Course Default Settngs, Lifecycle, and Back-ups:

Course Default Settings

A Blackboard course site is created with default course settings including:

• Course is "unavailable" to enrolled students upon creation.
• Does NOT allow guest access.
• Several content areas and corresponding navigation buttons.
• The entry point is set to the "Announcements" page.

Default settings can be changed.

• How to set up your Blackboard course.

Blackboard Course Lifecycle

• Blackboard courses remain on the Blackboard server for one year beyond the semester taught.
• The course is made UNavailable to students three weeks into the following semester unless the instructor chooses to provide continuing access.
• The instructor can provide continuing access beyond the semester taught to ALL students by making the course available or to an INDIVIDUAL student(s) by contacting us.

ISSUES with providing access to courses beyond the semester

If the instructor chooses to make a course available to students beyond the semester taught, please be aware that:

• Students will be able to make changes in the Blackboard course (e.g. discussion boards, dropboxes).
• The course will continue to appear on students' "My Blackboard" page along with their current classes.

It is up to the instructor to back-up and retain any changes made to a Blackboard course beyond the semester taught.

• How to back up your course.

Blackboard Course Back-ups

At the end of each semester, the Office of Technology for Education creates a back-up of the Blackboard courses taught that semester. This backup includes the course structure/navigation and materials contained in the Blackboard course on the date the backup occurs.

The following items are not included in Blackboard course back-ups:

• user/student data
• gradebook data
• dropbox data
• material stored within group areas

We strongly recommend that instructors back-up their gradebooks at regular intervals.

• How to back up your gradebook.