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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

vertical bar graph logo for gradescope

5 Steps to More Accessible Google Docs

Start building inclusive Google Docs for all readers today

Imagine a student opening a Google Docs syllabus with a screen reader. They expect to easily skip from section to section. Instead, they hit a wall of text. Why? Because simply making text bold...

Posted: July 14, 2026, 10:50 AM

A human figure with outstretched arms inside a circle of two curved arrows, suggesting movement. Below the figure are two words: digital accessibility.

Elevate Your Impact: USM Champions Accessibility and Fall Prep

USM Accessibility in Action - July 2026 Issue

Welcome to July's edition of USM Accessibility in Action! This month, we're celebrating USM excellence and helping you strengthen one of the most fundamental accessibility skills: writing...

Posted: July 9, 2026, 12:11 PM

5 Tips for Accessible Word Documents

Small changes, big impact for everyone.

Microsoft Word is one of the most common tools used for creating flyers, handouts, syllabi, readings, and assignments. It’s also one of the most common sources of accessibility problems in...

Posted: July 7, 2026, 12:15 PM

A human figure with outstretched arms inside a circle of two curved arrows, suggesting movement. Below the figure are two words: digital accessibility.

Fraudulent Jobs & Employment Scams

Protect Yourself During Your Job Search

Repost from the Career Center: Fraudulent Jobs & Employment Scams The UMBC Career Center works hard to ensure that employers recruiting through Handshake are legitimate. Handshake...

Posted: July 6, 2026, 10:19 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

Notification bell above text “New to Ultra” and Blackboard logo.

June HPCF Newsletter

Happy end of June everyone, I'm writing to give everyone an update regarding the UMBC HPCF and other Research Computing projects currently undertaken by DoIT during the month of June. Summary...

Posted: June 30, 2026, 2:45 PM

3 Tips for Making Your Synchronous Meetings Accessible

Accessible meetings benefit every participant involved.

Let’s enhance meeting productivity for all attendees! Whether you are hosting a departmental meeting, conducting a 1:1 check-in, or moderating a large-scale event,  the organization and execution...

Posted: June 30, 2026, 12:00 PM

A human figure with outstretched arms inside a circle of two curved arrows, suggesting movement. Below the figure are two words: digital accessibility.

chip Downtime Scheduled for July 28th

To all chip users, On Tuesday July 28th, the chip cluster will be inaccessible from 0800ET - 1800ET. This maintenance window will focus on optimizing our storage architecture to enhance data...

Posted: June 29, 2026, 1:14 PM