Converting Blackboard to Moodle
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY
CONVERTING BLACKBOARD, THE CURRENT ONLINE
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS) TO MOODLE
Adopted March 21, 2005
Whereas, Online teaching and learning tools are essential in higher education; and,
Whereas, In the recently adopted Strategic Plan, HSU claims to be committed to developing and supporting information technology to enhance effective
teaching and learning environments that promote academic excellence; and,
Whereas, The HSU 2004 Master Plan proposed an enrollment ceiling of 12,000
full-time equivalent students and must plan to accommodate future students;
and,
Whereas, Blackboard Basic, the current Learning Management Software is licensed to
Humboldt State University for approximately $8,600 annually; and,
Whereas, Blackboard Basic is licensed to educational institutions with less than 7,000
Students, while Blackboard Enterprise is licensed to educational institutions with more than 7,000 students; and,
Whereas, A Blackboard Enterprise license would entail one-time costs of about
$150,000 and on-going costs of about $60,000 annually; and,
Whereas, CSU spends over $1 million each year just on Blackboard licenses; and,
Whereas, CSU students are encountering a time when the CSU budget is being
reduced and fees for students are rising; and,
Whereas, Moodle is a free, open-source Learning Management System software
supported by programmers world-wide; and,
Whereas, Moodle is able to customize its system to meet HSU’s specific needs
in order to better serve HSU students, and courses currently on
Blackboard can be converted to Moodle; and
Whereas, In a comparison analysis of Moodle and Blackboard by Dr. Kathy D.
Munoz, Professor and Joan Van Duzer, Instructional Technologist in
Spring 2005, 35.7% of the HSU students preferred Moodle over the
21.4% who preferred Blackboard, while 42.9% had no preference;
therefore be it
Resolved, that the Associated Students of Humboldt State University encourage
faculty to convert the Blackboard Online Learning Management System
to Moodle in their courses; and be it further
Resolved, that the Associated Students call upon the HSU administration to assume a
leadership role in the CSU system by allocating required resources to
implement this conversion and to take the necessary measures to terminate
the contract with Blackboard; and be it further
Resolved, that the Associated Students of HSU encourage the California State
Student Association (CSSA) and the California Faculty Association (CFA)
to promote the use of Moodle throughout the CSU system and to eventually
stop payment of licensing fees; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent, but not limited to, HSU President
Rollin Richmond, Provost Richard Vrem, Vice President of Administrative
Services Carl Coffey, Deans of the Colleges, Graduate Studies, and Library,
the HSU Academic Senate, University Budget Committee, the California
State Student Association, the California Faculty Association, Chancellor
Charles Reed, the CSU Board of Trustees, Dr. Kathy D. Munoz,
Joan Van Duzer, Bill Cannon, The Lumberjack newspaper and
members of the local media.
Authored by:
Michelle Woo, Representative
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Kyle Zeck, Legislative Vice President
Samantha Williams-Gray, President