Blackboard Ultra Updates: September 2025

1. Enhance Documents with block styling options

Idea Exchange ID: LEARNU-I-5171

We added block styling to Documents, giving instructors new ways to enhance visual appeal and guide student attention. The styling options feature both color and icons. The style options include: 

• Question

• Tip

• Key points

• Next steps

Image 1. Instructors can select styling options from a dropdown menu that appears in Edit mode on all block types.

This update helps instructors create more engaging content.

Best practices for using Block Styling

Use Styling Purposefully

• Apply block styles to add visual interest, organize your content, and guide students through key ideas, actions, or reflections.

• Use styles consistently to build familiarity and reduce cognitive load.

• Clearly communicate the purpose of the styles to students to improve usability and accessibility and help all learners understand their significance

Style-Specific Guidance

• Question: Use for prompts or reflective questions. Keep questions concise and open-ended to encourage critical thinking.

• Tip: Use for tips, insights, or helpful suggestions. Ensure tips are actionable and relevant to the content.

• Key points: Use to highlight key points or essential facts. Keep these blocks brief and focused to reinforce retention.

• Next steps: Use for next steps or instructions. Present steps in a clear, logical order and consider using numbered lists for clarity. 

2. Add and manage question titles in tests, forms, and banks

Updated Help Topic: Reuse Questions
Idea Exchange ID: BD-I-64

Instructors can now add, view, edit, and delete question titles when working on questions in tests, forms, and banks. Titles are optional and non-unique. Titles are recommended, as they enhance searchability and reuse workflows.

Image 1: Instructors can enter or edit the question title.

Instructors

In the keyword search in the Reuse question panel, instructors can now search for questions on the question text or the question title.

Titles appear when:

• Creating or editing questions in tests, forms and banks

• Viewing or selecting questions via the Reuse questions workflow in tests, forms and banks

• Adding questions to pools (Add Question Pool workflow)

• Viewing questions in a pool (View Questions workflow)

Titles do not appear when the instructor views or grades the test and form submissions. Students do not see the question titles when they take a test or review their submission.

3. Export question banks in QTI v2.1 format

Idea Exchange ID: LEARNU-I-2654

Instructors and instructional designers can now export question banks in the QTI v2.1 format. This enhancement supports the IMS Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) standard, which enables the exchange of assessment content between systems.

This update allows instructors to:

• Export question banks from Ultra courses in QTI v2.1 format.

• Use exported packages in other learning platforms that support QTI.

• Simplify onboarding and migration processes by using a standards-based format.

This feature is especially useful for institutions that use multiple systems or are transitioning to Ultra.

The export process uses the same backend as Original courses, which already support QTI v2.1 export from Pools. This ensures consistency and reliability across course types.

4. Display time limits and extra time consistently across roles

Idea Exchange ID: LEARNU-I-5282, LEARNU-I-6822

We improved how time limits and extra time are communicated in Assessments. This change ensures that all users understand exactly how much time is available.

Now, all users have the time limits and extra time presented in a consistent format:

Example:

“Time limit: 20 minutes + 10 minutes extra time”

This format appears:

• When instructors configure or review assessment settings.

• When students begin or review an assessment.

• In the preview mode for instructors.

Image 1: Time Limit configurations appear in the Assessment Settings panel.

Image 2: Time limit information appears in the assessment metadata.

5. Simplify announcement creation with cleaner interface 

Instructors 

We streamlined the New Announcement page by removing the unnecessary Recipients dropdown. Previously, this dropdown only offered one option—sending to all course members—making it redundant. With this update, the page now displays only relevant options, creating a cleaner, more focused interface and a smoother user experience. 

6. Use pop-out rubric when grading group submissions

Idea Exchange ID: LEARNU-I-745

Instructors can now use the pop-out rubric when grading group submissions in Flexible Grading. This enhancement brings the same efficient grading experience already available for individual submissions to group work.

The pop-out rubric is a separate, moveable window and formatted in a grid view. Previously, the rubric was only available in a side panel and formatted in a stack. This update makes it easier to navigate and grade student submissions by providing a clearer, more comprehensive view of the rubric. Popping out the rubric lets instructors view the student submission and the rubric side-by-side for a more efficient grading experience. Instructors can quickly select performance levels and provide feedback in the rubric while viewing the student submission.

Instructors

Instructors can access the pop-out rubric when reviewing a submission.

