Ultra Course Copy – Copy an Entire Course to an Empty Shell

This handout will show an instructor how to copy an entire course into an empty shell. The most common use case is copying a master course into a teaching CRN section.

Important Reminders

• Ideally, all masters will be copied to CRNs at least two weeks before the first day of class, allowing time to troubleshoot any issues that may arise before students have access.
• Please remember that all CRNs must have a master copied to them, no matter how much or little Blackboard is used by students. Copying the master applies the course design template required in all courses to meet minimum use standards.
• At a minimum, the Start Here module, course syllabus in Simple Syllabus, pacing guide, and the first week of course material (if applicable) must be completed before copying the master to the CRN. Work with your division dean if you need more time to finish adding your course content.
• Wait! Don’t Duplicate! It can take some time to completely copy – up to 15 minutes. Only submit the copy request once and allow time for the process to complete. You will receive a confirmation email when the copy is complete.
• If you have questions or experience issues during your course copy, please send a Blackboard helpdesk support ticket as soon as possible.
• If you need advice on rebuilding your master courses or using Simple Syllabus, you can schedule a meeting with any Center for Teaching and Learning team member using the CTL Meeting Request link.

When to copy

1. Finish rebuilding your Ultra master course in Blackboard.
2. Create your course syllabus using the Simple Syllabus app in OKTA. Directions are available in the Simple Syllabus Editor and Approver Training article.
3. Submit a request to review each master (Module 7).
4. After you receive your administrative review results by email and syllabus approval in Simple Syllabus, you can begin copying the masters to the CRNs. Contact your program/department chair or dean If you haven’t received your results. Remember this is a manual process and will take time after you submit your Module 7 review.

Who can copy

• Are you the instructor of both the course master and the CRN?    
  • Copy.
• Are you the instructor in the CRN, but you do not have a master? 
  • Contact your program/department chair. Program/department chairs build course masters and can copy them to the CRN.
    
• Are you the program/department chairperson and have access to the master course but not in CRN? 
  • You need Ultra Builder Access. Further directions are available in the Ultra Builder Access article.

Understanding How Copy Works in Ultra

Course copy in Ultra courses is much more fluid; this handout will focus on an ‘entire course copy’ designed to copy a fully complete course into an empty shell. Other handouts will walk through how to copy specific components only. The main difference to focus on for this process is that you start in the empty course and “pull” content into the empty course from a completed source course. The video below will demonstrate the steps provided.

Video: Course Copy Demonstration

Note

When you perform a full course copy, all settings are preserved (including due dates, visibility states, and release conditions). However, course links inside of learning modules with forced sequencing can’t be copied. This prevents users from navigating outside of the forced sequencing option. When a course link is copied, all associated content is also copied.[1]

How to Copy an Entire Course to an Empty Shell

NOTE: For this walk through we will use an empty course (teaching CRN) and a complete course (Master) for demonstration purposes.
 

1. Only courses that are “copyable” will have a checkmark indicator.
2. The course being worked on will be grayed out at this level for a “full copy” as it is the destination course.
3. The search bar can be used to narrow down the list. 
   • Example: Search for master or ACCT1100 to narrow down the list.
4. Since this is a full course copy, you will not move further into the courses but will remain at the level where the course names and full course ID values are visible.

6. Select the Start Copy button in the bottom right corner.

7. This step is very important – Wait, don't duplicate!. You will see a copy course spinner that will run for a few minutes as content is loaded into the empty course. This may take a couple of minutes, or it could take 5-10 minutes (or more) depending on the size of the course and the other items that might be in the course copy queue. Also, the larger the course, the longer it will take to copy. You will receive an email when the copy is complete.

8. All items should appear under the content tab once the copy is complete. It is strongly suggested that you always do the following once a copy is complete:

1. Click through content to ensure all looks good including any 3^rd party items.
2. Verify and/or update dates as necessary.
3. Verify any adaptive rules and visibility settings are as expected.
4. Verify the gradebook looks correct, including the overall grade calculation.

How to Verify a Copy Action is Complete and Check for Errors

1. Navigate to the Content tab.
2. In the upper right-hand corner, select the three dots (…) to see more options for course content.
3. Select Course Tasks and Logs.
4. This will list all copy processes by creation date.
5. Locate the copy entry, review the status, and if complete, select View Report. This report lists any issues with the copy, if all went well there should be no details listed. Review any that are listed and make any necessary changes or updates.

After copying

                After completing each course, check the course to ensure everything is copied in fully. Including these areas:

• All modules are copied and set to visible or not visible to students based on your preferences.
• Gradebook categories and weights are correct.
• Links copied and are working.