Explore the Courses Tab in Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation (Instructors)
Contents
The following support article provides information for instructors on navigating the Courses tab of Ultra Base Navigation to find and organize courses for instructors. Features include marking courses as Favorites, using the Hide and Show features, finding Hidden courses, and finding courses assigned to Terms.
Courses Features
Courses listed in the Courses tab of Ultra Base Navigation are automatically listed in alphabetical order.
This order cannot be changed or rearranged, however instructors can use the Favorite function to move current and important courses to the top of the course list. Instructors can also use the Hide and Show functions to remove or add courses from their course list. These courses must be removed from the Hidden from Me list in order for them to become searchable.
Instructors can use the Course Catalog to see all of the courses they are enrolled in as an instructor or search for other courses. The Terms feature allows courses from previous semesters to be organized into groups and searched through a filter so only one term displays. The last three years of courses can be found in the terms filter list.
Mark Courses as Favorites
Marking a course as a favorite in the Courses tab will move it to the top of the course list under a section labeled Favorites. This makes current or frequently opened courses easier to find and access.
Courses can be marked as favorites from either the list or tile view of the course by clicking the star icon. If a course is marked as a favorite, this icon will be purple.
By clicking the star icon a second time, the course will be unmarked as a favorite and will move down into the list of courses by tern in alphabetical order.
Hide/Show Courses
Courses can be hidden from the full course list and unhidden from the Hidden from me course list if the user is enrolled in the course as an instructor.
This capability is not available for courses in which the user is registered as a student. Hiding a course will not hide it from enrolled students, it will only hide it from the instructor’s view.
Hide a Course
Instructors can hide courses by clicking the ellipsis (1) in the course box or tile, and selecting the option for Hide course (2). This moves the course to a separate course list called Hidden from me.
Find Hidden Courses
Once a course has been hidden, it will be moved to a separate course list. To see the list of hidden courses, click the Filter drop-down menu (1) and select the option for Hidden from me (2). This will display the list of courses that have been hidden by the instructor.
Show Hidden Courses
To unhide a hidden course, access the Hidden Courses list (1). After finding the course to unhide, click the ellipsis in the course box and select the option for Show course (2). This will move the course back to the list of all courses. Be sure to change the filter option back to All courses to see the courses that have been unhidden.
Search in the Course Catalog
To see a more comprehensive list of the courses an instructor is enrolled in (including the children of merged courses), the Course Catalog can be a useful tool. In the Courses tab in Base Navigation, the Course Catalog can be accessed in the upper-right corner.
From here, instructors can search for Courses by switching the option to Instructor (1) and entering your NetID in the search field (2). This will display the list of courses in which that user is enrolled as an instructor.
NOTE: Using the Course Catalog can be particularly useful for instructors that want to see the status of their child courses, which are not visible in the courses tab.
Find Courses Assigned to Terms
Courses in a semester are assigned a specific Term in Blackboard to keep courses organized by start/end dates and semester.
To view only the courses assigned to a specific term, click the drop-down arrow in the Terms box and select a term from the list that appears. Selecting one of these terms will display the relevant courses from only that semester. To view all courses again, access the Terms box and select the option for All Terms.
To adjust the dates of a course assigned to a term, please take a look at this support article on Changing the Availability of Courses Assigned to Terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why can’t I find a course I taught in Blackboard from more than three years ago?
Answer: Only the last three years of courses are retained in Blackboard. Courses older than three years are archived to storage devices and removed from Blackboard every summer.
Q: How can I access a course I taught in Blackboard from more than three years ago?
Answer: To retrieve a course that has been archived and removed from Blackboard, submit a ticket to the Help Desk with the CRN and semester of the course you are looking for. If the course exists, it will be temporarily restored so that content can be retrieved, copied forward, and/or exported and saved by the instructor.
Q: How can I save a copy of my older courses before they are removed from Blackboard?
Answer: Instructors have the ability to archive and export a zip file of any of the courses for which they are listed as an instructor. These zip files can be uploaded into other templates or courses when needed to review and copy forward content. This support article has more information on exporting and archiving courses.
Q: How can I see my parent and child courses, or see if any of my courses have been merged?
Answer: To find courses that have been merged into a parent/child relationship in Blackboard, search for courses in the Course Catalog (see instructions above) or look in the Grade Center of the parent course. If a course has any child courses associated with it, there will be a column in the grade center labeled CHILD COURSE ID. Any student with a value in this column are enrolled in the child course.
Q: Why do I still see courses from previous semesters in my Current Courses?
Answer: If courses from previous semesters are visible in the Current Courses list, this is because they have not yet been assigned to a Term. As an instructor, if the previous courses displaying is bothersome, it is recommended that instructors use the Favorite and Hide Course features to organize their course list.
Q: How can I grant access to a student completing an INCOMPLETE in a course that has been assigned to a term and is not available?
Answer: To grant access to a course for only one student who is completing an INCOMPLETE in a course, submit a support ticket to the Help Desk with the CRN and semester of the course the student needs access to, and the anticipated end date of that student’s access. The student will then be granted access to the course until that date.
Helpful Links
Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation – Courses: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Administrator/SaaS/User_Interface_Options/Ultra_Experience/Base_Navigation/Courses
Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation – Overview: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Administrator/SaaS/User_Interface_Options/Ultra_Experience/Base_Navigation