For Faculty

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Do you know how to complete a test, submit an assignment and check your grade in Blackboard? If not, TU's Blackboard team can show you!

Using Blackboard

Be sure to review the Blackboard Procedures and Guidelines (PDF). See and search the , including settings and tools, and how to use them when working in and managing courses. The TU Blackboard team also maintains an with faculty-specific announcements, help and training schedules, forums and other resources.

Courses

Blackboard courses are like your own digital classrooms. They contain everything you need: lessons, assignments, and tools to interact with your students. If you need help with a course, check the or submit a service request.

Blackboard courses are generated via PeopleSoft system. If you do not see a course you are teaching, please submit a .

All courses that exist in PeopleSoft can be found with enrollments in Blackboard. See Once you're all set up in Blackboard, use it to hold virtual class meetings. Need help? Contact the TU Blackboard Team.

To merge enrollments into one Blackboard course site please submit a request. Note: this request can take 2-3 business days to complete.

Shell courses allow instructors to populate a Blackboard course with class materials related to courses they teach every term. This allows a faculty member to update the shell course and then copy it each semester to multiple courses. Students will not access a shell course. For details and to request a shell course, submit a . 

Master courses allow a program coordinator to populate a course on Blackboard with course materials related to a program or particular course that, regardless of section, has the same course materials. This master course can then be copied to multiple courses regardless of the instructor. Students will not access a master course. For details and to request a master course, submit a .   

Faculty Feedback

TU's Blackboard team wants to hear from you! You can tell us which features you'd like to see in Blackboard during or through . Your feedback helps shape Blackboard Ë¿¹ÏÊÓÆµ. Here are current ideas proposed by faculty:

  • Announcements - "Save" or "Publish" - Jul 2025
  • Bulk Change Question points in test - Oct 2025
  • Hide Details & Actions menu items not being used
  • Instructors can create internal course links in documents
  • Ability to submit an assignment on behalf of a student
  • Add term categorization and filtering to grades and messages ultra pages
  • Bring back dual grade display
  • Instructors can decide whether they will accept a submitted file or if the student can type into the textbox, or both, in assignments, test, journals and discussion boards
  • Allow color coding to course content Folders
  • Multiple due dates for discussions
  • Allow course image to be different than banner image
  • Use multiple rubrics on a single assignment
  • "Empty content" submission should get automatic 0 grade
  • Add grade categories at Content & Settings
  • Email alerts default to the assignments due over the next seven days
  • Add discussion description
  • When copying content do not make it unavailable
  • Make unavailable courses hidden from course list
  • Display Announcements on Course Content Page
  • Create exemptions for journal assignments
  • Ability to change the default setting for content visibility
  • Add Discussion Description
  • Enhance My Tasks Module
  • Allow instructors to set their own languages for their course
  • Course Copy by pulling and pushing for other course
  • Ultra textbank needs to keep title option
  • Copy/paste & drag/drop images into the content editor
  • Allow instructors to take a test without entering student preview mode
  • Make it harder to delete a test or assignment with submissions/grades
  • Ability to download detailed log after ultra course conversion
  • Options to add images to new grade categories
  • Instructor can drag and drop gradebook items into new categories on overall grade page
  • Provide a rubric evaluation report (as in Original Course View)
  • Include images in announcements
  • Add rubric to Gradebook created column
  • Add ability to duplicate content items by clicking on the ellipse (3 dots)
  • Data integration to Manage Goals
  • Assessments: allow instructors to define grace period for late submissions
  • Text/Content Editor should have HTML editing capability
  • Allow modification of grade pill thresholds - or switching off pill colors at the instructor level
  • Delete Multiple Announcements
  • Download student submissions for tests and assignments
  • Download files according to applied filters
  • Ability to enable/disable instructors from hiding/showing gradebook columns from themselves
  • Images for folders
  • Open Immersive Reader in a new tab
  • Ultra course messages need subject line
  • Improve the new search, terms and filtering of course lists
  • Allow documents to start at HTML H1 rather than Title
  • Change course availability back to "Available" or "Unavailable"

Updates Completed

Here are some recent updates and their release date, resulting from your input:

  • Add Jumbled Sentence question type - June 2025
  • Gradebook bulk category change - June 2025
  • No points rubric - May 2025
  • Add a "View submission one time" assessment results setting - May 2025
  • See if students have accessed feedback - Mar 2025
  • Add 'download original file' in the alternative formats user interface - Mar. 2025
  • Do **NOT** create an attempt when students view an assignment - Feb. 2025
  • Preserve formatting in assignment files - Feb. 2025
  • Instructors need ability to set item/column visibility in their view of the gradebook - Jan. 2025
  • Faculty override should mean that an attempt is graded - Jan. 2025
  • Allow "submitted"  to be a trigger for release conditions - Jan. 2025
  • Scheduled Announcements Send as Email - Sep. 2024
  • Needs Grading - Sep. 2024
  • Course Activity Log - Sep. 2024
  • Advanced Adapative Release - Aug. 2024
  • Anonymous response for Forms - Aug. 2024
  • Floating Save Button - Aug. 2024
  • Course Activity Log - Jul. 2024
  • Add option 'weight items in a category equally' to weighted gradebook calculations - Jul. 2024
  • Ability to Print Tests - Jun. 2024
  • Grade tests by question and offer feedback by question - May 2024
  • Set default point value for test questions to 1 vs 10 - Apr. 2024
  • Grade by question without refreshing - Feb. 2024
  • Release conditions on folders and modules affecting gradable items being seen in gradebook for student - Jan. 2024
  • More compact view of gradebook grid - Jan. 2024
  • Allow self-enroll via link (without course catalog) - Nov. 2023
  • Multiple choice questions: unable to leave a question without any answer once you select one - Oct. 2023
  • Be able to send reminder from gradebook - Oct. 2023
  • Ability to unpost announcements in bulk - Sept. 2023
  • Messages landing page should only list current courses where there is a message - Aug. 2023
  • Relabel "view assessment" button to "view/begin assessment - July 2023
  • Create a way to hide roster from students - March 2023
  • Feedback for grade overrides in the gradebook - Feb. 2023
  • Advanced Adaptive Release - Multiple Rules (feature parity Ultra) - Feb. 2023

See all .

INSTRUCTIONAL LECTURE CAPTURE GUIDELINES AND RELEASE FORM  

Guidelines

Faculty and staff who intend to use instructional lecture capture resources supported by Towson University are to adhere to the Instructional Lecture Capture Guidelines to ensure the FERPA regulations are not violated.

Release Form

If a faculty/staff member intends to reuse recordings where the image, voice or materials of students are captured, the Instructional Lecture Capture Release Form must be used. *Be sure to read the guidelines (above) first.