KCTCS Online
Blackboard Procedures Manual
Effective summer, 2006
Revisions:
Spring, 2008
Spring, 2009 (3/30/09)
Spring, 2009 (4/8/09)
Spring, 2010 (1/13/10)
Summer 2011 (6/23/2011)
Fall 2012 (8/2012)
Fall 2012 (11/2012)
Kentucky Community and Technical College System
Street address: 300 North Main Street
Mailing address: Versailles, KY 40383
Telephone number: 859-256-3100
Toll-Free Telephone number (Kentucky only): 877-528-2748
Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
KCTCS Online ......................................................................................................................................................... 1
KCTCS Online Learning & Teaching Support ......................................................................................................... 1
KCTCS Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Quality Assurance ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Accessibility ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Blackboard Usage and Support ............................................................................................................................. 3
Blackboard PeopleSoft Instruction Modes and Definitions .................................................................................. 4
Mode of Instruction .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Instruction Mode Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... 4
Blackboard Technical Issues .................................................................................................................................. 5
The Center for Rural Development ....................................................................................................................... 5
Blackboard Access and Course Management ....................................................................................................... 6
User Name Creation .............................................................................................................................................. 6

Students .................................................................................................................................................... 6

Employee/Student .................................................................................................................................... 6

Non-Employee/Non-Student .................................................................................................................... 6

Instructor-Student Accounts ..................................................................................................................... 6
Account Deletions ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Snapshot Tool........................................................................................................................................................ 7
User Account Management .................................................................................................................................. 7
KCTCS Welcome Student and Faculty Email ......................................................................................................... 7
Email in Blackboard ............................................................................................................................................... 8
Roster Responsibilities .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Blackboard Course Creation and Management Policy.......................................................................................... 9

Development Shells................................................................................................................................... 9

Training shells............................................................................................................................................ 9

Course Shell ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Communications ..................................................................................................................................... 10
Students Registration .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Merged Courses .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Incompletes......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Class Availability and Access ............................................................................................................................... 12
Class Archive and Deletion .................................................................................................................................. 12
System Email notification to Faculty and Colleges ............................................................................................. 12
Size Quotas .......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Bb Organizations/eCommunities ........................................................................................................................ 13
Information Security ........................................................................................................................................... 14
Innovation ........................................................................................................................................................... 14
KCTCS Online Innovation Learning Series (KOILS) ........................................................................................... 14
Blackboard Training ............................................................................................................................................ 14
Recommended Training for the use of Blackboard ............................................................................................ 15
Intellectual Property ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Upgrades and Building Blocks ............................................................................................................................. 16
Disaster Recovery ................................................................................................................................................ 16
Blackboard Help .................................................................................................................................................. 17
Local System Administration Support ................................................................................................................. 17
Introduction
This manual reflects a combination of best practices and procedures as well as current system and
software capabilities. Due to KCTCS colleges’ explosive growth in eLearning and education technology
as a teaching, learning and communication tool, this is a living document and is subject to constant
revision as we improve Blackboard System usability and functionality.
KCTCS Online (http://elearning.kctcs.edu/)
KCTCS supports continuous improvement and participation of all users in the online process. Student,
faculty, and staff input is valuable and is encouraged. KCTCS College faculty and staff may suggest
improvements to Blackboard and to our management systems by sending those to SO_KCTCS eLearning
Support (elearningsupport@kctcs.edu). SO_KCTCS eLearning Support includes members of the System
Distance Learning staff.
KCTCS Online Learning & Teaching Support (http://kolts.kctcs.edu)
KOLTS: KCTCS Online Learning & Teaching Support has a mission to support KCTCS faculty in teaching
and learning by providing resources on eLearning technologies.
Whether you are teaching with KCTCS Online for the first time or have been teaching in an online
environment for some time, teaching outside the physical classroom brings on challenges that
otherwise you might not experience. The KOLTS website serves to provide a collection of resources;
tools, tutorials, and information to enable you to develop a successful elearning experience for you
and your students.
KOLTS provides resources regarding instructional technology, technical support, and training
materials for the systems, software, and devices that KCTCS eLearning Services supports.
KCTCS Resources

http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Professional_Development/Blackboard.aspx or within Blackboard on eResources tab. A few are:
o Manage your Course
o Online course development guidelines
o Online calendar
o Student login instructions

