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Policies and Procedures Related to Use of UTCOnline (Blackboard™)
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The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC)
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Last updated: February 18, 2016
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1) Introduction -- definitions, CMS, tech fees funding, AUP, password standards, etc.
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2) Access & Authentication
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a. Default access
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b. Faculty, Staff and Student Accounts --
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c. Exceptions --
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d. Guests –
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e. Student Access --
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f. Length of Access to Course Site –
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g. Training & Support
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1) Faculty & Staff
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2) Students
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3) Other Resources
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3) Course Management
a. Course Creation
1) Current Semester
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1. Default class menu items
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2) Access in subsequent semester(s)
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b. Faculty Assignment/Instructor of record
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1) Process to change faculty of record
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2) Adding GA, DH, other faculty, etc.
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c. Co-listed courses/Course Combines
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d. Courses Kept on the BB Server
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e. Course Size Limitations
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1) Best Practices
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f.
End of Semester Notification
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g. Incompletes
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h. Course Archives
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i.
Exporting Courses for Future Use
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j.
Transferring Course Sites
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k. Gradebook Information
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l.
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m. Course Cartridges -- upload responsibility, consideration & adoption guidelines
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Class Rolls
4) Non-instructional Uses --
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5) Information Security – Best Practices Intro (Password, AUP, confidential)
a. Controlling Access to Student Information –
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b. Provisions for “Alias” Accounts –
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c. E-mail Address Display –
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d. Display of UTC-ID
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6) Copyright Issues -a. Posting Copyrighted Materials –
1) linking to library db files
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b. Linking to External Sites from BB –
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c. Linking to BB from External Sites –
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7) Intellectual Property –
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a. Ownership of Course Sites –
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b. Student-created Materials on BB –
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c. System Management Data –
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8) Definitions
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a. Course
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b. Organization
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c. Community
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9) Calendar/Timeline Reference
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10) System Administration
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a. Who can be named as an administrator (training & position)
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b. Authority of system administrators
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c. Upgrades and Update responsibility and schedules
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d. Downtime
1) Normal maintenance
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Last updated: February 18, 2016
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Policies and Procedures Related to Use of UTCOnline (Blackboard™)
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The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC)
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Last updated: February 18, 2016
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Introduction
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This document is intended to serve as a set of guidelines for decision-making related to the use
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of UTCOnline (specifically Blackboard™ [BB], a course management software [CMS]) licensed for
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use by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. These policies apply only to the use of such
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software residing on and accessed from servers that are located on the UTC campus. The policies
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incorporate the practices outlined in the UTC Acceptable Use Practices (AUP) available at
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http://www.utc.edu/TRC/AUP/ and other password and security measures.
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The CMS is funded currently through a yearly grant from the University Technology
Committee, with funds from the student technology fees.
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Included in these guidelines are statements related to Access, Course Management, Non-
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instructional Uses of the System, Information Security, Copyright, and Intellectual Property
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Rights, a timeline corresponding to the academic year, and system administration. These
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guidelines have been reviewed and approved by the Provost. For further information or
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clarification on any of these guidelines, contact the Walker Teaching Resource Center, 401
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Hunter Hall, (423) 425-4026.
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This document is intended to be available solely online for ease in usability and access, as well
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as to ensure its currency. Do not rely on printed copies of this document without first verifying
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their accuracy against subsequent updates. Changes to these policies will be reflected in the “Last
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Updated” date listed at the beginning and end of the document.
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Access & Authentication
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Access to the UTCOnline (BB) course management software, materials, and affiliated online tools
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is granted as follows.
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Default Access: Default access is generated automatically once a UTC-ID has been
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assigned.
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Faculty, Staff and Student Accounts: All faculty, staff and students who have a current
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UTC-ID and are active in the UTC directory (http://people.utc.edu/) have access to the
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Blackboard system. All UTC students, faculty, and staff have one BB account a piece that
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is used for all of their BB activities. Even if these individuals are not involved with a course
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or organization (community) that is currently utilizing BB, they will be able to use the tools
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and features that are course-independent. Access to the BB software is authenticated
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through the UTC-ID (user name) and password for the Onenet e-mail system.
