Frederick Community College has announced that it will switch from Blackboard to Blackboard Ultra in the Fall of 2026. The transition places FCC among a growing number of colleges around the United States switching to Blackboard’s new, modern option.
Blackboard Ultra is designed to be simpler and more organized than Blackboard. Instead of clicking around through tons of menus and folders, almost everything in Ultra is shown on one main content page. This makes it easier for both faculty and students to navigate and find materials quickly. Schools who already made the switch say Ultra is a cleaner layout and a mobile friendly design that makes it easier to use overall.
The change has been a long time coming. “It’s typical for an institution to do a learning management system review every five years or so. We were quite overdue,” shared FCC Director of Online Learning Carrie Dorman. “Blackboard announced the end of the original version that we’re on is for December 31st, 2026, so that really pushed our timeline.”
One major improvement is Ultra’s consistency. In Blackboard, instructors could build their course menus to their liking, usually leaving students confused.
“There was just this huge difference in how you went about things from course to course,” Dorman said. “Students kind of had to relearn what to do every time. We were really happy to go to that new consistent design.”
Ultra also brings more tools to help users stay organized. Students can mark items through various progress reports, giving them a clearer sense of progress throughout the semester. Instructors gain insights into how students are engaging with course materials through dashboards and activity alerts.
Dorman also stated that faculty have responded very positively with the change. Right now, instructors are currently attending workshops and completing self-paced learning modules that will make the transition go very smoothly. “Even though it’s still Blackboard, it’s technically a new platform,” she said. “So there’s a migration process. That’s what we’ve been doing all spring.”
The transition comes with a chance for all of the faculty to learn the system all at once. “Most of the times when we got a call from a instructor or student that there was a problem in Blackboard, there’s not a problem with Blackboard — it was just that they didn’t know how to do something,” she said.
FCC will also introduce a new feature with the change: a 24/7 hotline for students that are having issues with Blackboard. Dorman stated this will be the first time students have dedicated around‑the‑clock help.
Students will begin to see information about the switch in mid April of 2026. “We’ll start putting digital signage in the student center, the library, it’ll be in the student news blasts, and it’ll be posted in Blackboard along with the new tutorial so they can get a preview of what it’s gonna look like,” explained Dorman. The tutorial will also include a sample course for students to practice submitting assignments, posting discussion boards, and anything else that will help them get acclimated to this change.
Micah is currently a first year Dual Enrollment student at FCC. His interests include sports, movies and tv shows. He plans to major in Sports Journalism.
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