Early Bird

Handling Incomplete grades in Blackboard

Learn how to keep your Blackboard content available for students who need more time.

By Shaun Schafer, Corey Oxenbury

May 14, 2020

With the shift to online-only classes this semester, some students have opted to request an Incomplete. One important step in facilitating such requests is to ensure that course content in Blackboard is available for students who still need access to it. Instructors can accomplish this by manually opening the course.

Keeping a course open in Blackboard past the end of the semester can make it much easier for a student receiving an Incomplete to successfully finish a course with a minimum amount of communication and interaction with the instructor. A student receiving an Incomplete would be able to access course content to ensure that the student remains on track to complete the course.

Instructions for opening a Blackboard course are available on the Blackboard FAQ knowledge-base page. Please be aware that all students who were in the same course section as the student with an Incomplete will continue to have access to the course and its materials while the course is open. This does not mean every student will be able to redo missed exams or assignments (following the instructions on the FAQ will give attempts to only the students with Incompletes), just that other students will continue to see the course in Blackboard until it closes.

Please visit the Center for Teaching, Learning and Design’s Ready page for more information about using Blackboard, including self-help tutorials, live training and workshop sessions. If you have any technology questions or concerns, please contact the Information Technology Services Service Desk at 303-352-7548, support.msudenver.edu or by emailing support@msudenver.edu from your MSU Denver email account.