Issue: Some of the instructors at SDSU do not use the Desire2Learn program; a service that the university and students pay for.

D2L is a program that is supposed to make classrooms more interactive and keep students and teachers in communication. Currently, a wide percentage of courses do not use the program at all.

The money that is used to pay for SDSU’s use of D2L comes out of students’ pockets, and we believe it is something that needs to be put to good use. D2L provides instructors with the option of posting students’ grades online for them to view at any time. We support this application, as students need to know where their grade is at during the semester to help them further understand what they need to do to finish the semester with the grade they hope to achieve.

Provost Laurie Nichols recently said that the Board of Regents hopes to mandate posting courses’ syllabi if nothing else. We also support this effort because we think it is a valuable asset to have easy access to. Syllabi often list due dates for assignments, the amount of points an assignment is worth, explanations of assignments and expectations of the course’s instructor. Paper products are easily misplaced or damaged and the current generation of students enrolled at SDSU is so technologically friendly it is often easier for them to pull up a syllabus on their laptop.

Some courses at SDSU post many different options on D2L, like non-required readings, study guides, PowerPoint presentations from lecture, notes and many other options. We at The Collegian understand that all of these options are not necessary for some courses on campus. Having syllabi and access to current grades however, is a necessity for students.

The university has invested time, effort and money into setting up D2L and educating professors on how to use it so we believe the benefits that it has to offer should be utilized.

Stance: We support the Board of Regents in an effort to mandate the use of D2L by all instructors at SDSU.