KCTCS System Office eLearning staff will continue to build resources for faculty at KCTCS eFaculty Support: http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Teaching%20and%20Learning%20Resources
Blackboard Procedures Manual
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Quality Assurance
A quality online course contains the following components:
1. Course Design - Course Design addresses elements of instructional design. This includes such
elements as structure of the course, learning competencies and outcomes, organization of content
and instructional strategies.
a. Competencies & Outcomes
b. Technology Used
2. Communication and Interaction - Communication denotes interaction between learners and
instructors and amongst learners when applicable, both synchronously and asynchronously.
Interaction logistics refers specifically to the guidelines explaining required levels of participation.
a. Communication Strategies
b. Interaction Logistics
3. Assessment - Assessment focuses on instructional activities designed to measure progress towards
learning outcomes, provide feedback to students and instructor, and/or enable grade assignment.
This section addresses the quality and type of student assessments within the course.
a. Expectations
b. Assessment Design
c. Self-assessment
4. Learner Support - Learner Support addresses the support resources made available to students
taking the course. Such resources may be accessible within or external to the course environment.
Specifically, learner support resources address a variety of student services including, but not
limited to the following.
a. Orientation to Course and CMS
b. Supportive Software (Plug-ins)
c. Instructor Role and Information
d. Course/Institutional Policies and Support
e. Technical Accessibility Issues
f. Accommodations for Disabilities
g. Feedback
All work together to ensure that students achieve the desired learning outcomes. Examples of specific
standards included in alignment are indicated in the rubric:
https://thepoint.kctcs.edu/teams/Collection30/KCTCSOnline/Quality%20Assurance/KCTCS%20Online%20Le
arn%20on%20Demand-%20QA/KO_LoD_Quality%20Assurance%20Rubric.xlsx
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Accessibility

Blackboard software is ADA Compliant. You may find information regarding this
at http://www.blackboard.com/company/accessibility.aspx

Cultural Diversity: http://kctcs.edu/en/Students/Disability_Services.aspx

Web accessibility initiative: http://www.w3.org/WAI

KOLTS: http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Teaching_and_Learning_Resources/Accessibility.aspx
Blackboard Usage and Support

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System and its colleges are dedicated to fully
supporting instructors to successfully integrate eLearning technologies into classes. KCTCS system
office eLearning staff plan and facilitate training and education programs to support instructors.
The Blackboard System and College Administrators will facilitate course management. The Center
for Rural Development (CRD) in collaboration with KCTCS will continue to keep the Blackboard
software and hardware upgraded and fully functioning as features are enhanced and/or added
over time.

Faculty is strongly encouraged to use Blackboard in all classes. A Blackboard shell will be
created for all courses that have a valid Blackboard instruction mode set in PeopleSoft.
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Blackboard PeopleSoft Instruction Modes and Definitions
Effective February 2010
Mode of Instruction
Blackboard ITV Web Enhanced
Blackboard Web Local
Blackboard In Person web enhanced
ITV
Blackboard in person hybrid
Blackboard ITV Hybrid
In person
Blackboard Web world
Independent Studies
Live virtual class
Virtual Learning
Description
ITV Classroom w/Online Content
Online w/Possible Campus Visit
On Campus w/Online Content
Interactive TV Class on Campus
Partially Online & In Classroom
Partially Online & ITV Classroom
On Campus Classroom
Online & Open to All Students
Independent Studies
Online w/Set Meeting Time
Online-Self Select Start Date
Instruction Mode Abbreviations
BW
BL
BP
BI
LC
VL
Blackboard Web World
Blackboard Web Local
Blackboard In Person Web Enhanced
Blackboard ITV Web Enhanced
Live Virtual Meeting Blackboard/Wimba
Virtual Learning Initiative (Learn on Demand)
Hybrid Modes:
HB
Blackboard In Person Hybrid
HI
Blackboard ITV Hybrid
PeopleSoft Note Function: Use PS Note Function and create boiler plate wording to describe each
mode. The note is viewable on course schedule and can be printed in schedule of classes.
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Blackboard Technical Issues
Please remember the following:

Technical problems include, but are not limited to, server and network downtime and
software “bugs.” KCTCS eLearning Support will endeavor to keep those to a minimum by
applying a process of reliability based server maintenance management to the
Blackboard servers, software, and associated applications and processes.

While servers are backed up on a regular basis, faculty are responsible for keeping local copies
of important files which may include your Grade Center, course archives, exports etc. and any
files you may have uploaded.