• Bulk performance level selection: Apply a level across all criteria with one click.

• Cell syncing: Selected cells update the grade pill automatically.

• Focused feedback entry: Selecting a cell moves focus to the feedback textbox.

• Navigation warning: Alerts instructors if they try to leave with unsaved changes.

• Override warning: Shows a banner if the grade was overridden and disables rubric editing.

• Printing: Instructors can print blank or completed rubrics using the browser’s print function.

When the pop-out rubric is open, the ability to add Overall Feedback and grade with the rubric in the main grading interface is inactive. This prevents an instructor from editing the same information in two separate places simultaneously. 

7. Display per question feedback to students on group test submissions

Students can now view per-question feedback on group test submissions. Instructors have been able to provide per-question feedback, but it was not visible to students until now.

Students

With this update:

• Students reviewing a graded group test can see feedback for each question.

• Feedback supports all formats: text, file attachments, and video recordings.

• Per-question feedback appears alongside overall feedback and rubric scores.

This enhancement ensures that group submissions benefit from the same detailed feedback experience as individual submissions. It also supports:

• Originality reports (when enabled via SafeAssign or TII).

• Attempt-level score overrides for individual group members.

• AI Rewrite for both overall and per question feedback.

• Navigation between group submissions using Previous/Next controls.  

8. Use see-more functionality in Add Question Pool

We added See more functionality for the Sources, Questions Types, and Tags filter sets. This enhancement helps instructors more easily navigate long lists of filter values when managing large pools of questions.

In the Add Question Pool screen, the filter panel now includes See more functionality for Sources, Question Types, and Tags when the number of values in that filter section exceeds 10. Selecting See more expands the list, revealing the full list of values.

Image 1: Selecting See more expands the list, revealing the full list of values.

9. Improved accessibility on the Submissions list page in the Gradebook

To improve accessibility, we updated the Submissions list page in the Gradebook to use a semantic HTML table structure. This change replaces the previous layout, which relied on stacked <div> elements. The new structure improves screen reader support and keyboard navigation.

• Screen reader users can now hear row and column headers as they navigate the table.

• Keyboard users can move efficiently across rows and columns without needing to tab through each element.

• The table uses proper HTML markup, including <caption>, <th>, <tr>, and <td> elements to ensure clarity and accessibility.

• The update applies to all submission list views, including standard, individual, and peer assessments.

This change aligns the Submissions list with the accessibility improvements previously made to the student Gradebook and supports Anthology’s commitment to inclusive design.

10. AVA - Use AI to generate attempt feedback summaries from rubrics

The new AI-powered Summarize option in Flexible Grading lets instructors generate high-quality overall feedback for student submissions evaluated using a rubric. This tool uses generative AI to analyze and suggest overall feedback on the submission based on the rubric criteria, the selected performance levels and their descriptions, and any criterion feedback provided.

Instructors can access the Summarize option when providing overall feedback on assignments once the rubric has been completed. For assignments, the summary is based on the rubric criteria, the selected performance levels and their descriptions, and any criterion-level feedback provided. Any existing Overall Feedback in the RTE will also be included in the summary.

Instructors can accept, reject, or regenerate the summary. Accepting the summary then allows the instructor to directly edit and further refine the summary. Rejecting reverts the summary to the original. Regenerating the summary prompts a newly written summary.

Image 1: Instructors can generate feedback.

11. AVA - Use AI to revise submission feedback

The new AI-powered Rewrite option in Flexible Grading helps instructors improve the clarity and tone of their feedback. This tool uses generative AI to reword instructor-authored comments—whether they are rough notes, bullet points, or complete sentences—into more polished and student-friendly language. The Rewrite option supports iterative editing and is designed to help instructors deliver clearer, more impactful feedback with less effort.

Instructors

When an instructor is providing overall feedback on submissions in Flexible Grading, the Rewrite option becomes available when the instructor adds at least 30 characters. After entering their own comments, instructors can select Rewrite to generate a suggested version of the feedback. A banner clearly indicates that the suggestion is AI-generated.

Instructors can accept, reject, or regenerate the suggestion. Accepting the suggestion allows instructors to continue editing the revised feedback directly in the rich text editor. Rejecting or canceling the suggestion restores the original input. Instructors can use the Rewrite option multiple times on the same feedback to refine their message further.

Image 1: Instructors can select Rewrite to regenerate the feedback.