The switch to Blackbaud this past year has left many students struggling to keep up with this new medium. Ever changing passwords, new class agenda formats, and online homework submissions on a new platform seems daunting to many students who have adapted to Moodle in their years at Bellarmine. However the biggest challenge for many students has been receiving two parent signatures for permission slips and parking passes.

This year is the first year where two parents are required to have separate Blackbaud accounts to sign many forms for their children. This has been cause for concern among many students who struggle to get both of their parents to create accounts.

This issue came to light when the parking passes for the 2022-2023 school year became available for students. Many Bellarmine students missed the deadline and did not receive a parking pass because of the involved application process. Frustration around two parent Blackbaud accounts was very prevalent around the school when students complained about not having two signatures to complete the process.

Senior Liam McDaniel said, “It was very inconvenient, my dad already had an account so I made one for my mom and signed it for her.”

Another Senior Sophie Nicholson said something similar. “My dad did not have an account so my mom made one for him and signed it.” 

With many students making accounts for their parents and signing it themselves it seems very inconvenient and unnecessary to continue with this protocol.

Without two parents who are actively involved in their student’s lives those students find it hard to complete simple permission slips and forms. This could be something to address in the following years as our transition from Moodle to Blackbaud becomes concrete.