Regular scheduled system downtime notices will be posted at http://elearning.kctcs.edu.
The Center for Rural Development (CRD)
The CRD/KCTCS Blackboard Administration is primarily responsible for the system as a whole, while
tasks for individual sites (e.g. developing content, altering optional course settings, adding
unregistered users, etc.) are the responsibility of the respective instructors and the colleges.
The system is designed for KCTCS students and staff using their KCTCS accounts and e-mail, and KCTCS
eLearning can only provide limited support for external clients and services (e.g. gmail, web access
behind corporate firewalls, personal computer settings, etc.)
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Blackboard Access and Course Management
This section details how accounts are created in Blackboard and the policies, practices, and
procedures for course copy, creation, and deletion.
User Name Creation
PeopleSoft and Blackboard are fully integrated. When a student or employee is added to the
PeopleSoft System associated with Blackboard modes and assigned a KCTCS ID number (emplid), a user
name is assigned to that individual. ID numbers are also referred to as Student ID, EMP ID, EmplID, and
ID. New users are automatically added to Blackboard each night. Corrections to personal information,
including username changes, will flow automatically through to the Blackboard database.

Students To access these Bb and other user services, students to create their user profile at the
KCTCS User Account Center. After setting up their user profile, they are able to view their KCTCS
ID, your username, and set your password.
http://kctcs.edu/students/Manage_Your_Account.aspx

Employee/Student: When a person changes status (employee vs. student), their EMP ID does
not change. Their email address will also remain the same unless otherwise requested.

Non-Employee/Non-Student: If an account is needed for an individual who is not affiliated with
KCTCS, the local Blackboard Administrator at each college will enter the account into the system.
The username will be first initial and last name followed by 0001bb (jdoe0001bb, jdoe0002bb,
etc.). The password for these accounts will be “changeme”. The user should immediately change
the password once logged into the system.

Instructor-Student Accounts To allow faculty to test their Blackboard courses from a student
perspective, KCTCS eLearning Services has installed a building block in Blackboard that allows
instructors to add/remove a Test Student account to courses at any time. Instructor instructions
for using the Add Test Student tool can be found at
http://elearning.kctcs.edu:80/bbcswebdav/xid-31234655_4
Account Deletions
All accounts that have not had activity (participated in courses, organizations or logged in) in
Blackboard for 1 year will be deleted on June 30th of each year.
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Snapshot Tool
Files are generated from PeopleSoft for Blackboard. Using these files, the snapshot tool allows us to
better manage the users in the Blackboard system in near real time.
KCTCS eLearning Support currently has four (4) snapshots file types: courses, student enrollment,
staff enrollment, and account creations. Snapshots are applied once daily at approximately 4 am
(Eastern). This allows management of these data types via automation. While these files are
running, access to Blackboard may be interrupted. Access will be restored in minutes.

Name Changes: students, faculty, or staff desiring to change their name in Blackboard must first
have it changed in PeopleSoft. Blackboard Enterprise allows us to make changes to the user
account, including the username, without disrupting associations Blackboard has made with that
user, in particular the Grade Center and discussion threads. Name changes in PeopleSoft will flow
through to Blackboard automatically. Students will initiate those name changes with Student
Services. Staff and faculty will initiate this process with Human Resources.
 All user information that is input into Blackboard is transferred from PeopleSoft via the Snapshot
tool. Because of this, any changes in the user’s information, such as name changes, need to be
initiated through Human Resources for staff or Student Services for students. The change will
then propagate to Blackboard within 24 hours of the time that the change is made in
PeopleSoft.
 Students: When students are processed to class sections, the primary key will be their emplid.
User Account Management

For students to access Blackboard they must first set the password of their KCTCS account:
o

http://kctcs.edu/Students/User_Account_Center.aspx
Blackboard Login:
http://kctcs.edu/Students/LearnByTerm/Orientation/How_to_Login_to_an_Online_Course.aspx

Email Notification of Login/Password: Students will be notified of login/password information at
Home College and through automated PeopleSoft KCTCS.edu email account. The automated
PeopleSoft email is generated upon enrollment in a class associated with a Blackboard
instruction mode and again 3-5 days before class start date.

