Ultra Adoption by Faculty Eclipses Original for SP2024

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 14:43:17 -0400
blackboard, hawken, ultra-experience, ultra-migration

In the final nine months of UMBC's Ultra migration, the overall faculty adoption rate continues to grow. For the spring 2024 term, Original course usage decreased by 33% between fall 23 and spring 24. Overall, Ultra adoption increased to 69.49% this semester, representing 1091 courses out of 1567 available in UMBC's Blackboard site.

In addition, more departments and programs have opted in to using Ultra as the default course experience for students, allowing faculty to quickly prepare their courses. Two weeks before the SP2024 semester started, Ultra course availability to students outpaced Original courses by a margin of 63% to 2%.

Ultra continues to bring more than 200 enhancements to the gradebook, content creation, and assessments. Unique to Ultra are progress tracking reports and the AI Course Design Assistant tools, designed to facilitate course development and improve student engagement with course materials. These updates offer a more intuitive and feature-rich platform for both faculty and students.

Preparing For Ultra Course Migration

While it is possible to convert courses from Original to Ultra, DoIT's Instructional Technology team recommends starting fresh. This approach allows for copying content from Original or rebuilding courses from the ground up to ensure an optimal experience for both faculty and students. Starting fresh in Ultra enables you to take full advantage of the platform's new features and design capabilities.

A wide range of Ultra training is posted through the Instructional Technology myUMBC events page.

For departments or disciplines that want to adopt Ultra by default, Blackboard course shells can be designated as Ultra when courses are created. Please open an RT ticket to coordinate your request with Instructional Technology by April 1, 2024 for SU2024 courses and by June 1, 2024 for FA2024 courses.

Instructional Technology will also work with departments to customize Ultra workshops and provide dedicated support sessions according to faculty schedules or specific use cases for teaching with Ultra. Please open an RT ticket to schedule a training session or request a consultation appointment.

UMBC remains committed to ensuring a smooth transition for its December 31, 2024 timeline for completion of Ultra course migration.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

Check our extensive FAQ collection

What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues

Open a ticket via RT

Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

Request a consult with instructional technology staff

PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

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UMBC is committed to providing a consistent learning experience for everyone. The last day we will support Blackboard Original is December 31, 2024. Please check out our training and support: umbc.edu/go/ultra