Blackbard System Usage Plicy Plicy Type: Administrative Respnsible Office: Department f Learning Systems Initial Plicy Apprved: 04/03/2014 Apprved: 04/03/2014 Plicy Statement and Purpse T ensure that nly authrized users have access t the Blackbard System, and that all user infrmatin in Blackbard System is secure and accurate. T ensure that accunts with elevated privileges are reviewed and that privileges are granted prperly, withut cmprmising the integrity f VCU s Blackbard System. It is the plicy f the Department f Learning Systems in Applicatin Services lcated within VCU Office f Technlgy Services that the prcedures described herein shall be fllwed fr the creatin f Blackbard user accunts fr VCU faculty, staff, students and ther users f the VCU Blackbard System. Access will be based n need and will be granted the minimum level f privileges required t meet thse needs. This dcument is used and mdified by the Department f Learning Systems Staff t accmmdate specific requests fr Blackbard System access, accunts, rles, curses, rganizatins and maintenance f these items. Nncmpliance with this plicy may result in disciplinary actin up t and including terminatin. VCU supprts and envirnment free frm retaliatin. Retaliatin against any emplyee wh brings frth a gd faith cncern, asks a clarifying questin, r participates in an investigatin is prhibited. Table f Cntents Wh Shuld Knw This Plicy 2 Definitins 2 Cntacts 2 Prcedures 2 Frms 7 Related Dcuments 7 Revisin Histry 7 FAQs 7 Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 1 - Apprved: 04/03/2014
Wh Shuld Knw This Plicy All users f the VCU Blackbard System University wide. Definitins Cntacts Agreement: The dcument stating guidelines, standards and expectatins fr a specific task, rle, r prcess. Banner: The Student Infrmatin System (SIS) currently used at VCU. Blackbard (Bb) System: The nline curse management system currently used at VCU. Blackbard System Administratrs: The current staff in the Department f Learning Systems lcated within Technlgy Services at VCU, whse jb respnsibility includes day-t-day Blackbard System administratin, maintenance and security. CIO: Chief Infrmatin Officer (Office f Technlgy Services) Elevated privileges: Within the cntext f this dcument, elevated privileges are privileges granted t allw specific administrative access and tasks t be perfrmed in Blackbard. Instructr: Persn(s) designated by VCU t teach particular curse(s). In Blackbard this rle is assigned t the persn develping, teaching, r facilitating classes. ISO: Infrmatin Security Officer (Office f Technlgy Services) IT: Infrmatin Technlgy Blackbard User: Within the cntext f this dcument, all users f VCU Blackbard System, including faculty, staff, students, cntractrs, business partners, and affiliates, nn-vcu participants in certificate r cntinuing educatin related prgrams. User Accunts: Within the cntext f this dcument, accunts that allw lgin t the Blackbard System. VCU: Virginia Cmmnwealth University VCU eid-tls: The current tl used by authrized VCU emplyees t check the status f any current r frmer user at VCU. VCU eid: The standard electrnic credentials used by VCU emplyees, students, and affiliates t access varius VCU systems including but nt limited t email, Blackbard System, and prtal. VCU Wiki System: The standard web-based Wiki system used by the University t stre dcumentatin. Department f Learning Systems and the Directr f Learning Systems Prcedures Prcedures are mandatry actins t establish required actins and prcesses t cmply with a plicy, supprt cmpliance with applicable laws and regulatins, and mitigate risk. The fllwing prcedure utline is prvided fr reference, but may be changed as apprpriate t best cmmunicate the required steps. Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 2 - Apprved: 04/03/2014
1. Prcedures fr Creatin and Maintenance f User Accunts in Blackbard Imprtant Nte: Sharing f accunts is nt allwed in Blackbard under any circumstances. Only ne persn per accunt shall be permitted. Accunts and passwrds shuld never be shared with anyne ther than the persn fr whm they were created. If it is determined that an accunt is being shared, reasnable crrective actins will be taken. The Bb System Administratrs will reprt the vilatin t the accunt wner, their manager and if apprpriate, t the ISO. Student Accunts T maintain synchrnizatin f student data in Blackbard and the Banner System, Blackbard accunts fr VCU students shuld nt be created manually; they shuld nly be generated by the Banner system. All VCU student accunts are based n the student s VCU eid. Unless therwise specified, VCU students are given the default Bb system rle f "student". All VCU student curse enrllments will be autmatically generated by the Banner system. Blackbard instructrs shuld nt manually enrll students in curses that they are nt fficially registered fr and enrlled in via the VCU Banner system. The Bb System Administratr will disable and/r remve the student accunt frm the Blackbard system when: fficial ntificatin f a change in status is received frm the