Course Availability in Blackboard

This document provides instructions on how to manage course availability in Blackboard. It covers the steps for both Blackboard Original (using the padlock icon) and Blackboard Ultra (via Course Settings).

Blackboard Original

 To set your course to be available for students to access, follow the steps below.   

  1. Open your Blackboard Original course and look for a small padlock icon in the top-right corner. If the padlock is closed, the course is Unavailable to students. 
    Edit mode on with closed padlock icon
                                                                 

  2. Next, go to the top right corner to unlock the padlock, as shown in the image below.
    Closed padlock icon 

  3. To make the course Available, click the padlock icon.
    Open padlock icon

Blackboard Ultra        

You can manage course access settings through the Course Settings page. 

At the top of your course, next to Course Settings, an indicator displays Open, Closed, or Complete based on the course state. Your students also see this indicator at the top of the course.

         Closed course

Additionally, instructors can access Course Settings from the Main Courses page. From the three-dot menu, the instructor can select Course Settings.

Close Course

When you select a course as closed, it continues to appear in the course listing, but students cannot access it. When Close Course is not selected, the course is open, and students can access it. This function was previously called Open/Private and found in the Details & Actions panel.

            Course status menu with closed selected



Keywords:
Blackboard, Original, Ultra, Course, Stream, Gradebook, course availability 
Doc ID:
147278
Owned by:
Sharley K. in NDSU IT Knowledge Base
Created:
2025-01-03
Updated:
2025-05-21
Sites:
NDSU IT Knowledge Base