Updated Theme for Blackboard

Blackboard will be getting a new look for the start of the Summer 2022 term.  An updated theme will be applied to all Blackboard courses which will provide a more consistent and mobile-friendly experience across devices.

What Will Change?

• The Blackboard course menu and content areas will be updated with colors, fonts, and a design that will improve the accessibility of content.
• Enhanced responsive design will optimize the mobile experience in browsers, without needing to be logged into the Blackboard mobile app.
• There will be more uniform navigation, no matter what device you choose to use.

The new theme colors will appear as in the example course below.

The same responsive functionality will be available on mobile devices.

Will Any Features Be Affected?

The custom course theme option will be removed, as it is no longer supported in the newer version and does not follow the same design principles as the updated theme.

All of your course materials and course structure will remain the same.  Functionality for discussions, tests, grading and other activities will not be affected by the theme update.

Note: Departmental course templates will not be removed, but any custom colors in the templates will be updated to reflect the new theme palette.

What Do I Need To Do?

The theme will be automatically updated for all courses on Monday, May 16th, so no action needs to be taken. Please be aware that if you are currently using a custom-color theme in Blackboard, that it will be removed.

Please contact us with any questions, or for assistance if your course does not reflect the updated design after the change is made.  We will take the necessary steps to quickly get you on the new theme.