What is Blackboard?

Blackboard is a web based course management system that makes the creation, organization, and management of course content on the web relatively simple. Blackboard enables instructors to provide students with course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat, online quizzes, and more.

When will my course be available?

All courses are automatically listed in Blackboard. Courses are imported into Blackboard about 8 weeks prior to the start of the upcoming semester. Check Enrollment Population page for updated information on when courses are added to the system.

How do I make my course site available?

By default, course sites are set to “unavailable” so that you can prepare your site prior to opening it students. Your course site must be set to available before student enrollments can populate your course. To make your site available, go to the Control Panel, Customization, set Availability to “Yes”, then click Submit.

How do I begin using Blackboard for my course?

Blackboard is accessed via the internet at http://www.courses.maine.edu/. To log in, use your UMS Id. First you will want to find and customize your course pages. 

What do I need to know in order to use Blackboard?

To start, a supported web browser is highly recommended. For more information click here. Also make sure that any pop-up blocker is turned off and make sure cookies and javascript is enabled in the web browser.

I’m getting a warning/error that my course is over quota. What do I do now?

This warning/error indicates that you have reached your disk usage limit for your course. To reduce your course disk usage, download and delete any files that are no longer needed. If using video, audio or image files, ensure files are processed and compressed appropriately. If additional disk space is required, contact your campus administrator or support.