In early January, the Ultra updates features improvements to course settings, content management, grading, and the AI Course Design Assistant, providing increased flexibility for faculty in managing their courses.

Course availability moves away from the Details and Actions side menu to the Course Settings, in the top right corner. Available course statuses include 

• Open: Content is available to students.
• Closed: Content is not available. Students can see the course listed, but they cannot access it. (previously called Private)
• Complete: Read-only content. No changes can be made by students OR instructors. Use with caution.

At the top of a course, there is now an indicator that displays whether a course is Open, Closed, or Complete. Instructors can access Course Settings from the Courses page. 

Image 1: Example of course availability indicator at the top right of an Ultra course.

Learning pathways are structured, personalized sequences of activities or content that guide students through a course based on their progress, performance, or choices. For example, an instructor might release resources only after a student completes specific assignments, or offer different content tracks based on quiz results to address varying levels of mastery. Ultra can now support releasing content based on submission attempt in addition to date/time, grade, and user/group membership.

Image 2: The new Attempt submitted option is in the dropdown menu for a gradable item in the Release condition panel.

• Direct Grade Entry: When grades are entered directly from the Grid view or Submissions page, Ultra will no longer display "Needs Grading" to instructors when grades were already completed.
• Show/Hide Gradebook Columns: Instructors now have the ability to show or hide columns in the gradebook. While hidden columns offer a more organized workspace, these do not apply to the student view since that visibility is controlled by the assessment settings.
• Automatic Zero Defaults: The default setting for automatic zeros is now set to off, giving instructors the flexibility to decide whether or not to enable this feature based on their grading policies. (This applies to newly created courses in the system after Jan 10.)

Additional improvements in January include:

• The AI Course Design Assistant will work faster and generate more complex outputs for assignments, discussions, test questions, learning modules, and AI Conversation avatars.
• Instructors can generate more realistic images faster with the AI Course Design Assistant and the resulting image files require less storage space. 
• The output languages available for AI workflows now include Greek, Catalan, Croatian, Irish, and Slovenian. For a list of all languages available for AI outputs, refer to AI Design Assistant for Instructors. 
• The Achievements tab is now hidden from students until the instructor creates and posts Achievements for students to earn. 
• With the new Mastery Gradebook, instructors can align goals to assessments and view how learners are performing in the course. Moreover, they can also control whether they want students to see their own performance.

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around January 9-10, 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on January 14, 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 SP2025 webinar on January 17, 2025.

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T.S. Eliot

It’s 2021, senior year of high school, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge we sit anxiously at our computers awaiting responses from the universities and colleges we’ve applied to. Few students dare to break from tradition, choosing instead to follow the well-trodden paths of their parents, grandparents, siblings, or cousins. In Texas—especially at this small Catholic school—tradition carries immense weight, shaping the choices of most graduates. 

Because of this, it’s no surprise that when a peer decides to go to an out-of-state school, it’s met with shock and skepticism. “Are you sure you want to move so far away?” they ask, voices tinged with disbelief. “How could you leave your family? What are you even going to do out there? Isn’t it easier to just stay here?” These questions often carry an undertone of judgment, as if breaking away from the familiar is a betrayal of the community or an unnecessary risk. 

I was no exception to these questions when I announced that I would be going to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, (UMBC). Still, I knew deep down that Texas had given me all it could. Despite coming from a liberal family, we couldn’t escape the suffocating grip of conservatism that shaped so much of life in San Antonio. In my 18 years there, I was taught to love Jesus and my family, to believe that abortion was the ultimate sin, and that rape could never result in pregnancy. Texas seemed determined to isolate itself from the rest of the world, and I realized no one around me was going to show me what lay beyond its borders. If I wanted to see the world for what it truly was, I had to leave and discover it with my own eyes.

It wasn’t easy. I often found myself going to great lengths to reassure people that, despite the stereotypes, not everyone in Texas was a bigot. It was true that my life experiences had been limited, but more than anything, I wanted to learn and grow. Being away from my family was a constant challenge. While I formed wonderful friendships, my peers had the privilege of going home after a tough week or celebrating their birthdays with loved ones. My visits were restricted to Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and the ache of homesickness sometimes made me question my decision. Yet, I knew deep down that this was a path I had to follow—a necessary step to discover more about myself and the world, no matter how hard it was.

For the first time in my life, I wasn’t required to wear a school uniform, and people asked me about my pronouns and sexuality—things that had never been part of the conversation back home. Here, there was no assumption that I was straight or that I had to stick to she/her pronouns. It was liberating in a way I hadn’t imagined. Every weekend, I called home, brimming with excitement about what I was studying and experiencing. I’ll never forget how thrilled I was to discover new ideas and perspectives that challenged everything I thought I knew.

Reproductive health, in particular, was something I had no idea about when I arrived in Maryland. Growing up in Texas, I was steeped in a culture that avoided honest conversations about sex, contraception, and bodily autonomy. Misinformation shaped my understanding, from the stigmatization of abortion to outright falsehoods about pregnancy and assault. At UMBC, I encountered a starkly different reality—one where access to accurate information and open dialogue about reproductive health was not only encouraged but normalized.

Learning about comprehensive sex education, the science of reproduction, and the policies that impact reproductive rights empowered me to think critically and advocate for myself and others. It has been a transformative experience, allowing me to see how much I had been denied back home.

UMBC felt like an entirely different world, one that revealed just how sheltered my life in Texas had been. I was thrilled to finally learn the information I had missed out on growing up—knowledge that felt empowering and long overdue. More than anything, I wanted to return home and share what I had discovered, to challenge the misconceptions that had shaped so much of my upbringing. I realized how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to attend college out of state, knowing that not everyone has the privilege to explore life beyond the boundaries of their hometown.

Four years later, now in my senior year of college, I am planning for life after graduation—a future that once felt bright and full of promise but now seems clouded by the aftermath of the recent presidential election and its implications. Returning to a conservative state like Texas feels overwhelming, knowing I may encounter skepticism or resistance from those with deeply different views. As a woman, I’m acutely aware of the rights that have been stripped away, and the thought of going back fills me with fear. Yet, my love for my family and my desire to support girls like me—those who don’t have the option to leave—outweigh my hesitation. I want to make Texas a better place for them, a place where they can thrive despite the challenges.

When I share my decision to return to Texas, the reactions from friends and colleagues are often a mix of shock and fear. “Why would you go back there?” they ask, eyes wide, their voices filled with concern. I can’t blame them for their alarm—after all, I’ve spent years speaking openly about the challenges of growing up in a conservative state and the liberating experiences I’ve had here in Maryland. But despite their worry, my decision feels right. Texas shaped me, for better or worse, and I can’t turn my back on the place or the people who are still there, navigating the same struggles I once faced. Yes, moving back is daunting, but it’s also a chance to bring the knowledge I’ve gained and the perspective I’ve developed to a community that needs it. And while leaving the supportive and progressive environment I’ve built in Maryland is bittersweet, I know that going back is not a step backward. It’s a step toward creating change and making my home a place where others like me can see a future worth staying for.

I understand that meaningful change won’t happen overnight, but I truly believe that progress is possible.