Blackboard – Ultra Essential Guidance

Start of Term Blackboard Course Checklist

Posted on 14/04/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

This checklist outlines good practices and practical steps that can help you ensure your Blackboard course is ready for the start of term. You can click on each item to see the rationale and, where needed, links to relevant resources and instructions.

The structure of my unit follows the Faculty template.

Why? This ensures that all units include the minimum required content, and that their layouts are easy to navigate and consistent across all the units that a student is taking.

See the template information included in the Guidance and Support for Staff section of your unit.

I populated the placeholder items in the different sections of my unit and provided students with all essential information.

In Unit Introduction and Resources, students should be able to find:

Unit aims and learning outcomes.
Links to relevant programme/school information.
Key contacts and ways of communicating.
Guidance on how they are expected to engage with the Ultra course.

In Unit Assessment, students should be able to find:

Instructions on how to submit (a link to instructions for standard submission types will be provided in all units but additional details may be needed if a different submission type is used).
Assessment briefs (due dates, requirements, marking criteria, learning outcomes).
Information on how and when students can access their feedback.

Why? By providing this information you not only minimise the administrative workload related to student queries but also support student competency, self-regulation and increase their chances of success.

See the template information included in the Guidance and Support for Staff section of your unit.

Each section and item has a description (if applicable).

Why? Clearly labelling each item can help students navigate your course more easily and support them in understanding the purpose of the content shared.

There is no empty or outdated content in my unit.

Why? This means students won’t be confused or misinformed by incorrect or missing information. This is usually an issue when content was copied over from last year’s unit course.

All the content is accessible.

Why? It is now a legal requirement to meet accessibility standards in online course pages. Making your content accessible improves the learning experience for everyone.

See Improve your course’s accessibility using Blackboard Ally.

Learning materials are broken down into manageable sections.

Why? This supports students in gradual knowledge acquisition and fosters an inclusive self-paced learning experience.

My unit’s Resource List is populated.

Why? This means students will be able to easily find the resources required for their unit.

See Resource Lists: guidance for staff.

I did not delete, rename or otherwise modify the Assessment, submission and feedback folder.

Why? This folder is essential for the integration between SITS and Blackboard used for submission points creation and marks transfer. Any changes to the folder will result in the integration not working.

See the How to Use this folder document in the Assessment, submission and feedback folder in your unit.

Where needed, I discussed the appropriate assessment submission types and settings with my School Team.

Why? The different submission types and settings can support the pedagogical design of your assessment.

See Assessment Planning, Assessment Workflows and Blackboard Tests Workflow.

I embedded engaging interactive activities using appropriate tools.

Why? Facilitating active learning in online courses can increase engagement and help students to meet the learning outcomes.

See the Adding interactivity section of the Ultra Ready course.

All activities in my course are well-scaffolded.

This includes providing students with:

A clearly stated rationale for the activity, consistent with the intended learning outcomes.
Instructions on how to engage in the activity and what level of engagement is expected.
Prompts and exemplars where required.

Why? This helps students to feel competent in engaging with the activities you set up, which means they are more likely to meet the activity’s intended learning outcomes.

See Discussions in the Encouraging discussion and collaboration section of the Ultra Ready course.

Where possible my unit uses a variety of formats to represent and convey information.

Why? Representing information in different ways supports diverse preferences and needs of students, and optimises their learning.

See the Universal Design for Learning guidelines.

The content students need to see is visible to them.

Why? Some content in your unit may be hidden by default. Once you’ve populated, created and checked it, you will need to make the content students need to see visible to them.

See how to show or hide items in Blackboard.

I checked the course using student preview.

Why? Some content will display differently to students, so we recommend checking using student preview to view the course as a student.

See Checking what the course looks like to a student.

I know how to access and use analytics in my unit.

Why? Learning analytics can be a useful tool in supporting student engagement and retention.

See Supporting Student Progression in the Bringing it all together section of the Ultra Ready course.

My unit is available to students.

Why? Once you are ready with your unit being released to students, you will need to make it available to them.

Click Course Settings top right and under Course status, select Open.

I updated my profile on Blackboard.

Why? Seeing your photo and learning how to pronounce your name can make the interactions (especially initial ones) easier.

See the Profile guide on Blackboard support webpages.

Transfer marks from Blackboard to SITS

Posted on 08/04/202514/04/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

Only administrators with the Marks Extractor role in Blackboard can extract marks.

