Blackboard Ultra Features & Transition Timeline
Blackboard Learn, UND’s learning management system, has made significant improvements in functionality over the past several years. One of those improvements has been the addition of the Ultra course view.
The Ultra Course View has a more modern design and easy-to-use interface with some new tools that are not available in the Original Course View, like Progress Tracking, Flexible Grading, and Discussion Analytics. However, some Original Course View functionality has been discontinued in the Ultra Course View.
Transitioning to Blackboard Ultra
Starting in Fall 2025, all semester-based course sites have been created in Ultra. Training will continue throughout each semester until we have fully transitioned all course and organization sites to Ultra. Please contact TTaDA if you have any questions.
If there are features that you would like to see added or the functionality of a feature changed, please check the Anthology Idea Exchange (you will need to create an account). The Idea Exchange allows you to share, like, vote and comment on your favorite ideas, proposed and submitted by Anthology clients.
Course Conversion Tentative Timeline
The timeline below is tentative and may change depending on when necessary features and integrations become available. It may also need to be adjusted based on UND and NDUS needs. The intent is to transition slowly to ensure minimal disruption to teaching and learning.
- Begin meeting with various departments that may be candidate for testing and early adoption of Blackboard Ultra Course Experience
- Notify UND Leadership (Deans, Department Chairs, Student Government, etc.) of transition
- End of spring Semester - Send announcement to faculty, staff, students, and other Blackboard users
- Continue to work with early adopters to design courses in Blackboard Ultra
- Begin to offer training sessions and continue to send updates
- Continue internal testing of Blackboard Ultra features/functionality and integrations
- Test Blackboard conversion tool
- Courses that were converted over the summer will be presented in Ultra Course Experience – Soft roll out
- Provide two Blackboard Student Resource Courses (one in Ultra and one in Original course experience)
- Provide increased marketing of Blackboard Ultra to students, faculty, staff, and other Blackboard users
- Continue working with faculty to convert courses for spring 2024
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
- Some courses will be in Ultra and some courses will be in Original experience
- Continue training and working with faculty to convert courses for summer/fall
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
- Some courses will be in Ultra and some courses will be in Original experience
- All new Blackboard organization sites will be created in the Ultra experience
- Begin working with organization leaders to convert organization sites to the Ultra Course Experience
- Continue to work with instructors to migrate courses
- Continue to work with leaders to convert organization sites to Ultra
- Possibly use Blackboard conversion tool to convert additional courses in bulk
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
- At least 10% of fall courses will be in Bb Ultra
- Continue to work with instructors to migrate courses
- Continue to work with leaders to convert organization sites to Ultra
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
- At least 25% of spring courses will be in Bb Ultra
- Continue to work with instructors to migrate courses
- Continue to work with leaders to convert organization sites to Ultra
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
- At least 50% of summer courses will be in Bb Ultra
- Continue to work with instructors to migrate courses
- Continue to work with leaders to convert organization sites to Ultra
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
- All courses will be created automatically in Bb Ultra
- All organizations must move to Ultra by December 31, 2025.
- Continue to offer training sessions and send announcements
For additional information and help documentation for instructors, please see the Blackboard Ultra Course View web page.
For student resources, please see the Learn More About Blackboard Ultra Course Experience help article.