Where's my Blackboard course? Tour the New Dashboard Review enhancements & features in the Ultra Experience

If you’ve been away all summer, you might notice there’s something very different about Blackboard. UMBC’s learning management system was updated in late May to the Ultra Experience featuring a redesigned and modernized dashboard. The course listing page was subsequently enhanced in early August.

From the moment you log in, you have access to core tools, including grades, messages, and calendar, wherever your name appears. Helpful resources about Blackboard and the library are posted to the Institution Page. Enhance your online presence by updating your profile.

Additionally, the Activity Stream captures all the action in your courses -- what’s new, student submissions, content changes, or system updates. The list is prioritized for relevancy to your role -- faculty or student. You can customize your notifications to receive updates in the Stream, via email, or text message.

The centerpiece of the new Ultra base navigation is a dedicated landing page, providing access to current, future, and previous courses. Original courses are indicated by a gray bar with the label "Original Course View" while Ultra courses have a color bar.

Course Page


Finding your course after the Ultra Experience update

The Courses page offers several tools to organize and sort your courses. There are three actions to take to find your course.

1. Browse by term. Move between past, current, and upcoming courses using arrows marking system defined terms. Some terms, such as spring or fall, are fixed by the Registrar calendar dates while others, such as training or course development, are continuously offered.
Navigate courses

Upcoming Courses lists classes that haven’t started yet and aren’t available. At the bottom of the list, you'll find a page selector to navigate through long lists.

2. Change the filter. Click on the down arrow (▼) next to the Current Courses header to switch to another term. You can also use the filter to switch to courses that are hidden or in another status.

Filter courses

If you navigate to another page, all courses show again when you return to the main Current Courses page.

3. Search your list.The search function finds courses on the current page that match your search term.

Search courses

Clear the search by clicking on the (✕).

Additional course management tools

View your favorites quickly. If you access a course frequently, you can select the star icon to add it to your favorites so it appears at the top of your course list. 
Favorite course

Select the star icon again to remove a course from your favorites.

Manage your course availability.Point to a course card and select the extended menu (...) to access management settings.

Manage availability

The default state for your course is Private, which means faculty can work on the course without students accessing it. To allow students to access the course, set the availability to Open Course. 

Note: 
  • If a course is set to Open before the actual start date, the course may still be unavailable to students. Check the course properties to change the start date to allow early access.
  • After opening, courses cannot be set to private during an active term.
Hiding a course removes it from the course list. Setting a course to Complete means the course will be frozen in a read-only state. Students can access content for review or check on grades and faculty cannot make any changes. Although faculty can return a course to Open or Private, if this happens after the designated end date, students cannot access it. By default, UMBC sets course end dates for around 3 weeks after the semester.


Additional information about the Courses page is posted to these FAQs:

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

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The new Ultra base navigation presents courses on a dedicated landing page called Courses. The Current Courses section allows easy access to Blackboard shells that are continuously open or currently open. After the early August update, term-specific subsections will appear at the top of the page, listed according to the dates assigned in Blackboard based on UMBC’s academic calendar. Additional tools are available to filter, search, or navigate to other terms. 

Screenshot of New Course List in Blackboard's Ultra base navigation
Image: Screenshot of New Course List in Blackboard's Ultra base navigation. View larger version.

Additional information about the Courses page is posted to this FAQ, which will be updated with the new interface once the enhancement is in place.

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