General FAQ
What browsers are recommended for use with Blackboard, and where can I download them?
We recommend the following browsers for use with Blackboard:
- Windows XP , Vista and 7: Internet Explorer
- Mac OS X 10.3 and later: Firefox or Safari
We strongly recommend that Macintosh users upgrade their system to 10.3 or later.
What is my Blackboard username and password?
Your username is your first initial + middle initial + last name (all lowercase). If you do not have a middle initial, your username will simply be your first initial + last name (all lowercase).
Your password is originally set to the last 6 digits of your Social Security Number. If you do not have a Social Security number, it has been set to your 6 digit date of birth (mmddyy). If you have already logged in before, please use the password you created.
For questions or problems with your username, contact the University Help Desk.
When are Blackboard Courses Created?
Blackboard courses are automatically created through a feed from the registrar's Datatel system at least 8 weeks before the start of term.
For Online MBA courses, by default, courses are "unavailable" to students and must be manually made available by the instructor.
Courses will remain available to students after the end of term unless an instructor chooses to make a course unavailable.
How Often Are Students Added to or Removed from Blackboard Courses?
Faculty and student enrollments are added to (or removed from) Blackboard courses automatically through a data feed from the registrar's system. Teaching assistants, auditors, and other users whose association with a course is not in Datatel must be added manually. Student enrollments start to feed into Blackboard at least 8 weeks before the term begins. During drop/add period this student Blackboard enrollment feed will run approximately every 4 hours. For the remainder of the term the enrollment feed runs only once a day. If a student who has registered does not gain access to a course within 24 hours please contact OTM.
Where can I get help with Campus Cruiser login issues?
For all Campus Cruiser questions and issues, please call the University Help Desk.
Where can I get help with Blackboard issues?
The University Help Desk handles all Blackboard and HorizonWimba (audio/video tool) related issues.
Faculty who need help with Blackboard may contact the Instructional Technologist for assistance during normal business hours.
If a function or feature within Blackboard is not working, please contact OTM directly.
Faculty FAQ
How do I get a course site in Blackboard for my course?
All Sawyer Business School courses have accompanying Blackboard sites. These sites are created at least 8 weeks before the start of each term. Log in to Blackboard through MySuffolk to view the links to your current and past courses.
Why should I consider using my course site in Blackboard?
A course web site provides students with 24-hour access to course materials in one central location. Materials can be accessed from any computer that is connected to the Internet, and access is restricted to enrolled students only.
It is very easy for instructors to copy materials from one class section to another. Once a Blackboard site has been created, materials can easily be "recycled" for a future instance of the course. Since old course pages remain available to instructors, Blackboard provides instructors with a comprehensive record of their past class activity.
Since Blackboard communicates with the registrar's system, faculty does not need to keep tabs of changing student enrollments during the first weeks of the term. Access for currently enrolled students is handled automatically.
TAs, administrative assistants, or library liaisons can be added to Blackboard sites to help faculty build the site or to monitor or grade student work.
Blackboard offers a number of collaborative tools which can be used to facilitate student work: on-line discussion boards, group areas, blogs and wikis. Blackboard also contains tools which make course administration easier: an e-mail tool, an on-line gradebook, on-line quizzes and surveys, and a tool to facilitate the collection of electronic documents from students.
What kind of materials can I post within Blackboard?
A wide variety of materials can be posted within Blackboard. Text can be composed directly into any area (Announcements, Course Information, Assignments, etc.).
Word documents, Web links, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, data-sets, images, even audio and video files or podcasts can be posted within any section of the course site.
I am a new instructor and would like to begin working in Blackboard as soon as possible. Can I have access?
Yes, if new instructors cannot log into Blackboard, the Blackboard Support team can assist with access. Contact OTM with your name, course, and Suffolk ID number (if known).
On occasion, access to Blackboard might be delayed for new employees due to the process of integrating personnel into various information systems.
How do I set up guest access for my course?
Blackboard is set up to allow access to courses for instructors, other course staff, and enrolled students. There may be times when instructors wish to allow non-enrolled students and others to access course materials, such as during course selection and at the beginning of term. Guest access is a course setting that allows all Blackboard users and users who log in as "Guest" to access courses. Instructors can allow guest access to an entire course or just select portions of a course, and can turn guest access on and off as necessary.
I seem to have two Blackboard sites for my course - can these be joined?
Faculty who are teaching both graduate and undergraduate students in one course often end up with two course web sites. This is because Blackboard course sites are created automatically from the course information in the Registrar's database. To merge Blackboard sites for such courses, please contact OTM, and we will manually combine the courses. This process will usually be completed in three to five business days.
Student FAQ
Why can't I access all the courses for which I am registered this term?
There may be two explanations as to why students cannot access Blackboard courses for the current term:
- The instructor has not made the Blackboard course available to students. Students are encouraged to check with their instructor to see what plans are established for distributing course materials.
- The student has recently registered for the course and Blackboard has not yet updated its data from the registrar's system (Datatel). Blackboard's enrollment data is updated six times daily during the first three weeks of the term, and once daily after that. Once a student is officially enrolled in a course, Blackboard will have that information after the next data update.
I am auditing a course. How do I get access to that course's Blackboard site?
You can ask your instructor to send OTM an email requesting that you be added. We will need the course and section name, name of the instructor, and your name and e-mail address. We are not able to act on student requests without a note or confirmation from the instructor.