Re-using everything including Grade Center

First, go to your new empty course shell to remove all menu links that are included in your old course from which you want to copy. Do not remove "Bb & Tech Support," Tutoring, and "Library & Databases" in the new course as they may be updated every semester. Do not copy these links from your previous semester's course.

Then follow the steps below.

Course Copy almost everything

Instructions (Text)

Go to the previous course where you have the course materials and in the Course Management section.
Open the Packages and Utilities tab then click on "Course Copy".
On the Copy Course page, under Select Copy Options, click the "Browse..." button.
In the pop-up window select the destination course by clicking the radio button next to the course. At the bottom right, click "Submit". You are back to the Copy Course page where you will select what to copy.
Click the "Select All" button. Do not check the check box in the Enrollments section at the bottom of the page.
If you don't want to copy the announcements, uncheck the Announcements checkbox.
If you want to copy discussion forum instructions and settings, but not the initial threads created by students, under "Discussion Board" check the radio button for "Include only the forums, with no starter posts." Leave everything else as is. Click "Submit".

Course copy can take a few minutes to a few hours. When the course copy is completed, you will receive an email notification.

Where to find the materials in the destination course

Go to the destination course.

Look at the course menu on the left. Bb will copy the menu items from your source/older course to the destination course and place them at the bottom of the course menu.

If you do not see the menu items related to your source/older course, click the refresh button on top of the course menu.

You may find some duplicate menu names - one from the course template default menu, the other from copying from your older course. Clean up your course menu to remove those that are no longer needed and switch menu item orders to fit your course needs by following this tutorial.

Adjust availability dates and due dates

Bb has a Date Management tool that enables you to update availability dates and due dates easily. Watch this tutorial to learn how to update the dates in the course that is copied from a previous semester.

Course Import almost everything

Instructions (Text)

Go to the appropriate folder on your computer to locate the file. Then go to your new course.
In the Course Management section, open the Packages and Utilities tab, and click on “Import Package/View Logs”.
On the Import Package/View Logs page, click “Import Package”. Then click “Browse My Computer” to find your exported course package in zip format.
Click on the file name and click on Open. You are back to the Import Package page where you will select what to import.
In this case, you should click the “Select All” button under “Select Course Materials”.
If you don’t want to import the announcements, uncheck the Announcements checkbox.
If you want to import discussion forum instructions and settings, but not the initial threads created by students, under “Discussion Board” check the radio button for “Include only the forums, with no starter posts.” Leave everything else as is. Click "Submit".

Course import can take a few minutes to a few hours.

What to do after?

You can go to your new course and do the following:

Cleaning up the course menu by following the tutorial on 1.3.4 Adding and deleting menu links to tools and content areas; re-ordering links;
Reviewing and updating your course materials when appropriate.

Need more help?

Blackboard for Faculty main page

Center for Teaching, Learning and Educational Technologies (CTLET) home page