Each month Blackboard updates follow a certain process: a staging release, testing, changes, and finally a production release. Some of these updates are mandatory, while others are optional and can be decided upon by the institution. Currently, Academic Technology Services may not immediately release new Blackboard features to production when they become available to the broader Blackboard community. We may require additional testing both externally and internally to ensure that these changes have minimal negative impact on our instructors. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we strive to provide a stable and effective teaching environment. For more information, please read this document:
Please note that Blackboard Ultra does not have any integrated AI tools at this time.
July 2026
New features
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Add descriptions to Discussions and Journals: Discussions and Journals now include a dedicated Description field, matching the experience of other course content items. The Description field is separate from the prompt, so instructors can use it for expectations while reserving the prompt for the core question or task.
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Find your favorite courses faster with Course Switcher:The Course Switcher now includes a Favorites tab that surfaces courses marked as favorites on the Courses page, alongside Recent and Search options.
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Preview existing message thread in Course Messages:When composing a message, selecting recipients now automatically loads the existing conversation in a continuous thread, allowing users to have context of previous discussions in one place before sending their message.
Updates to existing features
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Video Studio: Record longer videos with extended recording time: Instructors can now make recordings of up to 10 minutes in announcements and overall feedback.
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Video Studio: Optimize Player Layout by Moving Transcript Control to Settings:The Video Studio player has been updated to move the transcript option into the Settings menu, freeing space in the control bar and improving visibility of key playback controls like the timeline.
Instructors
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Run a Rubric Evaluation Report for graded activities: Instructors can now run a Rubric Evaluation Report directly from the Ultra gradebook for any graded activity associated with a rubric. The report aggregates rubric data across all student submissions to help instructors identify trends and inform course improvements. Note that there is 24 hour update cycle so the report may take some time to generate.
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Sample report: rubric evaluation report
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June 2026
New features
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Lock answer options in a fixed position for multiple choice and multiple answer questions: Instructors can now lock specific answer options in a fixed position so they remain in place when other options are randomized. This is useful for answer choices such as "None of the above" or "All of the above" that should always appear at the end of the list regardless of randomization settings.
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Track Announcement engagement by student: Instructors can now track announcement engagement in the student overview panel. Announcements will appear as read if a student has entered the course and read the message.
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Provide answer-level feedback for multiple choice and multiple answer questions: Instructors can now add feedback for each answer option in multiple choice and multiple answer questions.
This is not working as intended and option-level feedback is displayed to students for all answer options. In a future release, students will only see option level feedback for the answers they select.
Updates to existing features
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Improved rubric usability when overriding grades: Instructors can now adjust grades even when a rubric is used for individual attempts. Previously, this was only possible when there was multiple attempts.
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Restrict grading activity in completed Original courses: Grading activity in completed Original Course View courses is now read-only. Once a course is marked complete, instructors can no longer modify grades, apply overrides, or add grading feedback.
Fixes to existing features
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Enhance stability and usability of commenting tools: Several improvements have been made to the stability and usability of commenting tools in Bb Annotate. These fixes address issues with formatting, editing behavior, and overall interaction consistency to provide a more reliable grading and feedback experience.
May 2026
New features
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Video Studio: Add Audio Descriptions for Inclusive Videos: Instructors can now add audio descriptions to videos created for overall feedback and announcements. Students can switch on or off audio descriptions during playback.
Updates to existing features
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Make second due date for Discussions visible in Gradebook: The second due date for Discussions now appears in the Gradebook's Overview tab and Gradable Items tab. Next to the date is a circle icon with a lower case "i" inside. Hover over or tab to this icon, and a pop-up bubble displays details of both due dates.
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Carry group filter into Flexible Grading: Instructors can now grade by specific groups in the grading area. Instructors must first select the group via the filter in the “Grades” view and then click on one of the students in the goup to enter the grading area. Only the filtered group appears for grading.
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Resized Accommodations icon: The Accommodations icon has been updated to a smaller size in Blackboard coures, except for the student pages in the Gradebook.
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Improved search and navigation in Course Switcher: The Course Switcher tool in Blackboard courses now includes a search box that lets instructors and students quickly find and open courses by name or course ID without returning to the Courses page.
Fixes to existing features
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Strengthen logout behavior for supported SAML SSO configurations: When users login to Blackboard in another browser or an additional device, the first Blackboard session now ends immediately.
