Pre-Semester Procedures

Preparing your course

Prior to the course start date

Request a Blackboard Course
Complete the Blackboard Course Request form to have a course/section created for you on Blackboard. See the Faculty User Guide if you are unsure how to do this.
Copy Content from a Previous Course
If you would like to copy content or material from a previous course you have access to, you can do so using Course Copy.
Update Due Dates and Availability Dates
Use Batch Edit to ensure all due dates and availability dates are updated for the new semester. You can also update due dates from the Gradebook which may be more effective than scrolling through Content.
Course Development Consultation (optional)
Consider scheduling a one-on-one consultation with an Instructional Designer to have any of your questions answered and ensure your course is prepared for the start of the semester.
Post a Welcome Announcement
Post an announcement in your Blackboard course that welcomes the students to the course, introduces yourself as the instructor, and provides explicit instructions on where the students should go first in the course. Even in face-to-face courses, a welcome announcement is often the first interaction a student has with a course. Note: Your department/program may have additional requirements/expectations for what should be posted in your welcome announcement.
Make Course Available to Students
By default, when courses are created, they are set to unavailable to allow faculty to edit and update the course before allowing students to access the course. Once you are ready to allow students access to the course, you can do so from the courses page or by clicking Open course from within the course.

Enrollments

Students are auto-enrolled
The week before classes begin students will be automatically enrolled in your course. Enrollments are pushed periodically throughout the day during the Add/Drop period, but you may choose to enroll users manually. Note: Student usernames are their email address without the “@daemen.edu” at the end.