05/05/2025
By Donna Mellen and Patrick Connell
Course development for Summer and Fall 2025 is now open. Faculty must add content to begin building their courses in preparation for the upcoming terms. As part of the university’s transition to our new Learning Management System (LMS), we’ve provided guidance for both Blackboard and Canvas users.
Empty course shells are automatically created and made available for all traditional summer and fall 2025 courses.
Student access dates:
- First day of term: Graduate, online and combined graduate/undergraduate courses for summer and fall.
- August 31: Undergraduate on-campus fall 2025 courses.
Canvas Instructions (for Manning, ZCHS, and FAHSS faculty):
Please follow the instructions below to add content and upload a syllabus to promote student success.
Instructions for course development:
- Copy an existing Canvas course or migrated Blackboard content into your blank Canvas course.
- Faculty can also select materials from an existing Canvas course to a blank Canvas course.
- How to merge your Canvas courses (optional – not available for fully online courses)
Non-traditional courses: competency, dissertation, independent study, internship and thesis courses are automatically created but not made available. If you would like to use and develop your course, please follow the steps above and change the Course Status from Unpublished to Published.
Blackboard Instructions (for KCS and FCE faculty):
Please follow the instructions below to add content and upload a syllabus to promote student success.
On-campus (undergraduate) courses:
- Please copy content from a previous semester or add a blank template to begin. Follow the steps to make a content request. (required)
- How to merge your courses (optional)
GPS (graduate, online, combined grad/undergrad) courses:
- Online instructors must copy content from a previous semester to begin developing your course. Follow the steps to copy an existing course into an empty course. (required)
- Those teaching on campus can either copy an existing course into an empty course or start adding content to an empty Blackboard course.
- How to merge your courses (optional – not available for fully online courses)
Non-traditional courses: competency, dissertation, independent study, internship and thesis courses are automatically created but not made available. You can make your non-traditional course available on the Blackboard Course Management website.
How can you get help?
Faculty can register now for Canvas workshops. Workshops were offered from March - May and will be offered for a second time from August - September.
On-campus (undergraduate) courses:
Phone: 978-934-4357, 24-hour assistance
Email: bbhelp@uml.edu or canhelp@uml.edu (select one, answered during business hours)
Graduate, Online and Professional Studies (GPS) (graduate, online, combined grad/undergrad) courses:
Phone: 800-480-3190, 24-hour assistance
Email: onlinelearning@uml.edu (answered during business hours)
Please reach out to us if you have questions.