After a year-long redesign with faculty feedback sessions – including on-site at UMBC – Blackboard will launch a new gradebook starting August 7, 2026. The redesigned gradebook grid view will provide a visual and workflow overhaul to the instructor experience, but will not impact the management of grades, calculations, or course settings. This is strictly an interface update, not a data migration.

Watch a short video overview of the gradebook redesign.

Gradebook Changes

• A Grade Details panel that stays open. Click any cell and see the student's grade, submission status, feedback, grader notes, and posting status together, without the grid disappearing behind a menu.

• A To Do panel instead of a full-page Overview tab. See what needs grading and posting without losing your place in the gradebook.

• Accommodations, front and center. If a student has a course-level accommodation, it now shows up automatically in the Grade Details panel, no more clicking away to check.

• A safer delete. Removing a column now requires confirming the exact item by name, with a clear warning banner, so an accidental click can't erase grades.

• Easier sorting and IDs. Student ID moves into its own sortable column, and accommodation flags are easier to spot next to student names.

What Stays the Same

Your grades, grade calculations, and course settings are untouched. Only the interface was redesigned. The List View of gradable items hasn’t changed, and you can still toggle between the two views anytime. View individual student details by clicking on the individual name.

Image 1: Example of redesigned Blackboard gradebook featuring streamlined grid view

Because the change lands right as summer session is ending, most instructors will see it for the first time while preparing for fall courses. Instructional Technology will offer two sessions to walk through the redesigned gradebook and answer questions before the semester starts:

• Friday, August 14 (12 pm)

• Wednesday, August 19 (12 pm)

For more information about the redesigned gradebook, please visit our redesigned gradebook FAQ with video walkthroughs, or request support at help.umbc.edu. To share feedback about the new gradebook, please complete our survey.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection

  • What's new in Ultra? |Known Issues

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff