Blackboard users,
We are currently using an old version of Blackboard, system 6. Support for that version is running out, so we need to upgrade to Blackboard system 7. It will take one week to perform the upgrade. During that week the Blackboard server will not be available.
Blackboard is now being used by the Coral Gables campus, Medical, Law, and Executive MBA, all of which have different schedules. There are always courses using Blackboard at UM. That is wonderful, but it makes the upgrade difficult to schedule. We are reviewing the possible dates for the upgrade, and setting up procedures for courses that might need Blackboard during the upgrade.
The current proposal for the upgrade is Tuesday, June 26, 2007, through Tuesday, July 3, 2007. That is after the first summer session on the Gables campus, and seems to meet the needs of the Executive MBA and Medical programs. When we upgraded to System 6 in 2004, we did it at about that same time of year.
Our plan is to have a second server available for people who are teaching during the upgrade week and cannot afford to lose that week of access to the Blackboard system. We would place those people's course(s) on the second server, and their students would access your course information there. For others, there would be no access to Blackboard for one week.
This is just a heads-up to let you know what is being planned. You will get more information as it becomes available.
Bill Vilberg
Assoc. Dir. of Instructional Advancement
305-284-3944
