Logging into Blackboard (online)
- ellen bell
The university operates a seamless single sign-on (SSO) experience between University systems and Blackboard Learn.
You can log in to Blackboard Learn directly or through Staff Portal
Use the same credentials that you use for the MyDay Portal or your University e-mail i.e. your Ulster University e-mail address/E-Code and network password.
Staff need to request access to a module in Module manager before that module becomes available in Blackboard.
Instructions
New starts - logging in for the first time
Initial university correspondence will be sent to the personal email that you entered on your application form and/or contract.
New associate members of staff
Find your university email address, staff number and initial password.
On joining, associate members will receive a welcome email with an invite to activate their account.
Associate members of staff are provided with an A-Code e.g. A12345. Check your personal email account for a separate notification of your A-Code and Ulster email (Contact the member of staff who set up your account, if you haven’t received this information).
Once you have your A-Code and Ulster email address you can click on Set Password and you’ll be guided through the process of setting up a new password.
Have a mobile device handy and then navigate to Blackboard Learn. Click on Login using SSO.
You’ll be asked to sign in with your new ulster.ac.uk email and password.
If you have another office account this may be detected automatically, make sure you are using your ulster.ac.uk account:
If another account is detected choose “Use another account” and enter your ulster email and address.
You will be guided through the set up of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), which will help protect your data and our IT services against sophisticated cyberattacks.
When you login to Blackboard Learn, you will see your activity stream, to view your courses, click on Courses in the left hand menu.
New full-time/permanent members of staff
Find your university email address, staff number and initial password.
As a new member of staff you will have received a university email, a staff number E-Code, e.g. e12345678 and an initial network password. This will have been sent to the personal email that you entered on your application form and/or contract. Contact hr@ulster.ac.uk if you haven’t received your credentials.
Have a mobile device handy and then navigate to Blackboard Learn. Click on Login using SSO.
You be asked to sign in with your new ulster.ac.uk email and password.
If you have another office account this may be detected automatically, make sure you are using your Ulster University account:
If another account is detected choose “Use another account” and enter your ulster email and address.
You will be guided through the set up of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), which will help protect your data and our IT services against sophisticated cyberattacks.
If you will are asked to set up a new password. Choose a password with a minimum of 12 characters, that includes 3 out of the four categories below:
Upper Case
Lower Case
Digit
Special Character
When you’ve logged in to Blackboard Learn, you will see your activity stream, to view your courses, click on Courses in the left hand menu.
Logging in to Blackboard via the Staff Portal
If you are logged into the staff portal, select the Blackboard Learn tile.
You will be automatically signed in to Blackboard, you will see your activity stream, to view your courses, click on Courses in the left hand menu.
Logging in directly through Blackboard Learn
If you are not logged into Office 365, or the MyDay Portal, visit Blackboard Learn. Select the Login using SSO button.
You will be presented with the Pick an account screen:
Select your Ulster University account, enter your network password and you will be directed through the Multi-Factor Authentication process to login to Blackboard Learn.
When you login to Blackboard Learn, you will see your activity stream, to view your courses, click on Courses in the left hand menu.
Setting up Multi-factor Authentication
You need to set up Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to finish setting up your account.
Add Multi-Factor Authentication to your account
In Microsoft 365, click on your initials or photograph in the top right hand corner
and click on View account
Click on Security info
Click the + add sign-in method button
Select Authenticator app and click add
Download the Microsoft authenticator app
Download the Microsoft authenticator app for your Android or Apple device and click Next.
The Authenticator app wizard will now guide you through the installation of the authenticator app on your mobile device.
Pair your devices
The wizard will ask you to scan in a QR code
Open the authenticator app on your phone and select scan the QR codeon screen
The app will detect your account settings and then display your Ulster University account
Click Next on the laptop/desktop device
The connection to your smartphone will now be tested, click Approve
If pairing between your smartphone and laptop/desktop device is successful, you will get a notification on your laptop/pc device, press Next.
Your device will now be successfully registered.
Make sure the Default sign-in method is set to ‘Microsoft Authenticator- notification’. If it is not click Change and select ‘Microsoft Authenticator- notification’ from the drop down menu.
It is advisable to set up additional forms of authentication such as email, in case you lose or forget your phone.
Add your personal email as another source of authentication
Click on Add method
Select Email from the drop-down menu and click Add
Enter your personal email address that you have access to and click Next
You will be sent a security code to this email account. Open this email account on a separate tab/device to retrieve the code and enter it into the prompt and click Next
The Multi-factor Authentication set up process is now complete.
Blackboard login problems
I’ve forgotten my login details.
Use the same credentials that you use for the MyDay Portal or University e-mail i.e. your Ulster University e-mail address and network password.
I’ve forgotten my password
You can reset your account on the Microsoft website or by using the university’s Self-service password reset (SSPR).
I can’t use my Multifactor Authentification.
Ensure that you have Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled. Most staff and students now have MFA enabled thanks to the work of Digital Services, but it is worth ensuring that your account has MFA enabled.
I can’t see any of my courses
Make sure you are in Courses view in Blackboard. Once you are logged into Blackboard you are automatically taken to Activity stream, click on Courses in the left hand menu. If no courses appear in Courses view, you may need assigned to the module. You can use module manager to gain access to a module, if you are still having problems contact the module coordinator.
If you continue to have problems logging in, please look at our separate page for common problems logging into Blackboard
Tips for logging in to Blackboard
It is important to logout of Blackboard Learn when your session is complete. Do this by clicking the sign out button in the left hand menu.
If you leave Blackboard Learn open - and inactive - in your browser for longer than 8 hours, you may encounter an Expired Session error.
Please see the Expired Session section of our common Issues page.
Always logout of any personal or workplace office accounts before logging in to Blackboard to ensure there are no account conflicts.
Know your University e-mail address and network password. Whilst this may seem obvious, some of our partners work in different ways and Ulster e-mail addresses may not be as well known as the staff/student number. If you are involved in a partnership, ensure that students and other stakeholders know how to access their e-mail address from the Banner system.
Ensure that you have Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled.
Check that you can login to the MyDay Portal or http://Office.com with your University e-mail address and network password, as Blackboard Learn uses the same credentials. Some workplaces may prevent you logging into Ulster University’s Microsoft services and historically this could be bypassed by going directly to Blackboard Learn, this method no longer works.
Know how to reset your network password. Blackboard Learn does not have a separate password and all password updates need to be actioned against your central University account. You can reset your account on the Microsoft website at https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/ or by using the Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) facility.
Our Digital Services colleagues can assist with password issues.
Related articles
Useful links
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle