Staff Guide: Introduction to the different types of Blackboard courses and how to request them.
How Blackboard courses are linked to Banner
Most courses, and course enrolments, are automatically added to Blackboard from the Banner student information system.
See the guide to managing course enrolment for more information on how to enrol users correctly on courses.
The different types of Blackboard course
Banner module courses
22-23 blank module courses are set up automatically in Blackboard for each course reference number (CRN) recorded in the Banner student information system. Instructors and students are enrolled in the Blackboard course via their enrolment in Banner. Contact your faculty CQA office if you have questions about module setup.
Banner zero-credit module courses
You can request a Banner zero credit module for courses that fall outside the assessed curriculum – for example study skills sessions, introductory sessions, language skills, dissertation information ahead of module delivery etc. Blackboard course set up and enrolment is then handled automatically via Banner. Contact your faculty CQA office to request a compulsory or optional zero credit module.
Merged Banner module courses
If you are teaching closely related modules, you can request to have the enrolments merged into a single “parent” Blackboard course. Students will continue to access the parent course via the course code they are enrolled on in Banner and will be unaware that their course has been merged with another.
If your course was merged last year, it automatically merge again in June when we implement a merged enrollment rollover. Module leaders will then have the ability to merge and unmerge the modules they are teaching on.
Programme Information Courses
You can use the link in this guide to request a Blackboard Programme Course to hold programme or school level information and communications. Students are auto-enrolled via programme codes and the course will appear under a separate heading on the Blackboard Home page.
Custom (arbitrary) courses
A custom course is set up independently in Blackboard and does not have an equivalent module code in Banner. Custom courses are used for anything that cannot be set up as a zero-credit module, or content that cannot be included in a Programme course – for example, staff training. Request a Custom (arbitrary) course.
Sandbox courses
A sandbox is a course used for training and testing. Follow this link to create a personal Sandbox course.