NOTICE: Baylor College of Medicine will be transitioning from Blackboard's Original Courses to Ultra Courses. This view is a more modern and adaptable learning management design and will establish a more contemporary and student-friendly learning environment. All courses taught starting Jan. 1, 2026 will be converted to the new Ultra course view.
To learn more go to Transitioning to Blackboard Learn Ultra Courses.
Blackboard is BCM's only campus-wide Learning Management System and provides faculty and instructors a place to manage their course content, collect student assignments, facilitate online tests, and more. Blackboard enables instructors to provide trainees with course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat, online quizzes and academic resources.
- Blackboard works best in Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. DO NOT use Internet Explorer.
- Blackboard uses SSO so you need to use your BCM username and password.
- To change or reset your password, you need to visit https://bcm.edu/myaccount or call the BCM Help Desk at 713-798-8737.
Available to: Faculty | Students | Staff
Managed by: Education Technology
Funding: Institution
Authentication: Single Sign-On (SSO)
Blackboard is also available via the phone app (iOS | Android) using the same credentials.
- BCM IT Website
- BCM IT Software Catalog
- Access Blackboard support via the BCM Blackboard Support Center or on the Blackboard website.
Updates
Course Creation
Blackboard course sites for Fall and Spring are created 120 days prior to the start of every semester. Sites are made unavailable to students by default, and instructors determine when to make their courses available to their students. Instructions on how to make a course available can be found on the Beginning of Semester page.
Course Enrollments
- Instructors are added at the time courses are created, 120 days prior to the start of the term.
- Students are added two weeks prior of the start of the term. This will vary depending on the school and if it's an elective. Electives are self-enrolled by the students.
Student enrollments and faculty assignments are done manually by the System Admin or Program Admin.
Course Availability
Blackboard course sites are made unavailable to students by default, and instructors determine when to make their courses available to their students. Instructions on how to make a course available can be found on the Beginning of Semester page.
Special Requests
Instructors can request the following services sending an email through the BCM Blackboard Support Center. [screenshot]
![screenshot]](https://cdn.bcm.edu/sites/default/files/Blackboard%20Ultra%20Support%20Center.png){kind=link}
- Course Site Copy – Request to copy Blackboard content from one course site to another.
- Course Site Template – Request a template to help you start your Blackboard course with built-in best practices in instructional design.
- Course Site Merge – Merge multiple course sites into a single Blackboard course.
- Course Quota Increase – Each course site in Blackboard is restricted to a size limit of 2 GB for course materials. This quota is necessary to properly manage storage resources and ensure adequate system performance. If more storage space is needed, the quota can be increased in 1 GB increments by submitting a request in the BCM Blackboard Support Center. [screenshot]
- Request Ongoing Course Site – Courses that span all year.
- Restoration of Archive Course Site – Under special circumstances, courses older than eight years can be restored per instructor request.
- LTI integration – Third-party tools can be integrated to Blackboard per request. The approval process for each tool will include reviews for functionality, accessibility, security, FERPA, legal, cost, as well as other factors as explained in the LTI Policy and FAQs document.
General Capabilities
- Create or upload text, audio, video, and interactive content for students to access online. Content can be added using Blackboard Learn tools or using third-party software that integrates with Blackboard. You should always create content that is accessible to all students.
- Communicate, interact, and collaborate with students via course announcements, email, discussion board threads, blog posts, and other collaboration tools
- Assess concept mastery through the use of tests , assignments , and other tools that enable instructors to record and assess students’ work in a variety of ways. A Grade Center column is created automatically when an assessment is created, and grades are populated as instructors grade assignments.
System Requirements
Web browsers used with Blackboard Learn must have Java and Javascript enabled, cookies and third-party cookies enabled, and pop-up blocker disabled. Firefox and Google Chrome are the recommended web browsers. Use the Blackboard Browser Checker to verify whether your browser supports the most recent release of Blackboard Learn.
Accessibility
Blackboard Learn offers accessibility features that allows users to easily navigate and read the Blackboard Learn web interface. The web interface supports screen readers for all available creator and viewer interfaces. The web interface also support keyboard access, allowing you to use the tab key to access all available functions. All sessions fully support adding and displaying captions. For additional information on Blackboard Learn’s accessibility features, visit Blackboard Learn’s Accessibility Conformance Report (WCAG Edition).
