Here are the highlights of this month’s new and improved features in Blackboard Ultra. For more details, please follow the links below:

Forms

Instructors often find themselves in situations where a survey form is more appropriate than a test when collecting information about students’ preference, interests and opinions. However, in the past, survey forms were not available on Blackboard Ultra. Now instructors are able to collect information on a Form using one or more of the following items:

• essay question
• Likert question
• multiple choice question
• true/false question
• text
• local file
• file from cloud storage
• page break

By default, a Form is not gradable. In the Gradebook grid view, student submissions appear “Submitted”. Optionally, instructors can enter the final grade for a Form to encourage participation.

The Form results can be downloaded from the Grades and Submission page as a spreadsheet or CSV file.

Rubrics performance level descriptions: Display choice persists

Rubrics are frequently used as important part of grading process. In the past, instructors had to grade students' submissions by looking at the performance levels of categories without descriptions. This caused challenges in accurately assessing students’ performance levels. Now, instructors are able to view descriptions while navigating submissions.

Send reminders from gradebook: Improved student count for instructors

Sending a reminder to students who missed submitting an assessment is a useful function, which is conveniently available from Gradebook. Instructors are able to send a notification by clicking on the assessment, however, the notification was also sent to students who already received an overridden score. This release improved the logic of narrowing down the number of students who should be included in the notification.

When instructors click to notify missed submission, the following students receive the message if they didn’t submit, and:

• they are available in the course.
• they have not received an automatic zero.
• they don’t have a manual override score that was posted.

This helps improve accuracy of target students who should receive the notification message.

Audio/Video Recording in feedback: Usability improvements

Audio/video feedback is an effective method for addressing complex concepts and providing detailed explanations. Previously, this tool hid the student submission from view when in use. Now, the recording window has been repositioned so instructors can see the student submission while recording feedback. Instructors also have the option to maximize the recording window.

Missed due dates included in the Course Activity report

The Course Activity report provides insights into student performance in a course. Information about the number of missed due dates gives valuable data for instructors to grasp the performance tendencies of students.

In addition, the Alert Settings for Course Activity now include an option to set a threshold for the number of missed assignments that will trigger notifications. Visit the link to see the full list of special considerations.

Please note that once the alert setting is on, it counts assessments including formative and hidden assessments for individuals and groups. If instructors set a due date for a manually-graded assessment, any grades entered after this date will be considered past the due date.

Better control over "Student Alerts" notifications for instructors

From the Activity Stream, instructors can create notifications about Student Alerts. This helps instructors become more aware of students who are at risk. Now, the options have been slightly modified to provide more relevant notifications, including alerts for missed due dates.

Long student names visibility in the Course Activity report

In the Course Activity report, parts of lengthy student names were previously hidden. Blackboard has now improved visibility for longer names in this report. This enhancement promotes inclusivity, considering longer names are common in certain cultures.

Feedback on override and automatic zero grades for Tests and Assignments

Feedback helps students learn and reflect on their work, which encourages and motivates students to improve their future work. Now instructors can provide Feedback on grades that were automatically assigned zeros, or overridden. They can also submit Feedback as part of the offline grading process. These changes provide more opportunities for instructors to give crucial Feedback to students’ learning.

The full list of February updates is available on the Blackboard Help Center website.

The full article is also posted on BB Hub: New and Improved Features in Blackboard Ultra - February 2024 Update

Need additional support? The IL Support Centre is here to help!

An assembly of faculty, support staff, students, and administrators, Humber College Council (HCC) is Humber’s collective employee voice, making suggestions to Humber College’s President as it relates to long and short‐term institutional priorities.

At its fourth meeting of the academic year, College Council welcomed presentations on academic freedom, a quality assurance audit of international student services, the digital student experience project, and program suspensions and closures.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM WORKING GROUP UPDATE

Information presented by Vera Beletzan, Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning

Last February, Humber convened a working group focused on academic freedom. Chaired by SVPA with broad representation from the Academic division, including faculty, associate deans, and a senior dean, their work aligns with Humber’s commitment to academic freedom and EDIB values across all learning environments. The group seeks to ensure that all Humber community members (staff, faculty, students) support and protect academic freedom, and maintain a respectful environment so that it can be instituted responsibly. The group will deliver recommendations to the SVPA by end of winter term on a shared and proactive approach to academic freedom which includes clear and consistent processes that support all stakeholders (e.g., faculty, staff, students), and the development of resources and training to support their implementation.

