The 2025 M.O.S.T. Grant Cycle

We hope that you would consider submitting a proposal either for an individual faculty or institutional grant supported by the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Initiative. The due date for proposals is April 18^th at 11:59PM Eastern.
 
The Faculty Grant Program offers support in the way of Adopt/Adapt OER ($1,000 grant + Participation in the Lumen Circles Community of Practice) and Create/Revise and Publish OER ($2,000 grant + Participation in the Rebus Textbook Success Program).
 
Institutional grants will include $20,000 to support significant advances in OER adoption, scaling, and sustainability in support of student success. In addition, grantees will receive strategic planning and implementation support for their projects from M.O.S.T. in the form of consultations and regular monthly check-ins.
 
For more details and to review the call for proposals for each grant, please visit our website or email us at most@usmd.edu.
 
Sincerely,
The M.O.S.T. Team

Following the April 2025 Blackboard release, some Blackboard users reported issues (e.g., blank screen, spinning wheel) with Blackboard access. Unsupported browser versions were identified as the cause of the access issue. As a reminder, please ensure that your browser is up to date.

Update April 14: The code updates addressing rendering issues for Safari version 16.3 and earlier have been successfully deployed to production and validated. All functionality is now working as expected. While this fix addresses the recent compatibility issues, Blackboard strongly recommends keeping browsers up to date to ensure access to the latest security patches and performance enhancements.

Supported Browsers for Blackboard

As of April 4, 2025, Blackboard supports the following browsers:

• Safari MacOS and iOS: The two most recent major versions (versions 17 and 18)
• Chrome: The most recent stable version and two preceding versions (versions 133, 134, and 135)
• Firefox: The most stable version and the two preceding versions
• Edge: The most recent stable version and the two preceding versions

Allow Pop-Ups

Pop-Up blockers should not be enabled in your browser when running Blackboard. For an optimal experience on Blackboard, make sure to disable any pop-up blocker software on your browser or allow your browser to open pop-ups from Blackboard.

Allow Third-Party Cookies

Blackboard relies on some third-party cookies. Please allow third-party cookies for Blackboard and related technologies. See our FAQ about third-party cookies for additional information.

To address current and future Blackboard (Bb) system administration issues and opportunities, DoIT will be changing how all Bb courses are automatically created and enrolled. Specifically, the new process – auto-creating exact one-to-one (1:1) matches of all PeopleSoft (PS) section enrollments and Bb course shells – will be piloted in Summer 25 and (pending results) implemented in Fall 25.

When completed, the new process will improve Bb course roster accuracy, lay a foundation for faculty bulk final grade submission, and free up DoIT staff to help all users make the most of the tool at the hectic start of semesters. Short-term, multi-section Bb course shells will be merged "upon request" vs "by default" as they are now, but long-term, faculty will be able to merge or split any sections they teach within Bb itself.

"We recognize instructors of large courses will need to request merges of their multiple sections, rather than having them combined by default," says John Fritz, Associate Vice President of Instructional Technology. "However, mapping Bb and PS sections as part of the course creation process is an important part of our ongoing effort to streamline and enhance course management in Blackboard. It is an effective practice used at other Bb schools, even regardless of LMS including College Park, and will free up DoIT staff who have been averaging nearly 100 hours at the start of semester processing faculty requests to split sections we have merged by default. Long-term, re-engineering Bb’s integration with PS will benefit students and faculty, and DoIT staff who support them."

Summer courses will be created at the end of April.

For more information about these improvements, please see the following:

1. Presentation to Faculty Senate Computer Policy Committee (CPC) on March 4, 2025. 
2. Updated FAQs & demo video: How to request a merged course
3. Common question about the process (below, or use this Google Doc)

In addition, faculty are invited to attend an information session on May 1, 2025 about the new course creation process and why it matters. It will be a hybrid meeting ENGR 102 and recorded. 

• 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

Common Questions About the Revised Blackboard Course Creation & User Enrollment Process 

Why is the course creation process changing?

The course creation process is changing to ensure more accurate rosters in Blackboard that match what is in PeopleSoft. More importantly, the revised course creation and enrollment process lays a foundation for additional development by DoIT staff to support workflows for final grade extraction between Blackboard and Peoplesoft. 