Navigate to the Blackboard course you wish to extract grades from.
Click on View course and institution tools under the Course tools header in the course’s menu bar.
From the list of tools, select Marks extract to SITS. This will launch the Grade Approval Tool LTI, which sends the marks from Blackboard to eVision (SITS). It can take a few moments to load.
From the list, select the unit code and course name you want to extract marks for by clicking on the box to the left of the Course ID. The box will turn green and a tick will appear.
Click on Grade column approval and transfer.
Select the assignment/column name you wish to extract, again clicking on the box to the left of the name.
Click Grade approval and transfer. In the next screen you can either:
- Search for specific students you want to extract marks for by entering their name details into the search bar. Once you have found the student(s), select them by clicking on the box to the left of their details.
- Click the box at the top of the list of students to select all of the students in the list with submissions.
Click on Extract grades.

Getting started with Blackboard

Posted on 08/04/202508/04/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

If you are new to Ultra, we recommend you attend our training workshops and/or complete asynchronous training available on our Training and support page.

We are currently updating our guidance for Ultra and you can already find a variety of new or updated guides on our website, including in Blackboard, Re/Play, etc. We also have a Blackboard screencasts collection of short videos showing you how to do a variety of tasks in Blackboard Ultra.

In this page, we have collected some of these guides to help you get started with learning Ultra and setting up your courses for the next academic year.

Get familiar with Ultra

See what a Blackboard Ultra course looks like, as well as some differences in terminology compared to Blackboard Original which was used until recently. You can find your courses in the same way as before, but see how to distinguish between Ultra and Original courses.

Design your course and manage content

See how to organise your course using Learning Modules, Folders and Documents and how to keep it clear and consistent with the help of the included template. Learn how to add content and activities like Re/Play videos and knowledge checks, how to improve accessibility, as well as how to check your course from a student’s perspective and base release of content on specific criteria.

Manage users in your course

See how enrolments of students, staff and external users are managed, how you can add a colleague to your course and how to split students into Groups for activities, assessment or content release.

Interact with students

See the various ways in which you can communicate with students, enable them to discuss with you and each other, as well as view their engagement with your course.

Plan, manage and mark assessments

See how to plan assessments on Blackboard and use the relevant workflows to manage and mark them.

Progress tracking in Blackboard

Posted on 03/04/202507/04/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

Progress Tracking can help your students monitor their progression through the course. Both you and the student can see what content they reviewed, which can help you with keeping track of engagement and them with developing competency as a self-directed learner.

By default, Progress Tracking is turned on in all the unit courses. You can check it on the right-hand Details & Actions menu.

Details and actions menu with Progress Tracking highlighted.

Students will be able to mark items as complete and see a progress bar for learning modules. Each resource and activity such as Documents, Discussions and Links will count as one item on the progress bar.

You can see analytics for Progress Tracking by clicking on the three dots More Options icon next to an item and choosing Student Progress.

More Options menu with Student Progress highlighted.

From there, you can also see an overview of each student’s progress with all the content in the course by clicking on a student’s name.

The same ‘Progress’ view can be accessed via the Gradebook by clicking on the Gradebook tab on the top menu, choosing a student and going to the Progress tab.

Create and manage Groups in Blackboard

Posted on 01/04/202501/04/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

Use groups
Create new groups

Manage groups
Export group sets
Import groups, sets and members
Students’ experience

Use groups

Blackboard Groups can be used for multiple tasks, some in combination with other tools. For example, you can use Groups to:

Set a Discussion for a group to collaborate on their project.
Send specific information to targeted groups of students via a Message.
Set group submissions in Blackboard Assignments.
Arrange allocated marking in Blackboard Assignments, Blackboard Tests, or Turnitin.
Manage access to online assessments, or specific content on the course via Content Release Conditions.

The Groups tab is available on the top menu of your course. Go to this tab for all group management tasks, such as creating new groups, reviewing existing groups, or importing groups you have prepared offline.

Create new groups

All groups are created as a part of a Group Set, even if you only need to make a single group.

To create a new group set, click New Group Set top right of the page. This will take you to a new screen, displaying all of the available students on your unit as a pool under Unassigned Students. First, add a name for your set and then choose one of the following options:

Custom: which requires you manually add users to each group. Use this option if you know you need specific students in specific groups.
Randomly assigned: which will randomly assign students to the groups you create, distributing their numbers as evenly as possible. Use this option if it doesn’t matter which students are in which groups, as it is much faster.
Self-enrolment: which provides students with the option to enrol themselves into a course group. Use this option if you want students to self-organise into groups of their own choosing.

