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November 2026 Release Notes (4001.4)

Release Information

Note

For maintenance release build numbers and bug fixes, visit Maintenance Releases.

For release status and delays, visit Blackboard Status.

Instructional Design

LOR: View Object Source Information

Administrators can now view source information for an object in the Learning Object Repository (LOR) when that object is used in a course or organization. The LOR distributes a single object to many courses and organizations at once, so administrators managing large content libraries need a quick, reliable way to see where an object is stored in the LOR.

When an objects within the LOR is used in a course or organization, the Source Information option appears at the bottom of its settings panel of the object. An administrator can go into that course/organization and identify an object’s node level within the Institutional Hierarchy. This feature streamlines the management of objects within the Learning Object Repository for administrators.

Image 1: Within the Settings panel for a LOR object, you can now find the object’s location in the institutional hierarchy under the new Source Information section.

Detail of settings panel for an object in the Learning Object Repository. Below the description of the object is a section called Source Information. There is a note that says, "If you cannot make a change here, it may need to be updated at the source. Below the note it says "Location: Institutional Repository." The phrase Institutional Repository is a live link that can be selected.

Administrators

Availability: Available to all Ultra courses.

Activation: None needed.

Configuration: None needed.

November improvements to the beta Content Editor in Blackboard Documents

We've made another round of improvements to the beta Content Editor, focused on accessibility, a more consistent toolbar, easier access to files, and more flexible authoring. These updates make the editor clearer to navigate, more predictable to use, and better suited to a wider range of content.

Instructors

Accessibility

  • Skip navigation link. A skip navigation link now appears when you move through the Content Editor with a keyboard, giving you quick access to the editor's keyboard navigation instructions and shortcuts. This helps you learn to operate the editor efficiently without a mouse.

  • Improved contrast for disabled toolbar actions. Disabled toolbar actions now have higher contrast, making them easier to distinguish and improving accessibility.

Toolbars and menu updates

  • File properties on image upload. File properties now display when you upload an image, so you can add alternative text and adjust display options before the image is inserted.

    Image 1: Now when you upload an image, file properties display so you can choose display and add alternative text before the image is inserted in the Content Editor.

    Edit File Options window that appears when uploading an image to the Content Editor. Under the label File Options, there are three radio buttons labeled View and download, View only, and Download only. View and Download is selected. Under Accessibility, there is a description saying, "An image description makes it easier to connect the image to its context and allows people with visual impairments to perceive the image. Learn how to describe an image." The final sentence is a live link that can be selected. Below is a text box labeled Alternative text. Written in the text box is the sentence, "Back icon in the upper-left corner of the Language screen in the Blackboard app." There is a checkbox below labeled, "Mark the image as decorative." This box is unchecked. At the bottom are Cancel and Save buttons.

  • Content Collection access. You can now access and select files directly from the Blackboard Content Collection within the Content Editor, without leaving the editor to find them.

Math authoring

  • The Content Editor now supports LaTeX. The Content Editor now supports LaTeX \begin{...}...\end{...} environments, building on the LaTeX and MathJax rendering introduced previously.

Administrators

Availability: Available for all Ultra Courses.

Activation: Turned off by default.

Configuration: In the Admin Panel, select Configure in the The Ultra Experience is Here module. Turn on the New Content Editor for Blackboard Documents (Beta) feature flag.

Communication and Collaboration

Expand group management search capabilities

Instructors using the group management system can now search for students who are already assigned to a group, not just those still waiting to be assigned. A new dual search lets instructors look up an individual student and the groups in a set at the same time, so they can instantly see which group a student is in, move them, and manage large, fully assigned group sets without losing track of anyone.

Group sets can contain hundreds of students across many groups, and until now the search on this screen only covered unassigned students. Once everyone was assigned, the search returned nothing useful, which made finding one student among many groups slow and, at large scale, nearly impossible.

Instructor

When managing groups in a group set, instructors now have a search that covers both students and groups:

  • Find any student, assigned or not. Searching for a student returns their current status — whether they’re assigned to a specific group or not yet in any group. From the result, instructors can unassign an assigned student to return them to the unassigned pool or assign a student who isn’t in a group yet.

    Image 1: Instructors can now search students who have been assigned to groups in addition to the existing search for students who are unassigned.