How does the new course creation process work?

The course creation process will include all course types including Research, Independent Study, and Practicum. Additionally, courses without an instructor assigned in the Schedule of Classes will also be created in Blackboard, allowing departments more flexibility to request access when waiting for new hire paperwork to be processed.

What is the benefit of the new course creation process for faculty and students?

The improvements benefit faculty and students alike by ensuring that course rosters are accurate. Since rosters will be processed one at a time per section in Blackboard, students are connected more precisely to the official course record, including adds and drops. 

Since courses start in a separated state, students will not lose access to the course. Merging a course also ensures students will retain access without delay. All data is retained in a course if students drop, albeit in a disabled state that only system admins can see. The course information seen by students when they log into Blackboard will be more accurate, matching the registration information in PeopleSoft.

Faculty will also have new gradebook filters that easily identify which course section they are viewing. If they prefer to download the gradebook, a new column provides the course section information for easier sorting.

Image 1: Example of the new gradebook filter in an Ultra course.

How will my Blackboard course differ with the new process?

Your Blackboard course will function the same way except you will have separate course shells for each class you teach. If you prefer to combine your courses, please open a ticket to request a merge.

Merged courses will function exactly as before -- one course shell with all of your students enrolled. You’ll have those new gradebook filters available as an added perk. You can continue to use Copy Items, release conditions, and groups to manage your content and students.

How do I request a merged course shell in Blackboard?

Instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course will see a separate Blackboard course shell for each section or course component. Courses will no longer be merged by default. Instructors planning to use split shells will no longer need to submit an RT request.

Course shells may be merged upon request via RT ticket, which we recommend submitting at least one week before the semester starts, if not as soon as courses are created in Blackboard. NOTE: Courses should not be merged or split after student grade data and engagement activity is recorded since it will be purged as part of the separation process.

How do students access my course?

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.

How do I add a non-enrolled student to my individual or merged course?

Only officially enrolled students can access your course. Faculty can add TAs, graders, course builders, and other support roles (e.g., SI-PASS, interpreter, etc.) to their courses. 

Image 2: Example of the enrollment screen in a Blackboard course.

How do I add a student to my course to fulfill an incomplete?

Please open a ticket and request a Course Availiability Override. This will extend that student’s access to the Blackboard course shell matching their official enrollment.

The April release introduce several new features aimed at improving content management, grading flexibility, and student feedback tracking. 

Instructors and students can now print Ultra Documents or save them as PDFs. This feature facilitates offline content review, sharing with peers, or creating physical copies. Note that if knowledge checks are included and already completed, they will display selected answers and instructor feedback when printed.

Image 1: Example of new print Ultra Document feature

A major addition this month is the Learning Object Repository (LOR), designed to centralize resources across courses and organizations. Instructors can copy objects from the LOR while maintaining control over settings such as availability. Updates made to objects in the LOR are automatically reflected across associated courses, making it easier to manage institutional content like policy documents.

Content Creation & Management

• When performing a whole course copy, achievements are now automatically included, allowing instructors to maintain consistent recognition across course iterations. However, achievements are not included in granular content copies.
• Instructors can now access Achievements through the Student Preview.

Assessments & Grading

• Flexible Grading is introduced for group assignments and tests. Though some features (like per-question feedback on group tests) are not yet available, this update is part of ongoing improvements to group grading.
• A new feedback indicator on the student Overview page now shows whether students have reviewed their feedback. The indicator updates from “Not reviewed” to “Reviewed” with a timestamp, giving instructors greater insight into student engagement with their feedback.
• A new “Results” column in the Gradebook replaces the “Feedback” column, making it more intuitive for students to view their grades and feedback.

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around April 4-5 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on April 8, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

Curious about the all latest features in Ultra? Join our What's New in Ultra Courses for Teaching & Learning SU2025 webinar on May 12, 2025.

In March, Ultra's update includes two new course reports, an exciting rubric enhancement requested by faculty, and improvements to the AI Course Design Assistant.

