• How do I access my courses?
• What is my username?
• What is my password?
• How do I change my password
• Do I have to have an email address?
• Why don't my new courses appear in Blackboard?
• Why can't I access audio files from Bb?
• Where can I find the user's manual?
• Why is my instructor not receiving my assignment through the digital drop box?
• Why can't my instructor open the files I submitted?
• I don't see an announcement my instructor posted last week.
• When I click a test or web site nothing happens.
• Why don't I have a timer showing when I take a test in Blackboard?
• When I try to open a file with a .pdf extension I get a blank window.
• I am unable to access certain areas of the Blackboard system, what can I do?

Question: I am a first time Bb user. How do I access my courses?Answer: Students must go to http://blackboard.garrettcollege.edu.  Once there, click on the login button.  Type in your username and password to access your registered courses.

Question: What is my username? Answer: Your username consists of the 1st initial of your first name followed by 1st 5 letters of your last name followed by the last 4 digits of your SSN. For example, if David Barnaby (SSN 111-11-1111) were enrolled in a class, his user name would be: dbarna1111.

Question: What is my password? Answer: Initially, your password is the same as your login. For security reasons, it is very important that you change your password when you first login to Blackboard. (see How do I change my password?)

Question: How do I change my password?Answer:

1. First login to Bb.
2. On the left you will find a menu of Student Tools. See screen shot
3. Click on the Change Password Link. See screen shot
4. Type in new password. See screen shot
5. Click Submit

Question: Do I have to have an email address? Answer: Yes.  You must have an active email address to participate in an online course.  This is the main method of communication between the instructor and students.

Question: Why don’t my new courses appear in Blackboard?Answer: It takes 24 hours from the time your enrollment is official for you you to be enrolled in the course. If it is an online course, you should be able to access your courses. Not all of your face-to-face courses may use Blackboard. This may be why you see some but not all your classes listed when you log into Blackboard. The best thing to do if you do not see a class is to ask you instructor or professor if they plan to use Blackboard for the class. If they say yes, ask them to make their course available to students when they are ready.

Question: Why can’t I access audio files from Bb? Answer: You must first have Real player downloaded to your computer and set as the default player for audio files. To access the free download click here or at www.real.com.

Question: Where can I find the user’s manual? Answer: You can find a searchable manual under “Course Tools”, provided the instructor hasn't’t disabled that featured. You can also access a PDF manual after creating an account at “Behind the Blackboard”. 

Question: My instructor says I haven’t turned in my assignment even though I submitted it to my digital drop box? Answer: When submitting assignments through Blackboard, there are two options. One option, “Add File” allows you to put the item into the box but does not automatically get sent to the instructor.  This can be helpful if you do assignments ahead of schedule and want to wait to submit them.  This option also allows you to remove the item if you wish.  When you are ready to send the file you must choose “send File” then select the item you wish to send from the drop down menu. Selecting “Send File” when you want to submit an assignment simultaneously adds it to your drop box and sends it to your instructor.

Question: Why can't my instructor open the files I submitted? Answer: You may not have named the files properly for use on the web or are using a file format their computer cannot read.  Check the plug-ins and filing naming page for more information.

 Question: I don’t see an announcement my instructor posted last week. Answer: You should see tabs above the announcements to view today, the last 7 days, last 30 days, and all.  Searching these tabs should help you find the announcement you are looking for.

Question:  When I click on the link for a test or a web site nothing happens.  What's the problem? Answer:  Instructors can set tests, external web links, and other files to open in a new window so students do not loose their place in Blackboard.  If the student has their Internet browser set to block pop-ups, these new windows will not open.  To access these features of Blackboard, the student needs to change the settings on their browser to allow pop-ups or disable their pop-up blocker.  This document explains the settings for various browsers.

Question:  Why don't I have a timer showing when I take a test in Blackboard? Answer:  In order for the timer to display properly you must have the status bar enabled and have allowed status bar changes to be made via javascript.  See this document to change these and other settings on your browser.  Pay particular attention to "Enable Status Bar," "Enable Javascript" and "Advanced Javascript Settings".

Question:  When I try to open a file with a .pdf extension I get a blank window.  What's wrong? Answer:  You need to update your version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Go to Useful Software and Player Plug-Ins and download the latest version.

Question:  I am unable to access certain areas of the Blackboard system, what can I do? Answer:  You need to ensure your current browser is supported by Blackboard.  Check for Browser Compatibility.
OR You may need to clear your browser's cache.  Follow this Guide for instructions on clearing the cache.
OR Your browser may not be configured properly for use with Blackboard.  Follow this Guide to configure your respective browser.

Submit a question to be listed on the Bb Student FAQ's page.