“It became pretty clear as soon as that happened ANGEL wasn’t going to get better,” he said, adding negative student feedback about ANGEL was another reason to look for a replacement.

MSU has been priming the course management system Moodle as ANGEL’s potential successor, but the system now has been ruled out after multiple field trials with the software, Guenther said. Users found problems with Moodle’s messaging system, discussion forums and grade book feature, among other things, he said.

“ANGEL’s very easy to use — I can teach someone how to use ANGEL,” he said. “Moodle’s just not very easy.”

Glenn Stutzky, clinical instructor in the School of Social Work, was one of the faculty members that participated in the experimental Moodle trials in the summer and fall. Stutzky said initially he thought the layout and format of Moodle was easier to navigate than ANGEL.

“As we went along, I did notice that there were some things that definitely were done better in ANGEL,” Stutzky said.

Students in Stutzky’s trial classes had neutral positions on Moodle — showing no preference for or against the new system, he said.

“I’d like to see what else is out there that starts off comparable with ANGEL,” Stutzky said.

The next course management system for MSU — which Guenther hopes to have selected by April — likely will be from a corporate vendor rather than created by a community of
programmers such as Moodle, he said. These course management systems typically are licensed through annual subscriptions and range in price from roughly $3 to $12 per active student at the university, Guenther said.

“This is probably a decision that will impact the campus for the next eight years or so,” Guenther said.

Dietetics sophomore Sara Howard said her biggest complaint is with how instructors use ANGEL, not the system itself.

“I wish teachers were more consistent,” Howard said. “I wish all courses use it or (do not) use it because it’s kind of frustrating that some have (separate) websites.”

Howard said she would like to see a more organized and simplified version of ANGEL, specifically regarding the grade report section, but not necessarily a new system altogether.

“I’m fine with ANGEL, but if they could modify it, that would be the best,” she said.