Dr. Jamie Gurganus — jgurganus@umbc.edu
Engineering & Computing Education Program (ECEP) / CIRTL

Kevin Fulmer — kfulmer@umbc.edu
Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

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.

Hello! 

We are looking for a cohort of students to participate in UMBC's Intercultural Engagement Prep course. This course is designed to grow students' intercultural competency and skills.  The course also serves as the orientation for students interested in UMBC's Peace Corps Prep Program.   

This program is open to:

• International students

• Future or returned study abroad students

• Students interested in applying to the Peace Corps or similar international service programs after graduation

• Students who have an interest in preparing for other international or intercultural experiences or development careers

• Students who want to prepare themselves as global citizens in a multicultural world 

As a participant in the Intercultural Engagement Prep pilot program, students will:

• Meet other globally-minded students at UMBC;

• Develop your critical analytical skills;

• Increase your cultural self-awareness and critically reflect on your own unconscious bias;

• Develop strategies to improve your intercultural communication and how you'll apply it in your future career;

• Recognize cultural differences, commonalities, perceptions, power and privilege dynamics, and how they can lead to conflict; and

• Understand the importance of intercultural dialogue and intercultural citizenship competencies for fostering social justice.

This non-credit/no-fee course, PRAC 103 (course # 6928), will meet twice in the Spring 2026 semester at a mutually agreeable time, but the majority of the course is accessed through asynchronous learning. Students will be required to attend two globally themed events or activities and will also have independent assignments to complete in Blackboard. Upon successful completion of the program, participants will earn two digital badges titled Increasing Cultural Self-Awareness and Reinforcing Intercultural Dialogue. 

Both undergraduate and graduate students may register for the course under PRAC 103 and course number 6391.

• Summer 2026 Fellowships for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty are available to full-time UMBC tenured or tenure-track faculty pursuing humanities research in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Up to three fellowships will be awarded.
• Summer 2026 Fellowships for Teaching Professors and Part-Time Faculty are available to all teaching professors and part-time faculty pursuing humanities research in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, whether employed full- or part-time. Part-Time faculty must be teaching at UMBC at the time of application with the expectation that they will also teach at UMBC in the academic semester or year following summer funding. Only one fellowship will be awarded.

Any questions can be directed to dreshercenter@umbc.edu.

• Egg & Cheese Biscuits 
• Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuits 
• Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuits 
• Breakfast Potatoes