Blackboard Courses Archive - 2013FA and 2013FW

Greetings,
 
Beginning this week IT staff will begin to archive old courses from our Blackboard Learning System. This archive is necessary to free space on the Blackboard system for existing courses. At this time we will be targeting all undergraduate courses from the 2013 Fall (2014FA) and 2013 Fall-Winter (2013FW) terms. Once the archive is completed and verified, the courses from the terms listed above will be removed from the live learning system and stored in a backup location.
 
The following is a brief Q&A regarding the course archive process. If you have any additional questions, please contact learningsystem@trentu.ca
 
Thank you for your understanding
 
 
Q: What exactly is a course archive?
A: A course archive compresses and stores all the files associated with a course in a single file which is then downloaded and stored in case it’s later needed.
 
Q: Will my course be deleted?
A: Your course archive will be stored outside the live Blackboard system, so it will no longer appear on your course roster. However, it will be stored in a backup location and can be restored upon request.
 
Q: If I need my course in the future can it be restored?
A: Yes, IT can restore your course from the archive upon request.
 
Q: Can my course be exempted from the archive process?
A: Unfortunately, the archive process runs for every course in a given term so individual courses cannot be exempted from the process.
 
Q: Will this require a service outage, or am I required to do anything to archive my course
A: No, all archiving will be completed in the background. We recommend that you download a copy of your gradebook for record keeping purposes. Instructions for downloading the gradebook can be found at https://www.trentu.ca/it/learningsystem/faculty_export_to_gradebook.php
 
Q: How do I request my course be restored from the archive
A: Email learningsystem@trentu.ca – we would request that you consider space limits on the Blackboard system and not request a course be restored unless it’s imminently needed.