If you have never taken an online class with Central Texas College, start by reading the Getting Started Guide.

• How do I use Blackboard?

  • Blackboard Tutorials - Accessing BB, Navigating BB, Using BB Drop Box.
  • The Blackboard Student User Manual is a very extensive and helpful resource for getting the most out of Blackboard.
  • You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to view the Blackboard Student User Manual. If you do not, click the "Get Acrobat Reader " image below.

  

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• • What is a proctored exam? How do I get a proctor?

  A proctored exam is an exam that must be taken in the presence of an authorized person (test proctor). Students located near Central Campus in Killeen can go to the CTC Testing Office. More information on testing, including how to get a proctor, is located in your syllabus.

  Provide your proctor's contact information to the CTC Testing Office using the Test Proctor Submission Form. See Testing for Distant Learners for more information.

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• How do I withdraw from a course?

For complete instructions on withdrawing from a course, please see
Application for Withdrawal Instructions.

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• My instructor isn't replying to my emails, what do I do?

If you have attempted to contact your instructor and have not received a reply within 48 hours, please contact the online mentors by calling 1-800-792-3348 x1296 or emailing online.mentors@ctcd.edu

Military Student Contacts:
eArmyU Counselor, 800-792-3348, x1649
GoArmyEd Counselor, 800-792-3348, x1458

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• I was enrolled in a class yesterday but today it is gone, what happened?

  There are several reasons why a student might be dropped from a class such as poor attendance, academic withdrawal, and non-payment.To find out why you are no longer enrolled in your class, contact the online mentors at 1-800-792-3348 x1296 or online.mentors@ctcd.edu
  
  Military Student Contacts:
  eArmyU Counselor, 800-792-3348, x1649
  GoArmyEd Counselor, 800-792-3348, x1458

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• My grade has not been posted yet, who do I contact?

  Grades may take up to two weeks from the date your course officially ended before showing up on WebAdvisor. If it has been more than two weeks and your grade still has not been posted, please contact your instructor or the online mentors.
  
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• My books have not arrived or they are the wrong ones, what do I do?

  • If you purchased your books from the Central Texas College Bookstore, you can contact them at http://www.ctcbookstore.com
  • If you purchased your books from MBS Direct, go to http://direct.mbsbooks.com/ctc
  • If you purchased your books from another source, such as Amazon.com, you will need to contact them.

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• How do I submit assignments embedded into a lesson?

  To use the Assignments tool, follow these instructions.

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• How do I view my Course ID and Start Date?

  Your "My Courses" listing includes additional information about your course such as:

• Course alphanumeric ID (ENGL1301)
• Course start date (20050110)
• Course ID (19552HP)

To enable viewing the additional information, follow these Instructions.

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• Using the Digital Drop Box:
  

  • View this Flash Presentation

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• How do I change my email address on file?

  Email address changes are handled by the Records Office. To change your email address on file, please fill out the email address change request. It may take up to 48 hours to change your email address in Blackboard.

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• How do I contact Central Texas College?

  Please view our contacts page to determine who you need to contact and when.

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• How do I get a copy of my transcripts?

  Transcripts are available for $3.00 per copy; payment must accompany request. Print and mail the transcript request form. Please complete a separate request for each institution or person receiving transcript(s). If you need to speak with someone about your transcripts, please call 1-800-792-3348, extension 1372.

  Students can view an unofficial copy of their transcript using WebAdvisor.

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Technical Support

How do I change my username or password
I registered for a class but it is not showing up in Blackboard
I forgot my email password
Contact Technical Support

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• How do I change my username or password?

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

For example, a student named Homer Simpson with SSN 123-45-1234 and birth date Jan 2, 1939:

Username = hs451234
Password = 010239

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• I registered for a class but it is not showing up in Blackboard

  Classes will not show in Blackboard until 3 days before the course start date. If it has been 2 days since the start of the class, check to make sure that you registered for the right term by checking your online record using Webadvisor, or the eArmyU portal. If you need any further assistance, please contact the online mentors: online.mentors@ctcd.edu

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• How do I set my Browser cookies for Blackboard?

  1. Be sure you are using Internet Explorer, Version 5.5 or above. ( The Netscape and AOL browsers have known issues with BB and should not be used)
  2. Open Internet Explorer
  3. Click on Tools in the top menu and select Internet Options.
  4. Click on the Privacy Tab
  5. Click on the Advanced button
  6. Place a check mark in the Override Automatic Cookie handling check box
  7. Set both First and Third party cookies to accept
  8. Place a check mark in the Always Allow Session Cookies check box
  9. Click OK
  10. If machine asks for confirmation Click Yes
  11. Now under the General Tab, click on Settings button
  12. Choose Every Visit to the Page
  13. Click OK, confirm if needed
  14. Click OK again
  15. For more information please contact CTC Technical Support

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• How do I make 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" botton 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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• 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 accepts these new file formats without difficulty. However, your instructor may wish you to save files in a specific format. If so, please save file as instructed by your course instructor. To save files as a different format please see below.

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

          Save MS Office 2007 Document as and 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. Click on save as type drop down list and select: Rich Text Format
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. Click on save as type drop down list and select: Word 97 - 2003
6. Click Save
   

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• I forgot my email password

If you forgot your Yahoo, Hotmail, or any other personal email passwords, you will need to contact your email provider. We do not provide email for students nor do we keep personal email passwords on file.

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• Retain text format in BB Text Box

To retain the format of a doc or rtf document when pasting into the BB text box, select formatted instead of normal in the type drop down list at top left. Then paste the information and the formatting is preserved.

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• Contact Technical Support

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

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• Firefox 3 Issues

Issue: Firefox 3 will produce an error when uploading files to an assignment feature that states "Please enter a valid file." Currently there is no fix to this problem from Blackboard but they are working on the issue.  This appears to be only an issue with the Windows version of the browser.  The Mac version tested without an issue on Mac OS 10.4.X.

Workaround:

1. Students - Use another browser like Firefox 2.X or IE 6/7 to upload files.

2. Instructors - Use the "My Files" tab to upload the file to the Content Collection. Then go into the course and the assignment feature click the browse button next to the "Copy file from Content Collection" instead of the "Attach local file" option. Select the button next to the file you need to attach to this assignment and Submit.  Then Submit on the assignment page.

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• Online Course Evaluation Form

There should be a link to the course evaluation form in the main menu of your course, but if there is not, or if you can no longer access your course, you can fill out an evaluation for any of your courses by using this form.

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• View Course Evaluation Results

Click this link to view the results of all course evaluations completed by CTC students since October 2008. You can view a summary of all evaluations, or a summary for a particular instructor and/or course.

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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! Antivirus - A full-featured virus scanner that is free for home users.
OpenOffice - 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 popups.
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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If you have any comments on how to make this resources page better,
please email the Distance Education Website Administrator.
Please do not email technical support requests to this address.

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