IN PROGRESS
The university's Blackboard license expires on December 20, 2023. At that time, the Blackboard application and all supporting infrastructure will have been entirely decommissioned and no longer in operation for our campus. The campus is in the process of switching to the new learning management system, Brightspace. This page provides important information and common questions about the process of retiring the Blackboard service.
When will Blackboard no longer be used for classes?
Spring 2023 is the final semester in which Blackboard will be used. Beginning with 2023 summer sessions, all courses will be in Brightspace. All scheduled classes will have a course created in the Brightspace system for 2023 summer session and future semesters.
Will my Blackboard courses be copied to Brightspace?
Courses that were offered from Summer 2021 through Fall 2022 will be copied into development courses in the Brightspace system and made available to faculty in late Spring 2023. The process is underway at this time. Courses taught in Spring 2023 will be copied into development courses in the Brightspace system and made available to faculty in Summer 2023. This process will bring your course content and most tools into the Brightspace course but WILL NOT include student rosters or student records, like assignment submissions, grades, and the like.
When will my access to Blackboard be disabled?
Instructors will be able to access the system and their course, materials, and students records until August 31, 2023. It important to note that access to the Blackboard system after the conclusion of the spring semester could be temporarily disabled from time to time as ITS works to archive course content for potential future needs.
What if students need to submit coursework to resolve an Incomplete grade?
ITS can enable student access to prior semester Blackboard courses at the request of the instructor-of-record or department chair. They should submit the request to askit@albany.edu. Instructors should understand that enabling access to prior Blackboard courses applies to all students on the roster; it's not possible to enable access for only individual student accounts. Because the system will no longer be in service as of late summer or early fall, student access will not be possible after that. Please arrange for alternative methods outside of Blackboard for students to complete their incomplete coursework after August 31, 2023.
How can I access my Blackboard course data in the future?
Your course materials will be copied into a corresponding course in Brightspace, so you will have access to these files there. ITS will maintain a Blackboard archive environment for course records. If you need data from one of your Blackboard courses, please submit this form (TBD).
Is there anything I need to do with my Blackboard courses?
Yes!! You should archive your Blackboard courses as well as download any files, data, course materials, student rosters, grade center, and any other information you need for easy access. You could import or restore the packages into a compatible Blackboard system in the future, if necessary. Additionally, the packages could also be imported into other learning management systems, including Brightspace. While the course export/archive ZIP package itself cannot be unpackaged and opened outside of Blackboard, the separately downloaded content files, grade data, etc., can be accessed directly from your selected storage system.
Archive Your Blackboard Course
In the past, I had organizations in the Community tab in Blackboard. Will these be copied into Brightspace?
Generally, no. Most non-standard courses and organizations in Blackboard WILL NOT be copied or recreated in Brightspace.
While Blackboard provided the Community feature that was intended to support campus organizations, Brightspace does not include such a feature. Rather, it is intentionally designed with an essential function of delivery and support of degree and certificate programs. To support you in navigating a move from Blackboard, we encourage you to explore other services offered by ITS for supporting communication and collaboration with your campus groups and constituents.
If you were an instructor or leader of a non-standard course or organization in Blackboard, ITS sent a status update specific to each course or organization to your UAlbany email address.