Information Technology Services

As previously announced in campus communications, Blackboard at SIUE is transitioning all courses to the Blackboard Ultra experience, with full adoption required by Fall 2026. To support you through this process, IDLT has launched an ITS KnowledgeBase transition guide that walks through what’s changing, what remains the same, and how to begin working in Ultra.

Available Support Resources

In addition to the new self-paced trainings, we offer:

• Open labs for hands-on support. Please register in advance to receive a sandbox (developmental) course.

• The Blackboard Teaching Essentials course (registration required).

• Step-by-step KnowledgeBase articles.

• Video tutorials.

• Previous live session recordings.

Course Shell Timelines

To assist with planning, please note:

• Summer 2026 course shells will remain in Blackboard Original unless an Ultra shell is specifically requested. Conversion of Summer 2026 shells to Blackboard Ultra can be requested on this form .

• Fall 2026 course shells will be created in Blackboard Ultra beginning May 18.

• Any courses created after May 18 will be Ultra courses by default.

• Blackboard Original course shells (classes, developmental, templates) and organizations will become read-only after May 18. You may export or copy content, but modifications to Original courses will no longer be possible.

Why Start Now?

We strongly encourage faculty to begin exploring Ultra and reviewing resources now rather than waiting until August. Requesting a developmental shell and experimenting early allows time to become comfortable with the environment and make adjustments gradually, reducing stress as the Fall 2026 semester approaches.

The good news is that you do not need to rebuild courses from scratch. Most existing content can be reused in Ultra with only minor updates. A few tools, including certain test question types, blogs, wikis, and specific Respondus LockDown Browser settings, will require modification.

This is also an excellent opportunity to review course materials to ensure they meet new digital accessibility requirements. The Ally accessibility meters and scores will remain in Ultra, so it is a great time to update, replace, or substitute instructional content to comply with accessibility requirements and support all learners.

For questions about digital accessibility, please email accessibility@siue.edu .

Now is the ideal time to explore, ask questions, and take advantage of available support.

We are here to help every step of the way.