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While our Blackboard server is backed up on a nightly basis, these backups are primarily for disaster recovery at a server level. Thus, it is very important that you take steps to keep your Blackboard documents, assessments, and grades preserved in case of
grade disputes or need for re-use in the far-off future. (Please note these precautions are for your own safety and history – I am not about to delete anything from the server.)
Please perform the following functions for each of your courses after they end for the term:
- Archive your course (Control Panel -> Archive Course -> Submit -> Click or right-click the link that is generated, choose the Save or Download option, and save file to computer, CD, etc.). The Archive Course function enables instructors to make a record of an entire course, including user grades and assessment attempts and statistics. The archive is a compressed (.zip) file that can be saved to the instructor's computer, a CD, etc. and used by the Blackboard administrator to retrieve the information within your course should you ever need to access it again (ex. in case you threw files away by mistake). IMPORTANT: PLEASE KEEP THE ZIP FILE! Do not unzip it! It is the .zip file itself, not the de-compressed files, that the Blackboard administrator would need if restoration were necessary.
- Download a copy of your gradebook (Control Panel -> Gradebook -> Download Grades -> choose delimiter type (comma is standard) -> Download). This allows you to save your gradebook in .csv format. Once it is saved, you can use Microsoft Excel or any other application that reads the comma-delimited format to open, edit, and print the document. It is recommended that you append a date or course designator to the generic gradebook name that is offered. (NOTE TO MAC USERS: You may have to hold down the Control key and then click the Download button to get the option to download/save the gradebook to your computer.)
- Remove the students from the course (Control Panel -> Recycle Course). Check ONLY the Users checkbox in section 2, type "Remove", and click Submit. (You can remove other materials using this page as well.) This will remove the course from students' course list as well as prepare it for the next set of users. Do this only AFTER archiving the course and downloading the gradebook.
Please contact the Blackboard Support Specialist at bb@utmem.edu if you have any questions or problems.
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