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Technical Support

Changing your username or password
I received undeliverable/returned emails for students
I forgot my email password
Contact Technical Support

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• Making the exam timer show up in the status bar

  For IE 7.0:

  1. Click "Tools" button and select "Internet Options"
  2. Click "Security" tab, then click "Custom level" button
  3. Scroll down to "Scripting"
  4. Locate "Allow status bar updates via script", then select "Enable"
     

For Firefox 2.0:

1. Click "Tools" button and select "Options"
2. Click "Content" tab
3. Locate "Enable Javascript", then click "Advanced" button next to it
4. Check "Change status bar text" option

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• Turn Off Messages Procedure

  1. Log into your BB Account
  2. Access the course
  3. Click control Panel
  4. Click on Manage course menu
  5. Look for Communications / Communications area
  6. If it is there go to step 11 else, 7
  7. Click add Tools link
  8. In top drop down list select Communications Area (name will auto change to Communications
  9. Click submit
  10. Click ok
  11. Click modify button to the right of Communications / Communications area
  12. To the left of Messages select unavailable
  13. click submit
  14. Now go back to the front page of your course and click communication in the top tool box and verify that messages have been disabled.

  If the link for communications is still showing, you can remove it like this and the messages will remain disabled.

  1. Click control Panel
  2. Click on Manage course menu
  3. Click remove to the right of the Communications / Communications area
  4. Messages area stays disabled

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• Changing your username or password

You cannot change your Blackboard username or password. Your username will always be your first & last initial followed by the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. Your password will always be your birth date in MMDDYY format.

For example, here is what the username and password would look like for Homer Simpson, SSN 123-45-6789, and birth date Jan 5th, 1939:

Username = hs6789
Password = 010539

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• I received undeliverable/returned emails for students

  If you get undeliverable/returned emails for students, please provide the following information for each “bad” address to cdl.records@ctcd.edu:

  • The student’s name
  • The current email address
  • The course name
  • The course number

  To access the student’s name and current email address:

  • Select Control Panel
  • Click on List/Modify Users
  • Either search for the student?s last name or select ALL to find the information, which you can then copy and paste into your email to cdl.records@ctcd.edu

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• Office 2007 formats for Blackboard

Office 2007 applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint will by default save files with different file extensions (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) than Office 2003 and earlier versions (.doc, .xls, .ppt). Blackboard supports these new file formats. However, if you wish to use files formatted for the earlier version of MS Office, save files as .rtf or .doc format.

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• How do I save MS Office 2007 documents as .rtf or .doc?

          Save MS Office 2007 Document as RTF file:

1. Open MS Word 2007 and create your document
2. When ready click the save icon at top left
3. The save file dialog box will open
4. In the file name text box type the name for your file
5. Select Rich Text Format from the "Save as Type" drop down list
6. Click Save
   

Save MS Office 2007 Document for a previous version of Office:

1. Open MS Word 2007 and create your document
2. When ready click the save icon at top left
3. The save file dialog box will open
4. In the file name text box type the name for your file
5. Select Word 97 - 2003 from the "Save as Type" drop down list
6. Click Save

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• BB Text Box Editor and IE 7

            Text Box does not show an area to print in:

            Set IE 7 Browser Security

  1. Open IE 7
  2. Click on Tools and Select Internet Options
  3. Click On Security Tab
  4. Click Custom Level Button
  5. In the "Reset To" drop down list, select Medium
  6. Click Reset
  7. Click OK
  8. Click OK
  9. Click Apply
  10. Click OK

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• I forgot my email password

If you forgot your CTC email password, contact the CTC Help Desk at help.desk@ctcd.edu.

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• Contact Technical Support

If you are having technical difficulties, contact technical support. We are committed to helping you. You should receive a reply within 1 business day.

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eArmyU

• Soldier-Student Withdraw for Personal Reasons

  According to eArmyU policy, the following applies to Soldier-students wishing to withdraw for personal reasons:

  Withdraw from a course for personal reasons directly through the portal.
  NOTE: This type of withdrawal should only be initiated by a student if the student wishes to drop a course after it has begun for any reason other than military.
  NOTE: The student will incur a financial penalty for withdrawing from a course in this manner. The penalty incurred will be in accordance with the Army refund schedule included in the subcontract.

