Once faculty have access to the Blackboard system, they can request a Blackboard course for those sections where they are listed as the Instructor of Record in MyNIU, anytime within 100 days from the start of the semester. Requests are made through the Blackboard Faculty Tools (BFT).
Blackboard Courses from Fall 2015 Summer 2016 to be Deleted Beginning December 1, 2021
In accordance with NIU’s course retention guidelines for Blackboard, only the last 5 years of courses are retained in Blackboard. The Division of IT will begin removing courses from the 2015-2016 academic year this fall. Shells and Organizations will not be affected at this time.
Courses to be deleted: All courses from Fall 2015, Spring 2016, and Summer 2016 will be deleted. Courses from Fall 2016 to Fall 2021 will be retained in Blackboard.
Removal date: The removal process will begin on December 1, 2021
You may save any courses you wish to retain before the course removal process begins by exporting the courses from Blackboard. You may also download the Grade Center if you wish to retain the grades for your records.
If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please feel free to contact the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at 815-753-0595 or citl@niu.edu. If you experience technical issues while exporting a course or downloading your grades, please contact the Division of IT Service Desk at it.niu.edu, 815-753-8100 or servicedesk@niu.edu.
Featured Guide
Is the Ultra Course View Right for Me?
Now is a great time to consider a move to the Ultra Course View for the Spring semester! The Ultra Course View is cleaner, has a more modern design and easy-to-use workflows, plus powerful new tools that are not available in the Original Course View, like Discussion Analytics. There are some features of the Original Course View that are not available in the Ultra Course View, however. Some are on their way, others have been discontinued. Learn more and decide whether your course will work well with Ultra Course View!
View Guide
Blackboard is the course management system used campus-wide at NIU. Faculty and TAs use Blackboard to course materials, deliver tests and surveys, hold online discussions, and facilitate many other course-related functions. Both the Original Course View and the Ultra Course View are available.
Students need their NIU AccountID / ZID and password to log in to Blackboard. Learn more about getting started with Blackboard at NIU.
Faculty need their NIU AccountID / AID and password to log in to Blackboard. Learn more about getting started teaching with Blackboard at NIU.
Navigating LMS
Starting the Semester
Upcoming Workshops
All event times are listed in Central Time Zone (CT).
Recorded Workshops
- Preview of Blackboard Ultra: Navigation Ultra
- Preview of Blackboard Ultra: Re-designed Ultra Course View Ultra
- What's New in Blackboard? Original
- Preview of New Features Coming to Blackboard Original
- Anonymous and Delegated Grading Original
- Blackboard II: Building Your Blackboard Course Original
- Blackboard Assessment Tools Original
- Blackboard Communication Tools Original
- Build Better Tests with Blackboard Item Analysis Original
- Controlling Student Access to Materials in Blackboard Original
- Hidden Gems of Blackboard: Things You Never Knew Blackboard Could Do! Original
- Interactive Rubrics: Providing Consistent and Quality Feedback in Blackboard Courses Original
- It's About Time (Management): Using the Redesigned Blackboard Calendar Original
- Managing Students' Grades with the Blackboard Grade Center Original
- Motivating and Recognizing Your Students Using the Blackboard Achievements Tool Original
- Supporting Student Success with the Blackboard Retention Center Original
- Timesaving Tips Using the Blackboard Grade Center Original
- Tips and Strategies for Implementing Successful Discussion Board Forums in Blackboard Original
- Tips for Assessing Student Learning Using Blackboard Original
- Tips for Communicating Effectively Using Blackboard Original
- Tips for Effective Group Collaborations in Blackboard Original
- Tips for Managing Large Classes in Blackboard Original
- Tips for Promoting Student Retention with Blackboard Original
- Tips for Teaching Online with Blackboard Original
- Tracking Student Learning Outcomes in Blackboard Original
- Using the Blackboard Content Collection to Manage Your Course Content Original
Blackboard Getting Started Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Faculty who teach multiple sections of the same course in a given semester have the option of consolidating these course sections in Blackboard into one master course.
The Course Copy feature can make an exact copy of the course. This feature can also make a copy of some of the materials to create a new course or add the materials to an existing course.
Courses, by default, are not available to students until the faculty member decides to make them available or until the first day of the semester, if you selected Auto-Availability when requesting the course. After the scheduled section is created and materials added to the course, you can make the course available by accessing the Course Availability Settings in one of three locations:
- From the Tools tab on the base navigation, click Course Availability Settings
- In Original Course View, in the Control Panel, click Course Tools and then click Course Availability Settings
- In Ultra Course View, in the Details & Actions panel, click View Course & Institutional Tools and then click Course Availability Settings
Setting the availability is an immediate process (meaning the faculty member does not have to wait for the server to run in order for the command to be processed).
At the end of the semester, faculty do not need to reverse this process, as all NIU courses are automatically set to be "unavailable" 10 days before the beginning of the next semester. Once a course is made unavailable, students lose all access to the course and are unable to see the course in their list of courses.
Get Help
Technical Support and Student Help
Division of IT Service Desk815-753-8100
servicedesk@niu.edu