Users
Before users can access a Blackboard course, they must be added in Campus Connection (course management system). Enrollment information is automatically transferred from Campus Connection to Blackboard (learning management system) once per day. Any changes made in Campus Connection may take 24 hours to appear in Blackboard:
- Students - Students may browse available courses in Campus Connection and self-enroll. When students add a class in Campus Connection, they will automatically be added to the corresponding Blackboard course, usually within 24 hours. The same process occurs when students drop/withdraw from a class in Campus Connection; they will automatically be made inactive in the Bb course within 24 hours.
- Instructors - Instructors (and Teaching Assistants) must be added to the course roster in Campus Connection by their department. Then, users who are listed in Campus Connection as the instructor of record for a course will automatically be added to the corresponding Blackboard course site in the 'Instructor' role, also within 24 hours.
Some types of users must be requested by the instructor and added to Blackboard manually:
- Graders - Instructors can use the Blackboard request form to request that a specific user be added to their course as a Grader.
- Organization users (all types) - In Blackboard organization sites, all users must be manually added. Organization Leaders can use the Blackboard request form to submit these additions, or they may be able to add users manually via the organization's Roster page.
Add a Teaching Assistant
All TAs (Teaching Assistants) and GTAs (Graduate Teaching Assistants) must be added to Campus Connection first, then they will be automatically populated into their Blackboard courses. This process is similar to adding an instructor to a Blackboard course.
When a TA/GTA or additional instructor needs to be added to a Blackboard course, instructors will need to inform their department Scheduling Assistant of this addition. The Scheduling Assistant will then email Laura Vatnsdal in the Office of the Registrar to add them in Campus Connection. The Scheduling Assistant will then add the TA/GTA to the specific course in CLSS and then the information will automatically be populated into Blackboard within 24 hours.
Please provide the following information to your Scheduling Assistant:
Name
EMPL ID#
Course(s) taught and class numbers (ie MATH 103 #8018)
Will this new add be a Primary Instructor or a Teaching Assistant
Groups
Students can be placed in groups to allow them to work together on projects and other class assignments. Creating groups in Blackboard gives each group a private workspace where the members can email, exchange files and participate in a group discussion board — activities not visible to students belonging to other groups. Groups can be created one at a time, or in sets. Instructors can choose which communication options are available to the group members.
Visit Blackboard's Groups page for information on creating and managing groups.
Course Roles
Blackboard's different Course Roles denote different levels of access to the content and tools within a course. Each user is assigned a role for every course that they participate in. For example, a user with a role of Teaching Assistant in one course can have a role of Student in another course.
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Instructor - Can access all areas of the course, including the control panel for posting content, can make users available/unavailable, post grades, and make the course available/unavailable. This role is generally assigned to the person developing, teaching, or facilitating the class. Instructors are automatically populated into Blackboard courses from Campus Connection.
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Teaching Assistant - Can access to everything included in the Instructor role — but they cannot change users' or course's availability.
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Course Builder - Can access most areas of the course, except for student grades. When the course is set to be unavailable to regular Students, a course builder can still see and access the course.
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Grader - Has limited access to the course. Graders can assist an instructor in the creation, management, delivery, and grading of assessments and surveys. The grader may also assist an instructor with adding manual grade entries. If a course is unavailable to students, the course appears in the course list for a user with the role of Grader.
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Student - The default course user role. A user with the role of Student submits coursework and participates in discussions. Students can't create or grade course items. This role is automatically populated from Campus Connection.
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Guest - Not available in the Ultra Course Experience
Visit Blackboard's Course Roles help article for more information.
Organization Roles
Organization roles control access to the content and tools within an organization. Each user is assigned a role for each organization they participate in. For example, a user with a role of Assistant in one organization can have a role of Participant in another organization.
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Leader (like the Instructor role in regular courses) - Can access all areas of the organization including the control panel for posting content, can make users available/unavailable and make the organization available/unavailable. This role is limited to current university faculty or staff employees, and is generally assigned to the person developing, teaching, or facilitating the organization site.
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Leader with Enroll - Has the same abilities as a Leader, but with the added ability to add and remove users in the organization.
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Assistant (like the Teaching Assistant role in regular courses) - Can access everything included with the Leader role, but cannot change users' availability.
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Organization Builder (like the Course Builder role in regular courses) - Can access most areas of the course, except the grade center. If the organization is unavailable to participants, a course builder can still access the organization.
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Grader - Has limited access to the organization. Graders can assist a leader in the creation, management, delivery, and grading of assessments and surveys. The grader may also assist an leader with adding manual grade entries. When an organization is set to be unavailable, and is not accessible to users enrolled as Participants, it will still appear on the Organization page for a user with this role.
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Participant (like the Student role in regular courses) - The default organization user role. A user with the role of Participant submits coursework and participates in discussions. Participants can't create or grade organization items, and are not able to access organizations when they are set to be unavailable.
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Guest - Not available in the Ultra Course Experience
Guest Access
Guest access is not available in the Ultra Course Experience.