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Student FAQs

Logging In
Q. What is my Blackboard username and password?
Q. I'm having problems logging into Blackboard. What should I do?
Courses and Organizations
Q. I don't see all of my courses in Blackboard.
Q. I still see last semester's courses in Blackboard.
Q. Can I set up my own Blackboard community?
Personal Information and Email
Q. Why can't I change my information?
Q. Check your email address in Blackboard.
Q. I don't receive any of the email messages that my professor sends from within Blackboard. What is wrong?
General
Q. I tried to print a Blackboard screen, but only the navigation buttons printed.
Q. Help! I logged into Blackboard and the tabs and menu items are so tiny I can't read them.
Q. When I open up a PowerPoint presentation, I get a blank page. What's the deal?
Text Editor
Q. I cant use the cut, copy, and paste functions in the Visual Text Box Editor when using Mozilla Firefox
Q. MathML and/or the Equation editor will not open for me (PC/Windows Users)
Q. I do not see the MathML and/or the Equation icon (Mac Users)
Assessments/Exams
Q. Who do I contact about placement exams?
Q. How do I take a test?

Logging In



Q. What is my Blackboard username and password?

Your username is the same as your university network id (ex. jsmith), and your password will be the same password that you use for your other ITD accounts (i.e., OPUS/PeopleSoft, LearnLink, Webmail).

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Q. I'm having problems logging into Blackboard, what should I do?

You should try the following:

  1. Press the "Refresh" or "Reload" button on your browser.
    (To do a "force-refresh", hold the Shift key while pressing the Refresh/Reload button.).

  2. Quit your browser, restart your browser, and attempt to log in to Blackboard again.

  3. Empty your browser's cache (temporary Internet files)

    • Internet Explorer (Windows XP)
      • select Tools > Internet Options
      • in the General tab, press the "Delete Files" button, put a check mark in the "Delete all offline content" box, and press OK
    • Internet Explorer (Mac OS X):
      • select Explorer > Preferences
      • under "Web Browser", click the "Advanced" option in the left-hand window
      • press the "Empty Now" button, then OK
    • Safari (Mac OS X):
      • select Safari > Empty Cache

  4. Check your browser's security settings. Some browsers, such as Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP, can cause problems in Blackboard when the browser's security settings are set too high. Try changing to a "Medium" security level.
    For Internet Explorer 6 in Windows XP, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security.

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Courses and Organizations


Q. I don't see all of my courses in Blackboard.

Not all courses are hosted on Blackboard. Check with your professor. If it's hosted on Blackboard, your professor has to be sure the site is made AVAILABLE to students.

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Q. I still see last semester's courses in Blackboard.

Professors are responsible for removing students after a course has ended. However, you can hide inactive or older courses (click here for more).

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Q. Can I set up my own Blackboard Community?

Emory's Blackboard server offers community space as well as class sites. If your student organization would like space on the Blackboard server, please email classes@emory.edu. and we'll work with you to set up a community site.

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Personal Information and Email


Q. Why Can't I Change My Information?

As a member of the Emory community, you may no longer change your email address (or name) within Blackboard. Blackboard is now tied to the University system so whatever you have on file is now what's listed in Blackboard. Below are steps on how to check and/or modify the account where your mail is being sent.

Change Password
Change Email Address

Need More Password Help
Submit a help ticket
404-727-7777 - Hours: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m

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Q. Check Your Email Address in Blackboard:

After you've checked, you have a couple of options if you want to CHANGE it:

  1. Change Your Preferred Email Address:
  2. Set Up Forwarding:

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Q. I don't receive any of the email messages that my professor sends from within Blackboard. What is wrong?

If you are a LearnLink user, the problem may be related to your email settings. LearnLink considers mail from Blackboard as junk mail because it's being sent to a group with no students' names listed. You need to change how LearnLink handles junk mail via Edit > Preferences > Junk Mail Handling > Set to ACCEPT (rather than Delete Silently).

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General


Q. I tried to print a Blackboard screen, but only the navigation buttons printed.

Blackboard uses frames. Only one frame can be active at a time, and Blackboard prints the active frame. Click in the main document area (the right side) to activate that frame before using the PRINT command.

If you are using Netscape, you can choose FILE and then PRINT PREVIEW before printing to see what it will look like. If you just want to print a linked document, another option is to right-click on the document link (click and hold on Macs) and choose OPEN IN NEW WINDOW. This opens a new browser window, which makes it easier to view and print the document. When you're done with the file, remember to close the new window to return to Blackboard.

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Q. Help! I Logged into Blackboard and the Tabs and Menu Items are so Tiny I can't Read Them.

Check to see what TEXT SIZE your browser is set for.

internet Explorer: On the options menu > View > Text Size
FireFox Users: On the options menu > View > Text Size
Safari Users: Safari > Preferences > Appearence tab


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Q. When I open up a PowerPoint presentation, I get a blank page. What's the deal?

This problem presents itself when you have PowerPoint 2002, and either SP1 or no service packs. You need to upgrade to a minimum of Office XP SP 2. Some have had trouble installing SP2, and are opting for SP3. Or depending on your licensing, you could upgrade to Office 2003. The 2002 SPs are freely downloadable. The Office XP (2002) SP3 service pack is available for download from the Microsoft site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=85af7bfd-6f69-4289-8bd1-eb966bcdfb5e&displaylang=en


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Q. I cant use the cut, copy, and paste functions in the Visual Text Box Editor when using Mozilla Firefox

Firefox users, on all operating systems, must perform an extra step to enable the cut, copy, and paste functions. This is a function of the Firefox browser, and not Blackboard applications. The first time an attempt is made to cut, copy, or paste text in the Visual Text Box Editor, a message from Firefox will appear explaining that the action is not allowed. A link is provided for information on how to enable the cut, copy, and paste functions by editing a Firefox configuration file. The link currently points to http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo/securityprefs.html.

Please check with Firefox for the most up-to-date information on using rich-text tools for cut, copy, and paste. Macintosh users may find that this does not fully resolve the problem, particularly because Firefox does not permit pasting text from Microsoft Office files on Mac. To accomplish this task, paste the text into a basic text editor, such as TextEdit or Notepad and then paste the text into the Visual Text Box Editor.

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Assessments/Exams


Q. Who do I contact about placement exams?

The instructors must be contacted to reset your exams or for specific exam problems. The Blackboard administrators cannot reset exams or answer questions related to your exams.

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