Frequently Asked Questions

Program Question Answer
Blackboard My class shows as "Unavailable".  How do I make it "Available" to students?

Perform the following steps to make your class available to students:

  1. Log into Blackboard
  2. Click the link for the unavailable class
  3. Click on the Customization link on the menu on the left of the screen.
  4. Click on the Properties link in the Customization section
  5. Look for section 3: Set Availability
  6. Look for the radio button for "Yes" and click the submit button
If you click the LMU Courses tab in the upper left corner, you will see that your class is now available to students.
Blackboard How can I see the student view of a class as an instructor? After logging into Blackboard, click on the link for the class that you would like to view.  As an instructor, you have the ability to look at your class in either the edit mode or the display mode.  In the upper right corner (just below the Dark Blue header box) you will see a link that will either say Edit Mode is On/Off.  If the box says "ON", then you are currently in te edit mode, which is the instructor view.  This view lets you make changes to the layout of the page.  If you want to see what the page looks like to a student, click the button to "OFF" to switch to display mode (student view).  To return to the edit mode, click the button back to "ON".
Blackboard How do I load a course cartridge for my class? Perform the following steps to load a course cartridge into your class:
  1. Log into Blackboard
  2. Click on the course that you wish to load the cartridge into
  3. Click on Packages and Utilities to drop down the menu on the left of the screen
  4. Click on the Import Course Cartridge link in the Packages and Utilities section
  5. Type the Course Cartridge download key (from the publisher) in the box.
  6. Click Submit to load the content for the course cartridge
  7. You will receive an email once the cartridge is loaded on the server
Blackboard I see courses that I taught in previous semesters, how do I get rid of them? To hide courses from displaying on the main Blackboard courses tab:
  1. Click the round button to the left of the minus button on the bar titled "Course List"
  2. Uncheck all boxes for the course from previous semesters that you no longer wish to see
  3. Click the "Submit" button at the lower right side of the screen
  4. You will get a message that the module has been successfully updated
  • NOTE: 
    To see the course in your list, repeat the process, checking the "Course Name" box for the course you would like to see
  • Once courses have been archived, there will not be an option to make them visible
Blackboard My student has uploaded a file but I can't retrieve it or my student attempted to open a file I posted but was directed to a web page Make sure the filename is alphanumeric.  Symbols (ex.#,$,&) are not allowed in filenames that are used in Blackboard.  If the filename contains symbols, have the student rename the file and re-submit it.
Blackboard When attempting to open a file, my student is getting an error "Not Found. The specified resource was not found, or you do not have permission to access it." This can happen for a variety of reasons:
  1. Check to insure that the file is saved in a format the student can access.  File extensions of .pptx, .docx, .xlsx require Microsoft Office 2007 to open them.  We recommend you save your documents as .pdf format.
  2. If you have used the "Course Copy" function in Blackboard, there is an error in the code that Blackboard is currently working to find the solution too. In this case delete the file and upload it from the original document.