Faculty will be notified of login/password information at the Delivering College and through
automated PeopleSoft KCTCS.edu email account. The automated PeopleSoft email is
generated when instructors are assigned to teach a class associated with a Blackboard
instruction mode.
KCTCS Welcome Student and Faculty Email (Used for Enrolled Status)
Copy of emails: https://unity.kctcs.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-12213
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Email in Blackboard
The email field of PeopleSoft-generated Blackboard user accounts will be populated with the
affiliated KCTCS email address. The KCTCS 24/7 Blackboard Technical Help Desk will not be able to
troubleshoot undelivered or undeliverable email when going outside of the KCTCS email systems to
personal email accounts.
Roster Responsibilities
Blackboard courses will be auto populated through the PeopleSoft Blackboard integrated processes.
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Blackboard Course Creation and Management Policy
Development Shells, Training Shells, Course Section Shells



Development Shells:
o Created to develop a course for a future semester and will be deleted after 1 year of no
activity. Removal will occur on June 30th of each year.
o
Each faculty member can request creation of his/her development course from their Local
BbAdmin (http://unity.kctcs.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-9106)
o
Development shell codes will be similar to the following: ACTC_8888_DEV_ENG_101 where
ACTC is replaced by the appropriate college code and ENG_101 is replaced with the course
prefix and number of the Development shell.
Training shells
o Created for training only and will be deleted after 1 year of no activity. Removal will occur on
June 30th of each year.
o
Training shell codes will be similar to ACTC_8888_TRAIN_101_01 where ACTC is replaced by
the appropriate college code.
o
Training Shells can be created by the Local BbAdmin or DL Coordinator,
(http://unity.kctcs.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-9106)
Course Shell
o Course shells are auto-generated from official PeopleSoft courses with Blackboard
instruction modes (above) and will be deleted one year after the end of the term.
o
The Blackboard Course ID comprised of campus, term, course prefix and number, PS course
number:
Campus_Term_CoursePrefix_CourseNumber_PS#
Example: HEC_4124_CIS_130_35Z7_49379
o
The Blackboard Course Name is comprised of the PS Course Prefix and Number, Course Title,
term and section number:
CoursePrefix CourseNumber: CourseTitle (Term__Section#)
Example: CIS 130: Microcomputer Applications (4124_35Z7)
o

Faculty are responsible for the backup/archive and export of their courses, Grade
Center and other content added to the system.
http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Professional_Development/Blackboard/Manage_Your_Course.
aspx .
Faculty can have non-PeopleSoft-generated shells deleted by emailing the course/organization
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code to elearningsupport@kctcs.edu.

Communications will be emailed to appropriate individuals with notification of deletion
details approximately one month before deletion.
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Students Registration
Username/password for Blackboard is same as PeopleSoft and email.
 As students register for the classes, rosters will be auto populated through Snapshot tool
and updated through the PeopleSoft Blackboard integrated processes.

The course sections are created as “unavailable and continuous.” Before students will have access
to the course, the faculty must make course sections “available” by changing “unavailable” to
“available” in the PROPERTIES area of the control panel.

Student enrollments are made unavailable approx. 30 days after the end of the term. This will
make the course(s) disappear from the students’ course lists.
Merged Courses
Cross listing parent courses for faculty who want courses and rosters linked together.
If the sections are SEPARATE in PeopleSoft and the instructor wants the sections merged as one class
in Blackboard, please do the following:
Solution in PeopleSoft: For sections requested as a Bb merge,
 Use the “combine class section” instructions in PeopleSoft (see combine instructions below) to
“merge” enrollments,
OR
 Initially, when class schedule is created in PeopleSoft and instructor has requested Bb merged
class, use one section designated to accommodate same instructor classes (example:
instructor has three (3) sections and has requested merged class in Blackboard – input only
ONE (1) section in PeopleSoft to equal caps of three (3) sections.
Instructions - PeopleSoft COMBINED Solution:
See complete instructions at
http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Professional_Development/Blackboard/Procedures.aspx
If you are going to use the merged section then once the combined section ID is in production,
you will see a new course shell created in your portal. The combined section ID course shell will
have a code similar to the others and will indicate what classes are merged/combined (code
similar to BSC_4064_CIS100_MERG_GATEWOOD). This new shell will have all students in it, but
the content will not be there.
Merging your courses will create a new course shell. The original shells will become disabled and
you will not have access to them. Before the merge request is made in PeopleSoft you will need to
export and download your content. You can now import the export into this new shell. Please do
this in off peak time to assure success with this function. Instructions for exporting can be found
here: http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Professional_Development/Blackboard/Manage_Your_Course.aspx
Once this is done, you will teach from this merged shell.
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Incompletes
After the end of each term, all official student enrollments for that term will be made unavailable. This
will make the courses disappear from the students’ course list. If there is a student with an
incomplete grade in a class after the end of the term, you will need to make that student’s enrollment
available again to continue to allow them access to the Blackboard course (Control Panel> Users and
Groups >Users. Click the “Properties” button next to the student who needs access to the course and
set the availability to “Yes”).
Class Availability and Access

All KCTCS classes can be created in Blackboard.

