We supported the University of Dundee Student Union elections last year with a system that utilised Blackboard and Questionmark.
Within Blackboard we used a module that all the students were enrolled on, and we released a tab to provide direct access to the Questionmark assessment that contained the positions and candidate choices. We had the complication that the election method was single transferable vote scheme that required voters to rank their choices for each position.
The ballot was for a number of positions including Student President. Once the election was run (it was open for one day) we had a process in place to count the votes. The results were downloaded in a formatted manner and filtered to ensure individual votes. We used a spreadsheet (originally obtained via wikipedia), modified to cope with the large numbers, and backed this up with a second method that used a locally written Perl script. We checked that both methods agreed and then provided the results for publication.
The most significant advantage was increased access for the student electorate. Students could vote securely from anywhere on the internet. It was also advantageous in terms of cost (no additional charges) and speed of the count. The guidelines for the election process were altered to match with the online system and we understand that all involved were well satisfied with the experience. We have been asked to assist with the student elections again for this year.
If anyone would like further details of the process, we can provide these offline.
Richard
Dr Richard Parsons
Director of the Learning Centre, UoD
[log in to unmask] Ph +44 (0) 1382 384265
The University of Dundee is a registered Scottish charity, No: SC015096
>>> "Pritchard, John" <[log in to unmask]> 09/29/08 5:00 PM >>>
Has anyone ever used Blackboard for on-line voting?
John
John Pritchard
Senior Application Specialist (VLE)
University Information and Computing Services
Heriot Watt University
Tel (44)131 451 4363
Fax (44)131 451 3261
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Heriot-Watt University is a Scottish charity
registered under charity number SC000278.
The University of Dundee is a registered Scottish charity, No: SC015096
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