Identify Your Source
Blackboard is University of North Dakota's (UND) Learning Management System, used to manage courses, organizations, committees, departments and groups. It is possible to re-use content from previous courses in a new course by following the steps below. Before transferring your content, it is important that you identify the type of Blackboard course you will be copying from, as this may affect the options available to you.
- Original course view - The 'classic' course layout, used for many courses created prior to Fall 2025.
- Ultra course view - A new, streamlined course format. All UND courses are now created automatically in this format.
IMPORTANT NOTE: UND has transitioned away from the Original course view — all courses are now created in Ultra. All Blackboard organization sites should have already been transitioned to Ultra as well. Original view will reach end of life December 2026 with limited access thereafter.
Copy Content
Please review the section below that matches your source course type. All destination courses after Fall 2025 will use Ultra.
Copy from a Bb Original Course
Blackboard Original courses cannot be copied in their entirety into Ultra courses. Instructors must move individual folders, assignments, etc. manually.
- Copy individual items - Instructors can use this method to copy content from Original to Ultra courses. Note: Some content/tools cannot be transferred from Original to Ultra. Please review Blackboard's help page for a list of compatible items.
- Copy a whole course - Entire courses will not copy correctly from Original to Ultra. If your previous course was in Blackboard Original, you must copy individual items or folders using the instructions above.
Demo: Copying content from Blackboard Original to Blackboard Ultra - Watch a step-by-by step video walk through of the process.
Copy from a Bb Ultra Course
When copying from Ultra to Ultra, more options are available:
- Copy individual items - Instructors can use this method to copy only the desired content items from a previous course. This is a good option if you will only be reusing a few specific things.
- Copy a whole course - If your previous course was also in Ultra, then you can copy the entire course in one step; both the content and the layout of the original course will be reproduced in the new course.
Demo: Copying content from Blackboard Ultra to Blackboard Ultra - Watch a step-by-by step video walk through of the process.
More Assistance
Please review the links below for help with related operations:
- Blackboard Request App Form (requires NDUS credentials to login) - Please use this form to submit your requests for:
- Course copy - If you prefer, we can copy entire courses on your behalf (Ultra to Ultra only).
- Course merge - It is recommended that you merge your courses before working on their content.
- Zoom Cloud Recording - This account designation will not transfer in a course copy.
- Under-development site - Allows instructors to try Ultra in a sandbox site, which can then be copied into the real course site.
- Manage copied content - After moving items to your new course, you can:
- Re-arrange content vertically
- Sort items into folders
- Show/hide items
- Check document accessibility
- Schedule a course design consultation - You may also wish to meet with an instructional designer to discuss options for course layout and tool selection, to help you design a Blackboard course that meets your learning objectives. Our team of instructional designers will be happy to schedule a time to visit with you.