Careful planning has made it possible for Health Sciences Center to transfer from the Blackboard education program to the Desire2Learn system without difficulty, a HSC spokeswoman said.

Students had a smooth transition with the D2L learning management system because most students come from the University of Oklahoma’s main campus or Oklahoma State University, both of which already use D2L, said Candace Shaw, HSC’s assistant vice provost for academic technology.

“We have not had any difficulties this year because we have had a grass-roots effort for the last year and a half planning the transition,” Shaw said.

Most of the underclassmen and some doctoral students are already using D2L, but this year’s senior class is exempt, said Beverly Bowers, assistant dean for the center for educational experience.

The college is prepared to finish the transition with the rest of the students by summer, Bowers said.

“Any change is always a bit scary, but we’ve done a lot of preparation and the faculty is comfortable with [D2L],” Bowers said.

The faculty has had high satisfaction levels with the D2L program, Shaw said. The faculty prefers D2L over other programs because of the tools it provides, she said.

The Norman campus began switching over to D2L from the Blackboard program in the fall of 2005, according to Daily archives.

The HSC recently switched to D2L, and this is the first semester HSC is fully integrated to D2L, university spokesman Chris Shilling said.

Previously, both the College of Nursing and the Health Sciences Center used the Blackboard online educational program to handle class grading and online assignments.