    Detail of Groups set page with dual searches being used. The search under the Unassigned Students label has "Jess" entered into the search bar and filters the results to one student, Jessica Clark. The search for students and groups has "Nat" entered into the search bar, which filters the result to one student Nathalie Andersson. There is a blue box surrounding each of the search bars and the search result to highlight these features.

  • Search for groups alongside students. Instructors can search for a group as well as a student, which makes it possible to locate a student in one search, bring up the destination group in another, and drag and drop the student into that group.

    Image 2: Instructors can use the expanded search to search for groups as well as students within those groups.

    Detail of Groups set page with the search for students and groups search bar being used. The numeral "3" is entered into the search bar, which results in two results: one student (Nathalie Andersson) and one group (Group 3).

  • Filter mixed results. When a search returns both students and groups, instructors can filter the results to show only students or only groups. This is especially useful in large classes with many results; on small group sets, the filter is optional.

    Image 3: The expanded search includes filters for results that include both students and groups.

    Detail of Groups set page with the search for students and groups search bar being used. The numeral "3" is entered into the search bar, which results in two results: one student (Nathalie Andersson) and one group (Group 3). Next to the bar is a filter which is selected, opening a dropdown menu with the following options: All results, Only students, Only Groups. All results is selected. There is a blue box surrounding the filters button as well as the filter dropdown menu to highlight these features.

Searching continues to match based on first name, last name, and student ID, as it did before.

Together, these changes make the group management screen far more flexible for large courses, letting instructors find and reorganize students no matter how many groups exist or how many students are already assigned.

Administrators

Availability: Available for all Ultra courses

Activation: Controlled by an administrator‑managed feature toggle. The feature is off by default until January 2027 production release, where the new experience will be the default setting.

Configuration: No additional configuration is required once the feature is enabled. The new group management experience is introduced behind a feature toggle, allowing institutions to enable it in test and stage environments before turning it on in production. Both the new and existing group experiences may run in parallel for a limited time to support transition and documentation updates.

Assignments and Tests

Gradebook

Submit in-progress attempts on behalf of students

Instructors can now submit a student’s in-progress assignment or test attempt from the Submissions page and document the reason as part of the workflow. To provide a clear record, the submission receipt and the submission review show the name of the instructor who submitted the attempt, the reason provided, and the date.

Instructors

On the Submissions page for an assignment or test, select the ellipsis menu for a student whose status is Draft saved, then select Submit draft attempt. Enter the reason for the submission, then select Submit.

The Submissions page for an assignment, showing one student with a Student Status of Draft saved. The ellipsis menu for the student is open with the options Attempt log, Add or edit exceptions, Add or edit exemptions, and Submit draft attempt. A box highlights the menu.

Instructors can also submit draft attempts for anonymously graded assessments. In the gradebook, open the student overview, select the ellipsis menu for the assessment, then select Submit draft attempt.

When instructors look up the submission receipt in the gradebook, the receipt shows the name of the instructor who submitted the draft attempt, the reason provided, and the date.

Students

When an instructor submits a draft attempt on a student’s behalf, the student’s emailed submission receipt and submission review show the name of the instructor who submitted the attempt, the reason provided, and the date.

Administrators

Availability: Available to all Ultra courses.

Activation: None needed.

Configuration: None needed.

Use AI Writing Tools in overall feedback

Instructors can now use AI Writing Tools when writing overall feedback in flexible grading. This makes it easier to refine the clarity and tone of feedback before sharing it with students.

Instructors

In flexible grading, enter feedback in the Overall Feedback section, then select AI rewrite icon under AI Writing Tools. AVA generates a rewritten version of the feedback below the editor, along with a notice that the content is auto-generated and needs to be checked for accuracy and bias.

Image 1: Select the AI rewrite icon under AI Writing Tools in the Overall Feedback section.

A student’s journal submission open in flexible grading, with the submission text in the center and the Overall Feedback section on the right. Feedback is entered in the Overall Feedback editor. Below the editor, AI Writing tools appears with the Rewrite icon, which is highlighted with a box.

After reviewing the rewritten feedback, instructors can choose one of the following options:

  • Replace: replaces the original feedback with the rewritten version.

  • Discard: keeps the original feedback and removes the rewritten version.

  • Try Again: generates a new rewrite.

Instructors must select Replace or Discard before they can save the feedback.

Image 2: The rewritten feedback appears below the editor with options to try again, discard, or replace.

The Overall Feedback section showing the original feedback in the editor. Below it, a notice states that the content is auto-generated and needs to be checked for accuracy and bias. The rewritten feedback appears under AI Writing tools, with Try Again, Discard, and Replace options. The Cancel and Save buttons are disabled.

