TCU is taking the next step to ensure that the online experience for students and faculty is the best it can be by replacing eCollege with a new system.

BrightSpace D2L (Desire To Learn) is the new system for students and faculty to experience the classroom online. “TCU Online” is the official name of the system that students and faculty will come to know it as.

Romana Hughes, the assistant provost of educational technology and faculty development, was in charge of the selection process and said that TCU Online is what both students and faculty wanted in a new learning management system.

“We’re replacing eCollege because D2L just offers a more updated product and meets the needs of the faculty and students that we inquired about and got feedback on,” Hughes said. “The faculty were ready to make a change and so were we, so D2L is a more current system that we’re excited about.”

TCU Online has new features that make it easier for students and their professors to communicate. Faculty and students can select an option that sends a student a text when a grade or an important announcement is posted. Faculty can also post audio and video clips on their pages for students to view or even use it as feedback on an assignment.

The new system features a dashboard that will allow students to see current information, like grades being posted or announcements, without having to actually click on the course like in eCollege.

Hughes also said that TCU Online will have a better grade book that makes it easier for teachers to do things, such as drop the lowest grade.

TCU Online will go through a trial run in fall 2016 with a small group of faculty and students. Hughes said that the full system, for all the students and faculty, will launch in summer 2017.