JSU Distance Learning - Blackboard Course Availability

Blackboard Course Availability

Beginning May 2, 2005, all courses and sections on the JSU registration system will have a corresponding course shell on the Blackboard system. Some instructors may choose to utilize these courses, others may not. Please review the information below.

Which type of user are you?

Student - Registered for a JSU course.
Instructor - Assigned to a JSU course.
Other - Participating in workshops and other special applications.

Students - Course Availability

Instructors of JSU courses may or may not choose to utilize Blackboard to teach Online Courses or to supplement other types of courses (such as other Distance Learning formats or traditional on or off campus classes).

To find out if your instructor is utilizing Blackboard for your course, the following sources are available:

Most instructors of Online Courses use the Blackboard course management system to post materials, etc. A list of Online Courses can be found by following the instructions on the Online Courses search page. Use the instructions located on the Blackboard Access and Other Systems page to login to Blackboard. If you don't see the course after logging into Blackboard or another course content system, you may contact the instructor of the course to find out when it will be available for access, and in what location.
For supplemental material related to other distance learning or traditional courses, or for Online Courses where it isn't clear where the material is available, you should contact your instructor.

Availability and Other Information:

Online Courses should be available no later than the first day of classes according to the Academic Calendar. Supplemental materials (for supporting and enhancing other distance learning formats and traditional courses) will be available at the discretion of the instructor. Some instructors may make courses available prior to the first day of classes, but student enrollment will not be available more than two weeks prior to the first day of classes.
If you determine that your instructor is utilizing Blackboard for your course, and the course is not listed under "My Courses" after you login to Blackboard on the first day of classes, first check for an email in your JSU Email account from your instructor for updated information. If no updated information is available, you should contact your instructor to find out when the course will be available on Blackboard.
Course Merge - Some instructors choose to merge sections of the same course into one Blackboard course. In this case, the section listed in the Blackboard Course ID may be different than the one you are registered for. Videoconferencing course sections are merged by default. In any case, you still remain officially registered in the section in which you registered even though you may be merged into a different Blackboard course section.
Course ID Legend - Go to this page to learn how to interpret the Blackboard Course ID.
Editing the "My Courses" Module - Go to this page to learn how to display Blackboard Course ID's or hide courses from your course listing.

To learn how to access Blackboard, visit the Blackboard Access page, where information, instructions and links will guide you through the steps for determining if you have an account, and how to access Blackboard using your default account login.

A Blackboard student manual is available within your Blackboard course. Other resources may be found through our Distance Learning home page.

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Instructors - Course Availability

NOTE: For instructors using Blackboard prior to May 2, 2005: The courses you have normally used for teaching students will become master courses. Beginning with terms that start May 3, 2005, students will no longer be enrolled into those master courses. Instead, they will be enrolled into the new course shells that are automatically created for each corresponding section on the registration system. Please read the information below for instructions on how to prepare those course shells for each term.

Most empty course shells will be created on Blackboard just after call numbers are assigned for that particular semester. The schedule for this varies with each semester from three to nine months prior to the beginning of the semester. Instructors are enrolled in these courses based on the instructor assignment indicated on the registration system. You may add content to the course using numerous methods. Two of the primary methods are:

For prior Blackboard instructors: Copying content and settings into the course shell from another Blackboard course in which you are an instructor (such as a master course, or another course shell used in a prior semester) using the new standard Course Copy Tool. For information and instructions regarding this Blackboard tool, please go to the Standard Course Copy Tool page. DO NOT ADD CONTENT INTO COURSES OR MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS BEFORE READING THE SPECIAL NOTE BELOW. Also, please read the Important Notes below for additional important information.
For prior and new Blackboard instructors: Create new content by typing, attaching, configuring material in the course shell. A Blackboard instructor manual is available inside your Blackboard courses from the course Control Panel. Other resources are available through our Distance Learning home page. DO NOT ADD CONTENT INTO COURSES OR MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS BEFORE READING THE SPECIAL NOTE BELOW. Also, please read the Important Notes below for additional important information.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you plan to use Blackboard to teach or supplement multiple sections of the same course, cross-listed courses or other courses of this nature, and you wish to merge enrollments for all sections into one Blackboard course, please send an email to DLHelp@jsu.edu with the subject "Course Merge Request", and the following in the message of the email: Your Blackboard User Name, the Course ID's, sections and call numbers of the courses/sections you want merged. IMPORTANT: It is best to complete the steps described before you add content or make the course available to students. NOTE: Videoconferencing course sections are automatically merged by default, so there is no need to request action for that type of course.

To learn how to access Blackboard, visit the Blackboard Access page, where information, instructions and links will guide you through the steps for determining if you have an account, and how to access Blackboard using your default account login.

Important Notes:

Once you have a course ready for student viewing, you must make it available in the Settings area of your course Control Panel. DO NOT MAKE COURSES AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS OR ADD CONTENT BEFORE READING THE SPECIAL NOTE ABOVE.
If you are co-teaching a course for which you are not listed as the instructor on the master course schedule, the instructor of record will need to enroll you into the appropriate Blackboard course and change your course role to instructor from the course Control Panel (except in cases where you are merging courses in which each of you is assigned to a section on the mainframe - see SPECIAL NOTE above. If you or the instructor of record need further assistance regarding this matter, please contact DLHelp@jsu.edu.
If this is an Online Course, you are required to make the course available to students by the first day of classes for the corresponding term (either in Blackboard or through any alternate resource you may have chosen).
For supplement courses, it is preferred, but not required, that the course be made available to students by the first day of classes.
If the course is supplemental, and you choose to delay availability, we request that you notify the students by the first day of classes using the "Send Email" feature in your course "Control Panel" to let them know when the course will be available for them to view. Any course may be made available prior to the first day of classes (see below for the student enrollment schedule).
To make a course available to students, go to your course "Control Panel" and choose "Settings", then "Course Availability". Select "Yes" and click "Submit".
Approx. 1 to 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the term, confirmed students will be enrolled into the course. The enrollment will be updated daily throughout the remainder of the term.
At the end of each semester, instructors need to make Blackboard courses unavailable to students, except in certain cases. Please review the information at on the Blackboard Semester End Procedures for Instructors web page.
Editing the "My Courses" Module - Go to this page to learn how to display Blackboard Course ID's or hide courses from your course listing.

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Other Users - Course Availability

Only courses on the JSU registration system have corresponding course shells on Blackboard. Workshop type courses on Blackboard are created by special request and enrollment is processed differently. Please review the Blackboard Course Request page and Blackboard Access page for more information.

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