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• Soldier-Student Administrative Withdrawal

Subcontract Agreement No. EASA-01-1, Schedule A, MOD 0002, section 6.1 states:

CTC may not administratively withdraw a Soldier-student from a class due to non-attendance before the "at risk" process has been followed, whereby Soldier-students will be referred to eArmyU program mentors for either participation or performance issues. If a Soldier-student continues to be non-responsive or ultimately does not complete required course work after the "at risk" process has been followed, it is appropriate for CTC to assign a grade of "W" or "F" during the grading period depending on CTC's grading policies.

IBM defines "withdrawal" as an institution-initiated action that can only be submitted in the form of a grade at the end of the term. CTC may withdraw a "non-performing" student from a course only by submitting a grade of "W" at the end of the term.

Some of you may be wondering what exactly the "at risk" process is and how it applies to you. Recently, the terminology changed from "at risk" to "Behind Pace in Course" (BPIC). The change was made because "at risk" had such negative connotations.

This program is designed to address some of the issues causing Soldier-students to fail. It is intended to be a supplement to the academic advising efforts of CTC and it is certainly not intended to replace those efforts.

The BPIC Program has the potential to help many Soldier-students successfully complete their courses and progress towards graduation. Education Partners, eArmyU Program Mentors, eArmyU Helpdesk, ACES Counselors, and the IBM Student Support Staff all have roles in this program. The efforts of these groups are communicated and coordinated through the portal using Helpdesk cases. The success of this program relies on each group performing their role effectively.

Education Partners - identify behind pace students early and create detailed Helpdesk cases for them; CTC has created an automated case creation system using the Bb gradebooks as the tool to initiate the cases.

IBM Student Services - resolve administrative and technological problems quickly.

eArmyU Program Mentors - successfully contact behind pace students and effectively guide them to the appropriate resources.

Help Desk - identify behind pace students that call them with other issues and connect them to the appropriate program mentor.

Students who fall behind pace in a course are assigned to one of the following risk categories:

Tier 1
Criteria -
The student failed their most recent course and has now enrolled in their next course. The purpose of this tier is to let Ed Partners and Program Mentors know that the student has failed a class in the past and may need additional help and support.
Case opened by portal - This happens automatically as soon as a student receives a failing grade.

Actions -
Student receives an automated email reminding them of the resources available to help them succeed in the course. Student's course registration files are flagged as Tier 1 to notify the school that the student failed their most recent course. This helps schools identify which students may be more likely to need academic advising services or other help.

Tier 2
Criteria -
The student failed or missed the first major milestone of the course. The purpose of this tier is to identify students early on who are falling behind and help them get caught up.
Case opened or escalated by Instructor (use Bb gradebook).

Actions -
Student receives automated email recommending that they contact their instructor and reminding them of available help resources (i.e. online tutoring, Program Mentors, etc). Program Mentor attempts to contact student to offer help or guidance. Instructor monitors student's progress and works with them to get caught up.

Tier 3
Criteria -
Student has failed or missed multiple milestones (more than 20% of the course has elapsed). The purpose of the tier is to identify students who need immediate attention or they will fail.
Case opened or escalated by Instructor (use Bb gradebook).

Actions -
Student receives automated email asking them to contact their instructor, schedule an appointment with their Program Mentor, and reminding them of available help resources. Program Mentor attempts to contact student to offer help or guidance. Instructor monitors student's progress and works with the student, where applicable, to help them catch up in the course.

Tier 4
Criteria -
Student failed the course. The purpose of this tier is to identify students who failed and help them understand what they need to do to get their hold lifted and also provide guidance and resources about how to be successful in eArmyU.
Case opened or escalated by portal.

Actions -
Student receives automated email instructing them to visit an Army ACES counselor regarding their academic hold and reminding them of the eArmyU program requirements. Program Mentor attempts to contact student to coach them on getting the hold lifted, understanding the financial recoupment process, selecting a new course, and using academic advising resources.


FAQ: "If my class is not self-paced, and I can't withdraw or fail them until the end of the course, what do I do with them?" My recommendation was to post a zero for each assignment or exam missed on the specified due date. The instructor is/was not required to accept late assignments or exams and a grade was posted. Of course, if the instructor was provided documentation explaining why the delay and willing to accept the late assignment, a new grade could always be posted.

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• Contact Information in CTC BB Courses

  By contract, CTC is required to "make available degree program guidance and maximizing the availability of participation in educational support activities (e.g. communication with faculty, teaching assistants, and qualified academic counselors), and establish and provide timely, concise, comprehensive, and expert advice and guidance to members of the Army to facilitate degree completion of each Soldier-student at a distance through phone, email or other Internet-based communication, fax or U.S. mail."

