Before You Get Started
Before you begin using Blackboard, there are a few important account and course creation procedures that you should be aware of.
Instructor Accounts
Blackboard accounts are automatically activated once you have set up your MyNEU account on the University portal. The username and password are the same for both systems. If you have not yet activated your MyNEU account you may do so at http://www.myneu.neu.edu.
Course Creation
Blackboard courses are created automatically each semester using course data from the Registrar's Office. Courses will begin appearing in your Blackboard account at least half way through the semester before they are being offered (i.e. Spring Semester courses will begin appearing half way through Fall Semester).
If you do not see your courses appear, it typically means that the Registrar's data is incomplete and that you are not yet listed as the instructor of the course (i.e. the Registrar has "staff" listed). In these instances you must fill out the Course Request Form to be added as the instructor of the appropriate Blackboard course. The request may take up to 24 hours to process.
Course Availability
All courses are set up so that they are initially unavailable to students. This provides time for instructors to add their content and also prevents students from accessing empty courses that instructors decide not to use. Once you are ready for students to see your course you must make it available by going to "Control Panel / Settings / Course Availability" and changing the selection from "No" to "Yes". This will create a link in your students' Blackboard accounts directly to your course.
Student Enrollment
Because Blackboard courses are generated using the Registrar's data, your students are automatically added to your courses. During the Add/Drop period, students are added and dropped automatically as the Registrar processes the students' forms.
Students should always log into Blackboard using their MyNEU username and password. Students who do not yet have a MyNEU account should go to http://www.myneu.neu.edu and follow the instructions there to set one up. As with instructor accounts, student accounts are available for use immediately in the portal, however it can take up to 24 hours for the account to be available for use in Blackboard.
Copying Course Content
Each semester a new, empty, Blackboard course will be created for each course you are teaching. A course copy feature is available in the Control Panel for those instructors who teach the same course during more than 1 semester. This feature allows you to copy the entire, or selected, contents of one course directly into another. See more detailed instructions on using the course copy feature.
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