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Improved screen reader experience in document view mode: Screen reader users now have a cleaner, more focused experience when navigating documents in view mode. Content is delivered in the correct order, left to right, across rows, columns, and blocks.
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White space improvements in Documents: Documents now use vertical space more efficiently, reducing unnecessary white space and improving readability and visual balance. These improvements apply when creating new content, or editing existing content.
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Visualize release conditions inherited by items in learning modules and folders (not working properly, under investigation): Instructors can now view release conditions inherited from a parent Learning Module or Folder directly within the Release Conditions panel of individual items. Inherited conditions appear in a read-only format. Discussions now respect release conditions applied at the learning module level and are no longer accessible from the Discussions tab when those conditions are not met.
April 2026
New features
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Specify assignment submission type: Instructors can define the expected submission type for assignments, including file submissions, text submissions, or both (the default).
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Adjust grades for individual student attempts in group submissions: Instructors can adjust grades for individual students within a group submission (assignments only). Visual indicators show when grades differ across group members.
Updates to existing features
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Review both sets of Discussion due dates across multiple views in Blackboard: Blackboard now displays both due dates and participation requirements for Discussions across Course Content, Discussion pages, and Gradebook views.
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Improvements to multiple choice and multiple answer questions: The default number of answer options has been modified so a student can select from 4 to 1. When creating or editing a multiple choice or multiple answer question, instructors can change the number of answer options that a student can select. Multiple choice answer options alphabetical labels (A, B, C, D) have also been restored.
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Video Studio - Control Playback Speed: Users can now adjust playback speed in Video Studio using preset options from 0.5x to 2x, allowing them to review content at a pace that fits their learning needs.
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Add Substantive and Non‑substantive Content indicators in instructor discussion analysis: Instructors now have clear text labels identifying Substantive and Non‑substantive content in student discussion posts, improving clarity around the green and red text highlights used in discussion analysis.
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Student names display in chosen sort order in Flexible Grading: We’ve improved how student names appear in Flexible Grading. The name display format is now linked to the selected sort order. By default, student names are now shown as Surname, First Name to help instructors quickly locate students. When sorting by First Name (ascending or descending), names will display as First Name Surname.
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Handle images as thumbnail links in Announcement emails: Announcement emails now display previews of images included inside a Blackboard announcement. These image previews replace the previous image links that appeared as filenames in the email. When users select an image, it opens on a separate page for a larger, more detailed view. The recipient must be logged into Blackboard to view the larger image.
March 2026
New features
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Add a second participation requirement and due date in Discussions: Instructors can now set two separate due dates with distinct participation requirements for Discussions, offering clearer expectations and more structured engagement. Students benefit from transparent progress tracking and updated indicators as they complete requirements across both due dates.
Updates to existing features
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Require confirmation for updated email addresses: Blackboard now permanently requires users to verify email address changes, ensuring secure updates and uninterrupted delivery of important communications.
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Enhanced threading experience in Course Messages: Course Messages now automatically organizes new messages into existing conversations, or creates a new one when needed. This streamlines communication and reduces fragmented threads. Additionally, displaying of the Rich Text Editor and Send button now persist on mobile and hand-held devices to improve usability across devices.
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Video Studio: Generate thumbnail automatically: Video Studio now auto‑generates a thumbnail image from each new recording, giving viewers a clear visual preview and helping instructors and students quickly recognize video content before opening it. This is available in announcements and assessment feedback.
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Video Studio: Enhance timer to show time left during recording: Video Studio now displays the remaining recording time in both full and minimized views, giving instructors and students clearer pacing to reduce the risk of unexpected cut‑offs during recording. This is available in announcements and assessment feedback.
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Question Title field relocated: The Question Title field now appears only when the metadata option is enabled. This update reduces accidental use of the title field when instructors only intend to enter question text.
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Partial credit limits removed for Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer: Partial credit values for answer options no longer need to total 100%. Instructors can assign values freely within the allowed range, and the system continues to provide warnings without blocking setup. Existing behaviors for negative marking and regrading remain supported.
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Anonymous grading by question: Flexible Grading now supports anonymous grading in Question View. Student names, avatars, and IDs are replaced with anonymous identifiers while grading. All actions available in non‑anonymous Question View remain available in anonymous mode.
February 2026
Updates to existing features
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Reduced gradient on course banners: Based on client feedback, course banners now have a reduced gradient.
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Stack blocks vertically in Documents: Instructors can now stack Document content blocks vertically to create clearner layouts and reduce white space.
