Two administrators presented a set of changes in e-reserves protocol Thursday to the Arts & Sciences Council that will require e-reserves to be made available only through the Blackboard system starting next year.
The Perkins Library system will continue to perform its normal tasks of copying material and making documents available online, and it will introduce a "gateway" program to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to e-reserves material, said Tom Wall, director of public services for Perkins Library.
"We became concerned about access to e-reserves last year, and we felt that it was time to overhaul the system, especially in light of what we have been witnessing of producers going after [violators]," Wall said.
"A lot of this hasn't been tested in the courts, and we don't want to be a test case."
Amy Campbell, senior analyst at Duke's Center for Instructional Technology, said Blackboard is an effective place to house e-reserves since it currently serves more than 9,000 students and is protected by an authorization program.
Wall said that although he had hoped the switch into Blackboard would be completed by next semester, he realized some professors would need more time to adjust to the new plan.
"We backed off a little bit to give people through the spring to make this migration to a password protected system," he said.
Some faculty expressed concern about several aspects of Blackboard--including the added responsibility for professors to set up their own Blackboard pages and the fact that students from other universities enrolled in a course would be unable to access e-reserves.
Lori Leachman, director of undergraduate studies and professor of the practice of economics, pointed to colleagues in her department as examples of professors who were reluctant to use Blackboard because of the perceived difficulty.
Campbell noted that creating a course web page on Blackboard is relatively simple and told members that her office offers personal tutorials upon request.
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
The council also heard a presentation on the University's new course scheduling plan from Edna Andrews, chair of the department of Slavic languages and literature, and Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services, both members of the Task Force on University Course Scheduling for Undergraduate and Graduate Courses. Andrews pointed out that the new plan addresses current scheduling flaws by distributing courses more evenly throughout the day and having more two-day-a-week courses. She also observed that the distribution of courses by given departments within the new schedule will be slightly different from current distribution requirements.
University Registrar Bruce Cunningham responded to questions from members concerned about the new system of validating departmental course schedules, a plan that will punish departments that do not comply with the new scheduling plan by placing them "at the back of the line" for classroom space.
John Richard, representing the executive committee, outlined proposed changes to the council's by-laws that will be more formally debated during the next meeting in December.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.