Blackboard SOS-FAQ

Table of Contents

When Will my Blackboard Course for Next Semester be Available? 

New Blackboard course shells are created 7-8 weeks before the start of the term, shortly after the registrar's office finalizes the term schedule of courses.

• Fall course shells are typically available to instructors in Blackboard before July 15.

• Spring course shells are typically available to instructors before Thanksgiving break. 

• Summer course shells are typically available to instructors before April 10.

Students enrollments are added to Blackboard courses 4 weeks before the start of main campus classes, the agreed date when the registrar populates course rosters in MySlice. 

Blackboard instructors control if and when a Blackboard course is made visible to students (see "How do I Open My Course to Students?" below).

How do I Find My Courses in Blackboard?

How do I Add a Co-Instructor, TA, Course Builder or Grader to my Course?

All Instructors and TAs assigned to a class in MySlice are automatically added to the corresponding course shell(s) in Blackboard upon creation. Instructors and TAs assigned to a class after Blackboard shells have already been created will also be automatically enrolled in Blackboard, but the process can take up to 12 hours from the time the user is entered in MySlice. Contact your department course coordinator for questions about enrollment status for Instructors or TAs that will be officially added through MySlice. 

If an Instructor, TA, etc needs to be added to Blackboard manually (if they are assisting with the course in an unofficial capacity not recorded in MySlice, for example), any user with an Instructor role in the course can add them using the Roster tool in the Details & Actions menu inside the course.

How do I Copy Content from Another Blackboard Course?

To copy content from another Blackboard course into your new course shell, go into the course content area of the destination course, click  → Copy Content, search for the course you wish to copy from, and select the folders/items to be copied.

See the full Answers page on course copy for more detailed instructions and troubleshooting tips. 

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How do I Merge Multiple Courses/Sections into One Blackboard Course?

To have your Blackboard courses merged, please complete the Merge Course Enrollments Request Form.

The merge process creates a new, empty "parent" course shell and adds all enrolled users from the "child" course sections to it. Course content from child courses is not copied and will have to backed up and rebuilt in the new parent course after the merge. We recommend completing your merge request before adding content to an upcoming course. 

How do I Post an Announcement/Send an Email for an Upcoming Course? 

Blackboard's built-in communication tools, including announcements and course messages, are designed to for use in active courses. To use these features, you must first open your course to students (see next section of this FAQ). You can write and save announcements as drafts, but  the "Post Announcement" button will be grayed out and cannot be clicked until the course is opened. If you wish to email students enrolled in a course without making that course available in Blackboard, you can do so through the class roster in MySlice. 

Blackboard announcements cannot be posted before the course is opened to students. Announcements can be scheduled for a future date, but will not be released if the course is not available by that date. 

Blackboard messages can be sent to all course members (including other instructors, TAs, etc.) or all students, even if the course is unavailable. Students will receive an email copy of the message, but cannot reply until the course is made available in Blackboard. 

How do I Open My Blackboard Course to Students? 

Student enrollments are added to Blackboard and the course roster is automatically populated 4 weeks before the start of the semester. This allows instructors/TAs to view the course roster and do things like send announcements and create groups - however, the course will remain private/hidden from the enrolled students until it is opened. This must be done manually by an instructor or TA - there is no feature to schedule a course to open on a future date.

To open your course, go to the Details & Actions menu bar on the right side of the course content area. Find the lock icon labeled "Course is private" and click the link to access the settings options. Select "Open to Students" to make the course available to students. 

For troubleshooting guidance on managing course availability, see the full Answers page on course access/availability. 

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How do I Add a Student to My Blackboard Course?

Students who enroll in a course through MySlice will be automatically added to the course roster in Blackboard, starting about 4 weeks before the start of the semester. It may take up to 12 hours from the time the enrollment is registered in MySlice for the user to appear in Blackboard — please wait one day after a MySlice enrollment has changed before contacting the help desk about student Blackboard access. 

For students who are not enrolling in a course but who need Blackboard access (such as a student participating in a class as part of an independent study for which they are enrolled instead), the instructor of record should email help@syr.edu to request that the student be manually added. Please include the following information in the request:

• Student's NetID (the username/first part of the @syr.edu email address)

• Course name and 9-digit Blackboard ID number (i.e. BIO.105,  12345.1231)

• Reason for the request (i.e. independent study, finishing an incomplete, etc)