The shift to online learning has been a challenge for institutions across the nation. While we recognize the effort and resources put in to Learning Management Systems (LMS) after prior contracts expired, moving from Blackboard to D2L Brightspace–an entirely new system–is virtually the last thing students and teachers need right now. Both parties are required to learn completely new systems (with minor instruction or resources in the case of students), which not only takes time, but will inevitably result in user error.

Many students are coming from districts where free LMSs such as Google Classroom and Edmodo have been implemented, taught, and standardized successfully. Students understand the flow and tools of each of these LMSs. Google Classroom, for instance, has an entire learning ecosystem built in. From Meets, to Docs, to a central notification and assignment system, to native mobile apps, Classroom has proven itself to be an indispensable tool to educators around the country. Moreover, USciences has already established a relationship with Google (see student email accounts).

D2L Brightspace, on the other hand, feels outdated and needlessly complicated. The central notification system has no essentially coding system, which leaves many learners at a disadvantage. The extent of notifications delivered inside class pages is abysmal, but an improvement over the D2L landing page. Furthermore, simply navigating and sorting through content on D2L is much more difficult than other LMSs. 

When it comes to the bottom line, D2L Brightspace loses again. In an era of free alternatives, paying potentially upwards of $250,000 for a school the size of USciences (source: Purdue) doesn't make sense. A quote of $4/student/month for premium services added on to the free Google Classroom platform would net the University a price of $72,000 per year. That's over a 70% cost cut.

This discussion does not even touch on the issue where many courses are either using separate or multiple LMSs (see TopHat, ALEKS). This creates a lack of standardization and organization. Students must know where to go and when, or risk losing or missing assignments. Free alternatives such as (again,) Classroom, or Khan Academy exist and have already proven themselves immensely useful.

We, the Student Body, urge our leaders to make the right choice in our education. Right now, that means choosing a service that actually works.