Compliance
Blackboard provides secure, private, online communication of FERPA-sensitive information in addition to group spaces where students and instructors can interact and exchange information that is not FERPA-sensitive. Restrictions that apply to your classroom teaching also apply in the Blackboard Learn environment, such as not allowing students to see others’ grades or graded work and not using external email to communicate FERPA-sensitive information.
Blackboard does not warrant or provide any assurances that your use of the Products will comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. For more information, visit the Blackboard Terms of Use page or contact us at ed-tech@bcm.edu.
To access Blackboard Learn, students and instructors must click on BCM Users from the Login page and then use their BCM username and password on the Federated Login Page.
Most BCM courses get a course site by default:
- If you are an instructor and your course site is not available, contact Ed-Tech at ed-tech@bcm.edu.
- If you are a student and you don’t see a course in Blackboard, first consult with your course coordinator to ensure they will be using Blackboard and that the course has been made available to you.
The course shell created by Ed-Tech is either a blank slate in which you can add content particular to the needs of your course or the content has been copied from last year. Each school is different in how they want course shells created for the new year. All course shells are created with the Original Course View in Blackboard. Content areas organize your content in the sidebar menu and make it easier for students to navigate the material. Create sections such as Announcements, Syllabus, Lectures, and Tests, as well as links to the teaching tools available in Blackboard.
Consult the tutorials in this page or register for training offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning. View the CTL calendar for available dates and times before you start using Blackboard to manage content and other educational tools in your classroom.
Guides
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Design Assistant
- Attendance Tracking
- Automations
- Beginning of Semester
- Blackboard Ally
- Blackboard Essentials
- Blackboard Guidelines
- Communication
- Course Content
- Course Set Up
- Course Size Limits
- Discussion Boards
- Edpuzzle
- Forms (Formerly Bb Surveys)
- Grade Center
- Journals
- LTI Tool Integration Requests
- Microsoft Education Integration
- Organizations
- Outcomes
- Portfolios
- Respondus
- Rubrics
- SafeAssign
- Surveys
- Tests and Assignments
- Track Student Performance
- Users and Groups
- Video Studio
- VoiceThread
Adding Content to Blackboard
Use the list below to guide your selection of complementary tools to manage content in Blackboard
- Text, Audio and video links
- Use the Blackboard Learn Content Editor tool to directly add any of these features into a content
- Lecture Capture
- Record your lecture with Zoom or vBrick
- Multimedia
- Create videos using Articulate 360, Zoom or VoiceThread
- Interactive Content
- Make interactive content using PowerPoint, Articulate, or Adobe Creative Suite
- Webinar
- Use Teams or Zoom
- Slides, Documents, Quiz Questions
- Use O365 or Box. Link or Embed Content.
Visit the Center for Teaching and eLearning.
We've got your back
Go to the link below to submit a service request or resolve an issue. Login using your BCM username and password for access and select Blackboard, under Applications.
Submit an Ed-Tech Form
BCM Blackboard Support Center: accessible outside of a course [screenshot] or within a course [screenshot]
Contact Ed-Tech for Blackboard questions
Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Email: ed-tech@bcm.edu
Contact the BCM Help Desk for login issues
Support Line: 713-798-8737
Web: https://it.bcm.edu
(NOTE: If you have forgotten your password, please contact the BCM Helpdesk at 713-798-8737 or visit https://bcm.edu/myaccount) PDF: Microsoft Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR)
Troubleshooting FAQ
If you've been logged into Blackboard for a long time, you will get timed out by Single Sign-On (SSO) the next time you log in. If your BCM account is not locked, the next step is to try clearing your browser cache. How to clear browser cache on Windows and on a Mac for different browsers:
BCM has chosen the Microsoft Cloud Storage solution consisting of OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint online storage as its primary storage for general purpose file sharing and content storage, available at no cost to faculty, staff, and learners.
- In order to view content in Box, users must fill out and submit an IT form to view content. Choose Option #1: No Fee Collaborator Account.
- Once the form has been submitted and approved by the school, then content is able to be viewed.
View the Request New, Retain, or Upgrade a Box.com Account Form