Blackboard Courses Scheduled for Retirement from Server

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 08:01:08 -0400
archive, blackboard

During the summer of 2019, Blackboard archived our complete site, which provided individually backed-up copies of every course and organization through SP2019. As previously completed for courses from older semesters, courses from AY14-15 and AY15-16 will be retired by the end of January 2020. This includes the following terms:

Any courses older than five years

Fall 2014

Winter 2015

Spring 2015

Summer 2015

Fall 2015

Winter 2016

Spring 2016

Summer 2016

Additionally, any remaining organizations that are 2.5 GB in size or larger will also be retired. Community leaders with large archives will be contacted for migrating content to Google Drive. If those organizations need to continue with a Blackboard presence, they will be recreated with a fresh shell upon request.

The Blackboard system’s overall performance and efficiency will improve by removing files and database transactions from the content server and database. AY16-17, AY17-18, and AY18-19 will remain on the server. Finally, as of FA2019, we now begin a new academic year of data retention (AY19-20).

Is my content gone forever?

No, archived Blackboard courses capture all course data, files, student submissions, discussions, grades, etc. through SP2019. These archives will reside on a secure drive with the Division of Information Technology.

Can I save a copy of my own courses?

Yes -- and we certainly encourage it. Instructors can export (course content) and/or archive (course content & student data) their courses. You should also download a copy of your grade book. We recommend saving these files to your Google Drive to ensure long-term access in the event you change computer systems.

How long will you keep the retired courses?

We will keep the retired courses for 2 years after Blackboard archives the courses. Faculty who may need content beyond 2 years should plan to save copies of their exported courses to Google Drive.

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

Check our extensive FAQ collection

Open a ticket via RT

Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

Request a consult with a member of the instructional technology team