We strongly encourage faculty members to save local copies of all Blackboard course materials at the end of each semester.  Blackboard courses are removed from the server approximately one year after the end of the semester in which they are taught.  Saving your Blackboard course materials on your computer allows you to reuse the materials by importing them to a new Blackboard course at a later date.  In addition, CUNY record keeping policies require that you retain certain class records for specified periods of time.  If these records are stored on Blackboard, we strongly recommend that you retain a local copy.

This document contains information that will assist you in wrapping up the semester and will help you prepare for using Blackboard in future semesters.  Our recommendations are outlined below:

	Keep all saved class materials and records in one separate folder
	Export/archive your Blackboard course Exporting/archiving your course will create a compressed (.zip) file containing your course materials.  The .zip file can be imported into a new course shell on Blackboard if you wish to reuse all or some of your materials in a future semester.  You can also view this file on your computer by using a special tool called bFree. Click here to download.
	Preserve and print your Grade Center spreadsheet CUNY policy requires permanent retention of course grades.  Downloading the Grade Center from Blackboard enables you to open it in Excel on your local computer. We also recommend that you retain a paper copy of your final grades.
	Download any content that was submitted by students We recommend that you download any student content you would like access to.  This content should be downloaded separately from content that is included in the export/archive file.
	Print a copy of your final exam if it was given in Blackboard CUNY policy requires that you retain a copy of your final exam questions for 10 years.  If you created your final exam using Blackboard’s assessment manager, we suggest that you print a copy of the questions and export the exam via the Test Manager.
	Make "fair use" copyrighted course material unavailable Copyrighted materials used under "fair use" (i.e., for which you or the library have not obtained specific permission to use) should be made available to your class only for limited periods of time.  Blackboard areas containing these materials should be made unavailable at the end of the semester.