Registrar the accunt has nt been accessed in 2 cnsecutive years AND has n curse r rganizatin enrllments the accunt des nt have an active status at VCU (in eid-tls) and has never been used fficial ntificatin is received frm the Technlgy Services CIO r ISO that there has been security breach, misuse f the accunt, r ther critical situatin The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr changing any student rles in the Blackbard system (institutin r system-level rles). The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr changing the availability f any student in the Blackbard system--at the system level. Faculty and Staff Accunts All new VCU faculty and staff accunts are based n VCU eid Unless therwise specified, VCU faculty and staff are given the default Bb system rle f faculty r "staff", respectively. The Bb System Administratr will disable and/r remve the faculty r staff accunt frm the Blackbard system when: fficial ntificatin f a change in status is received frm the Office f Human Resurces and apprved by the Technlgy Services CIO the accunt has nt been accessed in 2 cnsecutive years AND has n curse r rganizatin enrllments the individual des nt have an active status at VCU and has never used the Blackbard accunt Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 3 - Apprved: 04/03/2014
the accunt has never been used, and fficial ntificatin is received frm the Technlgy Services CIO r ISO that there has been security breach, misuse f the accunt, r ther critical situatin The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr changing any faculty r staff rles in the Blackbard system (institutin r system-level rles). The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr changing the availability f any faculty r staff in the Blackbard system--at the system level. Nn-VCU Accunts Requests fr nn-vcu students, faculty, r staff accunts shuld be submitted by via a Technlgy Services help request ticket. All such requests will be frwarded t Learning Systems and will be evaluated by the Blackbard System Administratrs and the Directr f Learning Systems. A decisin will be made, and if apprved, a standard guideline will be decided, dcumented, and used t create the accunts, and future accunts fr the same purpse, prgram r department. These accunts shuld always have an identifiable prefix, s as nt t interfere with valid Banner-generated VCU eids. Unless therwise specified, nn-vcu student accunts are given the default Bb system rle f "student". Unless therwise specified, nn-vcu faculty and staff accunts are given the default Bb system rle f faculty r "staff", respectively. The Bb System Administratr will remve the accunt frm the Blackbard system when: their business with the university is cmpleted and the Blackbard administratrs are ntified by the individual, the department administratr r designee f the individual s hme department fficial ntificatin f a change in status is received frm the Schl, Department, r Prgram the accunt has nt been accessed in 2 cnsecutive years AND has n curse r rganizatin enrllments If an fficial ntificatin is received frm the Technlgy Services CIO r ISO that there has been security breach, misuse f the accunt, r ther critical situatin. The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr changing any nn-vcu accunt rles in the Blackbard system (institutin r system-level rles). The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr changing the availability f any nn-vcu accunts in the Blackbard system--at the system level. Prcedures fr Creatin and Maintenance f Curses in Blackbard Purpse: T ensure the integrity f the Blackbard System by having nly authrized persns creating curses in Blackbard and thse Blackbard users granted rles with elevated privileges understand and adhere t prcedures prvided. Curse Creatin and Merges Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 4 - Apprved: 04/03/2014
Standard, credit curses in the Bb System will be created by each instructr, using the tls prvided t faculty in Blackbard. Nn-credit curses will be created by the instructr. Nn-credit curses t be used fr testing r training purpses will be created by the faculty, using the tls prvided t faculty in Blackbard. If users d nt have access rights t these faculty tls, they must submit a Technlgy Services help request ticket, which will be frwarded t the Learning Systems grup. The Learning Systems grup maintains sle respnsibility fr making these tls available t the apprpriate Blackbard users. Requests fr curses merges in Blackbard must be submitted by the instructr, via a Technlgy Services help request ticket. All such requests will be frwarded t the Learning Systems grup. The Learning Systems grup maintains sle respnsibility fr setting up merged curses in Blackbard. Standard Curse Enrllments and Maintenance Curse enrllments are autmatically prcessed frm Banner t Blackbard, using the VCU eid. The instructr is respnsible fr enrlling additinal instructrs in their curse as well as Teaching Assistants, Observers, and Guests. Shuld an instructr chse t manually enrll