Student Frequently Asked Questions

Login and Password:

• For questions regarding your UM Directory ID, password, and Email address issues, visit http://directory.umd.edu or our BB support Login Help page for detailed instructions.

• Visit Login Help page for more about logging in and Blackboard E-mail

Course Availability

Q Where do I find links to my courses?

A You can access your UM courses from http://bb.rhsmith.umd.edu.  You may also access them from the UM Portal at https://my.umd.edu/. Select the Student tab for a list of courses and a link to "Go to ELMS" (ELMS = Blackboard)

You can see a full list of your courses in Course Sites tab.

Q I registered to a course, but why I cannot see it when login to Blackboard?

A There are a few reasons that you can't see a registered course in Blackboard:

• The instructor has not requested the course site in Blackboard yet.

• The course has been setup, but currently the instructor made it "Unavailable" to students.

• You registered the course or got of the waitlist just recently, the enrollment takes 1-2 days to be loaded into Blackboard system automatically.

• Your registration has a financial hold or other registration block.

Q Can I modify the course list in my Blackboard home page? I do not want old courses showing there.

A  YES!  You can modify the courses listed on your Blackboard home page,(the first page that you see after you login.)   If you want to display only current semester courses, you can actually "hide" the courses you do not want to list on the home page. Here is how:  With "Home" tab selected, you can see a little pencil icon usually on the top-right side, in "My Courses" window. If you put cursor on it, it will read as Modify the module: My Courses. Hit on the button, "Customize: My Courses" page will be displayed. You can deselect the courses that you don't want to be displayed, or choose the items that you want to be displayed in your course view, press Submit to have the changes take effect.

You can also modify your Blackboard home page contents and layout by clicking on Modify Content or Modify Layout button on the top-right corner when you are in Home tab of Blackboard pages.

Q How long I can access the course, and how long will the course stay in system?

A PLEASE NOTE that with campus OIT and Registrar's Office current policy, student access to courses will continue for 3 weeks after the course ends. So, if there are any course material you want to keep longer, you need to save the documents from your course to your local computer as soon as you can, or before the course becomes Unavailable. (See note on the top of this page.)

Currently there's no good solution for this issue. Some students ask about "Backpack" software to save a copy of Blackboard courses. This is not currently available.  The campus is doing research on this product. If it becomes available, we will give you updates here.

If you need to access a previous course, please contact your instructor first. If your instructor approved, he/she can send email to bbhelp@rhsmith.umd.edu, we will make you active again in that course.

Q. Where to find the Course Syllabi?

A. There is a Public Syllabi page available for Business School users. Short after the course is setup and the instructor posted course syllabi to the Blackboard course site, Smith IT will post it to the public syllabi page. Link to preview syllabi is available from the Blackboard login page (http://bb.rhsmith.umd.edu), and this R. H. Smith Blackboard information and FAQ website (http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/blackboard).

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Other

Q. What browser should I use? What should I do if the pages not function well?

A. For all browser related issues, please visit Login help tab, or check  Browser Settings document.

Q. Where can I find additional Blackboard documentation for students?

A. To access the online Student User Manual, click the Course Tools link on the left from any BB course, then click on User Manual. Or click here to get to the online manual.

Contact US

Q I have some other questions regarding Blackboard, where should I ask for help?

A To ensure your request has a guaranteed reply, help us provide you with the best quality support, and helps us better track trends in support requests, please send all Blackboard questions and issues to bbhelp@rhsmith.umd.edu. You can also stop by Smith IT helpdesk at Room #3520, Van Munching Hall, or call us at 301-405-2269.