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Exceptions: A limited number of users who may not be assigned a UTC-ID in time for
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their use during a semester may be provided an account that is a BB-only username and
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password. Requests for this type of account must be made by a UTC sponsor (faculty or
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staff member). Once an official UTC-ID is assigned, the temporary username and
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password is disabled and then deleted at the end of the semester.
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Guest Accounts: Users that are not officially affiliated with UTC (guest discussants or
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mentors, for example) may be provided an account that is a Blackboard-only username and
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password at the request of a UTC “sponsor” (faculty or staff member). These accounts
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(referred to as “exceptions”) are considered temporary, but are renewable on an annual
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basis, with the approval of the UTC sponsor. Such accounts are assigned only to
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individuals who are working with UTC faculty/staff on officially recognized activities on
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the BB system (i.e., those included under the institution’s license for the software). In
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addition, the BB system allows an individual without an account (known as a “guest” in BB
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terminology) to gain access to specific areas of course sites, not including course rosters,
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user tools (e.g., user directory), or communication tools. Course sites may, at the
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discretion of the instructor, be made entirely or partially available to guests. The default
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setting (determined by local system administrators) for access to course sites locks each site
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entirely and may only be made accessible to guests by the instructor of record or system
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administrator at instructor’s request.
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Student Access: Students are automatically enrolled in their classes in Blackboard within
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48 hours of their enrollment in the class. Instructors may, at their discretion, provide full
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access to their course site(s) to currently enrolled UTC students who are not yet registered
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for the course, or who are in the process of adding the course to their schedule. It is the
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instructor's responsibility to add these students to the appropriate class. As students add
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courses to their schedule, after classes begin, they will be automatically added to the
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appropriate BB rosters (“enrolled”), typically within 48 hours. Students who drop courses
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should request that the instructor “deactivate” their enrollment in the class to prevent
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unauthorized access to course materials. Administrators will not remove or deactivate
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students from courses. Students who drop classes are NOT automatically removed from
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the courses online. Students lose their access to the BB system when their Onenet
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accounts and access is disabled.
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Length of Access to Course Site: Two weeks after any given semester, all courses from the
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previous semester are automatically made unavailable by the system administrator. Faculty
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members may request that students continue to have access to a course site beyond these
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dates by completing the online request form at http://utconliune.utc.edu/. Reasons for
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extending course access might include providing access for students who are finishing
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“incompletes” or in progress classes, or the continuation of a multi-semester course. A
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student who is finishing an “incomplete” but who is not currently enrolled at UTC may be
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subject to loss of their UTC username. In this case, an exception account may be
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established for that student at the request of the instructor, with access not to extend
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beyond the student’s deadline for completion of work required to receive a course grade.
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In general, retaining courses beyond the usual cut-off will be discouraged due to the
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potential confusion for students, increased work created for the BB administrative staff,
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and possible copyright and security concerns.
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Training & Support:
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
Faculty & Staff: Faculty and staff can attend pre-scheduled training sessions on the
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system through the Walker Teaching Resource Center (http://www.utc.edu/TRC/).
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In addition, faculty and staff may request specific training sessions to meet their needs
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by calling the Walker Teaching Resource Center at 425-4026.
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Students: Student training and resources are located at the following web pages:
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http://utconline.utc.edu/BB6Students.html. Students can also get help accessing the
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site from their instructors, the UTC Help Desk, or the online manual available at:
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http://company.blackboard.com/docs/cp/learning_system/release6/student
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Other Training Resources: Faculty and staff also have access to the Blackboard
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manuals at:
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http://company.blackboard.com/docs/cp/learning_system/release6/instructor/
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Course Management – Course sites on the BB server are managed with the goal of reducing
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faculty time and effort needed to utilize online tools and materials, and improving server
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performance by eliminating redundant or unnecessary demands on the database.
