The end of the semester is the time to look at your course from two different perspectives.

Course administration

First, look at your course from an administrative viewpoint. Make sure that all of your current students have completed their assignments and will not be needing the course site. If you have posted grades in Blackboard, it is very important that you download the gradebook to an Excel file. Once you remove the students from the course, the grades will also be deleted, so make sure you save a copy for your records. 

To download the gradebook:

• Logon to your course

• Click Control Panel

• Click Online Gradebook

• Click Export Gradebook

• Click Go

• Click Get Exported Gradebook

• File Download window will appear

  • Select 'Save this file to disk'

  • Click OK

• At the Save As window, choose a folder/directory to save your course under "Save In" list arrow, and click on the Save Button

• You must use Excel to open the gradebook

After downloading the gradebook, make sure that you archive and download your course. To archive your course and copy to the hard drive:

• Click Control Panel

• Click Course Utilities

• Click Archive Course

• Select the content areas to archive - these are optional, however, you should select all areas

  • Content 

  • Course Settings

  • Users and Groups

  • Assessments and Pools

  • Discussion Board

• Click Submit

• Message - Click here to download exported course site

• File Download window will appear

  • Select 'Save this file to disk'

  • Click OK

• At the Save As window, choose a folder/directory to save your course under "Save In" list arrow (Rename your file if necessary), and click on the Save button

Next recycle the course. This is done in the Control Panel, Course Utilities, and Course Recycler. This is an important step in terms of both your individual course management and the management of the Blackboard server. If you are using the same course site for the next semester, you will want to start with a "clean" roster and content areas. *Remember-The Recycle Process is irreversible. If you are archiving your course, the existing records will just be taking up space on the server. Examination of the database has shown that the single most "space" consuming element of Blackboard is the grade and assessment records attached to users. For this reason, we request that you download your gradebooks at the end of the semester and clear the records regardless of when the course will be used again. The content areas that must be recycled are Users, Groups, Gradebook, and Statistics. As instructor, you have the option of removing other content areas as needed. To recycle your course:

• Click Control Panel

• Click Course Utilities

• Click Course Recycler

• Select the content areas to recycle

  • Content Areas

    • Course Information

    • Course Documents

    • Assignments

    • Books

    • Faculty Information

    • External Links

  • Other Areas

    • Announcements

    • Users *Required

    • Groups*Required

    • Discussion Board

    • Assessment

    • Gradebook*Required

    • Statistics*Required

• Type Remove

• Click Submit

• Click OK for Confirmation receipt

Decide when you will use your course again. One of the biggest benefits of Blackboard is its reusability, the ability to build a course site once, and with simple adaptations, use it semester after semester. If you will not be teaching the course during the next semester, please contact the Blackboard administrator and indicate which semester it will be used again. It is very important that you let us know when your course will be used again. With over 300 courses on the system, it is important that all the courses listed are those being used in the current semester. The only exception is Courses in Development which will always be listed under a special heading.

Instructional review

Now look at your course from an instructional standpoint. What worked and what didn't? Did your students have difficulty finding information? Was there limited participation in the Discussion Forums? Were important course materials missing? How could you make it better? Each semester that you use Blackboard you will learn something new. Use the time between semesters to fine-tune your course. If you would like assistance optimizing your course either technically or instructionally, contact the Blackboard Administrator and make an appointment for a consultation.