Blackboard Ultra

Blackboard Ultra Transition Program, Spring 2025 - Spring 2026

The transition plan provides faculty with an opportunity to explore the modernized Ultra Course View, featuring an intuitive interface, streamlined workflows, and enhanced tools designed to improve teaching and learning experiences. Participants will gain hands-on experience, access to training resources, and dedicated support to make the transition seamless. There will be workshops throughout the semester to learn the basics and beyond.  See below for a link to sign up. 

Timeline:
Transition Phases:
Spring 2025 – 15% adoption, Summer 2025 – 50% adoption, Fall 2025 – 75% adoption

Full Adoption:
Spring 2026

How can I get a jump start on the transition to Ultra?

• Join the Pilot Program, click here to fill-out the Pilot Request form.  We will reach out to you once your course has been converted to Ultra and for next steps.
• Interested in joining a Blackboard Ultra Introductory Workshop, view the upcoming sessions here.
• Wondering how your course will look in Ultra or would you like to test the new Ultra interface, request a sandbox.  A sandbox allows you to "play" in a course shell without affecting a live course.  It will also assist in your preparation for the full Ultra conversion.

Blackboard Teaching Essentials Online Course through Anthology:

This self-paced online course is designed for faculty, teachers, course builders, and trainers who will be building courses. It is designed to get you comfortable navigating the Learn site and started building content, creating assessments, and working with discussions in the Blackboard Learn Ultra course view. In addition to the About This Course section, there are five modules in this course that contain lessons.

• Getting Started with Ultra
• Building Courses
• Assessing Learners
• Enhancing Communication
• Evaluating Your Course

Interested? Email Nicole DIMauro, Nedimauro@ccsu.edu 

Starting Summer 2025: "Instructor's Choice" Option

Beginning Summer 2025, faculty will have the flexibility to choose their preferred course view. When instructors first access their courses, they will appear in the Original Course View, but the system will present options to preview and select the desired view. Courses can be previewed in both Original and Ultra Course Views while closed to students.

Once a course is converted to Ultra, instructors can proceed in several ways:

1. Convert Existing Content: Copy content from a previous course and convert it to decide whether to retain the material or rebuild it.
2. Rebuild the Course: Utilize the AI Design Assistant to help construct the course and selectively incorporate content from previous courses for conversion.

For questions or Help, please contact the CTI at: CTI-help@ccsu.edu or call:860-832-2081