In January, UMBC faculty and students will experience a redesigned course navigation in Ultra that makes key areas easier to access and understand. The updated layout brings a full-width header with clearer course branding and improved use of screen space on desktop and mobile. 

The new course navigation provides an update header, modernized banner layout, and Home button that returns users to the Blackboard landing page (rather than the courses page). You'll still have access to your Courses by using the snazzy Course Switcher, which provides shortcuts to the four most recently accessed courses, or you can choose View All to return to the Courses page again. Learn more about these improvements in our overview article. 

Image 1: The refreshed user interface in courses includes full-screen course pages and improvements to enhance the amount of screen space for users to engage with their course.

Image 3: True/false questions now include additional options.

Additional updates for January include:

• The default number of multiple choice answer options is now four (instead of three), helping speed up question creation.
• Instructors can now limit how many answer choices students can select for a multiple choice question, ideal for “select all that apply” formats.
• Ultra has significantly improved test loading times. For example, a 200-question test now loads in about 5 seconds (down from ~25), making large-format assessments more manageable.
• Instructors now have access to an automation activity log, which tracks when each automation was triggered, which student it applied to, and which content item was involved, providing transparency and accountability for automated course messaging.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around January 8-9, 2026. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on January 13, 2026. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra. Join our What's New in Ultra for Teaching & Learning on January 13, 2026, to catch up on the latest updates.

Blackboard will roll out a refreshed interface in early January, introducing a cleaner, more intuitive design that aims to make everyday teaching tasks faster and more efficient. One change is significant enough that faculty should be aware of it now: the navigation and course layout will look noticeably different in January for winter and spring courses in four ways.

Image 1: The refreshed user interface in courses includes full-screen course pages to enhance the amount of screen space for users to engage with their course.

What's Different About the Course Design

1. Faculty will see several improvements within the course view itself. The header now displays both the courseID and course title, offering immediate orientation, which may be especially helpful when juggling multiple sections or cross-listed courses. In a future update, we will also see a breadcrumb navigation to further streamline movement through nested content areas. 

2. If you use a course banner, it will now stretch across the full width of the screen and sit behind the course ID and title on a darker background. This change modernizes the appearance, increases readability for all users, and improves overall accessibility. Since the course name will now display in close proximity to the banner, we recommend using an image that does not include text.

3. To support more consistent wayfinding, Blackboard replaced the small "X" used to exit a course in the upper left. In its place, a new Home button appears in the course header. The Home button will return users to the Blackboard Institution page, not the course home page or the Courses page. To return to the course home page, click the Content tab. The familiar "X" will still appear for closing lower-level panels such as learning modules, but the main path out of a course is now clearer and less prone to mis-clicks.

4. A new Course Switcher in the header allows instructors to jump quickly to their four most recently accessed courses. This addition supports a smoother teaching workflow, particularly during busy periods when faculty frequently toggle between multiple sections. Selecting "View All" will allow users to access Blackboard courses not in the Recent Courses list. We anticipate that the February release will include additional options in the Course Switcher menu. 

Image 2: The new course switcher lets users move between the four most recent courses. 

Although the core functionality within courses remains unchanged, the interface updates will alter how the environment looks and how instructors navigate through it. Most users should find the transition straightforward, but the shift away from the "X" exit button and the new placement of key course information may take a brief moment of adjustment. Blackboard focused on reducing clutter and helping users move through their materials with fewer clicks and navigation errors based on feedback from instructors, students, and system administrators across the global community. Performance improvements, such as faster load times and smoother transitions, are also part of this redesign.  

These changes are expected in the winter release, which will be installed on our Blackboard site around January 8-9, 2025. This date was selected by Blackboard to minimize impact on the traditional start of term (spring or fall) when more students are using the learning management system.

What if your discussion assignments could set clear expectations up front? Could your students benefit if your course could respond to their questions before you checked your inbox?

The December Ultra update closes out the year with enhancements that bring clarity, efficiency, and a touch of automation to your teaching. From AI-powered responses to customizable release conditions and upgraded discussion tools, these features help faculty support learners more effectively without adding to their workload.

To help set clearer expectations for student interaction, instructors can now add participation requirements to discussions. You can specify the number of posts and/or replies required, in addition to setting due dates. These requirements are visible to students and encourage more intentional and timely engagement. This is especially helpful in courses where discussions are graded or tied to reflection, collaboration, or community-building goals, and it allows students to better understand what “participation” looks like in your course.

Image 1: Instructors set participation requirements in discussion settings.

Image 2: AVA responding to a student’s message.

