation period and determined five criteria that would be considered in the decision-making process. CCIT staff, working with ETS Faculty Fellow Dr. Debi Switzer, collected the data relating to the criteria. The five criteria used in the selection process included network stability and compatibility, cost for three years, course management studies (usability), support, and growth.

Network Stability and Compatibility

The Application Programming Interface group completed the integration of Blackboard 6.0 and WebCt CE 4.0 into the Clemson computing network. Challenges with each system were documented during the year and in a report prepared for the CMS Task Force. Blackboard 6.0 was recommended as the most desirable CMS for Clemson University.

Cost

Estimates for license and support with a three-year commitment were obtained from the commercial vendors. The MyCLE estimate includes redesign of the entire system and development of tools found in the commercial systems as well as future maintenance and development. Blackboard was the preferred package for the cost criterion.

Course Management System Studies

The CMS studies did not reveal one package with a significant advantage overall. Blackboard was the preferred CMS in terms of ease of use in the faculty usability study. In the comparative study, faculty preferred MyCLE for three of the six most used tools, Blackboard for two of the six, and WebCT for none of those six tools. Students preferred MyCLE for all six of the most used tools, and WebCT for two of the six tools. It should be noted that neither students nor faculty were familiar with Blackboard before the pilot study, while MyCLE and WebCT have been available and used on campus for more than five years.

Support

Each system had some technical support issues that were resolved during the study. Research showed, however, that there were a number of support issues. Pop-up blockers and ISP (Internet Service Providers) acclerators, for example, created problems for users in all three systems. The task force recognized and recommended that faculty and students attend training courses to become aware of user related issues toavoid them.

Growth

In regards to collaboration, Blackboard 6.0 is the best solution for Clemson University when compared to MyCLE or WebCT CE 4.0. Faculty task force members listed nine benchmark universities as being important for collaboration. The majority of the benchmark schools outlined by the task force are using Blackboard. If collaboration with the greatest number of institutions is the goal, Blackboard 6.0 is the most desirable choice.

Recommendation

Based on the final decision of the CMS Task Force, Blackboard 6.0 was the recommended course management system for adoption by Clemson University. The vote of the Task Force was Blackboard 6.0 with MyCLE for one year and then Blackboard 6.0 exclusively - eight votes; WebCT CE with MyCLE for one year and then WebCT Vista exclusively - four votes. The following plan was recommended:

1. All new users (those who have never used a CMS with their courses) will be encouraged to use Blackboard for their Fall 2004 courses.
2. Current Blackboard users (about 80 courses) will be able to continue without conversion.Current WebCT courses that will be offered Fall 2004 (337 sections and 182 unique courses in Fall 2003) will have priority support for conversion to Blackboard durng the summer.
3. Current WebCT courses that will not be offered until spring 2005 (approximately 300 unique courses) will have priority for conversion in the fall.
4. Current MyCLE users should begin switching to Blackboard as soon as possible and should be using Blackboard no later than spring semester 2005.
5. Blackboard 6.0 training (general and specialized) will be available for all users beginning summer 2004.

The task force also recommended that faculty training should consider the following:

• Ongoing training sessions, both general and specialized, beginning summer 2004 to provide support for using the system.
• A new module (Content Manager) that was not included in the pilot year available for fall 2004.
• There is some evidence that faculty evaluations may reflect the temporary uncertainty that may arise when learning a new CMS (on the part of both the faculty and students). Therefore, interpretation of student evaluations of instruction should take this into consideration during the first year or so of CMS adoption.
• Faculty should be made aware that the University of South Carolina is currently using Blackboard, and therefore the tools could be considered in collaborative ventures.