Manage Users - Frequently Asked Questions

There are two ways that users are added to Blackboard courses. Once a faculty member requests a scheduled section, registered students will automatically be added to the Blackboard course; updates to the roster will appear daily. Faculty members can manually add additional users to a course through the Control Panel.

To enroll users manually:

Note: If you know the Z- or A-ID of the person to be enrolled, Steps 5 and 6 can be omitted.

1. After accessing your course, from the Control Panel, click Users and Groups
2. Select Users
3. On the adjacent page, click the Find Users to Enroll button 
   
4. On the following page, if the Username of the user is known, enter it in the textbox and proceed to Step 7; otherwise, click Browse
   
5. If you clicked Browse, search for users by Username, First Name, Last Name, or NIU Email and click Go
6. Click Submit after user is located
   
7. On the Add Enrollments page, select the appropriate Role
   
8. Click the Submit button when finished

Modify Status
To see or modify a list of students enrolled in your course:

1. In the Control Panel under Users and Groups, click Users
2. Click on the action link menu next to the username
3. Select "Change User's Role in Course"
4. On the next page, select the new role the user should have by checking the radio button to the left of the role
5. Click the Submit button

Yes. Many faculty members want students to be able to enter their course and check out the syllabus and assignments before officially enrolling through Registration and Records. To enable Guest Access, click Customization in the Control Panel. Select Yes next to Allow Guests.

To request Blackboard Guest Lecturer IDs for your non-NIU guests, please follow these steps:

1. Log in at it.niu.edu with your NIU Account ID and password
2. Click the Make a Request button
3. Under the Identity and Access Control heading, click the Create Sponsored Account link
4. From the Account Sponsorship Type drop down menu, select Non-Paid Affiliate/Volunteer 
5. Complete the required fields on the form, being sure to specify Blackboard under Account Access
6. Verify the information and submit the request using the Submit button at the top of the page

DoIT will fulfill the request within one business day. After the ID has been issued, the course instructor can add the guest to a particular course.