  CTC provides our 800 numbers to all students allowing them access to our faculty and staff. Please ensure that an 800 number is provided in your course. You may certainly add alternate contact information if you do not mind students having your home, other (non-CTC) business, or cellular phone numbers, but it is not required. The same applies to mailing addresses. Please retain the CTC mailing address in your courses. If the Deans and Department Chairs approve, it may be acceptable to post an alternate or preferred mailing address if you deem it appropriate.

  We realize that you may not be able to return phone calls because of cost. A vast majority of the Continental Campus faculty members are remote and have been provided with voice mail boxes. They should also have been provided with a phone card in the event they deem it appropriate to return a call to a student rather than communicate via email.

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• Soldier-Student Email

eArmyU students are no longer required to use their eArmyU email accounts.

IBM (eArmyU) has decided that so many of our Soldier-students use their AKO (military) email accounts much more frequently than any other account, that the student should have the option to select their preferred email address. So, you will no longer be able to identify an eArmyU student by virtue of his/her email address. There are ways for staff to identify whether or not a student is an eArmyU student on our computer system, such as registration type.

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• Service Level Agreement Standards

Standards for eArmyU Helpdesk cases.

The new policy states, "the Institution [CTC] is expected to adhere to service level agreement (SLA) standards. The current service standard is to resolve 90% of CRM [Helpdesk] cases within the two-business-day SLA. For the remaining 10%, the standard is to update the status of the case at least every two days until the case is resolved."

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• Downloading the BB Gradebook

Download BB Gradebook V8 (video walkthrough)

• Open browser and login to the BB system
• Access your course
• Click on Control Panel
• Click on Grade Center
• Hover over the Manage button and select Download
• Select Full Grade Center and Tab
• Select hidden column as desired
• Select My Computer
• Click Submit
• Click the Download button and save the file to your desktop

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• BB At-Risk / Tier Reporting System

The at-risk system is customized for the CTC BB system. In BB v8, the system is accessed by using the update at-risk link to open the page, then use the check boxes to set the tiers as desired.

Setting At-Risk Designations

Tier 2 Indicator:  
CTC instructors will identify as Tier 2 At-Risk those students who:


• Do not access the course within the first week of class,
• Do not demonstrate satisfactory progress, or
• Do not take scheduled examinations.

Tier 2 is the first sign the student is in trouble academically. A student can be identified as Tier 2 anytime within the term, but the first criterion is the student’s failure to access Blackboard.  If a student accesses Blackboard, but does not demonstrate adequate academic progress (not submitting assignments or not taking tests), the instructor can identify the student as Tier 2.  

Tier 3 Indicator: 
CTC instructors will identify as Tier 3 At-Risk those students who:


• Are failing at mid-term, or

• Fail to keep pace with course requirements.

Instructors will identify from the Blackboard grade book those students whose percentage grades are below passing, i.e., 60%, or who fail to submit assignments or take examinations on time.  Instructors can select the Tier 3 block in the Blackboard grade book.

Tier 4 Indicator: 
CTC instructors will identify as Tier 4 At-Risk those students who:

• Are failing beyond the due date of the mid-term, or

• Fail to keep pace with course requirements.

Instructors will identify from the Blackboard grade book those students whose percentage grades are below passing, i.e., 60%, after the mid term date and reception of the Tier 3 warning, or who fail to submit assignments or take examinations on time.  Instructors can select the Tier 4 block in the Blackboard grade book.

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• BB Hard Stop Timer

The Hard Stop Timer is a customization of the BB system allowing for automatic shut down and transmit of test data once the allotted time for the exam has expired. The system works in all browsers and is used by placing time limits on BB exams or quizzes.

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• BB Single Sign-on System

The GoArmyEd portal and BB allow for a single sign on, in which an Army student can log into the GoArmyEd website and directly launch BB courses from the launch button in the portal, without the need to enter a BB username and password.

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• BB Downtime Schedule

No downtime is currently scheduled.


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Free Computer Software

Here is a list of free software that students can download and install. Students are not required to install this software and Central Texas College does not provide support for this software.

Avast! Anti virus - A full-featured virus scanner that is free for home users.
Open Office - OpenOffice.org is a free productivity suite compatible with all major office suites.
Spybot Search & Destroy - By far one of the best tools for removing spyware that can cause pop-ups.
Google Toolbar with Pop-up blocker - A free search bar that will help fight pop-ups and spyware.
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer - Use the free program from Microsoft to view PowerPoint slides in your classes.

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