Looking for a summer course?

Consider taking Interdisciplinary Social Science Research Training (SOCY 497/698), an online (synchronous) course!

SOCY 497/698 provides training in research methods, professional development, and key topics in health, alongside direct faculty mentorship and participation in active research projects. Students will also have the opportunity to connect with faculty and get involved in their research projects!

Meets Tues., Wed., Thurs., 9:00 AM–12:10 PM over 4 weeks. Open to undergraduate and graduate students with flexible prerequisites.

To register, simply email Dr. Mair at christine_mair@umbc.edu for permission.

Have you ever spent more time wrestling with Blackboard's Groups tool than actually designing the group work itself, especially in a large course? The May Ultra update delivers meaningful improvements across course management, giving instructors more flexibility and students more clarity from day one.

Groups Management receive a significant overhaul in this release. Blackboard redesigned the entire Groups experience to address long-standing usability challenges, particularly in large courses where creating, organizing, and managing groups has historically been cumbersome. The updated interface is faster, clearer, and more consistent across group types, so instructors can spend less time configuring group logistics and more time designing the collaborative learning experiences that make group work meaningful.

Image 1: Instructors can now sort group members by first or last name, student ID and sort groups by group name or number of members.

Release Conditions just got more transparent. Instructors can now view any release conditions inherited from a parent learning module or folder directly within the release conditions panel of an individual item. These inherited conditions appear in read-only format, giving instructors a complete picture of everything controlling an item's visibility -- both conditions set on the item itself and those cascading down from a parent container. This update also closes a gap where discussions hidden inside a learning module could still be accessed from the Discussions tab; discussions now fully respect the release conditions applied at the learning module level.

Additional updates for May include:

• Course Switcher search: The Course Switcher now includes a search box, letting users find and navigate to any course by name or course ID, without browsing the full Courses page.

• Discussion Due Date in Gradebook: The second due date for discussions now appears on the Gradebook's Overview and Gradable Items pages, helping instructors stay aware of discussions that need grading.

• Document spacing improvements: Blackboard refined spacing and layout behavior in Documents to reduce unnecessary vertical white space, improving readability and visual balance across content items and images whether editing existing content, creating new content, or using AI-generated layouts.

• Group filter carried into Flexible Grading: The group filter selected in the Gradebook grid view now persists when entering Flexible Grading. The active filter is displayed within the Flexible Grading view, reducing the need to re-filter after switching views.

When can you expect the update?

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around May 7-8, 2026. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on May 12, 2026; release notes will be posted to the What's New in Ultra page within two weeks. 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.

For additional information about the latest updates to Ultra, and to get a sneak peek at June’s release, please register for our What’s New in Ultra for Teaching & Learning SU2026, scheduled for Friday, May 15, 2026.

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

Living Water is having our last Overflow meeting tonight, we'll be having a General Body Meeting! 

Come chat with the leadership team about how we're doing! We'll also be talking about how you can get involved this summer.

Come join us in ILSB118, tonight, Tuesday 5/5. Hope to see you there :D

Happy Double Heritage Month!

At LUNAR, we honor both our Asian and Jewish heritage year-round, but we like to get extra loud and proud in May because it's both Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month AND Jewish American Heritage Month!

We coined the term "Double Heritage Month", not only to celebrate the serendipity of both heritage months occurring together, but also because we truly view our multiple cultures as "double", not "half / half". So join us this month and beyond in celebrating double the traditions, double the ancestral legacies, and double the community, here at LUNAR.

We have binders in several different sizes to give away.  They all work and are in good condition.  We would love to keep them out of the landfill.

Photos are attached and each is titled with the quantity and type that is pictured.  Feel free to forward this to anyone who could benefit.

Pickup in Admin.  Contact me at cfu2@umbc.edu.  Thank you!

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers will be hosting our seventh GBM on Wednesday, May 6th, from 12:00-1:00 pm in ILSB 237. In this session, we will be hosting our Eboard elections and having our senior sendoff. There will be free chips and drinks. We look forward to seeing you there!

Best, Your ASME Eboard

Come join our final event of the year with a study session hosted by our amazing Interns :D

Bring your friends & enjoy FREE ice cream and snacks to help fuel your day :>

We hope to see you there !!

May 6th | 5-7 PM | PUP 206

May Week is here! Check out our full event lineup and make plans to join us throughout the week. We can't wait to connect with you all!
Starting tonight with Human Trafficking 101 at 7:13 PM in ILSB 116B. See you there!

Come join us this Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in PAHB 108 to hear a talk from Abouna Seraphim!! Food and drinks will be provided

Spring 2026 Graduate Assistant Town Hall

Where: Commons 329 (in-person) + Virtual (Webex): link • Password: mMPJvnc87g8

 When: Friday, may 8th, 12-1pm 

 Who: Graduate Assistants only (TAs, RAs, graders, peaceworkers)

Format: 60 minutes · in-person + hybrid

Join GAAC for our Spring 2026 Graduate Assistant Town Hall — a full hour of report-backs, a Q&A panel with Graduate School leadership, and an open floor for the issues that matter most to GAs. This is the last GAAC-wide gathering before our May 19 Meet & Confer with the President and Graduate School administration, and what comes out of this room shapes what we carry into it.

Free pizza & drinks (veg/halal options) — grab a slice, share your voice!

🎁 T-Shirt Giveaway — limited edition GSA - GAAC Spring 2026

Two steps to grab one:

1. Complete the GAAC input survey online before the Town Hall → [survey link]
2. Show up in person — bring your survey confirmation, and we'll hand you a t-shirt at the door, while supplies last.

Survey responses also feed directly into our Meet & Confer prep, so you're shaping the agenda either way.

What's on the agenda

1. Welcome & GAAC overview 

2. GAAC Updates: What We've Done For You 

• Health insurance update 
• GA Lifecycle & Payroll Continuity 
• Funding Continuity & Cost of Living 
  
  3. Q&A Panel — Sunji Jangha, Senior Assistant Dean, Graduate School 
  
  4. GSWU Presentation (20 minutes — information only, GAAC neutral) Graduate Students United Workers will share information about their work. Questions for GSWU should be directed to their representatives during their segment.
  
  5. Closing & how to stay connected — Including details on the May 19 Meet & Confer and the t-shirt giveaway draw.

Why attend

• Hear concrete updates from this semester's Meet & Confer cycle, what's moved, what's still open
• Put questions directly to Senior Assistant Dean Sunji Jangha
• Help prioritize what GAAC carries into the May 19 Meet & Confer
• Meet your college's GAAC representative
• Submit concerns openly or anonymously

How to participate

• RSVP on the [myUMBC event page] so we can plan food and seating
• Complete the input survey to qualify for the t-shirt giveaway and shape the agenda: [survey link]
• Prefer to stay anonymous? Use the GAAC Submit Concerns form: [link]

Questions? Email gsagaac@umbc.edu or visit us at Commons 308.
Follow GAAC on myUMBC for weekly benefit/policy tips.