11/25/2024

By Donna Mellen and Patrick Connell

Development of Spring 2025 courses for Graduate, Online, and Professional Studies (GPS) and on-campus Blackboard courses has begun. Faculty need to add content to begin developing spring courses. We provided instructions for Blackboard and Canvas as the campus transitioned to our new learning management system (LMS).

Empty course shells are automatically created and made available for all traditional spring 2025 courses. Students have access to undergraduate courses on campus on Saturday, January 18. Instructors are asked to include a syllabus and hide any tests or quizzes that should not be available. Graduate, online, and combined graduate and undergraduate courses are open on the first day of the term, January 21, 2025.

Blackboard Instructions (for FAHSS, KCS and FCE teachers):

Please follow the instructions below to add content and upload a curriculum to promote student success.

Instructions for developing on-campus courses (undergraduate):

• You must copy content from a previous semester or add a blank template to begin developing your course. Follow the steps to make a content request. (required)

• How merge your courses (optional)

Instructions for developing GPS courses (advanced degree, online, combined graduate/undergraduate):

• Online instructors must copy content from a previous semester to begin developing your course. Follow the steps to copy an existing course into an empty course. (required)

• Those who teach on campus can either copy an existing course into an empty course Or start adding content to an empty Blackboard course.

• How to merge your courses (optional – not available for fully online courses)

Nontraditional Courses: Skills, Dissertation, Independent Study, Internship, and Thesis courses are automatically created but are not made available. You can make your non-traditional course available on the Blackboard course management website.

Instructions on the canvas (for Manning and ZCHS teachers):

Please follow the instructions below to add content and upload a curriculum to promote student success.

Instructions for course development:

• Please follow the steps to copy your migrated Blackboard content into your blank Canvas SP25 course.

• Instructors can also start developing their blank Canvas course “from scratch,” if they wish.

• Canvas merge will be available in mid-December. Please develop your parenting course and we will provide instructions soon.

Nontraditional Courses: Skills, Dissertation, Independent Study, Internship, and Thesis courses are automatically created but are not made available. If you would like to use and develop your course, please follow the steps above and change the course status from Unpublished to Published.

How to get help?

Teachers can register now for Canvas workshops.

• Courses on campus (undergraduate):

Phone: 978-934-4357, 24-hour support

Email: [email protected] or [email protected] (select one, response during office hours)

• Graduate, Online, and Professional Studies (GPS) Courses (Graduate, Online, Combined Graduate/Undergraduate):

Phone: 800-480-3190, 24-hour support

Email: [email protected] (answered during office hours)

Please contact us if you have any questions.