Blackboard courses are accessible to faculty/instructors on the production Blackboard system for two years and are archived for the prior three years.

Who Should Read this Policy?

Faculty/Instructor users of the Blackboard system.

Related Documents:

FAQ – Archive a Course (http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/ Search for: Archive a Course)

Contacts:

Technology Services Help Desk:

Submit an Online Ticket - http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/

Phone – 804-828-2227

Email – blackboard@vcu.edu or help@vcu.edu

Procedures:

The Learning Systems staff will archive courses during the summer semesters. Before the archive process begins an email will be sent to the Blackboard-Faculty listserv (contains everyone who is an instructor on a Blackboard course) stating the date the archive process will begin, the semesters that will be archived and a deadline for request of courses that should not be archived.

The archived courses are in a .zip format and can be restored to a Blackboard environment by a Blackboard administrator. If you would like an archived course restored please send a request to blackboard@vcu.edu with the course id (example: ACCT-101-001-YearSemester).

You can also create your own personal archive of any course that is currently on the Bb production environment. Search the FAQ for “Archive a Course” for instructions on how to create your own personal archive.

The JumpStart program is for first time faculty/instructor users of Blackboard.  The purpose of the program is to provide faculty/instructors an easy entry into using Blackboard. 

Who Should Read this Policy?

Faculty or instructors at VCU who has never used Blackboard or created a Blackboard course (first-time faculty users).

Related Documents:

To find more information about the program go to the Blackboard FAQ (http://faq.vcu.edu/ts) and Search on JumpStart.

Contacts:

Procedures:

(1.)  The First time faculty/instructor user of Blackboard will:

a.       Submit a Remedy (Help Desk) ticket that includes the Course ID (ex. ACCT-101-001), an attached word document of the syllabus, contact information and staff information (staff information is optional).

b.      To create a Remedy (Help Desk) ticket go to  (http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/ )

(1.)  The Learning Systems group in Technology Services will:

a.       Create a new course shell for the faculty/instructor making the request.

b.      Upload course syllabus.

c.       Provide instructions via VCU email informing the faculty/instructor of the next steps that need to be taken in order to benefit further from the system.  The next step will include basic information for the following items:

                                                              i.      Logging into Blackboard

                                                            ii.      Making a Bb course available

                                                          iii.      How to add/remove buttons

                                                          iv.      How to add documents

                                                            v.      How to use the gradebook

                                                          vi.      Where to get Bb Tip Sheets

                                                        vii.      How to use online Bb FAQs

                                                      viii.      How to use the Content Management System (CMS)

                                                          ix.      Where to Find More Help

d.      Follow-up phone call

                                                              i.      User will receive a follow-up phone call* within one business week; unless phone information is not provided in remedy request. Otherwise, user will be contacted via VCU email.

1.      Did you get logged in?

2.      Did you make course available?

3.      Provide information on Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE)

Only under special circumstances will a Blackboard administrator add an instructor to someone else’s course. 

If the instructor who set up the course is still employed at the Virginia Commonwealth University, the person that needs to be added should contact the instructor who is on the course to enroll them in the course.

If the instructor is no longer available (deceased, no longer employed with the University, or cannot be located), then the Dean of the School can request another instructor be added to a Blackboard course.  Please see the Intellectual Properties Policy (http://www.ts.vcu.edu/policies/ippolicy.html) in regards to content that may be in a course and ownership.  The Dean assumes the responsibility not the Blackboard administrator for addition of an instructor to a course.

Who Should Read this Policy?

Faculty/Instructor users of the Blackboard system.

Related Documents:

Intellectual Properties Policy - http://www.ts.vcu.edu/policies/ippolicy.html

Contacts:

Technology Services Help Desk

Submit an Online Ticket - http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/

Phone – 804-828-2227

Email – blackboard@vcu.edu or help@vcu.edu

Procedures:

The first step, when possible, would be to have the instructor who is the owner of the Blackboard course to add the additional instructor to the course.  The procedures for adding another instructor to a course can be found at: 

http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/ Search for:  Add a Teaching Assistant or Instructor

If the request is for a course with an instructor who is no longer available the request must come from the Dean of the School where the instructor was located.  An email should be sent to blackboard@vcu.edu with the request.  Please state in the email the instructor is no longer available.  A member of the Learning Systems staff will contact the Dean via phone and email to verify they are taking responsibility for the addition of an instructor to the course.   The Blackboard administrator will then make the change.

When a Blackboard course is deleted it cannot be retrieved. The deletion of a Blackboard course can only be performed by a Blackboard administrator.

See the Blackboard Course Archive Policy for information about the process where courses are automatically removed from the Bb system. Blackboard courses are kept on the production Bb system for two years and are archived for the prior three years.

Who Should Read this Policy?

Faculty/Instructor users of the Blackboard system.

Related Documents:

Blackboard Course Archive Policy (http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/ Search for: Course Archive Policy)

FAQ – Hide a Course (http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/ Search for: Hide a Course)

Contacts:

Technology Services Help Desk:

Submit an Online Ticket - http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/

Phone – 804-828-2227

Email – blackboard@vcu.edu or help@vcu.edu

Procedures:

The preference is for the Faculty/Instructor to “hide” the course and let the process of archiving remove the course. See related Documents above (Hide a Course).

If the course was created in error and needs to be removed, contact the Help Desk and enter a ticket with the Course Id, Name, and a phone contact number. You will then be contacted by phone by a Blackboard administrator from the Learning Systems group to confirm you made the request.

If there is more than one instructor on the Blackboard course they must all agree to the deletion of the course. It is the responsibility of the instructor requesting the deletion of the course to have the other instructors’ permission to have the course deleted. The Bb administrator needs an email stating that all instructors on the course agree to have the course deleted.