Administrators

Availability: Available to all Ultra courses.

Activation: To enable this feature, navigate to Administrator Tools > Integrations > Building Blocks > Installed Tools, AI Design Assistant and Unsplash > Settings. Turn on Enable AI Design Assistant if not already turned on. Turn on AVA Rewrite Feedback toggle if not already turned on.

Configuration: None needed.

Integrations

Manage Respondus availability with Institutional Hierarchy

Administrators can now use Institutional Hierarchy to control where the Respondus LockDown Browser integration is available. Respondus can be enabled or disabled at different levels of the hierarchy — such as the institution, a node, or an individual course — so institutions can manage its availability the same way they manage other tools, without relying on manual governance or course-by-course workarounds.

Respondus is a custom integration that appears in its own placement in Assessment Settings, separate from the Proctored Assessments section used by standard proctoring providers. Because it sits outside the Ultra Proctoring Framework, the recent Institutional Hierarchy support added for standard proctoring services did not apply to it. This update extends Institutional Hierarchy control to the Respondus placement specifically, closing that gap while keeping the existing LTI 1.3 integration unchanged.

With this update:

  • Enable or disable Respondus by hierarchy level. Administrators can turn the Respondus integration on or off at the institution, node, or course level, consistent with how availability is managed for other tools.

  • Assessment Settings reflects the hierarchy rules. The Respondus placement in Assessment Settings appears or is hidden according to the Institutional Hierarchy configuration that applies to a given course.

  • No change to existing functionality. Respondus continues to work through its current LTI 1.3 integration. Institutions using the legacy LTI 1.1 integration will need to transition to LTI 1.3 to use Respondus with Institutional Hierarchy. Existing Respondus access through LTI 1.3 remains unaffected.

This brings Respondus in line with Blackboard LMS’s centralized configuration model, giving administrators consistent, hierarchy-based control over a custom integration that previously had to be managed separately.

Administrators

Availability: Available to all Ultra courses.

Activation: None needed.

Configuration: Administrators manage Respondus availability through Institutional Hierarchy, setting it at the institution, node, or course level as needed.

Grade Export: Overall grade override notations

Grade Export now supports overall grade override notations. When an instructor overrides a student's overall grade with a notation, such as "Inc" for incomplete or "NA" for not applicable, Grade Export shows that notation during grade approval and includes it in the grade extract. Previously, these overrides appeared as a blank value (a hyphen), and the blank value was sent to the SIS.

Note

If the approved grades include override notations, Grade Export sends the notations to the SIS exactly as entered in the Gradebook, including any special characters or emoji.

Image 1: Grade Export now supports overall grade override notations. When an instructor overrides a student's overall grade with a notation, such as "Inc" for incomplete or "NA" for not applicable, Grade Export shows that notation during grade approval and includes it in the grade extract.

The Grade Approval tool in Grade Export. The Current Grade column is highlighted with a blue box. Starting from the top of the column, the grades are: INC, B, NA, A-, C, D.

Administrators

Availability: Available to all Original and Ultra courses.

Activation: None needed.

Configuration: None needed.

Premium

Video Studio - Forward and Rewind Controls in Video Player

The Video Studio player now has 10-second rewind and forward buttons, one on each side of the play and pause button. Viewers can easily jump back to rewatch something they missed or skip ahead past material they already know in addition to dragging the scrubber or using transcript navigation to find the right spot.

This feature improves navigation, especially on phones, tablets, or when a video is embedded at a small size in an Ultra document. These standard playback controls, familiar from other video platforms, make quick navigation easier wherever the player appears.

Instructors and Students

  • Select the rewind button to jump back 10 seconds, or the forward button to jump ahead 10 seconds.

  • The buttons sit on either side of the central play and pause control in the player.

  • When the player is shown in a compact layout, such as on a small screen or embedded at a small size, the buttons show only their icon without the “10s” label, so they remain usable in limited space.

Image 1: The Video Studio player with 10-second rewind and forward buttons on either side of the play and pause button.

Alt text: The Video Studio player controls, showing a 10-second rewind button to the left of the central play and pause button and a 10-second forward button to its right. In the compact layout, each button shows only its icon without the “10s” label.

Administrators

Availability: Available to everyone using Video Studio.

Activation: None needed.

Configuration: None needed.