Blackboard course shells for FA2017 were created on July 18, 2017 after the completion of the cloud migration.

Summer 2017 courses will be archived from the separate cloud environment and migrated to the primary Blackboard site in mid-FA2017. Faculty will not need to export their summer content unless they require it for immediate use.

Returning faculty who have not used Blackboard since spring should consider the following before logging into the new cloud environment:

• Clear your Internet browser cache and cookies using these step-by-step instructions.
• Report any technical issues via RT ticket. If possible, please include screen captures or error messages.
• Familiarize yourself with Blackboard’s new features & updates
• Review the original Bb migration FAQ

About Course Creation

Bb shells for FA2017 are available for all courses (designated as lecture, lab, field or discussion) listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), provided that there is an instructor of record listed. As new course sections and/or instructors are added to the SOC by Department Scheduling Coordinators, corresponding Bb shells are automatically generated overnight. 

• If you are an instructor, and your name is not associated with the course you are teaching in the SOC, please see your Departmental Scheduling Coordinator to resolve the issue. Once you are listed in the SOC, your Bb course shell will be created automatically. 
• If you and your Department Scheduling Coordinator believe you are correctly assigned as the instructor of record in the SOC and you do not see your course shell in Blackboard, please submit a Request Tracker (RT) ticket via my.umbc.edu/help.
• If you need a Bb shell for a research or independent study course, please submit a new course request.

Instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course will find those enrollments merged into one Bb course shell. These sections may be split upon request by an RT ticket, which we recommend submitting at least one week before the semester starts, if not as soon as courses are created in Blackboard.

Student enrollment in Bb mirrors the official registration in SA and updates hourly. However, courses are not accessible to students by default until the instructor of record makes them available.

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection
• Open a ticket via RT
• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
• Request a consult with instructional technology staff