Located on the Analytics page, the two new course reports focus on goals. The Course Goal Coverage Report provides a comprehensive view of goal coverage in the course, including a detailed breakdown of course items aligned with goals. The Course Goal Performance Report evaluates how a course meets selected goals, including a detailed breakdown for individual students and goals. These reports do not include third-party tools and uses snapshot data that is up to 24 hours old.

Instructors will be able to pop out the grading rubric into a separate window when grading an assignment. Formatted in a grid view, the pop-out rubric is a separate, movable window. Popping out a rubric allows an instructor to view a student's submission and the rubric side-by-side for a more efficient grading experience. However, the expand icon for popping out a rubric will only appear if the primary browser window is sufficiently large enough to display enough of the course page. Instructors will be able to print a blank or completed rubric using their browser's print function.

Image 1: Example of new pop-out rubric

Content Creation & Management

• When setting or updating release conditions, due dates for content items are now included with the release condition settings, reducing the need to navigate back to the item to check deadlines.
• Instructors can now copy banners between courses.

AI Course Design Assistant

• When using the AI Course Design Assistant, if no image is generated, a placeholder will maintain a consistent layout. A refresh button allows instructors to generate a new image easily.
• The AI Course Design Assistant now generates one image at a time instead of four, reducing energy and processing power. If an instructor regenerates an image, previous images are saved for comparison.

Assessments & Grading

• If an instructor hides an assessment while students are actively taking it, those with the test open can continue without disruption.
• Instructors can configure the visibility of calculated columns from Items Management, streamlining the gradebook view. (Note: The Overall Grade column remains visible at all times.)
• The layout for the Test Submission Page for students now mirrors the assignment submission page update from September 2024, ensuring feedback is clearly presented.

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around March 6-7, 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on March 11, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

A recording of the information session for the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) 2025 grant cycle is now available. The session provided an overview of open educational resources (OERs) as well as critical details about institutional and faculty mini-grants for 2025. 

The deadline for the 2025 proposals is April 18, 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET).
 
For more details about the M.O.S.T. grants, including the Requests for Proposals, visit https://www.oer-maryland.org/support-sustain/most-oer-grant-program/.

In 2023, UMBC's Jill Vasbinder, adjunct faculty, Department of Dance (Dance Appreciation, Dance History), created an OER dance history course as a recipient of the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Faculty OER Grant Program. 

The M.O.S.T. initiative supports efforts to increase faculty access, affordability, and achievement for students at Maryland's postsecondary institutions through incorporating open educational resources into teaching practice.

From spring 2014 to fall 2023, 210 courses at 29 institutions across Maryland have switched to OER, saving students more than $22 million in cumulative textbook costs. Since spring 2014, M.O.S.T. has impacted more than 160,000 students, who saved an average of $137 per course. 

Note: All institutional grants and faculty grants awarded to UMBC must be routed to the Office of Sponsored Programs prior to submission. Contact your unit's business manager or proposal development staff to discuss your application.

CAHSS faculty can request assistance from CARAT (Creative Achievement and Research Administration Team): https://carat.umbc.edu/request-assistance/ 

Classes can be postponed (or canceled) due to inclement weather, utility and infrastructure breakdown, widespread illness, or other emergencies. By preparing a Go Online (GO) Kit, you’ll be ready to transition seamlessly when in-person classes aren’t an option. Here are five steps to help you stay on track.

1. Stay connected and up-to-date on issues impacting whether your class might get canceled or postponed.

• Sign up for UMBC Emergency Alerts to receive text notifications about closures, delays, or campus-wide emergencies.
• Follow Campus Announcements on myUMBC to stay up to date on any university-wide decisions affecting classes.

2. Identify instructional technologies you can use to support content distribution, active learning, and assessment.

• Familiarize yourself with instructional technologies that support academic continuity using online teaching strategies and tools,
• Blackboard for content distribution, assessments, and discussions.
• Web conferencing tools (Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex) for live class sessions.
• Panopto and VoiceThread video recording for asynchronous lectures.
• Cloud storage (Google Drive, Box, or OneDrive) for large file sharing.
• Other instructional technologies
• Test your setup in advance -- check your internet connection, explore Blackboard and other instructional technologies, and practice using web conferencing tools so you can troubleshoot issues to minimize disruptions when switching to online instruction.