Best Practices for Blackboard

Apply these best practices to succeed while using Blackboard.

Logging in to Blackboard

• Log in using your TU Email and password.
• Use the browser checker to ensure your browser is up to date.
• If you are having trouble logging in, clear your cookies and cache on your browser, or try an incognito browser.
• For account or issues, please contact Student Computing Services at 410-704-5151.

Blackboard Homepage

• Institution Page - important links for Towson University's technology sites, resources, support, and Cook Library.
• Your Profile - view and edit your Blackboard profile, including adding a profile image, and edit your notification settings.
• Activity Stream - a list of the most recent updates from your courses, including new grades or assignments, documents, or announcements.
• Courses - your list of courses currently on Blackboard.
• Organizations - organization sites for student groups that use Blackboard.
• Calendar - a calendar view of all due dates and assignments in your course, which can be linked out to a personal calendar or your TU Outlook calendar.
• Messages - view and send messages to your professors.
• Grades - view your grades or assignments for all courses.
• Assist - a list of helpful pages for Towson resources, including Accessibility and Disability Services, Counseling Center, Writing Center, and more.

Your Course List

• Course enrollments come from the Online Student Center. If you are missing a course on Blackboard, verify you are enrolled in the course on PeopleSoft first. Contact the Registrar if there are missing courses.
• Courses are made available or unavailable at the instructor's discretion. Contact your professor if the course is unavailable and you believe it should be available.
• Use the Star icon on a course tile to "Favorite" it and keep it at the top of the list. Click the Star again to un-favorite it.
• Hiding a course will remove it from your view completely. Click on the drop down menu next to the Filter option to see Hidden Courses.
• Change the term at the top of the page to view only courses from a specific term.

Contact Your Professor

• Use the Messages tab on the left of the homepage, or on the top bar once inside your course, to contact your professor. 
• Be sure to include your course name and section number in your message.

Contact TU Blackboard Support

• Contact support at 410-704-5151.
• Create a service request. 
• Be sure to include all relevant information such as course number and section, and any relevant screenshots.