The Division of Information Technology’s AI site will help the UMBC community with information on using artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI (GenAI), to support UMBC’s Administrative, Instructional, and Research efforts. This site has been created to help employees advance their use of GenAI.

We recommend that our UMBC community begin by visiting GenAI Tools, a page that highlights free resources and provides guidance on using GenAI while safeguarding UMBC institutional data safely.

For staff seeking support, we encourage people to look at Administrative AI, as a starting point. Our goal is to save folks time, improve the quality of their work, and increase productivity. We showcase tools that DoIT provides to support these objectives.

We have launched myUMBC Answers, an AI-supported search bar. We are seeking partners to expand this tool. The key to leveraging myUMBC Answers is providing validated and accurate content, such as annual FAQs or handbooks.

Faculty, are encouraged to explore Instructional AI and Research AI. The UMBC Center for AI in the College of Engineering is an excellent resource for AI-related research and innovation. Stay informed by following the center’s social media channels on LinkedIn, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.

Members of the UMBC community can subscribe to the UMBC AI Group to receive email about AI-related news and events. If you have news to share with the UMBC AI community or suggestions or comments on the site, please send them to umbc-ai@cs.umbc.edu.

AI News

Showing items tagged blackboard. Show All

Level Up Your Course: Join Us for Blackboard Week (August 10th–14th)

Daily webinars to optimize your Fall courses

As we gear up for the FA2026 semester, Instructional Technology is hosting Blackboard Week from August 10th to August 14th. Whether you are completely new to Blackboard or a seasoned pro looking...

Posted: July 28, 2026, 10:00 AM

Blackboard Launches New Gradebook on August 7

Same grades, less clicking.

After a year-long redesign with faculty feedback sessions – including on-site at UMBC – Blackboard will launch a new gradebook starting August 7, 2026. The redesigned gradebook grid view will...

Posted: July 20, 2026, 10:00 AM

FA2026 Courses Created in Blackboard on July 15, 2026

Reminder: New Course Creation & Student Enrollment Process

Blackboard course shells for Fall 2026 were created on July 15, 2026. All Fall 2026 courses listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), regardless of designation as lecture, lab, etc, or...

Posted: July 16, 2026, 8:00 AM

Streamline Grading and Feedback with Gradescope

Pilot in Blackboard Begins Fall 2026

In partnership with the Math and Physics Departments, the Division of Information Technology is pleased to announce a pilot for Gradescope, a feedback and grading platform that integrates with...

Posted: July 14, 2026, 11:30 AM

July Update Brings Rubric Evaluation Report to Ultra Courses

Discussion descriptions, AI conversation timers, course favs

This month's Ultra update provides a new report that gives instructors class-wide rubric data at a glance, and a dedicated field that separates discussion context from prompt. Paired with clearer...

Posted: July 2, 2026, 10:29 AM

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