User Support in Place for Course Management System

With many instructors and students now taking advantage of Penn State's Course Management System, A New Global Environment for Learning (ANGEL), there is an increasing demand for user support. Fortunately, a carefully designed support system backed up by a dedicated staff is now in place.

Key to this system is an online help request form within ANGEL through which every question is tracked and answered in a timely manner.

According to Allen Stubblefield, Course Management System user support coordinator, the new support system provides faster and more reliable service by maximizing the efficiency of the user support team. All questions are routed to a support team member and are tracked for quality assurance. In the event that a team member cannot resolve a particular problem, the system allows the expertise of the entire support team to be brought to bear.

Although the online form is the most reliable and efficient way to obtain ANGEL support, other avenues for help exist as well. ANGEL users may utilize online support materials found under the "Help" link in ANGEL, or call the help desk at 814-863-2494 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. CMS usage increasing, as of mid-January:

• 1,969 sections had been activated
• 1003 of those sections had at least a syllabus added as content
• 945 individual faculty were the instructor of record for the activated sections
• 33,311 individual students were enrolled in the activated sections

For the best ANGEL user support:

1. Go to http://cms.psu.edu/ and click the "Help" link.

2. Click the "Problem Report/Enhancement Request/Question Form" link.

3. Type in the requested information including a description of your concern.

4. Click the " Submit" button.