Blackboard Ultra

Blackboard Ultra offers a streamlined, intuitive interface and workflows created for maximum efficiency, with new functionality and enhancements added regularly. It is also fully responsive for optimal use on any device and offers improved tools for teaching and interacting with students that support student success. 

Want to try out Blackboard Ultra? You can give it a go in a development shell to see what it’s like, how you’ll need to structure your course, and what new features have to offer. A development shell is identical to a course but is not connected to Colleague and has no student data or dates attached to it. Fill out the form below and we’ll get you set up! 

• Request an Ultra development shell. We will create a shell and you will receive an email as soon as the process is finished-- along with Ultra Course View resources and information.
• Not sure where to start? Request access to a course template.

Ready to transition your live courses from Original to Ultra? You can request that we convert your courses to Ultra. Be mindful that we can’t un-convert them once they are Ultra courses.

• Request Course Conversion

Get to know Ultra! We offer training to help you learn the basics, transition your courses, maintain your gradebook, and dig deeper into tools unique to Ultra.  

• Ultra Space Camp Fall 2024 Training Schedule
• Join the Faculty Ultra Resources & Support organization where you can learn all about Ultra and how to use it successfully.
• Request a small group training!

We also have a collection of resources for support: 

• Blackboard Ultra Support in the LT Knowledge Base
• Don’t see what you need, get further help from Blackboard: Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors
• Finally, check out faculty member Christine Monnier’s posts about Ultra! She shares where to start, her reactions to Ultra changes, and more! 

If you have students who need support, they can get help through:

• Student Blackboard Resources
• Blackboard Student Support Organization
• Emailing us: studentultrahelp@cod.edu

We’ve been working on getting Ultra rolled out for a few years. Here’s what we’ve done and what you can expect through the 2026 spring term: 

• Spring 2023 Base Navigation launched at the start of this term, modernizing the navigation tools in Blackboard. 
• Spring 2024 The Ultra Courses pilot tasked 15 faculty members in a wide range of disciplines with using Ultra in their courses, providing feedback and gathering feedback from students.
• Summer 2024 All courses for adjuncts and new faculty are created in Ultra. Soft launch of Ultra with 31 faculty and 84 courses in Ultra.
• Fall 2024 through Fall 2025 During this time, we will be transitioning courses to Ultra on a voluntary basis for current faculty. The formal Ultra transition process will officially launch on Oct. 1.
• Spring 2026 Course transition to Ultra will be complete—ALL courses at the College will be taught in Ultra Course View. 

More and more faculty are making the switch! Check out our Ultra adoption stats so far:

• Spring 2024 Ultra Pilot: 15 faculty and 50 courses
• Summer 2024 Soft Launch:  31 faculty and 84 courses
• Fall 2024 Soft Launch: 122 Full-time/Adjunct faculty and 131 Dual Credit instructors with ~840 courses being taught in Ultra (~350 Dual Credit, 392 Traditional, and 40 Continuing Education Courses).