Printable, pop-out rubrics & new course reports for goal tracking available in March's Ultra update

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 10:52:18 -0500
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In March, Ultra's update includes two new course reports, an exciting rubric enhancement requested by faculty, and improvements to the AI Course Design Assistant.

Located on the Analytics page, the two new course reports focus on goals. The Course Goal Coverage Report provides a comprehensive view of goal coverage in the course, including a detailed breakdown of course items aligned with goals. The Course Goal Performance Report evaluates how a course meets selected goals, including a detailed breakdown for individual students and goals. These reports do not include third-party tools and uses snapshot data that is up to 24 hours old.

Instructors will be able to pop out the grading rubric into a separate window when grading an assignment. Formatted in a grid view, the pop-out rubric is a separate, movable window. Popping out a rubric allows an instructor to view a student's submission and the rubric side-by-side for a more efficient grading experience. However, the expand icon for popping out a rubric will only appear if the primary browser window is sufficiently large enough to display enough of the course page. Instructors will be able to print a blank or completed rubric using their browser's print function.

Image 1: Example of new pop-out rubric

Content Creation & Management

When setting or updating release conditions, due dates for content items are now included with the release condition settings, reducing the need to navigate back to the item to check deadlines.

Instructors can now copy banners between courses.

AI Course Design Assistant

When using the AI Course Design Assistant, if no image is generated, a placeholder will maintain a consistent layout. A refresh button allows instructors to generate a new image easily.

The AI Course Design Assistant now generates one image at a time instead of four, reducing energy and processing power. If an instructor regenerates an image, previous images are saved for comparison.

Communication & Engagement

Long discussion posts are now fully visible without scrolling.

Posts have a gray background for better contrast.

The number of posts and replies now appears on the discussion home page, replacing the total response counter.

The Edit button is now directly accessible from each post.

Assessments & Grading

If an instructor hides an assessment while students are actively taking it, those with the test open can continue without disruption.

Instructors can configure the visibility of calculated columns from Items Management, streamlining the gradebook view. (Note: The Overall Grade column remains visible at all times.)

The layout for the Test Submission Page for students now mirrors the assignment submission page update from September 2024, ensuring feedback is clearly presented.

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around March 6-7, 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on March 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.

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

Thumbnail-image: New to Ultra [decorative]