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Course Creation:
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Current semester: Courses are created in Blackboard every semester, four weeks before
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the semester begins. Each semester course has a unique identifier in the system. Courses
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are by default created as "unavailable" and do NOT automatically allow access by guests or
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visitors. Individual instructors must make the classes available and set guest and observer
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access for his/her specific needs.
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Default class menu items include: Announcements, Syllabus, Assignments, and
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Faculty Information. Faculty can individualize each class to add more functionality or
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to edit the names of the menu items. These changes should be made through the
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Control Panel of each course.
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Access in Subsequent Semesters: Faculty may request that a course be kept in the system
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(for access by students with Incompletes for example) by completing an online request at
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http://utconline.utc.edu/
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Faculty Assignment/Instructor of Record: Faculty are assigned to the course based on the
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course listing on the UTC Course Timetable web page at:
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http://www.utc.edu/Public/ClassFind/index.php. If an individual instructor has been
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assigned a class by mistake, a request can be made to correct the listing from
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http://utconline.utc.edu/. Faculty can also use the forms at http://utconline.utc.edu to
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request for assignment to a class that may have been missed coded.
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Process to change the faculty of record: Faculty not listed in the UTC Course
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Timetable will not be added to a course unless approval is received from the
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Department Head.
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Adding other Faculty/Users to the Course: No faculty or students will be added
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to the course unless they are listed in either the student information system as
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enrolled in the class or on the course timetable as teaching the class. All others
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must be approved and enrolled by the faculty of record. Department heads will not
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be added to the course unless approved by the faculty of record. Individual
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faculty/instructors may enroll graduate student(s), teaching assistants, or
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departmental support personnel to individual classes and may also assign them a
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supportive roll. System administrators will not enroll these additional users to
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classes.
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
The following class roles are available.
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Course Builder: User is able to add content to the course through the
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Content Areas and the Course Tools on the Course Control Panel. Course
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Builders are not listed on any of the e-mail lists and are seen by students as
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being a part of the course. Course Builders do not have access to the
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Gradebook, Gradebook Views or Course Statistics.
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
Grader: User is able to access all areas under Content Areas,
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Announcements, Course Calendar, Assessments, the Digital Drop Box, and
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List/Modify Users.
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
Guest: User is able to view areas of the course, but cannot participate in any
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way. Guests cannot see the course listing upon log in to the system, but
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may access the class through the Catalog. Guests can only access portions
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of the class that have been designated for Guest Access.
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
Course Control Panel.
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Student: User is able to access all available course content and will be
graded on Assessments.
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Instructor: User is able to control all aspects of the course through the
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Teacher's Assistant: User is able to control most aspects of the course
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through the Course Control Panel. TA's cannot add to or remove
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participants from the course.
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Co-listed Courses/Course Combines: Faculty can request that co-listed and multiple
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sections be combined by completing the request form found at http://utconline.utc.edu/.
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Combined classes must be requested each semester.
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Courses Kept on the BB Server: To meet the goal of using server space efficiently, the
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only course sites that may be maintained on the BB server are those in use during the
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current semester or those being prepared for upcoming semesters. Faculty must export any
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class or course information they wish to keep for future use.
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Course Size Limitations: At this time, there is no limitation on the size of course sites.
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Faculty whose BB courses contain extremely large files (video clips, for example) may
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request advice and assistance to help compress files to utilize space as efficiently as possible.
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
Best Practices -- For faculty who wish to make large digital files (Video clips,
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PowerPoint files, Large graphic image files) available to their students, the following
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best practices are offered.
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o PowerPoint files: Create 4- - 6-up handouts of the Powerpoint files in pdf
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format. This will allow more students to access the large files and conserve on
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printing. In addition, by using the pdf format, students do not have to have a
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full version of Powerpoint to access the information.
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o Video files: Place video files on individual faculty Onenet space and link to
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them from the Blackboard course. Remember that students who access the
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Internet from a modem may have trouble accessing the large files.
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o Graphic files: Create these and save them as pdf files for easier access by
students.
