How do I copy my Blackboard course?

Owned by Mariann Hawken
Last updated: Mar 27, 2024 by Josh Abrams
5 min read

The Course Copy tool is a convenient way to reuse and adapt existing course structures, materials, and content. With a few clicks, faculty can identify the course to receive the incoming content, choose some or all course content, and complete the copying process. Note: It is possible to copy from Original to Original, Original to Ultra, or Ultra to Ultra. It is not possible to copy from Ultra to Original. 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLTAoBkhhzE

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First, make sure the course is clean and ready to go: Check the course links and external links, and verify there are no duplicate files or tests. Then go to the destination shell.

1. Ensure that the course is in the Ultra Course View.

2. Go to the Ultra course that will receive the copied content – that is, if you are teaching in the fall semester, you will start in the fall semester to copy content INTO that course.

3. Click the (...) menu in the mid-right section of the Course Content page.

If you are missing “Copy Items” in this menu, refresh or clear your browser's data.

4. Select Copy Items. 

  • If you want to copy an entire course or organization, search for the course or organization, then click the box beside the course icon.

  • If you want to select content within a course, click the course itself and drill down to the folders to find that content. You can select content from multiple courses including rubrics and question banks.

5. Confirm the selected course and Select Start Copy at the bottom right.

Still using Original? Copy from one Original course to another Original course.

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First, make sure the course is clean and ready to go: Check the course links and external links, and verify there are no duplicate files or tests. Then go to the course that will serve as the source of the copy.

  1. From your the course shell that acts as the source of the copy, on the Control Panel, expand the Packages and Utilities section and click Course Copy.

  2. Select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course.

  3. Browse and select the destination course that will receive the content. 

    • Courses cannot be copied to organizations and organizations cannot be copied to courses.

    • Make sure you have the right course! Typically, the destination course is empty except for content provided by the default template.

       

  4. Select the course materials that you want to copy over to the existing course. 

    • Click Select All to choose everything in the course.

       

    •  Most of the time, Select All will be the most appropriate option with some exceptions (e.g., announcements).

      • If you do not Select All, you must choose at least one of these areas: Content, Contacts, or Settings for the course copy to function. If you do not select one of these options, a warning appears.

      • If you are selecting any content area with existing assignments and tests, you must also choose the Grade Center Columns and Settings for those items to deploy properly. Otherwise, you will have to recreate all of the assignments and redeploy all of the tests.

      • TIP: Make sure you change the Discussion setting from “Include starter posts for each thread” to “Include only the forums.” If you don’t make this change, all previous semester discussion posts from students will copy into the new course. This can be fixed, but it takes a bit of time.

    • While copying, the course availability of the source course is applied to the destination course. If the destination course's availability is set to unavailable, but the original course is available, the destination course's availability is changed.

  5.  In the File Attachments section, select the option to copy links to:

    • Faculty can choose to take the entire folder of files or only those files that are actually linked to course content. 

      • Copy Links to Course Files: No copies of linked files are included in the copy. The copied course will have the same set of links and those links will point back to the original location of the link defined in the origin course. Use this ONLY if you are copying from a Master Course shell.

      • Copy links and copies of the content: This will make copies of linked files, but ONLY those files that are linked. Files within the course’s home folder that are not linked to any content within the course are not included in the copy. If content will be reused in a different course, copying links and copies of the content is the recommended option. 

      • Copy links and copies of the content (include entire course home folder): This will make copies of ALL files in the course’s home folder whether those files are linked to course content or not. We do NOT recommend this selection since it will take content that is not actually used by the course.

        • You need to manage permissions on items to include copies of these files. If you do not have permission configured, you may be missing some files after the copy. 

        • If any content is associated with another course assigned to another instructor, you will not be able to copy it unless you have permission.

  6. Do not check the box to copy enrollments.

  7. Click Submit.

  8. A message will appear on the screen: Course copy action queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete.

    • Blackboard will send you an email with a tracking log when the course copy is complete. Any warning messages in the log can probably be ignored, but fatal errors should be reported via RT ticket.

  9. Your course menu structure will copy into the destination template, but unique links will appear below the existing menu. Rearrange the navigation and remove any duplicates.

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