Open or Close a Course

The process to open or close a course allows instructors to make course content available to students outside of the normal timeframe of the semester. By default, courses will open to students on the evening before the first day of the semester and close after 12 noon on the day that semester grades are due. For directions with included screenshots, visit the Blackboard Open or Close a Course instructions or visit the Course Settings Anthology article.

Instructors: If you make adjustments to a course's duration, please close the course to students when they no longer need access. Default updates to not override manual changes made by the course instructor.

1. Log into Blackboard and navigate to the “Courses” page on the main menu options.
2. If the course is hidden, the course icon will appear with bolt lock symbol and the word “Closed.”
3. Toggle over the course icon for the course you’d like to unhide and select the three action dots/ellipses in the top right corner.
4. Select the option for “Course Settings." You'll be taken to the Course Settings page within the course.
5. Select the option to change the course from "Closed" to "Open."

If you receive an error message, you’ll need to adjust the course duration settings before you can open the course to students. Steps to adjust the duration are below.

Closing a Course Early or Adjusting the Duration Settings

1. From the Course Settings page, select the pencil icon next to "Duration."
2. Confirm that the course duration is set to "ongoing" and save.
3. You may choose to adjust the type to "Dates" but you will need to confirm the course re-opens to students.
4. Please always confirm that your course is closed to students once all student have completed their work.