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End of Semester Notification: During exam week and for up to five weeks after the end of
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each semester, all BB faculty will receive an e-mail message detailing their options for re-using
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or deleting course sites. Faculty have the option of archiving and exporting course files and
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may choose to do both. UTC will NOT archive or export any courses for back up. Classes will
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be deleted the fifth week after the start of the following semester.
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Course Archives: Faculty may make an archive for later retrieval through the course control
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panel. Course Archives create a compressed file of all items from the specific course, including
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specific student and gradebook information. Archiving a course creates a permanent record of
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the course for a specific semester, without deleting any information. If an archive needs to be
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restored, that must be done by e-mailing the archived file (in .zip format) to the BB
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Administrator and requesting that the class be restored. Retrieving these records from the
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archive is a time-consuming and imperfect process, and should be considered a last resort for
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retroactive grade information. Courses will only be retrieved upon request of the original
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instructor of record who created/offered it. The exception to this would be if the BB
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Administrator received permission from the original instructor to make the archived course
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materials available to another instructor/staff member.
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Exporting Courses for Future Use: Instructors may export their course material for re-use in a
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future semester. Instructors can do this through the control panel by exporting the course.
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When the semester for the course begins, the instructor(s) and/or their designee have the
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rights to import the exported course documents into the new semester course.
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Recycling Courses: Instructors can also recycle courses. The Recycle Course tool is a useful
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tool for Instructors to use at the end of a course. It allows instructors to select information to
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be deleted from a course and keeps the rest of the course areas for use in the future. The
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Course Recycler removes selected content and data so that the Course may be taught again.
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Information removed when the Course is recycled cannot be restored.
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Transferring Course Sites: Instructors may elect to transfer their course site and its materials
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to another faculty member, or give other faculty members, department heads, graduate
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students, etc. access to their course site. Course sites will not be re-assigned to a new instructor
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for re-use, however, without written permission from the original instructor. If a faculty
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member leaves UTC for other employment, they may export their course site(s) for use at their
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new campus.
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Gradebook Information: The Gradebook can be maintained by the faculty as a way to
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communicate mid-course grades to students. The Blackboard Gradebook is not an official
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record of student grades, nor should it be considered a legally binding record of student scores.
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Faculty are strongly encouraged to periodically print out (download) a copy of the online
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Gradebook, and to print a final copy for their records at the semester end. Faculty are strongly
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encouraged to post student grades only in the secure BB gradebook as other posting of grades
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may violate FERPA and other privacy laws.
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Class Rolls: Class rolls in Blackboard are not considered official class rolls. Regular
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downloads for class rolls are uploaded each day, but students who have dropped the class are
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not removed from the course. Instructors should regularly compare their BB class rolls to the
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rolls available through WebASIS and delete, remove, or make unavailable students who have
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dropped the course.
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Course cartridges: Course cartridges enable Instructors to gain access to complete sets of
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teaching tools provided by academic publishers. Instructors who choose to use course
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cartridges must get the appropriate download key from the publisher and load the course
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cartridge him/herself. Before adopting books or course cartridges, please consult with the
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Blackboard Administrator or the Walker Teaching Resource Center about the lead time
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necessary for loading course cartridges.
A Blackboard Course Cartridge is a "cartridge" made up of content that can be loaded, as a
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unit, into Blackboard, the system used by UTCOnline. Course Cartridges are provided by
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textbook publishers as supplements (in some cases replacements) for textbooks. Exported or
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archived classes are not course cartridges.
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
Course cartridges are course content and not part of the UTCOnline system. Thus, they
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are the responsibility of the faculty member or department representative employing them,
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not the UTCOnline staff, except as specified below.
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
Course cartridges can require very long download times and reduce availability of the
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UTCOnline server. Any faculty member or department representative that needs to have
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course cartridges downloaded must inform the Blackboard administrator four (4) weeks
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before the first day of classes for the semester in which the cartridge will be used. At this
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time, UTCOnline staff will consult on the best time to download the cartridge.
