During Summer 2026, DoIT staff and Blackboard will archive our entire instance of Blackboard, which will save individually backed-up copies of every course and organization through SU2023. Courses offered before and including AY22-23 will be retired by the end of SU2026.
Beginning June 1, courses offered from the following terms will be scheduled for retirement:
- Any courses older than five years
- Fall 2022
- Winter 2023
- Spring 2023
- Summer 2023
The Blackboard system's overall performance and efficiency will improve by removing files and database transactions from the content server and database. AY23-24, AY24-25, and AY25-26 will remain on the server. Fall 2026 will begin a new academic year of data retention (AY25-26).
Reminder: End of Support for Blackboard Original Course & Organization Shells
Blackboard has announced that they will end support for Original courses and organizations on December 31, 2026. At this point, all Original content in courses and organizations, including development and sandbox courses, will be placed in a read-only state, which can be viewed by those respective enrolled users, but not edited by instructors or leaders. This change applies to all Original content.
Organization leaders with active Blackboard Original course shells are encouraged to take action now to decide whether you will move to Ultra or retire the organization
- If moving to Ultra, request a new Ultra organization site by submitting a ticket.
- If retiring the organization, download content you wish to retain, especially for legacy organizations more than 7 years old, in a Blackboard export package or exported file attachments.
FAQs about Course Retirement
Is my content gone forever? No, Blackboard archived courses captured all course data, files, student submissions, discussions, grades, etc. through SU2023. These archives will reside on a secure cloud storage location.
When will I lose access to courses that are being retired? The archiving process will begin on June 1st. Faculty can place an RT ticket to have their course content restored through November 2026.
Can I save a copy of my own courses? Yes -- and it is strongly encouraged! Instructors can export (course content) and/or archive (course content & student data) their courses. You should also download a copy of your gradebook. We recommend saving these files to UMBC's cloud storage to ensure long-term access in the event you change computer systems.
Can I restore (regain access to) only course content? Yes. Course content consists of files and course structure (menu, folders, etc.). Faculty can only import course content to an existing Blackboard course shell. Please submit a RT request for assistance importing an exported course file.
Can I restore course data? Course data consists of student submissions, discussions, and grades. We generally prefer not to restore full courses to avoid reinstating user accounts and confusing students with old content. If you must restore archived course data, please open an RT ticket with justification included.
How long will you keep the retired courses? We will keep the retired courses for approximately 2 years after Blackboard archives the courses. Faculty who may need content beyond 2 years should plan to save copies of their exported courses to UMBC Box or other cloud storage.
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
- Open a ticket via RT
- Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
- Request a consult with instructional technology staff