If you have already created other group sets, you will also be able to Reuse these groups via this menu. This will create a copy of the existing group set, including the number of groups, the name of each group, and the distribution of students.

Group Visibility

After creating a group set, you can set its visibility to students. By default, all group sets are set to Hidden from students. To adjust this, select Hidden from students in the top-right corner of the screen.

Groups will need to be Visible to students if you are:

Creating groups for a group submission.
Creating self-enrolment groups.

Groups should be set to Hidden from students if you are:

Using groups to manage late submissions, penalties, or any accommodations such as Alternative Exam Arrangements (AEAs).
Using groups to manage distributed marking.

Create custom groups

Custom groups can be created in one of two ways.

The most efficient approach is to create groups as you allocate students to them. To do this, select each user you want to add to a group from the pool of unassigned students, highlighting their details in black, then click on the three dots in one of the user’s boxes and create a new group with the users you selected.

Once you have selected all of the students you wish to add to specific group, select the three dots icon in one of the user’s boxes and select + Create a new group. All students you had clicked will then be added to this group and removed from the pool of students available to allocate.

Alternatively, you can create the groups first and then allocate students to them. To do this, scroll to the bottom of the screen, beneath the pool of unassigned students, and locate the purple plus icon.

Once you have created each group, you will then need to allocate students to them by highlighting the students you want to add, clicking the three dot icon on one of their records, and then selecting the group you want to add them to from the drop-down options that appear.

Create randomly assigned groups

For randomly assigned groups, you need to choose how many groups you would like to create using the Number of groups drop-down. Students will then be distributed relatively equally amongst those groups, depending on the number of students in the course. If you want specific students to be excluded or included in groups, these can be changed later.

Create self-enrolment groups

To create self-enrolment groups, you first need to make the group set visible to students then specify when students can start to enrol themselves, when enrolment ends, the maximum number of members per group and the number of groups overall. You can also provide a description for students in the box provided.

Manage Groups

After you have created a group set, the groups themselves, and either allocated students or enabled them to self-enrol, you can move students between or out of groups, and delete specific groups or entire group sets.

To move students between groups within a set, or to remove them from all groups, enter the group set and locate the student you wish to move. Click the three-dot icon on their record to open the drop-down menu and then choose either:

The group you wish to move them to from the options available.
– Unassign to remove them from all groups within the set.
+ Create a new group to create another group with this student within it.

To delete individual groups, enter the group set and find the group you want to delete. Click the three-dot icon in the top-right of the group (next to the group’s title) and select Delete group.

To delete an entire group set, find the set you want to delete from the list of sets in the Groups tab. Click the three-dot icon in the top-right of the set’s details and then select Delete.

Export group sets

To export a group set, enter the set and select the export button in the top-right corner of the screen.

Enter a group set and click on the export or import buttons in the right top corner to see instructions and download the csv file template.

This will open a settings section on the right of the screen. If you have previously created exportable files for this group set, you can re-export these files in the Export tab. If you need to create files to export, either because you have not yet done so or because you have made changes to the groups or the set since the last export, you can do this in the Create tab. Here, you can select:

Group sets only to export a file detailing the groups within the set.
Members only to export a file detailing the members within each group and which group they are allocated to.

You can select either one or both of these. In most instances, exporting both will give you the greatest detail, but if you are just looking to manage membership offline, you will only need the Members only option.

Please note: Groups without members will not show up in exported files. If you wish to export a blank set for offline management, first add one member to each group, export and then delete this member from the group in the spreadsheet.

Import groups, sets and members

To import a group set, select Import Group Set from within the Groups tab. You will be able to download a template for uploading group sets, demonstrating the appropriate formatting requirements.

To import groups or group memberships, enter the group set you want to import to and select the import icon in the top-right corner.

This will open a panel on the right-hand side of the screen. Choose between Create groups and Assign members. Both provide a template document you can download to provide a guide for formatting an uploaded .csv.

Students’ experience

If they are set as visible, students can see the groups they belong to by going to the Groups tab in their unit:

If you create a self-enrolment group, students will get a pop-up notification when entering their unit asking them to enrol. Students will be able to message their groups (if this was enabled in Messages options) and take part in any activities which you set up for them. 

Add and use a Test Student account in Blackboard

Posted on 31/03/202531/03/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

While you can view courses as a student by using Student Preview, if you want to thoroughly test an activity, such as online submission, it is better to use a Test Student account instead. You can set up, add and use a Test Student as follows:

Setting up a Test Student account

If you already have a Test Student account, see how to add it to to your course and use it. You will only require one Test Student account for all of your courses and organisations.