Class start date: instructors must change the course setting from unavailable to available when
ready for students to access the content.
Class Archive and Deletion

One year after the end of each term, all PeopleSoft-generated courses attached to that term will be
archived and removed from Blackboard.

The Blackboard System Administrators will make no additions, deletions or otherwise alter a
course’s content without the prior approval of either the instructor or the System Director of
Distance Learning Technologies.
System Email notification to Faculty and Colleges
a) System Downtime.
b) Blackboard Hot Patches, Service Packs, Application Packs information.
c) Emergency Communications.
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Size Quotas

Courses are given 500MB in total size and Organizations are given 250MB in total size. Instructors
can check the current quota utilization for a given course through the “Quota Usage” tool under the
course control panel.

Site sizes will be periodically monitored by the System Administrator (and communication with
an instructor pursued where appropriate) as an extra preventive measure.

If a quota limit is reached, the instructor will be first asked to “clean up” the site’s contents (e.g.
perform image compression, delete unnecessary files, etc.) If this is done and the quota limit is
still being reached, the Blackboard System Administrator may then consider raising the quota
limit.

Request for additional quota involves:
o Evaluate if faculty and student need to be advised of more efficient, spacing saving practices.
o Determine if additional storage is justified based on class requirements.
o Suggest instructors show students how to use their My Content area (or put a “how to up”
and email students) and just link to things instead of putting them in the course.

Each user’s individual eContent collection has a quota limit of 100MB. Requests for eContent
quota increases will be considered with the same criteria as course quota increases.
Bb Organizations/eCommunities

Any faculty, staff or student can create organizations for professional development
courses, student services, committees, outreach programs, clubs, etc.

The name of the organization should reveal its purpose.

Organizations can also be used for merged courses.

Leaders may create a password for the students to access content into the course.

Organizations are deleted after 1 year of no activity. Removal will occur on June 30th of each year.
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Information Security
Controlling Access to Student Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended (also sometimes
referred to as the Buckley Amendment), is a federal law designed to protect the confidentiality of
students’ education records.

FERPA governs the release of student education records by the college and access to these records.
o
Institutions may not disclose information from student education records without a
student’s written consent.
o
This act is enforced by the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of
Education, and Washington, D.C.
o
Failure to comply with the act could result in the withholding of Federal Funds including
Student Financial Aid.
Innovation
KCTCS Online Innovation Learning Series (KOILS) is program to support faculty with innovation and
increasing expertise in the use of educational technologies and expanding awareness of effective online
teaching and learning.
Blackboard Training

Each semester the Blackboard training schedule is posted inside the Blackboard portal along with
other training resources such as http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Professional%20Development

Campuses may also provide local trainings, check with Distance Learning Coordinator

Shells can be created by the Local BbAdmin or DL Coordinator.
Blackboard Procedures Manual
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Recommended Training for the use of Blackboard
a) Getting Started:
http://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/eLearning%20Technology%20Tutorials/Bb%209
%20Tutorials/index.html
b) Rationale for Training
 Help faculty understand the issues and value of using online resources for learning.
 Help faculty envision changes that will occur as they move components of their course to
the online environment.
 Assure effective implementation.
 Facilitate the matching of course goals with appropriate tools.
 Guide faculty regarding online copyright issues.
 Ensure consistent delivery of student instructions and tips across all courses.
 Increase the usability of the course for all participants by ensuring that files and materials
are posted in a “user-friendly” way.


