Capella University Sucks*

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WebCT

(This page under development and is not complete. Please note that the WebCT poll has not yet been created. Thanks for your understanding. If you have any suggestions for the poll, please post them in the Forum.)

Capella University's decision to implement WebCT, an online course room, is what led to the creation of this site. Only two of Capella's "schools" were subjected to the initial rollout of this horrendous program - the "School of Technology" and the "School of Business." Large numbers of students have howled about the onslaught of problems that they have been besieged with and Capella University has, for all practical purposes, ignored their complaints. In addition, WebCT has significant problems regarding accessibility to those with disabilities (and a very long track record for not being compliant with many of the standard guidelines that have been published). As a direct result of WebCT's horrendous design, at least one student has filed a complaint against Capella University on allegations that their implementation of WebCT is not complaint with the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).

As noted on the home page for this site, Capella President, Michael Offerman "apologized" for the horrendous problems just a few days into the quarter but has not responded been heard from since - He has ignored Capella's students.

**Michael Offerman's "Apology" to Capella Students, dated April 9, 2004**
Dear *****, Since the start of the new quarter on April 5, some learners from the School of Technology and the School of Business have been experiencing difficulty gaining access to our new Courseroom. The difficulty has ranged from learners experiencing slower-than-desired load times to those who have been temporarily unable to access their courses. On behalf of Capella University, please accept my apology for any inconvenience this situation may have caused. Also, please note that we are extending the 100% drop deadline from April 9, 2004 to April 16, 2004 to remove the time pressure should you decide to change your enrollment decision. I'd like to bring you up-to-date on the source of this problem, the action we have taken to prevent recurrence, and the steps we have taken to ensure that your education at Capella University continues without delay or inconvenience. The situation arose unexpectedly as we implemented a planned, phased migration of learners to the new Courseroom from our current learning platform, LearningSpace. The new learning platform is a software product called Vista from WebCT, one of the nation's leading providers of premier e-learning solutions. We conducted several months of testing and analysis of Vista, including a pilot in March with more than 250 learners and faculty. During testing and pilot periods, we encountered no technical issues. In fact, learners and faculty in our pilot universally praised Vista for being exceptionally user-friendly and intuitive, and providing new and useful online learning tools. However, as we continued to phase new learners onto Vista, we began experiencing issues related to the learner profile tool. We immediately began working with WebCT to resolve this problem and have temporarily removed the profile tool until this situation is remedied. In the interim, faculty members have advised learners to temporarily post their biographical information in the discussion area of each Courseroom. We are committed to ensuring the successful continuation of your education at Capella University. Any learners who have experienced difficulties as a result of these technical issues will not be penalized as a result or experience any negative effect on their grades—a directive that I have also shared with our faculty. Bottom line, we want to be sure that your learning experience with Capella University is all that you have been promised and deserve. If you have any questions about this issue, please contact University Services at 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552) option 7. Thank you for your patience and consideration as we work to resolve this issue. Sincerely, Michael Offerman, President Capella University

Many students have expressed disgust at the absurd statements made in Offerman's message; particularly:

"We conducted several months of testing and analysis of Vista, including a pilot in March with more than 250 learners and faculty. During testing and pilot periods, we encountered no technical issues." - WebCT has been fraught with problems many of these "technical issues" remain. Students have consistently complained about the incredible slowness of the application, inability to log on (often for extended periods of time), inability to post assignments, etc.
"In fact, learners and faculty in our pilot universally praised Vista for being exceptionally user-friendly and intuitive, and providing new and useful online learning tools." While Capella University has refused to disclose just who these "learners and faculty" are, Offerman's statement that WebCT Vista is "exceptionally user-friendly and intuitive" is absolutely hilarious (and extremely pathetic)! The Internet is filled with examples to the contrary with many claiming that WebCT is anything but "user-friendly and intuitive."

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Page established: 07/13/04 - Last revised: November 16, 2005