Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Checklist

Bb Learn Pre-Semester Checklist

Before the start of each semester, make sure to go through this checklist to ensure that your courses are ready to launch and that old courses are made unavailable if desired.

1. Make Sure Your Courses Are Listed in Learn

Log into Blackboard Learn and make sure that all of your courses for Spring 2018 are showing up in your course list.  These courses will have the semester code 201810 at the end (e.g. COMM-15000-600-201810).

If you are missing any courses, make sure that you haven't accidentally hidden them.  You can also use the Sync tool in FlashLine to sync up your Learn course list with Banner.

2. Request Course Section Combines

If you are teaching multiple sections of the same course and would like to have your course sections combined into one course, you can request for the Blackboard Team to do this for you.  Note: It may take 2-3 days for your courses to be combined.  Make sure to have sections combined BEFORE doing a course copy or adding content.

Request Course Combine

3. Set Up Your Course and/or Copy Your Course Materials

If you are teaching an online or hybrid course, consider adopting the Kent State Online Template.  This template provides an organizational framework as well as many student resources.  Consult your instructional designer to learn how to import and customize the template.

If you want to reuse content from previous semesters, you can copy prior course materials into new courses. 

4. Check Your Rosters

Review your rosters in FlashLine and compare them to the rosters in your Learn courses.  If any students are missing from your Learn course(s), you can instruct them to sync their accounts through FlashLine (On the Student Tools tab, click the "Missing courses in Blackboard? Sync your account now" link).  You can also manually enroll users in your course if needed.

If you notice multiple discrepancies, email your CRNs to Katie Baer and she can re-sync your Learn course(s) with Banner.

5. Enroll Senior Guests

Student Services and the Stark Helpdesk request the creation of Flashline/Blackboard accounts for senior guests; however, senior guests are not automatically enrolled in Blackboard courses.  If you have any senior guests who will be attending your class(es), you will need to manually enroll them in your Blackboard course(s).  Please make sure to enroll them as Students, NOT Guests.

6. Set Course Start/End Dates

By default, your Blackboard Learn courses are set up to be continuously available, which means that there are no start or end dates associated with your courses.  As soon as a course appears in your course list, enrolled students can see it.  Enrolled students will also continue to have access to their old courses.

If you want to limit student access to your courses, you must set your course duration, or start/end dates.

7. Set Up Test Proctoring

If you are teaching an online or hybrid course that requires proctored testing, please view the Proctored Test Information for Faculty page for information on scheduling test proctoring with ProctorU or KSU Testing Centers.  You can also provide the Proctored Test Information for Students page as an informational resource for your students.

8. Save Any Previous Student Work/Course Materials

If you want to download any student grades, submissions, discussions, etc. from your old courses, check out this End of Semester checklist for instructions.