Transition from WebCT to Blackboard

Since 1998, UT Arlington has supported WebCT for delivery of online course content, instruction, and communication. In 2005, WebCT merged with Blackboard, and WebCT is being phased out. Over the next 18 months, UT Arlington will replace WebCT with Blackboard.

Blackboard is a contemporary learning management system with course content and community portal components for online and traditional classroom courses, and is planned to integrate with existing UT Arlington information systems. Among the many new features that will be available to faculty is an “academic dashboard” which will simplify the use of important announcements, provide assignment date calendaring, and help track student progress to support retention and academic success.

The transition will occur in three phases:

Summer 2010
This spring, the Center for Distance Education (CDE) and a pre-selected group of 10 faculty experienced with WebCT will prepare a pilot project of courses for delivery in Summer 2010.

Fall 2010
During the summer, approximately 50 faculty experienced with WebCT will work with CDE to migrate courses and train on Blackboard for Fall 2010. All other faculty will continue to use WebCT through Fall 2010. Faculty training and course migrations will continue in preparation for Spring 2011, when WebCT will be discontinued.

Spring 2011
The majority of campus WebCT courses will be migrated to Blackboard by Spring 2011 and WebCT will be discontinued.