Rachel Cress

An online staple for SDSU courses will be completely eliminated at the end of this year.

The decision was made not to renew the yearly contract with WebCT, a course management system. The contract expired this past June.

Campus Edition 4.1, the version currently being used by WebCT, has been dropped. Plans are to replace it with a different program.

WebCT will remain available to students, but starting in January 2007, support will be significantly reduced, and there will be no further enhancements, in preparation for the new system.

While the contract has expired, the company will continue to float its services until a new vendor has been selected.

A task force, led by Josh Riedy of the Board of Regents, has been formed to review the course management systems currently available. A Board of Regents round table meeting was held Sept. 12 to discuss the requirements for a new system.

“It’s still very much in the preliminary stages,” said Students’ Association Vice President Kat Brandtjen.

Some students are ready for a change.

“For the most part, I don’t use WebCT a whole lot,” said senior Libby Roghair. “But when I do use it, I don’t like how the discussions are set up and I don’t like how they leave last semester’s classes on there. It’s confusing and annoying.”

Other students doubt they would even notice a change.

“I find WebCT to be useful but it’s hardly ever needed in my classes. I don’t think I’d even notice if they changed it,” said senior Luke Christie-Perkins, a music education major.

Other students enjoy its conveniences and log in on a weekly basis.

“It’s nice to get fast feedback on tests,” said Becky Martin, a sophomore nursing major.

Despite undergoing changes, WebCT is expected to function normally for the remainder of the year.

#1.884230:4230038399.jpg:WebCT2.jpg:Junior Melissa Plaetz, psychology major, is reading notes on WebCT in the NFA Computer Lab. Plaetz, and other students, will soon have to learn how to maneuver a new program in order to get class notes and other course content. WebCT will no longer be available to students and faculty after the spring semester.:Christy Wey