Ultra’s Learning Module Table of Contents is now available to instructors, providing a collapsible navigation panel that mirrors the student experience. You can quickly jump between content items and preview materials that are not yet released -- without switching to Student Preview or changing availability settings. This consistent view across roles improves usability during course design and review, making it easier to check flow, spot gaps, or make edits while keeping future content hidden from students.

Image 3: Instructor view of a Learning Module with the Table of Contents panel open.

Ultra now supports improved audio and video feedback directly within the feedback editor. Whether you’re working in Flexible Grading or providing overall feedback on an assignment, you can record your audio, video, and desktop, generate captions and transcripts, and use simple editing tools to polish your message. This upgrade makes it easier to deliver accessible, personalized feedback in multimedia format, enhancing your teaching presence and giving students a richer understanding of your comments. Note: Feedback videos are associated to the student's assessment and stay archived with the course.

Image 4: Video Studio recording embedded in the instructor feedback panel.

Finally, Instructors can now set release conditions based on whether a student has simply opened a previous item. This lightweight prerequisite option -- "Unopened" or "Opened or Started" -- lets you guide students through your course in a structured sequence without requiring them to complete a graded task. It's especially useful in module-based courses where students need to engage with foundational materials before progressing to more advanced topics, activities, or discussions.

Additional updates for December include:

• Originality Reporting option has been removed from the settings panel for AI Conversations because the activity involves interaction with an AI persona and does not generate a meaningful report.

• Blackboard updated the grade pill display for the Complete/Incomplete grade schema to improve clarity for instructors and students. Grade pills for incomplete items now appear in gray, making them visually distinct from graded submissions.

• MathJax support in the Content Editor now includes additional LaTeX delimiters (e.g., \(...\) for inline and display equations) for rendering mathematical formulas to improve compatibility with standard STEM workflows and simplify uploading exam content without changing source files. These options are in addition to the existing $ delimiters.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around December 4-5, 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on December 9, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

Imagine if you could adjust test points in seconds without regrading everything manually? What if your course could automatically cheer students on when they succeed -- or nudge them when they need support? The November Ultra update introduces new tools to help you work smarter, not harder -- streamlining assessment edits, automating encouragement, and personalizing recognition. Whether you’re wrapping up the semester or refining your course for spring, these features are built to support both your grading workflow and your students’ motivation.

Instructors can now bulk edit question point values within tests, saving time during test setup or revisions. You can select all questions, filter by question type (e.g., all True/False), or select a combination of types and individual questions. This makes it easy to apply consistent scoring rules or adjust point values quickly across an entire assessment. Even after students have opened or submitted a test, you can still change point values, edit question text, give full credit, or revise correct answers -- and all grades will be recalculated automatically. However, certain structural edits (like adding or deleting questions, modifying matching options, or changing fill-in-the-blank structures) remain locked after student access to preserve assessment integrity. These changes offer instructors more flexibility in real-time without compromising fairness or accuracy.

Image 1: Instructors select Bulk edit points.

A new automation feature allows instructors to set up rule-based messages that send automatically when students reach defined performance thresholds. Whether offering encouragement to students who meet a goal or providing gentle support to those who fall short, these messages can be written in advance and delivered at just the right moment. This personalized automation helps instructors build student motivation and maintain a presence in the course without having to manually monitor and respond to every outcome -- especially helpful in large-enrollment or asynchronous courses. Subsequent releases of this feature will offer more customizations.

Image 2: In the Automation trigger, instructors set the conditions that will trigger the message to be sent.

Finally, Instructors can now customize Achievement badges using one of three new image options: upload a custom image, choose from a library of stock visuals via Unsplash, or generate an image using AI. These options give faculty more creative control and allow for more meaningful recognition of student progress. When badges are visually aligned with course themes, goals, or student interests, they can help foster a stronger sense of accomplishment and connection, turning a basic course mechanic into a personalized experience that resonates.

Image 3: Instructors can select or generate an image for the custom achievement.

Additional updates for November include:

• Gradebook Navigation: The column header menu in the Grid View has been streamlined, giving instructors quicker access to submission pages for each item. This improves consistency across item types and simplifies navigation during grading.
• Gradebook Downloads: Instructors now have the option to include or exclude hidden columns when exporting the Gradebook, offering more flexibility when working offline or sharing data with TAs or co-instructors.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around November 6-7, 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on November 11, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

The October Ultra release is a lightweight update featuring a valuable feature for faculty assessment management, allowing easier reuse of test questions and question banks. 

Instructors can now tag test questions with metadata to organize and manage questions more effectively across tests, forms, and question banks. When creating or editing a question, you can enable metadata and assign one or more tags -- either by selecting from existing tags or creating your own. These tags make it easier to filter questions when reusing them or building pools, and metadata is preserved when content is copied from Original to Ultra. While tags are hidden from students, they offer a powerful way for instructors to label concepts, learning outcomes, or skills, supporting faster content alignment and more purposeful assessment building over time.

