Chart Your Course for Ultra
Ahoy, COD faculty! The deadline for transitioning to Ultra is on the horizon and starting with the Spring 2026 term, all courses at COD will be in Ultra. With that date looming, the time is now to figure out how you’re going to get to Ultra.
That path won’t be the same for every course. Those who only use Blackboard to store a syllabus are going to have a very different transition from those who teach their entire course in Blackboard.
But not to worry! We’re here to help you chart your course for the Ultra transition including figuring out how much time it will take, what training you should pursue, and the amount of support you may need from us.
Paths to Ultra
The Shortcut
Only using Blackboard for your syllabus and to post grades? Switching to Ultra is going to be a breeze! Once your course is in Ultra, you’ll just need to get your syllabus situated in the right spot. You can’t miss it—it’s the folder called Syllabus (you can find instructions in our Knowledge Base)! And… that’s it. You’ll submit your grades using the ARI tool as normal throughout the semester and if anything is unclear or isn’t working correctly, LT is here to help.
Time
Under 30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy-peasy
Training to Take
If you won’t be a heavy Blackboard user, we recommend our asynchronous training on Ultra where you can review the pertinent info at your leisure.
If you prefer live learning in person or online, head to our Converting Your Course to Ultra sessions!
The Middle Road
This path is well worn, as it is where most people need to travel to get to Ultra. Travelers here have some content in Blackboard, including tests or assignments, their syllabus, and perhaps a few other odds and ends. Moving these things into Ultra will be straightforward, as you can copy the entire course or go item by item, but you will need to adjust dates, set up the gradebook, and know a little bit more about how Ultra works.
Time
A few hours
Difficulty
Easy to Moderate
Training to Take
If this path is the one you need to take, you’ll need a bit more training in Ultra to get up and running. Whether you go it on your own with our asynchronous courses or attend a live session (or some combination of the two) is entirely up to you.
If you choose asynchronous, we recommend completing all three of our available courses. For live training, we recommend either “Converting Your Course to Ultra” if you have a lot of existing materials in Blackboard Original or “Building Your Course in Ultra” if you’re starting from scratch. Also highly recommended is “Blackboard Ultra: Gradebook.”
- Register for Asynchronous Training
- Register for Converting Your Course to Ultra
- Register for Building Your Course in Ultra
- Register for Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
Epic Journey
If you teach online, have loads of content in your course you’ve been copying over for years, use very specific tools and integrations, a complicated gradebook set up, or any combination of the above, you might be on an epic journey to Ultra. Don’t let that scare you–you don’t have to go it alone. We can help you learn how to use the tools in Ultra and ensure you’re not left in the Bermuda Triangle of copying and organizing your course content.
Or, if you’d prefer, we will help you chart an entirely new course! This would mean updating and reorganizing things in your course to better support student success simultaneously with your transition to Ultra.
Time
Varies but can be substantial
Difficulty
Moderate–this path is more time consuming than truly difficult.
Training to Take
Preparation is key for this kind of journey, so the more training you can attend the better. We recommend completing all three of our asynchronous courses if that’s your preference or for live training, we recommend either “Converting Your Course to Ultra” if you have a lot of existing materials in Blackboard Original or “Building Your Course in Ultra” if you’re starting from scratch. Also highly recommended is “Blackboard Ultra: Gradebook.”
- Register for Asynchronous Training
- Register for Converting Your Course to Ultra
- Register for Building Your Course in Ultra
- Register for Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
Because this kind of transition can be more complicated, we also strongly recommend attending our open labs for one-on-one support.
If you want to restructure your course or are building an online course from scratch we recommend making an appointment with an instructional designer.
