TABLE OF CONTENTS

Blackboard Original

By default, courses on Blackboard are Unavailable to students. Instructors make courses Available when the course is ready for students. There are several ways to change the availability of a course.

Option 1 - From the Course List

From the Institutional page, click on the Courses link in the list on the left side of the page. Courses that are unavailable to students are labeled Private and have a lock icon.
Screen shot of a course in the Course List. A lock icon with the label Private is highlighted.

  1. To make a private course available, click on the ellipsis (...) located to the far right of the course name.
    A screenshot showing three dots.  
  2. Click the Open course link.
    A screenshot showing the Open course link with a lock icon next to it
  3. A window will pop up and ask if you want to open the course. Click the Open to Students button.
    A screenshot showing the Open Course pop-up with text "Open Course? Open the course to allow student access. You can continue to edit and release content as it's ready." There are two buttons at the bottom: Cancel and Open to Students. Open to Students, on the right-hand side, is highlighted.

Note: When courses are Open, the Private label and lock icon will no longer display next to the course name.


Option 2 – From Inside a Course Site

Click the lock icon located next to Edit Mode in the far upper right-hand corner.A screenshot of the bar at the top of a course site. The lock icon to the left of "Edit Mode" is highlighted.

A red closed lock: Image of a red closed lock icon...means the course is not available to students.

A gray open lock:Image of a gray open lock icon...means the site is available to students.

Option 3 – From the Control Panel of a Course

  1. In the Course Management area of the Course Menu, go to Control Panel > Customization > Properties.
    A screenshot of the Course Menu, showing Course Management > Control Panel > Customization > Properties
  2. Scroll down to Set Availability and click the radio button next to Yes to make the course available or No to make it unavailable.
    A screenshot showing the Set Availability option. Text reads "Make this course available to users? Make Course Available" and two radio buttons: one for Yes, one for No
  3. Click Submit.


Blackboard Ultra


Under Details & Actions on the left-hand side, you will see that the course is marked Course is private or Course is open. 


To open a private course, click on Course is private. In the window that pops up, choose Open to Students. 



To make an open course private, click on Course is open. In the window that pops up, choose Make Course Private. 


NOTE: If the course has finished, you might want to choose Complete Course. 



(Updated 10/13/23)