Image 1: Instructors can create and apply a tag to questions.

Students now have a more intuitive experience with fill-in-the-blank questions, which are displayed inline with surrounding text, whether presented as a sentence, paragraph, or table. This update ensures better readability and contextual clarity for students as they complete these question types, especially in assessments that test reading comprehension, vocabulary, or technical knowledge through embedded blanks.

Image 2: After this update, fill-in-the-blanks appear in line with the question.

Additional updates for October include:

• Instructors must first add at least one question to a form before they can make it visible to students. Release conditions cannot be set until the form includes questions. This ensures that students only access complete and purposeful assessments.
• The Save and Cancel actions are now standardized across several assessment settings pages.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around October 2-3 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on October 7, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

The September Ultra release introduces improvements to assessment creation, content formatting and an optional AI-powered virtual assistant. These enhancements are designed to help instructors save time on repetitive tasks, organize course materials more clearly, and provide students with a better learning experience. Whether you’re building out fall assessments or fine-tuning existing content, this month’s features offer small but meaningful ways to streamline your teaching and enhance course design.

This fall, UMBC faculty will have early access to Anthology Virtual Assistant (AVA), a new suite of optional AI-powered tools designed to support common teaching tasks. The first AVA feature, Feedback Assistant, launches in September with two helpful options for instructors using rubrics in Flexible Grading. 

• The AI Feedback Summary can generate an overall comment based on rubric selections and performance level descriptions, giving instructors a solid starting point for crafting meaningful, criteria-based feedback. Instructors can edit, reject, or regenerate the suggestion as needed. 
• The Feedback Revision feature allows instructors to rewrite their own comments with AI assistance once they’ve entered at least 30 characters, providing a fast way to turn quick notes into polished, student-friendly feedback. 

Image 1: Instructors can generate feedback using the rubric criteria.

The content styling feature in Ultra Documents allows instructors to add visual structure and emphasis to course materials using block styles like “question,” “tip,” “key points,” and “next steps.” These styles include color and icon cues, and can be applied from a simple dropdown in Edit mode. Used purposefully, styling helps students scan and interpret content more effectively -- whether you’re prompting reflection, offering guidance, reinforcing essential facts, or outlining next steps. To maximize clarity and accessibility, use styles consistently, explain their purpose to students, and keep each block focused and concise. This small design enhancement can reduce cognitive load, support learner autonomy, and make content feel more interactive and well-organized.

Image 2. Instructors can select styling options from a dropdown menu that appears in Edit mode on all block types.

A new enhancement to assessment workflows allows instructors to add, edit, and manage question titles in tests, forms, and question banks. These titles are visible only to instructors and are not shown to students during test-taking or review. This feature supports better organization within complex assessments by allowing instructors to label and track individual questions, which can be especially helpful when reusing or editing items across multiple courses or semesters.

Image 3: Instructors can enter or edit the question title in tests, forms, and question banks.

Additional updates for September include:

• Instructors can export question banks in QTI v2.1 format, which is widely used by publishers and learning tools. 
• Instructors can use the pop-out rubric when grading group submissions in Flexible Grading. 
• Students can view per-question feedback on group test submissions.
• Blackboard improved how time limits and extra time are communicated in Assessments to ensure that all users understand exactly how much time is available, including any accommodations or overrides. 
• Blackboard streamlined the New Announcement page by removing the unnecessary Recipients dropdown. 

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around September 4-5 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on September 9, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

The redesigned Learning Module Table of Contents introduces a collapsible sidebar that helps students orient themselves, track their progress, and move through content more efficiently. Students can check off items as they complete them and choose to navigate via the sidebar or previous/next buttons. Assessments now open in a full panel, creating a more consistent and less fragmented experience. This streamlined structure helps reduce cognitive load, supports self-regulated learning, and improves the overall usability of content-heavy modules.

Image 3. Learning Modules now contain a Table of Contents panel to orient students within Learning Modules for their courses.

• A new unread post indicator appears at the top of the Ultra course on the Discussions tab to show how many posts are unread.
• The Student Activity Log now features a Content Access Filter, making it easier to identify whether and when students accessed specific materials, third-party tools, and LTIs that were previously difficult to track.
• Ultra Documents now support resizable divider blocks, which can span up to four columns. These visual elements improve the structure of course content and help chunk information into digestible sections.
• Blackboard improved the appearance and responsiveness of Knowledge Checks, making them more visually engaging and easier to interact with across different screen sizes.
• The Gradebook supports smoother navigation using arrow keys and enhanced compatibility with screen readers.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around June 5-6 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on June 10, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.