PROGRAM SUSPENSION: SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

Information presented by Carl Oliver, Associate Dean, Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology

Launched in fall 2008, this program has been experiencing declining enrolment since 2014. The program will be suspended but will enable current learners without a co-op placement to complete their programs by winter 2026. Learners with a co-op placement will complete by fall 2027. Recognizing the importance of the program’s content to a sustainable future, FAST will embed the course content into new and existing programs (e.g., architecture, civil engineering), with the aim of capacitating a greater number of students with the knowledge of sustainable energy and building technology.

PROGRAM CLOSURE: FORENSIC PRACTICE

Information presented by Kimberly Carter, Associate Dean, Continuous Professional Learning, Faculty of Social & Community Services

Launched in 2004, this program required 10 courses for completion and was offered on a part time basis. Given the evolving needs and expectations of the part time learner who want shorter and targeted programs, Forensic Practice has seen a decline in enrolment and completion and will be closed. Existing students will be supported to graduation. FSCS is reviewing the program content for ways to repurpose it to meet the needs of professional learners.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AUDIT RESULTS: STANDARDS OF PRACTICE FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Information presented by Andrew Ness, Dean, International

In 2023, Humber was one of three colleges who voluntarily participated in the Standards of Practice for International Education Quality Assurance Audit. The pilot’s aim was to contribute to the development of a set of minimum standards for international student services built on existing practices and legislative and policy framework and QA mechanisms which will support the academic and personal success of international learners. The standards would be included in the college’s regular AQ audits to verify compliance and be extended to the public college’s postsecondary programming that is provided through its private partners where a partnership exists. The five QA standards included:

1. Marketing Promotion and Admission;
2. International Education Agents;
3. International Student Orientation and Transition;
4. Supports and Services to Promote Student Well-being and Safety;
5. Post-Graduate Support Services.

Each standard has three to eight associated requirements.

The audit results indicated that all standards were met overall. Quoting the audit report: “Humber College recognizes and adapts its processes and service to meet the needs of international students...Humber College is to be commended on the timeliness and availability of information for their admissions, prearrival, orientation, employment, Post-graduation Work Permit, and Pathways to Permanent Residence processes that recognizes the complexities of the international student journey… their commitment to continuous improvement in the provision of learning support services to students, and post-graduation immigration and work permit services for graduates….its robust career services and programming for all students, notably including the international student perspective into program planning and adapting services to the students’ journey…”

It was requested that Humber: survey international students on agent satisfaction; provide more culturally specific resources and Indigenous Education to international students; provide focused alumni outreach to international graduates; and create a taskforce to create a housing strategy.

The audit pilot process will be debriefed with the Committee of Presidents who will give feedback to the auditors and confirm that the process and the standards are sound.

DIGITAL STUDENT EXPERIENCE UPDATE

Information presented by Scott Briggs, Vice President, Digital Innovation and CIO

The Digital Student Experience project emerged from the 2023-2026 Digital Campus and Academic Plans and focuses on enhancing the student experience. As an institutional change initiative commencing this month and lasting two years, it focuses on four areas:

1. Enterprise Web Strategy – Digital Experience Platform and Content Management;
2. Enrolment and Admissions Rethinking;
3. Student Journey and Service Excellence;
4. Digital Identity.

The project seeks to tailor the prospective or current student/learner, applicant, and alumni experience for a more personalized one. For example, prospective students interacting with Humber website may find their experience tailored to their physical location. As they further engage with the website, Humber might build a profile for them, and further tailor their experience to their specific interests.

The project will also streamline Humber systems for a consistent experience. For example, a student may update identity information in one system, and this information would then carry across all Humber systems (e.g., registrar, MS Teams, etc.).

NEXT HCC MEETING

The next Humber College Council meeting will be held virtually on March 21, 2024. In February, HCC will hold a professional development session in lieu of its regularly scheduled meeting.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS? For questions or comments about HCC meeting highlights, contact regan.mancini@humber.ca. For supporting materials, meeting minutes, or opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the College Council website or contact shovani.samalia@humber.ca.

Thank you for your cooperation in completing last term’s SFQ projects. The results have been completed and sent to individual faculty members.

Please check your Humber email for a link to your SFQ results.  

Earlier this month, Humber’s Advancement team announced that scholarship applications are currently open to Humber students. Please help spread the word to your students with a reminder that the deadline is February 2.

Last year, more than 1,000 scholarships were awarded to Humber students.

These scholarships were made possible by Humber’s incredibly supportive community of donors and alumni, including our very own faculty and staff who donate through Humber Gives.

This semester, we have even more scholarships waiting to be matched with just the right student!

Scholarships not only support students financially, but they help students reach their full potential.

Please support your students by encouraging them to apply before the deadline.

For more information, visit our Student Scholarships website or contact student.awards@humber.ca.