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Welcome to the Fall 2025 Term!
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Welcome back, faculty! We hope everyone enjoyed a great summer. We're ready to help get you up and running with the Fall 2025 Term!
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Getting Started Resources
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Faculty Get Started
Find help with a range of basic beginning-of-term tasks, like course copy, gradebook set up, and more on our LT site.
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LT Knowledge Base
Have a quick question about Blackboard? Look up the answer in the Knowledge Base!
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ARI Tool Support
Get help with putting in your roster verifications as the term begins!
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Syllabus Process Support
Getting your syllabus uploaded to Blackboard and in the right place so that the extraction tool can find it can be tricky. Use our helpful guide to make the process a little easier.
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Important Note About Follett Discover
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Please note: Starting with this term, faculty will no longer use the Follett Discover integration in their courses. They should now select their materials in Blackboard via the Bookstore: My Materials tool.
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Ultra Updates for Fall 2025
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The Fall 2025 Term is the final term that any courses will be in Blackboard Original. Starting with the Spring 2026 Term, ALL courses will be in the Blackboard Ultra course view. If you have not yet made the switch now is the time to start!
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Important Notes About Ultra
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Here are just a few things to note as we start our final term with two versions of Blackboard:
- Ultra in the Blackboard URL doesn't mean your course is in Ultra. We know this can be confusing but ALL courses show up as bb.cod.edu/ultra. This does not mean that your course is in the Ultra Course View.
- Courses in Original will not be deleted. While you will no longer be able to have active courses in Bb Original, courses from past terms will not be removed simply because they are in Original. We do remove courses on a scheduled basis for storage space reasons (we will always let you know when this is happening) but will only be removing Original courses using this term-based schedule.
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A lot of COD faculty have already made the switch to Ultra, but we still have a long way to go.
Of all courses at COD (including Dual Credit):
- 70% are in Ultra
- 30% are in Original
Of COD Credit Courses:
- 56% are in Ultra
- 44% are in Original
After this term, using Ultra will not be optional so it's key to start planning for your transition now. We have trainings and labs to assist you in this process.
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What's New in Ultra: August Updates
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Ultra has some great improvements with the latest update! Users can now:
- Add a table of contents and full-width assessment panel to Learning Modules
- Use Forced Sequence in Learning Modules 
- Create assessments within Learning Modules
- Enhance Documents with block styling options
- Use Video Studio in Announcements
For details about these changes, please read the release notes from Blackboard.
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Fall 2025 Ultra Training Sessions
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While the transition deadline is fast approaching, you still have plenty of time to learn about Ultra and start moving your courses over. We can help! Here's our training schedule for this fall--and don't forget we also have asynchronous training you can do on your own and support labs where we can answer all of your Ultra questions!
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Building Your Course in Blackboard Ultra
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Whether you are building a brand-new course or are looking to redesign an existing course, this session will include a guided walkthrough on how to build a course optimized for the Ultra Course View. Stick around after the session to ask more questions or get hands on help from Learning Technologies.
- Thursday, August 28 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
- Wednesday, September 24 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in SRC 3013
- Tuesday, October 28 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom
- Wednesday, November 26 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in SRC 3013
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Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
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This session will cover an overview of the Ultra Gradebook and how to set up your Gradebook to ensure that you and your students have a successful course.
- Wednesday, September 3 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in SRC 3013
- Tuesday, October 7 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
- Friday, November 7 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in SRC 3013
- Wednesday, December 10 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom
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Converting Your Course to Blackboard Ultra
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Our Converting your Course session will include a guided walkthrough on how to transition your content from Original Course View to Ultra Course view and how to add new content from other sources. You can then take what you have learned and begin transitioning your content into the Ultra Course view. Stick around after the session to ask more questions or get hands on help from Learning Technologies.
- Thursday September 18 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom
- Wednesday, October 15 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in SRC 3013
- Monday, November 17 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
- Tuesday, December 16 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
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Ultra Asynchronous Training
Want to learn about Ultra but can't make it to one of our trainings? You can now register for one of our asynchronous online courses! You can choose from a PDH option or one that offers the same information without the PDH component.
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Blackboard Ultra Open Lab
LT Open Labs are ready for all your Ultra questions this fall.
From August 27th (next week--see our kickoff lab times above) through December 19th, find us in SRC 3013 on:
- Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Register Now: Foundations of Online Teaching
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Haven't taken Foundations of Online Teaching? Want to level up by taking Part Two? Registration for both sessions is now open!
Foundations of Online Teaching: Part One
From September 8 to October 12
This five-week, online course is designed to promote instructor development and enhance instructor engagement whether you are teaching NET, Hybrid, or VCM courses. Participants explore techniques and best practices for online course development and instruction.
Foundations of Online Teaching: Part Two
From October 20 to November 23
This five-week, hybrid course is designed to build on the skills that were developed in Foundations of Online Teaching Part 1 but can also be taken if you would like to enhance a course you have already developed.
Using the OSCQR Rubric, participants will develop their entire course structure and complete at least two units of work. This course will tackle more advanced topics regarding content development and assessment building.
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New Posts on the LT Blog!
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Christine Monnier is back to blogging for the Fall Term! Check out her latest posts:
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Contact Learning Technologies
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