08/26/2021
By Donna Mellen

As the fall semester approaches, please take a moment to add content to your Blackboard shells as soon as possible. Blackboard shells were created empty, you must take this step to begin developing. It’s simple and faculty can self-serve. We ask that you check your Blackboard courses to make sure they are prepared for students.

New for fall 2021 - the support model has changed for our two instances of Blackboard. Graduate and undergraduate combined courses will be hosted by Graduate, Online & Professional Studies (GPS) Blackboard.

We have included a breakdown of the new support model below:

Courses hosted by On-Campus (IT) Blackboard

Undergraduate courses: fall & spring, hybrid, virtual, in-person (note: while Blackboard use is strongly suggested for in-person courses, not all faculty use Blackboard to supplement their in-person courses.) Blackboard shells were created for all in-person courses with the following exceptions; competency, dissertation, independent study, internship, and thesis courses. Shells can be created for any undergraduate course, if desired, by emailing bbhelp@uml.edu and providing course details.

Exceptions – courses not hosted:
Fully online undergraduate
Undergraduate courses combined with graduate sections: all modes (hybrid, virtual, in-person, online)
Summer courses

Courses hosted by GPS Blackboard
Online courses: undergraduate and graduate
Graduate courses: all modes (hybrid, virtual, in-person, online)
Combined undergraduate/graduate courses: all modes (hybrid, virtual, in-person, online)

We have provided fall 2021 course setup steps for on-campus and GPS Blackboard below:

On-campus (IT) Blackboard Course Setup: If your course has a message, “There are no available items in this course”, please go to: https://www.uml.edu/bbsetup, select Make Request and Add Content or Blank Template to each course or section.

GPS Blackboard Course Setup

Please note:
On-campus (IT) Blackboard course shells open early on Sunday, August 29 at 12:01 a.m. This period is provided to allow students to acclimate. GPS Blackboard opens to students on the official fall 2021 start date of September 1, 2021.

Faculty and students can toggle back and forth between Blackboard instances by selecting the “Go to” tab at the top right of both Blackboard instances.

Frequently asked questions:

How do I add a TA, LA, or Grader role to Blackboard?
On-Campus Blackboard Access Form
GPS Blackboard Access: Email Alena_Woods@uml.edu or Carrie_PowandaCroft@uml.edu

I can’t find my course in on-campus or GPS Blackboard:
For undergraduate courses: Email bbhelp@uml.edu and provide course details
For graduate or combined courses: Email onlinelearning@uml.edu and provide course details

Support for Blackboard
On-campus Blackboard:
Phone: 978-934-4357, press 1 for faculty support, ask for Blackboard support (24/7/365)
Email: bbhelp@uml.edu

GPS Blackboard:
Phone: 800-480-3190 (24/7/365)
Email: onlinelearning@uml.edu

Password or login issues for on-campus or GPS:
Phone: 978-934-4357, press 1 for faculty support

Cheers to a successful fall semester from your Blackboard support teams!

On-campus (IT) Blackboard: Mike Lucas, Donna Mellen, Mac Wishart, Andy Alfano, Lisa Panagopoulos, Barbara Monaghan

Graduate, Online & Professional Studies (GPS) Blackboard: Patrick Connell, Pat Driscoll, Weiping Zhen, Alena Woods, Carrie Powanda-Croft, Scott Musfeldt