Illinois Compass is nearing its end as the deadline to switch over to the second generation nears.

CITES will decommission the original Illinois Compass software, powered by Blackboard Vista, which was introduced to campus over a decade ago, according to Robert Baird, acting associate director of CITES academic technology services and assistant professor. Courses that used the original Compass will be read-only so that professors can still access them but will not be able to use them as teaching tools.

The newer version, Compass 2g, allows students to access courses in both systems. Both versions provide students with syllabuses, grades and assignments for specific courses.

Elise Feltman, freshman in Media, has courses in both Compass and Compass 2g and said Compass 2g is a better option.

“I prefer Compass 2g since it’s more organized and much more specific,” she said.

Compass 2g was presented to the University in November 2011. As of Fall 2012, 86 percent of all enrolled students have at least one course on Compass 2g, according to an email sent to Baird from Tracy Tolliver, assistant director of CITES production applications.

In comparison with the original Compass, Compass 2g offers professors a simpler process of creating and editing their courses and notifying students of course updates.

Despite Compass 2g’s popularity, many professors still use the original Compass and have yet to make the transition.

“I’ve been using Compass for the last five or six years,” said Brian Quick, associate professor of communications. “Students can access their class notes and grades, which really helps the students out.”

To ease the transition process, CITES offers professors a training program that focuses on helping them adjust to the new Compass.

“It’s not just sit-there-button-pushing,” Baird said. “We bring professors and TAs in there, and we give them the basics of the software, and meanwhile, as we go through the training, we share and talk about their own needs. It’s a real collaborative workshop environment.”

Compass 2g is available for all colleges and courses. According to the Tolliver’s email, 83 open learning and training courses not managed by CITES are in Compass 2g.

“We work with equine dentistry, crop sciences and dance,” Baird said. “There’s not a course you can think of that doesn’t have something they want to put online.”

Jacqui can be reached at [email protected].