The acceptable characters for naming documents/files when they are going to be uploaded to Blackboard are A-Z, a-z, 1-9, "-" dash, and "_" underscore.  Do not use #, $, &, %, or ! in the name of a document. When these symbols are used, the document/file might not display in Blackboard properly or the document/file may not load into the Discussion Board or the Digital Drop Box at all.  Using a space in the name of a document/file can sometimes cause problems, as well.

Blackboard is a Course Management System.  It can be used to add course content for a course, such as the Course Syllabus or other handouts.  It is also possible to add links to Web pages that are pertinent to the course through the External Links feature.  Blackboard is an excellent tool for communicating with students through the Send E-mail or the Discussion Board features.  Students have access to the content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Most instructors start out by adding the Course Syllabus to the course and communicating with the students through e-mail or discussion boards.  As they become more comfortable with working with Blackboard, they can use the many other features that are available.  To see a list of these features and how to use them, click here.

For help with getting started with Blackboard, e-mail the Technology Trainer or call her at 517-264-7651.  You can also check out the information at this Web site under the Blackboard link.

If you are a faculty member, you can click here to obtain information about the different features in Blackboard.  You can also contact the Technology Trainer by clicking here or phoning her at 517-264-7651.  If you are a student or staff member, you can obtain help by clicking here.

Blackboard can be accessed in one of two ways.  You can input http://shubb2.sienaheights.edu into the Address Bar of your Web browser or you can go to Siena's Web page (www.sienaheights.edu), click on the Blackboard link at the top of the page.  For directions on how to log into the Blackboard program, click here.

The initial loading of courses for a semester is done approximately two months before the beginning of classes.  After that, new courses are added to Blackboard on a daily basis throughout the semester. To have a specialized course added to the Blackboard system, contact the Assistant Blackboard Administrator.

The initial loading of students  for a new semester occurs approximately one month before the beginning of the semester.  This is done in an automated process by moving students from the Administrative Computer System to the Blackboard system.  After the initial load of students, students are added to courses on a daily basis.

To get a course created in Blackboard, you need to ask the Support Staff in your division to flag the course on the Administrative Computer System as Web Enhanced.  Once the course has been flagged as Web Enhanced, the course will be added to the Blackboard system the next working day.  Students and faculty will be added to the course on the same day.

An automated process has been setup for Division Support Staff to be added to a course approximately one month before the course begins.  After that, they are added on a daily basis.  Other Teaching Assistants can be added by the course instructor.  For information on how to add users to a course, click here.

The first step in getting the Course Evaluation ready for students is to copy a Course Evaluation from a previous semester into the course.  The Course Evaluation should appear under the Survey Manager in the desired course. To find out how to copy a Survey to another course that you are teaching, click here and then choose Copy Course Materials from Content Areas.  To find out how to make the evaluation available to your students, click here and then choose Course Evaluations.

To obtain help with a Blackboard login, contact the Assistant Blackboard Administrator by e-mailing her or by calling her office at 517-264-7651.  You can also get help with Blackboard login issues by contacting the Help Desk at 517-264-7655.

Your password can be reset by accessing Webmail in the Siena Heights University Web page.  For instructions on how to accomplish this click here.  If you are not able to reset your password using Webmail, , contact the Assistant Blackboard Administrator at 517-264-7651 or the Help Desk at 517-264-7655.  If you change your password for logging into the Windows program, it is automatically changed for Blackboard.  If you have trouble logging into Blackboard try using your Windows password.  If that doesn't work, then call for assistance.

Instructors are not allowed to add new courses to the Blackboard system.  Courses are added through an automated process on a daily basis.

To send an e-mail message to the students in your courses, click the Communications link in the course and then click Send E-mail.  You can send e-mail to an individual student in the course or to all the students at one time.  For additional information on sending e-mail to your students, click here.

The instructor can add new students to a course. However, it is better to have the students added through the automated process set up by the Blackboard administrator.  If an instructor needs to remove a new student or teaching assistant from a course, click here to obtain information on how to perform this task.

The instructor can remove students from a course. However, it is better to have the students removed through the automated process set up by the Blackboard administrator.  If an instructor needs to remove a student or teaching assistant from a course, click here to obtain information on how to perform this task.

When a course is added to the Blackboard system, the course name is imported along with the rest of the information.  It is possible, but not recommended, for an instructor to change the name of a course. This can be done through the Control Panel.  For information on changing the Course Title, click here.

For courses that were taught in Blackboard beginning Fall 2005, the instructor can use the Course Copy feature to copy material from a course that he/she taught during a previous semester into a course he/she is teaching in the current semester.  For information on how to complete this task, click here.  To get materials copied for courses that were taught before Fall 2005, contact the Assistant Blackboard Administrator by sending an e-mail message.  When e-mailing the Assistant Blackboard Administrator, be sure to include the Course Number, Course Name, the semester that the course was taught, and the course that the material is to be copied to.