Inform faculty of recent technological innovations and software that may assist them.
Inform faculty of quality assurance standards and best practices.
Intellectual Property – 3.3.5

As a general policy, KCTCS has exclusive ownership of inventions, patents, curricula, instructional
devices, computer software, books, and other materials developed in whole or in part by faculty,
staff, or students in the course of their regular KCTCS employment (including paid sabbatical leaves)
or through the use of KCTCS funds, facilities or equipment. Any member of the faculty, staff, or
student body who produces such intellectual property using KCTCS funds, facilities or other
resources shall assign personal rights to the property to KCTCS, but shall retain an interest in and a
right to share in any financial returns from the commercialization of the property.

It is the specific policy of KCTCS that the traditional products of scholarly activity, such as journal
articles, textbooks, reviews, monographs, works of art, sculpture, music, and course materials (for
example, syllabi, workbooks, and laboratory manuals), shall be the unrestricted property of the
author. KCTCS will exert no ownership claim of such works. A Standing Committee on Intellectual
Property, appointed by the KCTCS President and including KCTCS legal counsel and representation
from KCTCS faculty, staff and students, will administer the policy and oversee implementation of
the procedures.
Original Document: http://legacy.kctcs.edu/employee/policies/volumeII/volII3-3-5.pdf
Additional Resources:
http://kolts.kctcs.edu/Teaching_and_Learning_Resources/CopyRight_and_Fair_Use.aspx
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Upgrades and Building Blocks

Upgrades
KCTCS has two (2) sets of Blackboard environments (production and test). This allows us to plan,
test and implement upgrades in a timely manner with minimal interruption to our production
services.
1. The test environment: This allows other interested parties to look at developed Building
Blocks and pre-production Blackboard upgrades. It is wise to remember that this server IS
NOT PRODUCTION and SHALL NOT BE USED FOR REAL TIME COURSE WORK. The test
environment is available at http://etest.centertech.com
2. The Blackboard Production environment is at http://elearning.kctcs.edu. As a full production
system, it is subject to all KCTCS Blackboard and procedures.
The upgrade process is to place new Blackboard upgrades or patches on the test environment.
Once reviewed, tested, and approved, the upgrade or patches are then applied to the production
system during the weekly maintenance window.

Building Blocks
Blackboard Building Blocks are applications that allow KCTCS to build extensions to the Blackboard
platform and to integrate Blackboard with external applications, content, or services. Building
Blocks can include portal modules, content, specific tools, assessment engines, integration with
library systems, campus bookstores, door access or print management systems just to name a few.
The possibilities are endless.
A Building Block may link Blackboard with external systems, applications, or services, or it can be an
application that runs entirely within the Blackboard environment. KCTCS eLearning Services will
facilitate processing of requests to create Building Blocks that expand the potential of the
Blackboard Learning Management System and to meet the specific needs of KCTCS.
Disaster Recovery
“It is important in a “mission critical” environment to have a disaster recovery plan. KCTCS’s current practice
follows: A full backup of the Blackboard production databases to disk is performed once daily. Transaction
log files are sent from all production databases and recovered on our offsite recovery facility every five
minutes. The Blackboard storage file system is mirrored from the production instance of Blackboard to our
offsite recovery facility. All Blackboard production servers are under IBM Hardware Service Warranty; this is
24/7 service with 4 hours response.”
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Blackboard Help
When instructors or students need help with an issue that they are having in Blackboard, contact the
24/7 Blackboard help desk. Information for the helpdesk can be found at
http://d2.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=8158.
The help desk will create a ticket submission, and if they cannot resolve the issue, it will be
escalated to the next level of support. For the support person to be effective in resolving the issue
there is a minimal amount of information that should be provided to the help desk.
• The PeopleSoft username of the person experiencing the problem as well as the course
prefix/section and instructor name.
 The description of the problem. If applicable, include the date and the time the problem
was encountered.
Other information can be helpful if it is applicable to the issue. Below is a list of possible items
to include.
 Filename.
 Area in Blackboard where the problem occurred, such as email, Digital Drop box, etc.
 Browser being used (i.e., Internet Explorer 6.0, Netscape 4.7, etc.)
 Connection method, if offsite (i.e., modem, high-speed, etc.)
 If offsite, the name of the user’s ISP.
 Any other information applicable to the user’s issue.
Local System Administration Support
College Blackboard System Administration Support (BbAdminSupport)

A support feature is in place for college Blackboard Administrative support (BbAdminSupport)
which gives access to 1) users, 2) courses, 3) observers, and 4) organizations in Blackboard’s
System.

The Local Blackboard SysAdm Manual for Bb user support can be found at:
http://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/Blackboard/BbAdminManual.pdf
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