Master Course Shells & Templates:
What are they? How do you request one?
It can be time consuming and frustrating for faculty to rebuild the same course in Blackboard every semester. It can be equally frustrating and confusing for students when there is a lack of consistency in their courses in Blackboard. Master Course Shells & Templates save faculty time and provide consistency.
What is a Master Course Shell?
A Master Course Shell is a course in Blackboard without students enrolled. It can be used to build, maintain, and copy course content.
What is a Master Course Template (MCT)?
The Master Course Template was designed by the instructional design team and meets the Quality Matters (QM) Standards. The template includes all of the categories needed in an online course. We can import the template into your Master Course Shell to help you stay organized and aligned with Quality Matters standards. After the MCT is imported, you add the course content in the categories provided by the template, and customize the course as needed.
Why should I build a Master Course instead of copying my course from last semester?
A course shell with students enrolled can be corrupt and cause glitches when copying into a new shell. A Master Course Shell can be updated at any time.
Department Templates
Some departments have created templates for consistency. Reach out to your department chair to see if there is a department template they would like you to use. A department template will have standardized information about the university, department, and student resources, but it will not contain course content like learning materials, assignments, and assessments. Faculty can copy content from the department template into their Master Course Template and add course content.
How to Request a Master Course Shell
Email blackboard@daemen.edu to request a Blackboard shell for your Master Course.
How to request a Master Course Template?
Contact the ID team to request an up to date template to be imported into your course shell. Or, if you would prefer to build from scratch, follow the Master Course Template guide when building your template.
Summary
A Master Course Template will save you time and help students navigate your course with ease. Contact id@daemen.edu for assistance.