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FAQ

How do I access my course site?

All course sites that you are enrolled in will be listed in the My Courses section of blackboard.bu.edu.

My instructor said I could get to the course through the Student Link. How do I do that?

  1. Visit the Student Link.
  2. Click on the Academics tab.
  3. Choose Current Schedule from the Class and Grade Information section.
  4. Look for a link titled Yes in the Course Materials column. If the link is available, click it to view your online course materials.

Many courses do not have online course materials, so be sure to check with your instructor if you think you should have access to online materials.

I can’t see my course site. What do I do?

There are a number of reasons for a course not to be visible. It is always best to check with your instructor to be sure:

  1. A course site has been created
  2. You are enrolled in the course and its Blackboard 8 site
  3. The course has been made available to students

What is the Digital Dropbox? How do I upload files to it?

The Digital Dropbox is a Blackboard 8 tool that lets students and instructors send files back and forth within a course site. No notification is sent when a file is added to the Dropbox, so be sure the instructor is expecting your submission.

To submit a document to your instructor:

  1. Select your course from the My Courses list.
  2. From the Course Menu located on the left-hand side of the screen, select Tools.
  3. Select Digital Dropbox.
  4. Click Send File. If you use the Add File button, the file is uploaded to the Digital Dropbox, but it is not submitted to your instructor.
  5. Fill in the Name field and then click the Browse… button to select the file you wish to upload from your computer.
    IMPORTANT: The file names can only contain letters, numbers and underscores ("_"). No spaces or special characters (@!#$%^&*-).
  6. Fill in comments in the Comments field if you wish.
  7. Click  the Submit. button.
  8. You will see Receipt: Success and a message that the file you uploaded has been sent to the users with the role of Instructor.

The document has now been uploaded to the Digital Dropbox and submitted to your instructor.

Can I share a document with my class?

The Discussion Board is a great way to share a file with the class, but it has to be enabled by your instructor. If it is not, see our FAQ for emailing your file to the class.

  1. Visit blackboard.bu.edu.
  2. Select the course in which you’d like to post the file.
  3. From the Course Menu located on the left-hand side of the screen, select the Discussion Board.
  4. Choose the forum to which you would like to upload your file.
  5. Click on the the Add Thread button or select a thread and select Reply.
  6. Fill out the Subject and Message of your post.
  7. Click on the Attach a file link to browse your computer and add a file to your post.
  8. Click Submit. If you click Save, your post will be visible to you, but won’t be available to your instructor or the rest of the class.

How do I email a document to my entire class?

  1. Visit blackboard.bu.edu.
  2. Select your course.
  3. From the Course Menu located on the left-hand side of the screen, choose Communication.
  4. On the bottom of the list displayed, select Send Email.
  5. Choose the group selection that best reflects the section of your course you would like to email.
  6. Type a Subject and Message.
  7. Click on the Attach a file link to browse your computer and add a file to your email.
  8. Click Submit to send your message.

I dropped a course. Why is it still listed in My Courses?

You will not be automatically removed from a course you have dropped. However, there are two things you can do to remove the course from your list of courses:

  1. Contact instructor and ask that you be removed from the course.
  2. Customize your My Courses list to hide the extra course.

Can I customize the My Courses list?

Absolutely. You can add links to other locations, as well as remove unwanted course links, by clicking on the pencil icon located on the right edge of the blue bar.

How do I access grades that my instructor has posted on Blackboard?

  1. Visit blackboard.bu.edu.
  2. In the My Courses tab, click on the View Grades link located in the orange Tools box.
  3. Select the course for which your grades have been posted.

You may also access your grades for an individual class using the My Grades link located in the Tools menu of your course site.

Pasting from Microsoft Word

When pasting text into any area within Blackboard, it is recommended that faculty and students copy and paste from a simple text editor like NotePad for Windows or TextEdit for Mac OS X instead of Microsoft Word as code used by Microsoft to style Word documents can cause issues, including seeing some of the code and missing content.