A Message from the Provost | Blackboard Ultra

From: Office for Academic Affairs <academicaffairs@ua.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 3, 2025 9:01 AM
To:
Subject: A Message from the Provost | Blackboard Ultra

Dear Faculty,‌‌

The University of Alabama has been transitioning to Blackboard Ultra as the University’s enterprise-supported learning management system (LMS) since 2022. This transition is an important part of creating a more student-centered university and brings many benefits for both students and faculty:‌

Faculty and other instructors will benefit from a more efficient and intuitive interface, reducing time spent on routine course management tasks.
Students will be able to access course materials, participate in discussions, submit assignments and engage in collaborative activities from anywhere at any time via a streamlined design and mobile-friendly user experience.
The updated interface prioritizes accessibility and ensures compliance with accessibility standards, so all students have equal access to course materials and online resources.
Blackboard Ultra also boasts enhanced analytics and reporting capabilities with comprehensive data and insights into student engagement, performance and progress.

What does this mean for you? While the full transition of all courses to Ultra will be required at the beginning of the spring 2026 semester, I encourage you to explore Blackboard Ultra now and start teaching with it in summer or fall 2025. Instructors can easily copy course content from Original to Ultra. Face-to-face, hybrid and non-OTIDE online courses can transition to Ultra now. Contact cit@ua.edu to teach your summer and fall courses in Ultra.

‌‌Fully online academic courses developed through OTIDE will transition to Ultra based on OTIDE’s plan to have all courses in Ultra by fall 2025. ‌

The Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) has made available a variety of resources designed to help you get comfortable in Blackboard Ultra ahead of the change:‌

‌Throughout this transition, updates have been shared with the Faculty Senate IT Committee, the Technology and Learning Committee and the Council of Assistant and Associate Deans on Ultra-related developments and opportunities for growth. Updates are also shared via the CIT website, knowledge base and monthly newsletter. These ongoing efforts will help ensure updates are communicated broadly and faculty have the resources needed for a smooth transition.‌

I am excited about what this move to Ultra can mean for teaching and learning at the Capstone. You will continue to hear from CIT as the project progresses, and if you have questions, you can contact the team at cit@ua.edu.

‌I encourage you to start your Ultra journey today and Roll Tide!‌

James T. Dalton, Ph.D.‌

Executive Vice President and Provost‌‌