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
Only UTCOnline staff can download course cartridges and will do so when provided with
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the ""Course Cartridge Instructor Download Key." However, responsibility for
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coordinating with the publisher, the publisher's technical support and for obtaining the
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"Course Cartridge Instructor Download Key" will remain with the faculty member or
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department representative.
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
The "Course Cartridge Instructor Download Key" must be provided to UTCOnline staff
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no later than four (4) weeks before the first day of classes for the semester in which the
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cartridge will be used. In some cases, the publisher may require a unique download key for
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each section. In this case, it is the responsibility of the faculty member or department
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representative to obtain one unique key for each section. UTCOnline staff will not
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request additional keys should they become required.
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
If UTCOnline staff are not made aware of the need to download course cartridges at least
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four (4)weeks before the first day of classes for the semester in which the cartridge will be
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used, the cartridge will not be downloaded until three (3) weeks AFTER the beginning of
the semester.
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
UTCOnline uses the Blackboard 6 learning system. WebCT e-Packs are intended for a
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different CMS system (WebCT) cannot be loaded onto UTCOnline. Some publishers
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offer both WebCT e-Packs and Blackboard Course Cartridges.
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Non-instructional Uses: The course management system is maintained for instructional use (i.e.,
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to support courses offered by UTC). Campus units, departments, UTC committees, and student
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clubs may request the set up of organizational areas by sending an e-mail to the administrator that
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includes the name of the organization and an electronic list (excel file is acceptable) of the UTC-
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IDs for the individuals to be enrolled in the organization. Student organizations must have a
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faculty/staff sponsor identified in the e-mail as well. Other organizational uses may be approved
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by the UTC Information Technology Advisory Council.
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Information Security: The BB user database is uploaded directly from the UTC Automated
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Student Information System (ASIS). The security of these systems is of paramount importance in
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maintaining a reliable and trusted resource for virtually available instructional materials and tools.
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Controlling Access to Student Information: As with other university records, faculty are
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cautioned to take care that student information (including, but not limited to, grades, test
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scores, user names, or ID numbers) be closely guarded. As noted in the gradebook
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information section above, grades should not be posted so that students may see scores
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belonging to anyone but themself (for example, in a spreadsheet uploaded to the course site).
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UTC-IDs are used for access to the Blackboard system. UTC-IDs are only listed for users who
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have access to enroll users, list or modify users, remove users or to the gradebook and
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assessments area.
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Provisions for "Alias" Accounts:
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E-mail Addresses: Blackboard only uses the UTC assigned e-mail address for students, faculty
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and staff. E-mail addresses are not available to the general user although users may e-mail
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other students as a part of a class. E-mail addresses are displayed for other users in the course.
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Display of UTC-IDs: UTC-IDs are displayed in certain areas of the course. In particular, the
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group function displays UTC-IDs as a part of the file sharing function.
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Copyright Issues: Faculty are strongly encouraged to respect the property of others by obeying
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copyright law and requesting permission, when appropriate, before using the work of others.
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Posting Copyrighted Materials: Copyright Law and Fair Use Guidelines allow faculty
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WHAT? Instructors are advised to consider the use of the online Lupton Library
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resources to avoid infringement.
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Linking to Library Databases from within Blackboard: Best practice encourages
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faculty to link directly to articles and additional readings provided through the
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Library online databases. Instructions for how to make these links directly to
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specific articles are located in the online help materials.
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Linking to External Sites from BB: The BB software provides an easy-to-use
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interface for integrating links to other websites into course materials. Instructors
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are encouraged to link to other sites, rather than attempting to integrate the desired
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materials directly into the BB course site. This alleviates copyright concerns and
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retains the integrity of the materials (and associated links) in their original
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environment. It is the responsibility of the instructor to confirm that links from
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BB to external sites are viable.
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Linking to BB from External Sites: It is possible to link to a BB course site
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directly from websites external to BB. Users will, however, be prompted to log in
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with their recognized UTC-ID to prevent unauthorized access to materials residing
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on the system.
