Integrating Cengage Content to Blackboard Original Courses

The following information provides instructions on locating and activating LTI tools and content from third party publishers like Cengage, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, and Pearson into a Blackboard course using the Original course view.

About Third Party Publishers

Instructors have the option to use third party publishers to add textbook chapters, assignments, quizzes, and more content into their courses digitally. The process for integrating a course with a publisher’s content varies by publisher. Additionally, with the transition from Building Blocks to LTI, REST API, and cloud integrations; it is important to make sure the content is integrated into courses correctly so that instructors and students can access it without difficulty. If an instructor experiences issues with integrating their course to Blackboard, please submit a support ticket to IT. More specific questions about third party publishers and their content should be directed to the support staff for the selected publisher.

Integrating Cengage Content

To integrate Cengage content using the LTI 1.3 version of the tool into a Blackboard Original course, start by creating a new content area in the sidebar or folder in the course specifically for the Cengage integration.

Here's an example of a new content area in the course sidebar:

A screenshot of the navigation menu of a Blackboard original course with a blue arrow pointing to the Cengage Access folder where the integration will be set up.

After navigating to the desired content area or folder in the course, pair the publisher by following these steps:

Hover over the Build Content (1) area to open the drop-down menu
From the drop-down menu, click Cengage Content (2)

**IMPORTANT: After June 30, 2025, do not use the Cengage Learning MindLinks link previously found under the Tools drop-down. This integration has been retired and removed.

A screenshot of the Build Content drop-down menu of a Blackboard Original course with an arrow pointing to Build Content and an arrow pointing to the option for Cengage Content.

From there, instructors can set up their Online Learning Platform and/or eBook according to the needs of their course, if they did not previously set up the course in Cengage separately.

A screenshot of the Cengage tool page that opens in Blackboard after creating the Build Content link.

For more information on what content option is right for the course, please contact Cengage Support or view their support documentation.

NOTE: If an error message is received from Blackboard while attempting to add content through this provider, try using a different browser or device.
There is a known issue when integrating content through Google Chrome between Cengage and Blackboard that is in the process of being fixed.

Cengage Tips, Tricks, and Reminders

If the course asks for a Registration Key, the correct option for setting up Cengage content was not selected, please review this article to set up the integration properly.
If you receive an error message from Blackboard while attempting to add content through this provider, try using a different browser or device as there is a known issue when integrating content while using the Google Chrome browser that is in the process of being fixed.

Contact Cengage Publisher Support

Once directed away from the Blackboard LMS by links to the publisher’s site, or for in-depth questions about how publisher content can meet the needs of a course and its students, please reach out to the support contacts from each publisher to receive tailored information and technical assistance.

Cengage Resource - Tutorials and Training Resources

Cengage Resource - Technical Support for Instructors