Availability in Blackboard

In Blackboard both users and courses can be marked "unavailable". Courses that are unavailable can be viewed by the instructor, but not by the students. Courses are created unavailable and it is the instructor's responsibility to make the course available when it is time for the students to use the course. CRN courses are automatically made unavailable once at the end of the term; if the instructor wishes the students to continue using the course after the term is over, they can make the course available again.

Users that are unavailable to a particular course cannot view that course. Our automated enrollment processes use the availability of the user to indicate registered or dropped status.

How to tell if the course is available

1. Select the Courses tab in Blackboard.
2. In the Course List, look at the text following the Course ID: Course Name line. This indicates availability or unavailability.
3. Note - if you cannot see the course you are interested in, please click on the small pencil in the upper right of this panel to control what is listed in the Course List panel.

How to make the course available

When a course is created, it is automatically set to be unavailable to students. Students do not have access to your course until you make it available. In order to make the course available:

1. From the Control Panel, select Course Settings under Course Options.
2. Click Course Availability.
3. Select yes to make the course available to students.
4. Click Submit.

Changing Availability of User

Three times a day the enrollment status of students in Blackboard courses associated with one or more CRNs is updated. Each student that remains banner-registered in that course is marked "available" and each student that drops the course via banner is marked "unavailable".

Dropped students are removed permanently from a course just three times a term: the first day of classes, the Monday after the add/drop period is over, and just before finals period.

When students are "unavailable" they still show up in the grade book, but they are not added to emails sent from the course and they cannot enter the blackboard course.

You cannot change the availability of a user who has enrolled via banner. This is done by the automated system.

If your course is NOT associated with a CRN you must do all enrollment updates manually or contact webhelp for help with one-time batch enrollments.

If you wish to change the availability of a student or instructor that you have added manually, follow these instructions:

1. Go to the Control Panel of the course
2. Select List/Modify Users under User Management
3. Type in last name or username of the user you wish to modify, type the appropriate Search by term, and click the Search button. To see all users select the Search button without entering parameters.
4. Select the Properties button next to the user you wish to modify
5. At the bottom of that screen in the Role and Availability section go to Available - this course only and select
   Yes or No as appropriate.
6. Select the Submit button at the bottom right of the page.
7. Note that you will not be able to view or modify Blackboard System Adminstrators that are in your course.