Reminder: New Blackboard course retention standard starts May 1

OHIO IT reminds faculty that the new Blackboard course retention standard, which details when courses are archived and deleted, goes into effect beginning May 1.

Starting May 1, all courses that have been archived for over five years will be subject to permanent deletion from Blackboard. This deletion process will occur every semester. This standard applies to all for-credit courses that have been archived for five years or more.

Blackboard courses are available to instructors within the platform for two years after the course’s end date, plus the semester the course is last taught in. After two years from the course’s end date, the course will be automatically archived and no longer viewable in Blackboard. However, courses can be restored upon request by submitting a ticket to the IT Service Desk at servicedesk@ohio.edu.

Instructors are encouraged to create and keep a local export (copy) of their own courses. Exports of courses will include content created by the instructor but automatically exclude any student work or submissions. Instructions on local copy exports are available here. Instructors who wish to review an archived course can contact the IT Service Desk for help. 

For more information, click here.