The 7 Core Essentials

In an effort to move the university beyond the pandemic-related “minimum presence” when it comes to teaching online and utilizing our official LMS platform, Blackboard, Academic Transformation developed the “7 Core Essentials.”

Taken in sum, the essentials guarantee that Blackboard is being properly maximized as a learning platform for student success and best equips Bowie State students to properly engage and independently succeed within all of their online endeavors. The 7 Core Essentials, now standardized and required of all courses within Blackboard regardless of actual teaching modality, are as follows:

  1. A full and complete syllabus for the entire length of the course is present and easily located.
  2. All assignments associated with a course are complete and present.
  3. All graded activity for the course is properly tied into the Blackboard Grade Center (all student submission activity is registered within Bb).
  4. All instructions for successful completion of the course are explicitly written out in Bb and easily located for student comprehension.
  5. Course scheduling for the complete term is explicit and succinct and located for students in an obvious place within Bb.
  6. “Guided Tour” information about the course in terms of navigation, schedule, expectations, etc is incorporated either verbally (video) or in written form.
  7. Contact information for the faculty of record and preferred manner of contact and availability is made explicit and clear on the “home page” of the Blackboard course.