[Click to return to the Faculty / Staff Training & Support Blackboard page]
How and when are my courses added?
All courses are loaded automatically with the course information from the Registrar's Office.
Blackboard course shells are available:
Semester |
Date Available |
Fall |
August 1 |
Spring |
December 1 |
Summer |
May 1 |
Note: The student enrollment is NOT available until the Thursday before classes begin.
All students are loaded automatically based on the classes they scheduled in STINF.
How do I get empty shells, add a user that does not have an account, or create an organization?
All special needs may contact Tina Barnes at x4618.
Why are my courses not listed in Blackboard?
If you are scheduled to teach a course and it is not listed in Blackboard, please make sure the course is not listed as a TBA or Staff with the Registrar's Office. If the course is listed as TBA or Staff, the Department Chair needs to complete a Master Schedule Change form and submit it to the Registrar's Office.
I'm a new faculty or a temporary/adjunct faculty member and I don't have a Blackboard account.
If you are a new faculty or a temporary/adjunct faculty member, the courses are not usually assigned unless a contract has been received and you submitted all of your employment paperwork to Human Resources. Please make sure all of your employment paperwork has been completed.
Why would a student not be listed in my Blackboard course?
A student may not appear in your Blackboard course because he/she:
How can I prevent from having to login twice into Blackboard?
The double login problem can be caused by accessing your Blackboard site from your Favorites menu in Internet Explorer. You will need to modify the address appearing in your favorites:
If you still have this problem after following the above steps, please contact the Blackboard Help Desk at 866-434-8874.
How do I remove courses in the My Courses list?
You can hide past courses from the My Courses box. To do this:
Note: The changes only affect My Courses. You will still be able to see your entire course list under the Courses tab.
How do I make my courses unavailable/available to the students?
Students have access to a course until you make it unavailable. You may want to make a course unavailable to students approximately two weeks after grades are submitted. To make a course unavailable:
The course will be listed in your course list, but will no longer show to the students who are enrolled. You may wish to make your courses unavailable while you prepare them. You can then make the courses available when you are ready to use Blackboard by following the steps above and selecting Yes to make course available.
When using course copy, why are courses not listed when I do a search for Instructor and enter my last name?
When completing a course copy, use your Blackboard username in the Browse field and select Instructor. Your courses will list.
Why do I get an error message when importing grades into Blackboard?
Blackboard does not import an Excel spreadsheet that has been formatted. If you plan on using the gradebook in Blackboard along with an Excel spreadsheet, first download the gradebook from Blackboard. This downloads your student names so that you don't have to enter them into Excel.
When using the test feature in Blackboard, some students aren't able to complete the test.
When administering a test in Blackboard, have the students restart the computer and disable pop-up blockers or select always allow pop-ups from this site.
You can assist by setting the test to not open in a new window (default setting). It also helps to select all at once for the Presentation Mode.
If you selected “no” for the print option, the student will need to take the test using Internet Explorer.
I thought if I selected a time limit for a test, the students would not be able to finish the test if they went past the allotted time.
When you set the timer in Blackboard for a test, the students receive a one-minute warning. However, the students can still complete the test after the time is up. However, when you look in the gradebook, you will see an exclamation point for the students who went past the allotted time. Click on the exclamation point and click View. This provides you with a screen that shows the time elapsed for the test.
What happens if someone loads a virus files?
The Blackboard server is loaded with a virus checker. If someone uploads a virus file, it renames the file and moves the file so that no one can open it. It will then email Tina Barnes that a virus file has been loaded. Tina will then contact the person to clean the file and reload.
Blackboard chat requires that the most current version of Java is loaded on your machine. If you do not have it, please go to the URL below and install the latest version. If you have an older version, please uninstall that version first, and then install the latest version.
http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_automatic.jsp .
Depending on your security level for the Internet, you may need to add http://*.ship.edu to your Trusted Site list.
Remember, the export function saves the course content in a zip file. Use this function for future use of the course content in another course. Follow these steps to export your course content:

You will receive a message an email will be sent when the action is completed.
Once you receive the email from passhe@presidiumlearning.com:
Note: Do NOT unzip this file or remove files from the folder! If you do, you will not be able to import the zip file into a Blackboard course.
Remember, when you archive a course, you are saving all of the information in the course including student names, grades, discussion postings, etc. This function is not to be used as a back-up for later use in another course. Follow these steps to archive a course:

You will receive a message an email will be sent when the action is completed.
Once you receive the email from passhe@presidiumlearning.com: