Login As Permission Improvements 
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Original Experience
Impact: Administrators
 

In the February release, administrators gained the ability to impersonate end users. This is helpful for troubleshooting purposes. Now we are improving the permissions structure to offer better controls. Some of these improvements include: When using the institutional hierarchy, node administrators with login as permissions cannot impersonate users from a different node. No user can ever impersonate a full administrator (z) role.

For administrators: This feature is available for all Learn environments. The privilege “Administrator Panel (Users) -> Users -> Login As” can be assigned to system roles. These roles can be applied to system and node administrators.


 

Reduced email notifications when purging data sources
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Original Experience
Impact: Administrators

In the past, when an administrator purged data in the Data Sources page, they would receive an email for each deleted record. When purging hundreds or thousands of records, the administrator would receive an overwhelming number of emails.

To improve the user experience, administrators will now receive only one email when purging a Data Source. This change simplifies the email notification process and reduces the clutter in the administrator's inbox.

For administrators: This feature is available for Learn environments. There are no configurations needed.


 

REST APIs to read Goals alignments 
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Original Experience
Ultra Course View, Original Course View
Impact: Administrators

Learn courses offer a unique opportunity to see how institutional objectives align with each other and how the objectives relate to internal or external goals. This information can be invaluable to educators and administrators who wish to measure the effectiveness of their curriculum and ensure that their goals are being met.

To make it even easier for institutions to access this important data, we are pleased to announce the release of our new Goal Alignments Public API. This API includes a set of GET endpoints that allow users to retrieve goal alignments data for their courses.

The endpoints included in this API cover two main use cases:

• retrieving all goal alignments from a course
• retrieving all alignments for a specific goal across all courses

By providing access to this data in a simple and easy-to-use format, we are empowering educators and administrators to make data-driven decisions. This helps to improve the overall effectiveness of our clients' curriculum.

For administrators: The REST integration user must have the privileges “Course/Organization > Goals Alignments, View” and “Administrator Panel (Tools and Utilities) > Goals” to make use of the new endpoints.


 

Personal information restricted in passwords 
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Original Experience
Impact: All users allowed to reset their passwords in Learn

Some institutions use an identity provider, such as Azure Active Directory, to manage and authenticate users. Sometimes, user accounts are created in Learn. These users can set their own passwords. To bolster security, we are now restricting the use of personal information in user passwords.

Personal information includes fields such as first name, middle name, last name, username, and student ID. Users will now be unable to incorporate this information when creating a password. The system will notify users if they attempt to use profile information as part of their password.

For administrators: This feature is always on, and it doesn’t require any configuration. Administrators should also avoid using personal information when setting a password for another user.


 

Toggle records between enabled and disabled states 
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Original Experience
Ultra Course View, Original Course View
Impact: Administrators

Various record types have different states. For example, an enrollment can be unavailable. This allows instructors to continue to grade student work and submit a final grade even when the student can no longer access the course. An enrollment can also be set to disabled. In this state, the enrollment is locked and hidden from users. A student information system (SIS) might disable an enrollment when a student drops the course.

Previously, administrators had to rely on data integration processes to change a record’s enablement state. This could require processing a file through the integration framework.

Now administrators can toggle the enablement state in the administrator panel. They can modify user, course, organization, and enrollment records. This allows administrators to temporarily re-enable a course or user to access information. It can also allow a help desk representative to grant access to a user waiting on an institutional data process.

When a user first enables or disables a record in the user interface, they must accept a disclaimer. It must only be accepted one time. Manual record changes are captured in the system logs.

For administrators: This feature is available for all environments. There are no configurations needed.

Maintenance Fixes

You can view maintenance items for 3900.65 on Behind the Blackboard. Our Known Issue articles provide information for individual bug fixes, and may include bug descriptions and which Learn versions were affected. You can filter bug fixes by SaaS release for easier navigation. Here are highlights of issues fixed in this release:
 

• Text in the VTBE Unintentionally Substituted with Greek Characters- Article #76816
• In Base Navigation When Importing a Common Cartridge Package From Pressbooks it Shows Importing Errors- Article #76880
• Course Home Icon Collapses Table of Contents in Original Courses- Article #76230
• Course Broken if First Entry Point is Deleted and Second is a Web Link- Article #77239
• Display All Users in Adaptive Release Membership Settings Presents Error When the Course has Disabled Enrollments- Article #76913
• Calculation Cannot be Completed for Enterprise Surveys Associated to Too Many Courses- Article #76695
• Importing a Course Deletes the External Grade Column in an Original Course- Article #77257
• When Downloading .docx/.pptx Files From an Original View Course the "Iframe" Remains Empty if Alternate Domain is Enabled- Article #77325
• When the Text is Colored in the VTBE Line Spaces are not Added After Submission-Article #76464
• LTI Tool Providers Module Throws Invocation Target Exception- Article #75915
• My Grades Filter-Selector Cannot be Accessed via Keyboard Navigation- Article #76348
• Original Course Term Overridden During Import Process- Article #76206
• Parent Course Enrollments are Deleted When Child Courses are Deleted, Even When "Retain Master Enrollments" Option is Chosen- Article #75925
• Progress Tracking in SCORM Item is Mark as Completed While Still in Draft- Article #77138
• Question Difficulty Filter in Item Analysis Report Is Not Displaying the Correct Amount of Items- Article #77135
• SCORM Packages are not Being Saved in the Content Collection- Article #77216
• Safe HTML Custom Policy "Needs-Merging" (Policy Reset) Email Notifications are Being Sent to a Do-not-reply Type Address and Lost- Article #76831
• Send Reminder Tool in Grade Center Ignores Manually Entered Grades- Article #75745
• Special Characters In Enterprise Survey Title Breaks Print Report Functionality- Article #76219
• Student Discussion Board Submitted Date Matches the First Post Date in Original Courses- Article #76500
• Text Formatting and Elements' Styling Removed While Importing a QTI Question Pool Even if Exported From Learn- Article #76378
• The "Featured Building Blocks" Link Does not Function- Article #76373
• In Original Course View the Exceptions Field in Test Settings is not Grayed out When Adaptive Release is Disabled- Article #77188
• Users Can Use WebDAV to Create "Bad" Recycle Bins that Stops the Feature Being Turned On- Article #76520
• Percentage Grades Entered in Grade Center in Original Courses Can Round Down for Certain Total Points and Grade Combos- Article #77353
• GUI Gets Stuck when Using the Student Preview Mode to Access an LTI tool- Article #75593
• Synchronize Placements for LTI Does Not Sync Changes in the 'Allow Student Access' Toggle- Article #77388
• Student Goal Performance Export JSON Incorrectly Labels Achievement Level Label- Article #77195
• NULLs in Nullable Fields in Attempt Break Artifact Creation & Preview After Migration to SaaS- Article #76558
• Deleting a Previous Draft Post after Submitting to a Graded Forum, Blog or Journal Lowers Interactive Count and can Erase "Needs Grading" Status- Article #76624
• Gradable Discussion Attempt is Marked as Not Attempted- Article #77521

Change Management Resources:

Self-hosted clients may download the latest build on the Download Files page.

Before applying the Cumulative Update, please take a system backup and make sure you have a backup plan in place. The installer is run at the command line, using Gradle, Maven, and an installer properties file. This also requires your system to be down for the upgrade/install. Further installation instructions can be found here.

Managed Hosting clients may submit a case on Behind the Blackboard to schedule implementation of this release.
 

Upgrade Paths for Clients Already on Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1

Existing Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1 clients can upgrade from the following versions to 9.1 3900.65.0 (Build: 3900.65.0-rel.17+fc3b8f5)
 

• Blackboard Learn, 3900.62 (Build: 3900.60.0-rel.40+2c2db79).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.60 (Build: 3900.60.0-rel.40+2c2db79).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.58 (Build: 3900.58.0-rel.37+e021d98).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.56 (Build: 3900.56.0-rel.27+a2864fb).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.54 (Build: 3900.54.0-rel.19+238d3d6).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.52 (Build: 3900.52.0-rel.22+0f5d4f9).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.50 (Build: 3900.50.0-rel.20+282a237).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.48 (Build: 3900.48.0-rel.13+1f125fd).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.46 (Build: 3900.46.0-rel.22+29d441b).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.41 (Build: 3900.41.0-rel.19+a47d5d5).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.39 (Build: 3900.39.0-rel.27+6e72bbb).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.37 (Build: 3900.37.0-rel.36+0a6785f).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.34 (Build: 3900.34.0-rel.51+f0d11c8).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.32 (Build: 3900.32.0-rel.33+aac11a3).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.30 (Build: 3900.30.0-rel.36+30ff7b6).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.28 (Build: 3900.28.0-rel.22+1a80aa0).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.26 (Build: 3900.26.0-rel.24+b3048ed).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.23 (Build: 3900.23.0-rel.27+bf491df).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.21  (Build: 3900.21.0-rel.28+dd6c7ec).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.19 (Build: 3900.19.0-rel.35+404010).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.17  (Build: 3900.17.0-rel.43+eee598e).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.15 - Cancelled.
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.13 (Build: 3900.13.0-rel.31+9040981).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.10  (Build:3900.10.0-rel.36+d29e3aa).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.8 (Build: 3900.8.0-rel.34+a1b2d92).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.6 (Build:3900.6.0-rel.24+5fa90).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.4   (Build: 3900.4.0-rel.20+93e130c).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.2  (Build: 3900.2.0-rel.34+4ad580a).
• Blackboard Learn, 3900.0 (Build: 3900.0.0-rel.42+47a7c9a).
• Blackboard Learn 9.1, Q4 2019.
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 10 (Build: 3800.0.10-rel.6+8afd89c).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 9 (Build: 3800.0.9-rel.16+8f8c3e7).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 8 - Cancelled.
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 7  (Build: 3800.0.7-rel.16+bf839b4).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 6 (Build: 3800.0.6-rel.12+96497c7).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 5 (Build: 3800.0.5-rel.26+874a2ce).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 4 (Build: 3800.0.4-rel.9+8bf5305).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 3 (Build: 3800.0.3-rel.12+b4d1082).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 2 (Build: 3800.0.2-rel.6+f954336).
  • 9.1 Q4 2019 Cumulative Update 1 (Build: 3800.0.1-rel.42+75c791f).
• Blackboard Learn 9.1, Q2 2019.
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 14  (Build: 3700.0.14-rel.5+77f16ee).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 13  (Build: 3700.0.13-rel.5+1744c87).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 12  (Build: 3700.0.12-rel.12+375f8a2).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 11 (Build: 3700.0.11-rel.23+c620db7).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 10 (Build: 3700.0.10-rel.12+2ad3637).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 9 (Build: 3700.0.9-rel.14+4205da6).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 8 (Build: 3700.0.8-rel.4+76636a5).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 7 (Build: 3700.0.7-rel.21+54e64bd).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 6 (Build: 3700.0.6-rel.16+b131895).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 5 (Build: 3700.0.5-rel.21+dfdd268).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 4 (Build: 3700.0.4-rel.20+ded7cc5).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 3 (Build: 3700.0.3-rel.35+ec64a31).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 2 (Build: 3700.0.2-rel.36+fbf2221).
  • 9.1 Q2 2019 Cumulative Update 1 (Build:3700.0.1-rel.29+a963bd8)

If you are a self-hosted client on a Blackboard Learn 9.1 release prior to Q2 2019 you will need to upgrade to at least 9.1 Q2 2019 before you can upgrade to Learn 9.1, 3900.65.0.

Upgrade Paths for Clients New to Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1

If you are upgrading from one of the releases listed below, please refer to Install or Upgrade Learn for information to help you plan for this move. There are planning, training, and communication materials available to make this upgrade as smooth as possible. Please reference next steps based on your current release. For those migrating from Blackboard Learn, Release 9.0 or Blackboard Academic Suite, Release 8.0, please ensure you include migrating to a 64-bit environment in your upgrade plans.
 

• Blackboard Learn, Release 9.0: The following paths are supported when upgrading from Blackboard Learn, Release 9.0, Service Pack 7 (Build: 9.0.692.0)
  • Release 9.1, Service Pack 9 (Build: 9.1.90132.0) > Service Pack 12 (Build: 9.1.120113.0) > April 2014 (9.1.201404.160205) > Q4 2015 (Build:9.1.201510) > Q4 2016 (Build:3100.0) > Q4 2017 (Build:3300.0) > Q4 2018 (Build: 3500.0) > Q2 2019 or Q4 2019 > 9.1 3900.23.0
• Blackboard Academic Suite, Release 8.0 or lower:The following paths are supported when upgrading from Release 8.0, Service Pack 7 Hotfix 2 (Build: 8.0.494.35) without needing to upgrade to Release 9.0 first.
  • Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1, Service Pack 9 (Build: 9.1.90132.0) > Service Pack 12 (Build: 9.1.120113.0) > April 2014 (9.1.201404.160205) > Q4 2015 (Build:9.1.201510) > Q4 2016 (Build:3100.0) > Q4 2017 (3300.0) > Q4 2018 (Build: 3500.0) > Q2 2019 or Q4 2019 > 9.1 3900.23.0
• Blackboard Learning System CE 8.0 and Vista 8.0 Licenses: You must be on Service Pack 6 (Build: 18.0.6.116) to effectively use course conversion capabilities.
• Blackboard Learn, ANGEL Edition: You must be on any ANGEL 8.0 or ANGEL 7.4 release to effectively use course conversion capabilities.

If you are a self-hosted client on a release that is earlier than Blackboard Learn 9.1 Service Pack 6, and you also use Oracle, there is a pre-upgrade utility that will minimize your downtime during this upgrade. Please consult the 9.1 Service Pack 6 Release Notes and the Readme for the Pre-Upgrade Utility for Oracle for more information on this utility.