If you don’t have a Test Student account, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk, including the subject line “Test Student Account Request” and provide your Blackboard username and the purpose for your having a Test Student account.

Please make requests for Test Student accounts ahead of their needing to be used. Whilst the DEO makes every effort to provide these accounts quickly, this is not an instantaneous request and may be further delayed in busy periods.

You will receive an email that confirms the account details, including the username and password.

Once you have a Test Student account:

Either open a private or incognito tab in your current browser or open another browser.
Navigate to the Blackboard login page in this private/new tab and click Guest Login.
Enter your Test Student’s username and the password provided by the DEO.
Click on the profile tab on the left-hand side of the screen. This will be denoted by your Test Student’s name (usually Your First Name Test[Your Initials]).
Click on Update External Account Password.
In the panel that opens:
1. Follow on screen instructions to update your password.
2. Store your new Test Student account password securely, or use a password that is easy for you to remember.
3. Click Save.

You must keep these details confidential in line with IT Services’s Code of Conduct for the use of computing facilities. You are responsible for any Blackboard use undertaken using this username and password.

Adding your Test Student account to your course

After setting up a Test Student account, you can add them to your course:

In your administrative Blackboard account, navigate to the course where you want to add your Test Student.
Using the side menu, click on View everyone on your course under Class register.
Click on the + button in the top-right corner of the screen
Enter your Test Student’s username into the text box.
Click on the + button next to your Test Student’s name, changing it into a green tick.
Ensure the box beneath your Test Student is set to Student, using the drop-down menu to change it if needed.
Click Save.

If you have any release conditions on content or assessment items, you will need to ensure your Test Student meets the conditions to access these.

Using your Test Student

Either open a private or incognito tab in your current browser or open another browser.
Navigate to the Blackboard login page in this private/new tab and click Guest Login.
Enter your Test Student’s username and password.
Navigate to the course you have enrolled your student into, using the Courses option in the left-hand menu and searching for the unit ID or name.

Request Blackboard accounts for external users

Posted on 26/03/202501/04/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

In this page:

New process information
Requesting a new account
- Request a small number of accounts
- Request multiple accounts
Receiving account details
Sharing account details with external users

New process information

Federated identity is a process that allows users to access multiple applications or services using a single set of credentials, e.g. when you sign into an application with a Google/Microsoft account or use single sign on.

From April 2025, there will be a new process for external users to sign into Blackboard using an existing identity (a personal or corporate email address). New external users will use this identity to create an account in system called Microsoft Entra External ID which will then allow them access Blackboard.

The full process for setting up an external user comprises of these four steps:

School Admin requests external accounts using a Microsoft list
This will replace account requests being emailed to the DEO.
DEO process request
The DEO will export all new requests to a CSV and bulk create the accounts in Blackboard. They will mark the accounts as complete on the Microsoft list which will trigger an automated email to be sent to the requestor with the account details and further instructions.
School Admin configures Blackboard account and emails external user
Once the accounts have been configured, School Administrators use an email template to send instructions to external users.
External User creates new account
The user creates an Entra External ID account. Their email address is matched with the Blackboard account and they are instantly signed into Blackboard.

Requesting a new account

To request a new external Blackboard account, go to Microsoft list.

NOTE: There are various automations built into this list so it’s important to only add data to the first name, last name, email and school/department columns in the default view. The other views in the list are for the DEO to use only.

Request a small number of accounts

Click +Add new item button in the top left corner.
Enter the first name, last name and email address of the external user. Note the email address must not be a bristol.ac.uk email address, the cell will be highlighted in red if it does.
Scroll through the list of schools or start to type the name of your area then select your school/department from the list and click the Save button.

Repeat these steps for each account you wish to create.

Screenshot of the Add new item form, showing fields for name and email and searching for school. — *Using the Add new item form and searching for school*

Request multiple accounts

Click Edit in grid view in the top left corner and Add new item line (not the button in the top left), this will allow you to type directly into the table.
Alternatively if you have the details saved in a spreadsheet (with the columns in the same order as the Microsoft list) you can paste the data straight into the table. Paste into the first empty cell in a blank row and all the rows below will be populated with your data. Once you have selected your school or department in the top row, you can drag this down to all the cells below.
Note the email address must not be a bristol.ac.uk email address, the cell will be highlighted in red if it does.
Click Exit grid view to save your changes.
- If you get an error message when trying to save your changes, click Fix issues if you’ve left a mandatory field blank.
- If you’ve accidentally added an empty row, click Discard changes to remove the row, all other changes will be saved.

Receiving account details

Once your account has been processed by the Digital Education Office (DEO), the date the account has been processed will be displayed in the Microsoft list. You will also receive a confirmation email with all the details of the requested accounts.

If you need to make any changes to an account once you have added the details to the list, please contact the DEO directly. Do not delete or edit any of your existing entries once the request has been processed.

Once you have configured the accounts in Blackboard and granted the appropriate permissions for the relevant courses, you’ll need to share the account details with the external user(s).

Please use the provided email template to send instructions to the external users. If you’re emailing multiple users, we recommend placing all the email addresses in the BCC field.

The external user will need to follow the instructions to create an account in Entra External ID. They must use the same email address that was used to create their Blackboard account when setting up their Entra account, as this is required to link their accounts. If the email address doesn’t match, they will not be able to access Blackboard.

This Entra External ID Guidance outlines the steps required to create an account using Entra External ID. It is not available to anyone outside of the University; its purpose is to help you answer any questions from external users regarding the process, should you receive any queries.

Post an Announcement in Blackboard

Posted on 26/03/202531/03/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

Announcements enable staff to send notifications to everyone enrolled on the unit. This is a straightforward communication tool which can be used to announce, for example, when new learning materials are uploaded, to remind students of any upcoming due dates or to quickly communicate any changes to their schedule.

In the Announcements tab of your Blackboard course, you can:

Create announcements.
See a breakdown of how many announcements are posted, scheduled and drafted.
Search your announcements.
Check how many students marked their announcements as read (see the Viewers column).
Edit, copy and delete announcements.

A screenshot showing the Announcements overview

Announcements can include text and images as well as audio and video content which will be automatically captioned for accessibility. You can also choose to:

Send an email copy of the announcement
Schedule the announcement to show and/or hide on specific dates

A screenshot showing the additional announcements options

Students’ experience

Students will be able to view all of their announcements in the Activity Stream on their Blackboard landing page as well as the Announcements tab in specific courses. When a student enters a unit which has a new announcement, it will create a pop-up for the student to view. Students can also mark the announcement as read.

Screenshot of the Mark as Read option in Announcements.

See more about Announcements in Blackboard

Send messages in Blackboard

Posted on 25/03/202525/03/2025 by Chrysanthi Tseloudi

Messages can be used to contact students and staff directly from Blackboard, without having to use an external messaging system. This functionality enables you to send communications to:

specific users (students and staff enrolled on the course)
groups created in the course
all instructors on the course
all students on the course
all course members

You can send and access your messages via the Messages tab located on the top menu. The number of unread messages that you have will be indicated with a purple circle.

A screenshot of the top bar showing the Messages tab.

In addition to the Messages tab, you can also send messages from various areas inside the course:

Gradebook > Students tab > click on a student > Send Message (top right)
Discussions > click on a Discussion > Student Activity > Envelope icon (top right)
Gradebook > Markable items > click on an item > Send Message (top right)
Analytics tab > Send Message (top right)
Groups > three dots next to a group > Send message
A submission point in a unit content area> Submissions > Send message (top right)

Screenshot of the messages functionality in the Analytics tab. — *An example of the messaging functionality located in the Analytics area*

You can choose to send a Message as an email and allow replies.

Screenshot of the 'allow replies' and 'send this message via email' options when authoring a message in Blackboard.

Students’ experience

As a default, Messages in unit courses are set to ‘Learners can only reply to messages’ but you can change this for one of the following options in the Course Settings (see the top right corner of your unit page):

Learners can message anyone in their course
Learners can only message staff and learners in their groups
Learners can only message staff
Learners can only reply to messages

If you enable one of the options allowing students to message staff, envelope icons will appear next to staff’s name in the Course Staff register.

Course staff box with an instructor listed, an envelope is next to their name.

In the Course Settings, you can also turn off Messages completely which will make the Messages tab disappear from the top bar of your course.

Messages setting which allows course messages. When turned off, messages will be sent via email only.

Note: To disable the Messages tab as well as the envelope icons in the Course Staff box, you need to have the Messages set to ‘Learners can only reply to messages’ and only then switch them off.

As different teaching teams have their preferred modes of communication, it is essential to agree on a consistent communication strategy and make it clear to students.

See more about Messages in Blackboard Ultra