Drake blueView is a website that all students and professors will have to use at some point for internship and job opportunities, for campus elections, for email access and for tests, assignments and grades.
While it’s a necessary tool, it’s far from perfect.
“It may not be the prettiest, but it works,” said Amy Letter, assistant professor of English.
Angela Embree, who works at support center in Carnegie Hall, said blueView was designed in 2006 with software from SunGard Higher Education Services and several of the school’s departments as a way to organize the previous system, MyDUSIS. It hasn’t been updated since it was created.
“We’re working on a plan to update blueView through portal redesign,” Embree said. “It will take a lot of time to implement. Around one to two years.”
Due to how expensive the process can be, the plan needs to be approved by the university first. Right now, all Embree said about the updates was that the “groups” feature will be removed, users will have the option of public and private pages, the site will be more user friendly, and it will be compatible with some social media.
Overall, students have mixed feelings about the website. First-year physics and English major Erin Mercurio said she hasn’t had any problems using the site and finds it helpful, although other students haven’t had her luck.
First-year business major Samantha Williams thinks the website is useful.
“I like it,” Williams said. “I think it’s a handy tool for students to use. I wish it would keep me logged in longer.”
Embree said the timed log out on blueView is to protect students’ private data from others. This is also why students can’t choose to stay logged in.
Of the different services blueView provids, Blackboard was the most talked about by students and professors. First-year creative advertising major Hannah Powers said she mostly uses blueView to get to Blackboard but is only listed as being enrolled in her math and first-year seminar classes.
“I don’t know if the teacher or I should take care of this, and I can’t check my grades for my other classes,” Powers said.
Embree said that only professors can add their classes to Blackboard.
“We have all classes in Blackboard, but not all professors use it,” Embree said.
Professors also have some qualms about the website, particularly with how long it takes to access information.
“Everything is in one place, it incorporates emails and committee work and exchanging files,” said Charles Nelson, associate professor of physics and astronomy. “It has its uses, and I use it fairly often. My biggest complaint is too many clicks.”
Gary Wade, a retired associate professor of electronic media, said he agrees with this assessment. Although he admits that he may not have adjusted well from MyDUSIS to blueView, he said he finds blueView cumbersome and easier to work around.
“You waste too much time navigating through all the structure, and computers are supposed to be about saving time,” said Wade, who also said that blueView should have been better explained to professors. “Word got around faster about how to get around it then to use it.”