SaaS Monthly Updates

Blackboard SaaS will be updated on the first Thursday of each month, unless otherwise stated. Check back here for new features and updates.


March 7, 2024

  • Ultra Courses:
    • No Due Date option for Assessments: Instructors can now create a test or assignment and select “No Due Date” instead of having to enter a due date.
    • Due Date Updates: The default due date is now set to 11:59pm on the date after the assignment or test was completed. Additionally, if the due date and assessment results settings are in conflict, a banner will appear and prompt the instructor to fix the conflicts.
    • Announcement updates: Users will now see a circled number next to the Announcements option in the top menu to indicate a new, unread announcement. Additionally, users can mark announcements as read or unread.
    • Flexible Grading panels: When grading across multiple login sessions, the flexible grading panel choices (i.e. which panels are open or closed) are now preserved when moving between attempts and across grading sessions.
    • Item Statistics in Gradebook: Instructors can now view item statistics for gradebook columns. Select the column name or the three dots, then select Statistics to view statistics based on the grades assigned for that column.
  • Mobile App:
    • Send messages to students via Student Activity Report: When viewing the Student Activity Report on the mobile app or on a mobile device or small screen, instructors can now send a message to their students.
  • Resolved Known Issues:
    • Edited Fill in the Blank questions cause an error when accessing student attempts in Original Courses
      • When an instructor has edited a “fill in the blank” or “fill in the multiple blank” question, then attempts to access a student attempt, they will receive an error message.
    • Bb Annotate reloads when saving feedback in Ultra Courses
      • When grading assignments and adding feedback to an attempt, Bb Annotate will reload the page 5-6 minutes after the “Save Changes” button was clicked, causing it to look like the feedback was not saved.
    • Grade Calculating using “include all items” option is calculating backwards in Ultra Courses
      • When checking the option “include all items” in a grade calculation, to use a value of 0 for items that have no grades, those items and the respective 0’s are not included in the grade calculation.
    • Grading by question will refresh and go to the top of the list in Ultra Courses
      • When grading an assessment by question, once the instructor sets a score, the page will refresh and go back to the top of the list.
    • Hidden documents copied within force sequence modules make documents visible to students in Ultra Courses
      • When a learning module with force sequence turned on is copied to another course, the visibility of the hidden documents inside the module are set to “Visible to Students”.
    • Overall grade shows different results in grid and list view when grade displayed as letter in Ultra Courses
      • When an instructor has the Overall Grade column set up and set to display as a letter grade, the Overall Grade will display different grades in the list view and grid view.
    • Screen reader not reading discussion boards in Ultra Courses
      • When a user is using a screen reader, the screen reader will skip the “Discussion Topic” entered by the professor and the response text from participants.
    • Virtual classroom setting disappears when student access is turned off in Ultra Courses
      • When an instructor opens the Course Settings menu and turns of “Allow student access” under the Virtual Classroom header, the setting completely disappears and cannot be turned back on.

February 1, 2024

  • Ultra Courses:
    • Forms are now available: Instructors can now use the Forms tool. Forms are not anonymous. Forms are not graded, and there are no correct or incorrect questions.
    • Likert question type: Instructors can now add a Likert question type on forms. Instructors can choose between three different ranges (1-3, 1-5, and 1-7), with a not applicable option.
    • Rubric display choice persists when grading: Instructors who use rubrics during the grading process no longer need to choose to display description levels when moving from one submission to another. If the instructor selects to display the description level, that display option will persist as they move through submissions.
    • Send reminders from gradebook improvements: When choosing to send reminders for assignments or tests from the gradebook, the scenarios where students receive the notifications have changed to make it more consistent and accurate. Students will now receive a reminder if they are available in the course, do not have an automatic zero, and do not have a manual override grade that was posted.
    • Updates to audio/video feedback recording: Improvements have been made to the recording screen when instructors choose to record audio or video feedback while grading. Instructors can now choose to maximize the recording window for better visibility, or minimize the recording screen so they can scroll through the submission.
    • Feedback for Overridden and Automatic Zero grades: Instructors can add feedback on grades that have been overridden or automatic zeros that is now visible to the students. Instructors can also add feedback for grades that were given offline. Previously, only feedback on grades given through Blackboard as part of the grading process were visible to students.
    • Course Activity Report Customization: Instructors can now customize the missed due date alert in Alert Settings on the Course Activity Report page.
    • Long Name Visibility: Students with long names would have their names cut off in the Gradebook and Course Activity Report pages. The display of names has now changed so that the entire name is visible when looking at these pages, even on devices with small screens.
    • Activity Stream Notifications for Instructors: Instructors can now better customize their Activity Stream to see which students may be at risk in their course. There are new options for instructors to choose from for Student Alerts on the Activity Stream, including low overall grade, missed due date alert, and last access alert.
  • Known Issues:
    • A patch was added to fix the known issue “Screen reader not reading test questions” in Ultra. Previously, students using a screen reader would not hear the question and the screen reader would jump to the answer choices. This has been resolved.

January 2, 2024

  • Ultra Courses:
    • Grade Visible to Students when Item is Hidden by Release Conditions: Students can now see upcoming and past assignments in the gradebook, even when they’ve been hidden by date or user restrictions in the content stream. This will allow students the ability to see their grade and feedback after the item has been hidden.
    • Delegated Grading Improvements: Instructors can now allow delegated grading when using anonymous grading. Previously, instructors had to choose between delegating grading and anonymous grading.
    • Updates to Flexible Grading with Multiple Attempts: Previously, instructors would only see the most recent graded attempt and would have to make extra clicks to see the newest ungraded attempt. Now, if there is an ungraded attempt, regardless of the attempt grading option, instructors will see the newest ungraded attempt for the assignment.
    • Sorting Controls with Anonymous Grading: Instructors now have the option to sort attempts by newest or oldest attempt when grading via anonymous grading.
    • Enhanced Gradebook Grid View: Some changes have been made to the grid view layout in the gradebook to display more rows and columns while grading. These changes include: reducing size of icons and spacing for columns; hiding the course name and top part of the course while scrolling; group name display changes on group assignments; student IDs displaying under the student’s name; and displaying the student’s full name when hovering over it.
    • New Total Calculation Column: Instructors now have the option to create a “Total Calculation” column. This will allow you to use the weighted points, similar to a weighted column in Original. Total calculation columns can be included in the Overall Grade column setup.
    • Category listing on Gradebook List View: Instructors will now see the category listed for each item in the “Gradable Items” list view in the gradebook.
    • Attempt Logs for Assessments: Instructors can now see an attempt log for an assessment when grading. The attempt log for a test will include the event (“started”, “saved”, or “submitted”), the question number, and the time spent on each question. For an assignment, the log will show when the attempt was started and submitted, including if it had been saved as a draft. If anonymous grading is turned on, the attempt log will be visible once all attempts are posted and anonymous grading is turned off.
    • Unused File Management Tool: Instructors will now see an option called “Unused files” on the three dot menu on the Course Content page. This will show instructors all of the content that is in their course’s file storage, but is not in use. These files might have been copied from an old course, or added, then removed.
    • Batch Edit – Change Specific Date and/or Time: Instructors can now use the Batch Edit feature to change the due time on all assignments without editing the due date or visibility dates.
  • Original Courses: 
    • Updated Options when Emailing from Grade Center: Instructors now have new options when sending an email to students through the grade center, including adding an attachment and an option to include a list of recipients in the email to sender.

Previous Updates


Tentative Future Updates

Blackboard Inc. has released the following dates for updates to Blackboard. Please note that Towson University has no control over these dates and that they are subject to change.

April 4, 2024
May 2, 2024
June 6, 2024
July 4, 2024
August 1, 2024
September 5, 2024
October 3, 2024
November 7, 2024
December 5, 2024
January 2, 2025
February 6, 2025


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