What’s New in EIS

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...

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...

What if a wrong answer could teach just as much as a right one? This month’s Blackboard update brings tools that let instructors do exactly that: Guiding students not just to the correct response,...

Have you ever spent more time wrestling with Blackboard's Groups tool than actually designing the group work itself, especially in a large course? The May Ultra update delivers meaningful...

Have you ever wanted students to see exactly what's expected of them in a discussion, without having to navigate back to the assignment details to check? Or needed to recognize that one group...

In January, UMBC faculty and students will experience a redesigned course navigation in Ultra that makes key areas easier to access and understand. The updated layout brings a full-width header...

Blackboard will roll out a refreshed interface in early January, introducing a cleaner, more intuitive design that aims to make everyday teaching tasks faster and more efficient. One change is...

What if your discussion assignments could set clear expectations up front? Could your students benefit if your course could respond to their questions before you checked your inbox? The December...

Imagine if you could adjust test points in seconds without regrading everything manually? What if your course could automatically cheer students on when they succeed -- or nudge them when they...

The October Ultra release is a lightweight update featuring a valuable feature for faculty assessment management, allowing easier reuse of test questions and question banks.  Instructors can...