Blackboard FAQ: General Information

I'm having difficulty logging into Blackboard, what do I do?
Where are the Manuals?
Can I get Training?
Who do I call for help?
How often are the courses and rosters loaded?
How long do courses from previous semesters stay in Blackboard?
Can I rename my Course? (Faculty)
What is Guest Access, and what is the University policy about allowing guest access to our courses?
How can I send suggestions or recommendations about changing or adding features to future Blackboard updates?
When I or my students log into Blackboard, the font is really small, how do I fix it?
What are Blackboard's Browser/Platform Requirements?
Can I archive my Course to use at another time? (Faculty)
Is Blackboard fully Compatible with the AOL Browser?

I'm having difficulty logging into Blackboard, what do I do?

Use this Checklist for when you are having trouble logging in:

Make sure you can log into SamMail. (if not try resetting your password)
Check to see if you CAPS LOCK, Shift, Control or Alt key is locked or stuck
Set your browser to check for newer versions of the page every time
Clear your Internet Browser's Cache
Turn off all saving offline forms data and password (Auto Complete)
Clear all stored data and passwords.
Enable JavaScript/Active Scripting (in IE under Security>Custom)
Enable Cookies (at least with prompting)
Restart your browser
Reboot your machine
Try logging in on a different browser (Mozilla Firefox)
Try logging in on different machine in a different environment (on-campus/off-campus/work/lab etc)

When you've checked these, have details on your system configuration ready for when you call the helpdesk: Operating System and version, browser and version, action attempted, specific error message

Where are the Blackboard How-to Manuals?

The Blackboard How-to Manuals and Demonstration Flash Movies can all be found in the SHSU Software Guides. We have a specific section dedicated to Blackboard that has all the things you need.

Can I get Training?

Yes you can! Check out the Blackboard Central Training section to learn about the different kinds of Training opportunities that are available.

Who do I call for Help?

You can get in touch with the Blackboard Team at 936.294.4495 or blackboard@shsu.edu as well as contacting Jacob Spradlin at 936.294.3929 or spradlin@shsu.edu, or you can even contact the Helpdesk at 936.294.1950 or helpdesk@shsu.edu.

How often are the courses and rosters loaded?

Blackboard course rosters are loaded twice daily. Once at 9am and once at 4pm. If a student has registered for your class or activated their account in between these times they will not show on your course list or have access to Blackboard until the next load.

How long do courses from previous semesters stay in Blackboard?

We keep most courses on the system (unless they are special non semester oriented courses) until the same course of next year needs to be loaded. This means that your Spring courses for a particular year will be accessible by you (and only you once the semester ends) until the next spring set of courses are loaded. We do this so you have record of your semester grades in case a student has a questions or wishes to challenge the grade they received.

** Faculty note: If you want your previous semester courses removed before the calendar year, you can call extension 43929 and request it.

Can I rename my course?

Currently you cannot rename your course. The reason being the way we load your courses and rosters directly from the class schedule and the registration system, your course would revert back to its original name every time we ran a load. Course names are also a way we know which students belong in which course.

What is Guest Access, and what is the University policy about allowing guest access to my course?

A full description can be found in this "Using the Guest Role in Your Blackboard Course" adobe acrobat(PDF) document.

How can I send suggestions or recommendations about changing or adding features to future Blackboard Releases?

You can direct your suggestions/recommendations to a specific e-mail address. Send them to suggestions@blackboard.com.

When I or my students log into blackboard, the font is really small, how do I fix it?

This problem seems to occur when using the Eudora e-mail program for PCs and Internet Explorer. To fix this problem change your Eudora message font sizeto medium. To make this change go under Tools --> Options --> Fonts --> Message Medium.

What are Blackboard's Browser/Platform Requirements?

		Windows Operating Systems		Mac Operating Systems
		2000	XP	10.2	10.3
Internet Explorer	5.2	N/A	N/A	N/A
	5.5		N/A	N/A	N/A
	6.0			N/A	N/A
Netscape Browsers	4.78	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Netscape Browsers	7.1			N/A
Apple Safari	1.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Apple Safari	1.1	N/A	N/A	N/A
Green - fully supported by Blackboard N/A - Not supported by the Operating System or Web Browser Note: Mozilla Firefox 1.0 seems to work but Blackboard hasn't officially come out stating it is a supported browser.

Can I archive my Course to use at another time? (Faculty)

Under the Course Options Menu in your Control Panel is the Archive Course link. Use that link and once the archiving process is complete click on the subsequent link and save your file somewhere on your local computer/cd/zip. We suggest more than once place, so that you will not loose it.

Is Blackboard fully Compatible with the AOL Browser?

No, AOL (America Online) has some issues with idle time that prohibit it from working properly while taking assessments in Blackboard, as well as other irregularities in some other areas of Blackboard.