Poll Everywhere to Be Discontinued

Information Security, IT News, MyCourses, Polling / By

Information Technology (IT) will discontinue Poll Everywhere on July 27, 2023. 

Rationale 

Poll Everywhere will be discontinued for the following reasons: 

  1. The need to reduce overall technology spending and continue investing in classroom technology, student use computers, and other technologies that broadly support teaching and learning. 
  1. The need to address information security concerns communicated by the USG. 
  1. Reducing the number of tools that offer similar features will help the IT organization provide adequate levels of support to the campus. Supported platforms require ongoing documentation, training, and application administration. 

Timeline 

  • November 2022 
    • FY2024 budget information shared in college-wide town halls. 
    • IT reviewed budgets and usage levels of services and software licenses. 
  • January 2023 
    • University System of Georgia (USG) communicated information security concerns with the Poll Everywhere integration with MyCourses. 
  • February 2023 
    • IT made the decision to discontinue Poll Everywhere service based on cost, limited usage levels, and security concerns. 
  • March 2023 
    • Communicate intention to end the Poll Everywhere service via communication channels such as Pulse and MyCourses announcements to the Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) community. 
  • April-July 2023  
    • Provide workshops and support materials for alternative software and services that offer polling options. 
    • Offer 1-1 technology consultations. 
  • July 27, 2023 
    • Remove Poll Everywhere integration from MyCourses. 
    • Remove references to Poll Everywhere from support resources such as the Help Desk knowledge base. 

Alternate Solutions 

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Forms may be used for polling. IT offers guidance on setting up polls using the following tools: 

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Information Technology arrive at the decision to end support for Poll Everywhere? 

IT reviews the annual cost and usage levels of all software and services funded by the student technology fee. We analyzed the cost per user and reviewed other supported software and services for similar features. Poll Everywhere was identified as having a high cost per user and feature overlap. 

Can I continue to use the free version of Poll Everywhere? 

IT recommends that Poll Everywhere usage (free version or paid version) be discontinued for two reasons: 

  1. USG Information Security indicated that there is risk associated with continued use of the Poll Everywhere service.  
  1. USG Information Security shared that if the Poll Everywhere integration with MyCourses leads to a negative impact on the system, the USG will disable the integration. 

Additional questions regarding Poll Everywhere can be submitted to the Help Desk.