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Users

Add Users

When we create a course website, we attach its roster or rosters so that registered students are automatically added to the appropriate courseware site each night. Students must be registered for the course and have a valid BU Kerberos account. (Without a valid Kerberos account, a student will show up on a class list, but will not be able to receive BU email, access Blackboard, or use most University services; a Kerberos account is a prerequisite for access to any courseware service.)

There are two ways you can add additional users (students, TAs, additional instructors, etc.):

  • You can submit a list of users to be added. Or,
  • You can add users yourself with the following steps:
    1. In your Control Panel select Enroll User.
    2. Search for the user you would like to enroll.
    3. Check the box next to their name and click Submit.

Remove Users

Dropping students from courseware sites is not done automatically for one reason: dropping a student from a Blackboard 8 site deletes their entire student record. If we automatically dropped un-enrolled students, then all student data (grades, submitted assignments, etc.) for students who changed sections or dropped and re-added a course (which frequently happens) would be deleted in the process. Students on mid-semester leaves of absence would also have their data deleted, which could make it difficult to remedy incompletes. Because of this potential loss of academic data when dropping a student from a course site, this decision is left to the discretion of the instructor.

To manage students who have dropped your class, you also have the option of disabling their access to the course materials. Any students whose access has been disabled (Control Panel->List/Modify Users->Properties->Availability->No) will still appear on the Blackboard roster, but will be grayed-out in the Grace Center and not be included in course emails. If a student re-adds your class or returns from a leave of absence, you can simply re-enable their access to the course.

  1. Go to our online forms.
  2. In section (1), select I have a question about something else.
  3. In section (2), select the appropriate course.
  4. In section (3), enter into the blank field the following information: “I would like to have these users removed from my course,” and a list of the BU login names you wish to have removed.
  5. Once you have submitted this request, it will be processed by a member of the IT Help Center, and will be resolved quickly.

Modify User Role

  1. Click on List/Modify Users in the User Management section of the Control Panel.
  2. Click on the List all tab.  This will display a list of all the users enrolled in the course.
  3. Find the person who’s role you wish to change and click Properties.
  4. Under Section 4 change their Role to whatever you wish it to be by clicking on the Radio button to the left of the role.
  5. Lastly, click Submit at the bottom right of the screen.

The user will now have the appropriate level of access to the course site.  If this change seems to disappear after a day, please consult the Troubleshooting article regarding this topic.

Allow Guest Access

By default, only users specifically enrolled in your class (e.g., teaching assistants, course builders, graders, and students) are able to access your Blackboard site. If you wish to allow Blackboard 8 users who are not enrolled in your course to browse your course content, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Blackboard 8.
  2. Select your course.
  3. Go to the Control Panel.
  4. Under Course Options, select Settings.
  5. Select Guest Access.
  6. Select Yes.
  7. Select Submit.

Restrict Guest Access

Instructors who have turned on guest access (allowing Blackboard 8 users not enrolled in your course to browse course content) can disable this access with these steps:

  1. Go to Blackboard 8.
  2. Select your course.
  3. Go to the Control Panel.
  4. Under Course Options, select Settings.
  5. Select Guest Access.
  6. Select No.
  7. Select Submit.

You can also block enrolled students from accessing your course site (e.g., while developing your course website).

Create Groups

  1. In the User Management section of your Control Panel select Manage Groups.
  2. Click on the Add Group button.
  3. Give your group a name and click Submit.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click on the Modify button next to your new group.
  6. Select Add Users to Group.
  7. Either search for all of the users you wish to add or use the List All tab to select multiple.
  8. Click OK.

View All Users

To view all of your course users, including students, TA’s, guests, etc.:

  1. In the User Management section of your Control Panel select List/Modify Users
  2. Click on the List All tab.
  3. Click on the List All button.

All of your course users should now be listed. When you are finished, click OK to return to your Control Panel.