Locating Blackboard Courses

There are three primary reasons that instructors may have difficulty locating a course in the Blackboard course list. This page details all three with solutions for each. 

Long Course Lists

For instructors with many courses, it can be difficult to find a course in the course list. The best solution is to use the search function to shorten the list. 

The following searches are the most effective for locating a course.

  • Three-letter department code
  • Three-number course code
  • Semester name, i.e. "Fall 23" or "Spring 23" 
  • Term or Semester code from the Course ID, i.e. "1231" for Fall 2022 courses

Once you've located your course, clicking the star button will set it to the top of your courses list as a "Favorite." Clicking the purple star will remove the designation and remove it from your "favorites" list.

Image showing Search your courses box highlighted in orange outline rectangle on the Courses page.

Edited Course Dates

Courses in Blackboard are located under term labels based on a duration set within the course. The duration is automatically populated upon creation with a default start date four weeks before the start of main campus classes and a default end date of the final day of the month following the term. If an instructor has adjusted these dates, the course will move to a new area within the system.

To quickly find your course move to the "Terms" area and select "All Terms",  and enter a search term in the "Search your courses" search box. Doing this should return the course such as its course code since you are searching across all the terms. 

For further information on how to edit your course dates visit 

Image showing top orange arrow pointing at the Terms box, and the bottom orange arrow pointing at the Search your courses box on the Courses page.

Hidden Courses

Instructors are able to hide courses from their own view. This does not impact the view for other instructors or for students. Students are not allowed to hide courses they are enrolled in.

To locate a hidden course:

  1. Change the "Filter" setting by clicking the dropdown menu and selecting "Hidden from me."
  2. In the "Terms" box you can select which Term of hidden courses you would like to see, or select "All Terms". 
  3. The results you see is a list of courses. These results change when you select different tabs in "Terms". 

To show a hidden course:

Identify the course and select the ellipsis on the far right of the course card. In the drop-down menu select "Show course". The course should then appear in the appropriate area under "Terms". 

Image showing top orange arrow pointing at the Filters menu, and the bottom orange arrow pointing at the Hidden from me tab from the drop-down menu on the Courses page.

Image showing top orange arrow pointing at ellipsis icon, and bottom orange arrow pointing at the Show course tab on the drop-down menu on the Courses page.

Video Walkthrough

This video illustrates the Blackboard settings and troubleshooting process described above.