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Steps-to-Take:
1. Users can go directly to the Blackboard log in page by manually typing the URL blackboard.cwi.edu into the address bar. The preferred browsers are Firefox and Chrome although Edge should work as well, if in a pinch. Note that mobile devices have trouble rendering pages correctly on their web browsers, so it’s recommended that the user download the Blackboard app.
2. Chrome quite regularly has issues with cached data and Blackboard. While Firefox can do this as well on occasion, Chrome is much more frequently causing issues. The user should clear the cached data in this event.
3. If the user is using the mobile Blackboard app, they might need to reinstall the app if it was last installed before 03/01/2020. If the user still has problems, make sure Step 1. is followed on a desktop/laptop computer. If the user can access Blackboard from another device, the only other troubleshooting to try would be restarting the mobile device and ensuring a proper network connection is established. At this point, at least the user is able to access the account from one device.
4. Ensure the user can sign into his/her MyCWI account by going to my.cwi.edu. If the user can sign into the MyCWI account, ensure that the user is inputting the username for Blackboard with the correct domain.
Note: For nearly all Blackboard sign-in pages, the user will need to include the domain, however there are some cases where inputting the domain is not required and will cause a sign in error. This type of scenario occurs when the user is signing in on a CWI computer using Firefox, the user is signed into the VPN, and in some other rare cases. For instructors, the domain is @cwi.edu and for students, the domain is @my.cwi.edu.
5. Verify the user’s identity by searching for them in Colleague. Verify two pieces of personal information to be sure the current ID that is pulled up is correct and in case a password will need changed.
6. Ask if they are a new or existing student. New students can take up to 24 to 48 business hours for their Blackboard accounts to be created. This time usually starts around the time the student receives an email with logon credentials or when the Active Directory (AD) account is created.
7. Sign in to Blackboard help desk administrative account by going to bbadmin.cwi.edu. Verify that the user has an account created by searching by the students ID number. If not, and it has been more than 48 business hours, escalate the ticket.
Note: The system updates Colleague (AROR), then Active Directory, then MyCWI, then Blackboard. Check these accounts and make sure there aren’t any errors that could be causing the Blackboard issue and ensure that the Blackboard user name matches the Active Directory account user name.
8. If they have an Colleague (AROR) record and no Active Directory account, let them know it can take 48 hours for account creation. If AROR is blank, then you can assign student role but only if STU code is in colleague. Otherwise, have them contact One Stop. It takes up to 2 hours for updates to take effect.
9. If the user still cannot get into their account, reset their password to the default and try logging in as them in order to verify the issue.