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Intellectual Property: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga recognizes the intellectual
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property rights of faculty, staff, and students. The following policies are aligned with those
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already in place, which can be found at
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http://research.utk.edu/ora/manual/appendices/app531.html
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Ownership of Course Sites: Instructors who create course sites retain all rights to those
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materials, including the right to create an archived or exported copy of the site in digital
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format. Use of the site and access to its materials and tools are determined by the
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instructor, and these rights may be reassigned by that individual only.
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Student-created Materials on BB: Instructors may choose to post student work (or expect
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students to post their own work) on the BB course site. Students must be informed of this
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(preferably in writing) at the beginning of the course. They must also be told if their work
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will be retained in the course site beyond the duration of the semester and whether others
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will have access to it. No evaluative commentary or grade information from the instructor
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may be included with student work if the work includes information identifying its creator.
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Students retain all rights to their work. These policies also apply to student-posted
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messages in a Discussion Forum.
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System Management Data: Information regarding BB system performance or usage is
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considered the property of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Information
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regarding specific BB sites or individual accounts will be held in confidence, although data
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may be gathered and presented in aggregated form by university staff members for
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professional development activities, such as conference presentations and/or
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scholarly/industry publication.
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Definitions
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CMS: Course management system. A computer software system designed to facilitate teaching
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and learning. Examples of course management systems are: Blackboard and WebCT. There are
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many other systems as well.
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Course: A course on the CMS system is defined as a class that is created for a specific semester for
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a specific group of students.
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Organization: Organizations (also referred to as Communities) are areas created and maintained
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in the CMS for activities and groups that span more than one semester and that do not relate to
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the academic course schedule.
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Community: Communities (also referred to as Organizations) are areas created and maintained in
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the CMS for activities and groups that span more than one semester and that do not relate to the
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academic course schedule.
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System Administration: The current CMS system is administered through the Walker Teaching
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Resource Center and the Center of Excellence for Computer Applications.
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Administrator Access: A limited number of individuals have administrator accounts on the
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system,. These individuals have advanced training on the CMS system. No faculty will be
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granted administrative access to the system.
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Authority of System Administrators: System administrators have the authority to create
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classes and organizations; change and maintain the system look and feel; import users into
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courses and organizations and troubleshoot the system functions and server. In addition,
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system administrators can post system-wide announcements and academic calendar items for
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all users.
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Upgrades and Update Responsibilities: System administrators will regularly upgrade and
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update the system and server software necessary to maintain the effectiveness of the entire
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system. System administrators will attempt to perform upgrades and updates during the
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normal maintenance time. If other times are needed, a system administrator will inform users
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of "scheduled" downtime via the system announcement function.
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Normal Maintenance: Normal system maintenance is scheduled for Friday afternoons
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between the hours of 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
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Major Software Upgrades: Major system upgrades will only be implemented between
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semesters and never mid-semester. Major system upgrades will be tested on a test server before
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implementation. If issues are found during the system test, major upgrades will be postponed
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until those issues can be resolved.
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Downtime: System administrators are sensitive to the nature of the use of UTCOnline and
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try to limit the amount of downtime. In the event of an unscheduled downtime, please notify
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the Help Desk (x4000) or e-mail the Online Technologies Coordinator (Adam-
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Trowbridge@utc.edu).

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Advance notice: System administrator will make every attempt to provide advance
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notice of any planned downtime that will occur at different days and times or last
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longer than the normal maintenance schedule.
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7
Calendar/Timelines for Course Management
Time Frame
Action
Four weeks before classes begin
Request upcoming semester courses from ITD, upload and
assign faculty to courses
Two weeks before classes begin
Classes for the upcoming semester available for faculty
One week before class begins
Upload new students to the system and assign to classes
Daily
Students uploaded and enrolled in classes
Five weeks into the semester
Previous semester classes are deleted from the system
Two weeks after a semester is over
All previous semester classes made unavailable for students
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NOTE: For Blackboard purposes, all summer sessions are dealt with as one semester. All summer
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classes are loaded and assigned at the same time at the beginning of 1 summer AM and 1 summer
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PM.
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Last updated: 2/18/16 12:35 AM
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