Cole Cagle

Letter to the editor: $200 fee not used well

Let's face it: The recent Blackboard failure has inconvenienced everyone. Across campus, professors and students alike are talking about how important it is that they access the site. The university merely responded on its bulletin that professors would still be able to access student e-mail through VIP. This bulletin was issued at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, almost 18 hours after I began experiencing problems Tuesday. Professors are still able to e-mail students, but where does that leave students? I had an exam Wednesday afternoon. I had no notes because the professor's slides were put on Blackboard. I was able to get the notes from a friend in the class, and I'll even reluctantly admit perhaps I should have been more prepared (although after paying $200 in technology fees, I would expect no problems accessing the site on a night before a full day of classes).