Staff guide: help with – logging in, NHS account issues, web browsers and Guest access.
Supported web browsers
We recommend you use either Chrome or Firefox browser to access Blackboard.
- Follow this link to run the Blackboard Browser Checker. This will tell you if your Browser is supported for use with Blackboard (you will see a green tick if your Browser is supported).
See the Blackboard help guide on Browser support for more information.
Log into Blackboard with a University staff or visitor account
- If you are prompted to log in, use your University username ( include the @soton.ac.uk) and password.
Help with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a new and more secure way to log in to your University accounts. This prevents fraudsters from accessing, altering, or destroying your personal and sensitive information.
It provides an extra level of protection. When signing in, it asks you to confirm your identity with a password and a phone / tablet. Only successfully presenting two pieces of evidence you can have access to your account.
- See this guide on How to set up and manage Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
How to reset your University IT account password
- Follow this link to the Subscribe service to update your details or reset/change your password.
If you are new to the University
You will not be able to log into Blackboard for up to 48 hours after subscribing to your IT account as it will take time for all of your IT access to be set up.
You will need to set up Multi-Factor Authentication in order to access university IT services.
- See the iSolutions I’m new guide for more information on your IT account setup.
Log into Blackboard for NHS staff
From September 2024 all new and existing NHS staff need to register for federated access to University systems using your NHS email.
Follow this guide to register for federated access to University systems using your NHS email.
Federated authentication accounts allow users to access University of Southampton applications using their credentials from a trusted organisation, such as nhs.net or uhs.nhs.uk, and support single sign-on.
Once registered, you can use your nhs account to log into Blackboard – it can take up to 24 hours for you new account details to be added to Blackboard.
See this separate guide if you need to request access to Blackboard courses you are involved with.
Accessing Blackboard if you use other Microsoft accounts or have more than one University account.
If you have a non-university Microsoft account or more than one university IT account, you will need to keep your logins separate or Blackboard may try to automatically sign you in with the wrong account. There are a number of ways to manage this:
Use different web browsers for your accounts
For example, if you use Chrome browser with a non-university Microsoft account, or with a University student account, you can use Firefox for your University or staff account.
Access Blackboard using a private or incognito browser window
Using a private window will force the Single Sign-On page to ask for your username and password, even if you’ve signed in before with another account.
Right click on the “Link Blackboard” button above and select one of the following:
- Open in a new In Private Window (Edge)
- Open link in a new Private Window (Firefox)
- Open in incognito window (Chrome)
If you use a Chrome incognito window, set the switch to allow Third Party Cookies, this is necessary to allow certain integrations to perform effectively. To do this, you will need to open a new incognito window (via the 3 dots in the right-hand corner) and allow third-party cookies.
Use Firefox multi-account containers
If you regularly access IT services using different accounts, you can download the Firefox Multi-Account Containers extension. The link to the download and instructions are in this Firefox Browser guide.
How do I get access to Blackboard courses?
See the separate guide to requesting staff access to Blackboard courses.