Blackboard Policies

Becoming a Blackboard User

Any Bradley University faculty member, staff person, or student may become a Blackboard user.  When students* register for Bradley courses that use Blackboard, they are automatically given a Blackboard account. (* Students of “non-published” status cannot be automatically added to Blackboard and should contact the Blackboard Administrator.)
 
IMPORTANT: All students are given a Bradley email account and this is automatically used as their primary email address.  Students using a non-Bradley email account run the risk of not receiving email messages sent by instructors and classmates (see the University Email Policy). If you have questions about your Bradley email account, you may contact the Technology Help Desk, 677-2964.
 
Instructors are given a Blackboard account when they when they are signed up to teach a class or when they request a course on Blackboard. Faculty and staff needing a Bradley username and campus email account should have their departments contact Jeff Hibbard in Morgan 203. 

Account Username and Password

A user’s Bradley Net ID login will become his or her Blackboard username.  If a user is not sure of his or her Bradley username, it can be accessed through the Bradley Online Directory. Freshmen are given default passwords at Freshman Orientation.  Users must change their password once they log in the first time. 

Removal of Blackboard Accounts

Blackboard accounts will be removed from the Blackboard system 120 days past the end of the last semester in which students took classes. A semester in which all classes are dropped before the end of the third week does not count as a "semester in which they took classes". Therefore, if a student drops all classes or fails to pay for classes in the Fall semester and the classes are dropped, then the student account will be removed following the third week of classes. All materials, quizzes, and grades submitted through Blackboard will also be permanently removed.

Student Username and Password Policy

For security and privacy reasons, we cannot reset passwords over the phone. Click here for instructions on changing your Blackboard password.
If a student is having difficulty logging in to Blackboard, please:
1. Make sure you are enrolled in a Blackboard course.
2. Make sure you have and know your username.
3. Make sure you have tried your default password.
4. Common errors are -- using spaces, capital letters or punctuation in the user name or password, or not logging out of the browser and log back in after you have typed it incorrectly more than three times.
 
If a student does not know his or her password, the "forgot your password" link will allow the student to have the system send an email message with the ability to reset the password. This will require that the student is able to access Bradley email. If the student cannot access Bradley email or Blackboard, he or she will need to go to the Bradley Help Desk in the Library. A photo ID will be required.

Graduate Assistant Access to the Blackboard Control Panel

Graduate assistants who need access to a Blackboard course site(s) for the purposes of adding content or grades may do so by having the course instructor or department contact the ITAC office (677-2332 or email brk@bradley.edu) for the "Request to Change User Role in Blackboard" form. The student must read and abide by the form and have it signed by the instructor and department chair, then return the form to the ITAC office in Library Room 20.

Blackboard Sites for Student Organizations

Student organizations may use Blackboard for the purposes of communicating and sharing information with members. Student officers should contact their organization advisor and communicate their intended use of a Blackboard site. The advisor may then contact the ITAC office at 677-2332 to request the site be created. Only advisors and student employees of the university may have access to the editing controls of Blackboard (the Blackboard Control Panel). A statement on the privacy of student records must be signed by any student requesting access to the Blackboard Control Panel for the purposes of editing the Blackboard course site.

Proper Conduct for Use of Blackboard

Faculty, staff and students who use Blackboard are expected to abide by a standard and customary code of conduct regarding the respect of others’ identity, privacy and property.  All policies regarding Blackboard conform to the Faculty Handbook section on “Ethical Use of Information Technology Resources”.
 
The following documents outline guidelines on other related topics:

Policy on misuse of technology resources
http://www.bradley.edu/irt/cs/policies/computerpol.html
 
Guidelines for developing secure passwords
http://www.bradley.edu/irt/cs/policies/password.html

Peer-to-Peer
http://blackboard.bradley.edu/docs/peertopeer.shtml

Copyright

By using Blackboard you agree to abide by the current guidelines on copyright and fair use.  The University will not grant indemnity to anyone who abuses the ownership rights of others.
http://www.bradley.edu/irt/cs/policies/copyrightinfo.html

Creating Courses in Blackboard

Faculty members can request a new Blackboard course by submitting an Online Course Request Form from the Blackboard website.  Blackboard courses will be created within two working days after receipt of the electronic (web) form.  The course ID will follow this naming structure: CourseNumber_CourseSection_YearSemester
For example:
ENG101_01_04FA

Automatic Population of Courses

New courses will be automatically populated the day before classes begin. Courses requested after the start of the semester will have students added when roster information is available from the Registrar’s office, up to 5 working days following the course request being made. Blackboard course rosters should not be considered official and may not reflect current changes.  The accuracy of each course roster remains the responsibility of the faculty member.  Only new students will be added to Blackboard courses.  Dropped students are not removed automatically, but must be removed by the course instructor.

Instructors or administrators requesting access to a Blackboard course other than their own must receive permission from the instructor of the course prior to being granted access to the course or any material contained within.

Copying and Migrating Courses from Semester to Semester

At the end of the semester, Blackboard courses for that semester will be archived to CD-Rom. This backup is for the purpose of reusing the course at a later date. This backup file is not accessible outside of Blackboard and must be imported back into Blackboard to be usable. The archive process does not retain student work, grade information, grade book, or student assessment answers. It is highly recommended that the instructor export the course grade book at the end as well as throughout the semester. Courses will be removed from the server approximately four to six weeks after the end of each semester.

System Administration

Blackboard is managed and maintained by a Blackboard Administrator and System Administrators.  The Blackboard Administrator handles Blackboard user concerns and has the ability to monitor any course established on Blackboard.  The System Administrators address server issues.  Additionally, the Bradley Technology Help Desk, 677-2964, can assist with problems associated with passwords, personal computers and network connectivity.

Support

Blackboard Manual
The Instructor and Student manuals are available within each Blackboard course.  The Instructor manual is linked within the Control Panel.  The Student manual is accessible within Student Tools. 
Frequently Asked Questions
Blackboard Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) pages are lists of questions received from Blackboardusers.  These FAQ pages are available from the Bradley Blackboard website under the Student Help and Faculty Help links.
Training Seminars
Training seminars to show instructors how to use Blackboard are offered each semester.  Seminar listings are published in the IRT Seminar Brochure mailed to faculty and staff each semester.  The listing is also available on the IRT website.
Consultation
The Blackboard Administrator and Blackboard assistants are available to answer questions by phone or schedule one-on-one appointments.  Please call 677-3387 or 677-2344.
Online Course Development
If you would like assistance with online course development, please call Barb Kerns, 677-2332, or email brk@bradley.edu.