Blackboard 9.1 Service Pack 13 Decemberfor Faculty

CUNY Blackboard Enhanced Update

Dear Colleagues:

We are writing to you to provide a brief update on the progress of the Blackboard Enhanced Project. As noted previously, this update will introduce new features and functionality into the learning management system. The actual upgrade to Blackboard will begin on December 26th, 2013 and is expected to be completed by the end of business on December 27th, 2013. Unfortunately, the system will be unavailable during this time. We strongly encourage all faculty to plan accordingly for this downtime.

During the month of October, Blackboard support staff from CUNY CIS and the campuses attended Train the Trainer sessions hosted by Blackboard. Additionally, intensive user acceptance testing of the new Blackboard environment and its component features was held in late October. No critical issues were identified during the features testing, allowing work to begin on performance testing for the new Blackboard environment. This round of testing will ensure that the new configuration is robust enough to support CUNY’s heavy use requirements. November saw further development of the CUNY-wide Blackboard Resources Site at with the inclusion of many tutorials on Blackboard’s new features.

Campus preparations at LaGuardia have begun. During November 11 until December 6, Instructional Services and Media Distribution training team provided orientation on “What’s New in Blackboard”. Starting in January, all of our Blackboard workshops will be presented in the new version of Blackboard.

A few important reminders:

  • FallII courses have already been created in Blackboard. If you are missing courses, they may not have been created in CUNY First by the Registrar.
  • Course development may begin immediately. Materials posted to the current Blackboard will be available after the upgrade.
  • Blackboard will be unavailable from 12:01 AM on December 26th until the end of business on December 27th.
  • Grade data may be downloaded from Blackboard for use in Microsoft Excel. Please see
  • Grades for Fall I 2013 courses are due on December 19, by 4pm.

Please feel free to contact our Blackboard Support Team with questions, concerns, or your thoughts on the process. The next few months promise to be a busy time for Blackboard at LaGuardia but the new features will expand our academic toolbox in ways that encourage learning.

Blackboard Support Team