an existing student in a Blackbard curse that the student is nt fficially registered fr and enrlled in via the VCU Banner system, said student may nt receive credit fr the curse. It will at the discretin f the instructr and apprpriate departments at the university t determine if the student will receive credit. Curse Enrllments and Maintenance fr Unique Circumstances Enrllments fr Nn-credit Curses r Prgrams Manual enrllments fr curses that require access by users wh DO have a VCU eid will be the respnsibility f the instructr. Fr users already in the Bb System, instructrs shuld manually enrll them in these curses. Fr VCU users that are nt in the Bb System, instructrs must submit a Technlgy Services help request ticket. All such requests will be frwarded t the Learning Systems grup. The instructr must prvide the user's first and last name, and their VCU eid. Prcedures fr Creatin and Maintenance f Organizatins in Blackbard Purpse: T ensure the integrity f the Blackbard system by having nly authrized persns creating rganizatins in Blackbard, enrlling users in the rganizatins, and that users granted rles with elevated privileges understand and adhere t prcedures prvided. Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 5 - Apprved: 04/03/2014
The Bb System Administratrs will maintain sle respnsibility fr creating new rganizatins in the Blackbard System. New rganizatin requests MUST have ne designated primary leader, wh will be the main cntact persn and the ne respnsible fr the rganizatin. This user must submit a Technlgy Services help request ticket, which will be frwarded t the Learning Systems grup. The request must include: the name f the rganizatin an abbreviated ID fr the rganizatin (t be used t determine the rganizatin ID) eid fr the designated primary leader and cntact fr the rganizatin Learning Systems Staff will create the rganizatin fllwing the dcumented standards fr naming standards and will enrll the designated persn as a leader in the rganizatin. Organizatin Name: Requester can prvide this (n specific syntax required) Organizatin ID: Requester can suggest this, but shuld at least begin with an abbreviatin that is unique t that rganizatin; ptinal: additinal abbreviatins and/r semester/year. Managing Requests fr Elevated Privileges in Blackbard Required Infrmatin fr Elevated Privilege Requests Once a request is received, the Department f Learning Systems will cntact the persn requesting the elevated privileges and send them infrmatin and questins regarding the scpe f their needs. The requester must respnd and prvide this required infrmatin in rder fr LS t evaluate and determine if the privileges will be granted, and what thse privileges will include. These questins and infrmatin are dcumented in the Learning Systems space within the VCU Wiki System. T be granted elevated privileges in Blackbard, valid training and/r instructins must be prvided by VCU Blackbard System Administratrs in the Learning Systems department f Technlgy Services; and must als have ccurred within the past year. Due t the increasing cmplexity f the Blackbard system after upgrades, and enhanced security requirements, the fllwing are NOT cnsidered valid training r expertise fr receiving elevated privileges t the VCU Blackbard System: Any training and/r instructins prvided by ther persns r departments, and ccurring mre than 1 year ag Any frmer jb respnsibilities related t Blackbard at VCU r elsewhere (althugh this experience may be taken int cnsideratin) User Agreements fr elevated privileges After the evaluatin and decisin has been made t grant the privileges, the Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 6 - Apprved: 04/03/2014
Department f Learning Systems will send the apprpriate prcedures and infrmatin t the persn requesting the elevated privileges. The agreement may be mdified by LS r a new rle created with different privileges if necessary. If this is necessary, LS will update the agreement with the new infrmatin. These User Agreements are dcumented in the Learning Systems space within the VCU Wiki System. Prir t receiving the accunt and privileges, the requester must return the agreement t LS, stating that they agree t adhere t the prcedures and respnsibilities as dcumented. This acknwledgement f the agreement will als be stred in the Learning Systems space within the VCU Wiki System. Denied Requests fr Elevated Privileges After the evaluatin and decisin has been made t deny a request, the Department f Learning Systems will fllw-up with the requester and prvide the reasn(s) the privileges will nt be granted. Frms There are n frms assciated with this plicy and prcedures. Related Dcuments Appendix A - VCU Infrmatin Security Standards Plicy http://www.ts.vcu.edu/2459.html Adding an Instructr t Anther Instructr s Bb Curse http://www.ts.vcu.edu/askit/knwledge-base/blackbard- 91/plicies/adding%20an%20instructr%20t%20anther%20instructrs%20bb/ Revisin Histry Nne New Plicy FAQs There are n FAQs assciated with this plicy and prcedures. Blackbard System Usage Plicy - 7 - Apprved: 04/03/2014