Hello and happy fall from the CIT team! As the leaves begin to turn and the semester picks up speed, we’re excited to bring you this month’s newsletter filled with updates, resources, and opportunities to support your teaching.
Whether you’re diving into new Ultra features, exploring accessibility tools, or joining us for a workshop, we’re here to help you make the most of this season. Let’s embrace the energy of October together—with fresh ideas, collaborative spirit, and a continued commitment to instructional excellence. We’re glad you’re here!
Spring 2026 Courses Coming to Blackboard This Month
Spring 2026 courses will begin appearing in Blackboard. Instructors will gain access to their courses as they are added as the instructor of record by their department. All Spring 2026 courses will be delivered in Blackboard Ultra, offering a modern, streamlined experience for teaching and learning.
All instructors should have an Ultra Practice course named UA Ultra Practice Course that could be used to develop a course. Instructors can also request preview or development courses from CIT to use for building Ultra courses.
- Check out our Knowledge Base articles for step-by-step guides on using Ultra. Getting Started with Blackboard Ultra
- For a self-paced guide to aid in the creation of your Blackboard Original course to Ultra Course View, check out the Workbook for Ultra Course Creation
CIT Ultra Office Hours
Have a question about instructional technology? Want to dive deeper into a specific topic like Blackboard Ultra, accessibility tools, or course design?
Join us during our topic-specific office hours or drop by an Ask Us Anything session—no appointment needed! Whether you’re troubleshooting a tech issue or exploring new teaching strategies, our team is here to help.
- In-person: Every Friday from 2pm-3:30pm in A232 Gordon Palmer Hall.
- Virtual: Every Tuesday from 2pm-3pm Join Virtual Office Hours on Teams
- Topic Specific: October 20th, 1pm-2pm | Communicating with Students |Join Ultra Office Hours on Teams
Spotlight Events
Ultra Café
Date: October 8th
Location: Gordon Palmer Hall
Time: 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm
Ultra Good Features
Keep an eye out for these updates coming to Ultra in October! You’ll find more information and a complete list in this Anthology blog post: What’s New in Blackboard – October 2025
Instructors:
- Consistent Save and Cancel options in Settings page
- Tag questions with metadata in tests and question banks
- Require questions before making forms visible to students
Students:
Follow our socials
Stay in the loop with upcoming workshops, new tool features, CIT happenings, and more—don’t miss a beat!
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All UA instructors of record are subscribed to updates about Blackboard and other instructional technology. UA community members who would like to be added to the communications list for CIT news can contact us.