Reducing Blackboard Course Size

At the University of Miami, we currently recommend faculty to maintain a course size quota under 2.5 GB to support the daily and long-term archiving of courses. From January 24, 2025, Blackboard's course size quota will be limited to 50GB per course as a temporary measure to reduce further performance issues to courses, with the expectation this will be reduced further by Fall 2025. The following guidance below outlines ways to reduce your course size.

Challenges with Large Courses

The University has implemented targeted efforts to support the long-term and efficient use of course materials in Blackboard through integrations such as Kaltura, OneDrive, and Ally. However, while courses older than four years are frequently archived, several challenges persist, particularly with large courses causing performance issues across the Blackboard system.

  • Nested Content: Courses often become large due to multiple copies of content within the course and its content collection. This content is usually older than four years and unused in current courses.
  • Multiple File Uploads: Students and faculty can upload up to 500MB at a time, but multiple uploads of 500MB can quickly accumulate to over 2GB.
  • Delayed Auto Archives: Changes to large courses trigger an auto-archive process that can take days to complete, delaying the timely archiving of other courses.
  • Export Limits: Courses larger than 2.5 GB require assistance to export and archive. Courses exceeding 50GB may need to be disabled or removed from the system to mitigate further impact.
  • Video Assignments: Student engagement activities, such as 'icebreaker' assignments involving video recordings, can significantly increase course size. With HD video commonly available on phones, these submissions and discussion board posts can consume substantial storage if not uploaded through Kaltura.
Review Options to Reduce Course Size

The following steps aim to help streamline course content, and reduce actions manage your course.

Step 1: Calculate Size of a Course

  • To check the size of your course, log in to Blackboard and select "Tools" in the Ultra Base Navigation on the left hand side.
  • Select Content Collection.
  • Select Course Content.
  • The list of folders with the name of the courses will show both your Ultra and Original Courses.
  • Under 'Size' column, you will be able to see the size of the course.

size of a course

Step 2: Perform Granular Course Copy

We strongly encourage you to perform granular course copy in both Ultra, and Original courses outlined below. By selecting the items you need in your course, this prevents copying over content that is no longer needed, or used.

Accordion Group

Open All Tabs
  • Blackboard Ultra

    Blackboard Ultra makes it even easier to select existing content to copy into your new course.

    • Open the course you want to copy from.
    • On the Course Content page, select the More options menu. Select Copy Items from the dropdown menu.
    • Select the arrow beside the name of a course to access its available items to copy.
    • From here, you can copy content by group, or drill further down to specific content you want to copy. When you find the content you want to copy, check the box to the left of the content title
    • Select Start Copy. You should receive an email when the copy process is complete. 

    Access the full guide and video 

  • Blackboard Original - Course Copy

    This process will help you copy course content including files, assessments, and announcements.

    • Open the course you want to copy from.
    • In the Control Panel, select Packages and Utilities.
    • Select Course Copy.
    • Choose Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course.
    • Select the course ID for the destination course. Browse to locate a course.
    • Select the course materials you want to copy.
    • Under File Attachments, click one of two options:
    • Option 1: To copy only files that are linked in the course content, and currently being used in the course, select Copy links and copies of the content. This will remove any content not being used in the course.
    • Option 2: If you have uploaded zip files/learning objects/SCORM, select Copy links and copies of the content (include the entire course home folder).
    • If you select 2, select Manage Package Contents to select, and remove any course files you will no longer need in the new course. The Calculate Size button will help to check the size of your course meets below the course size quota.

  • Blackboard Original - Export and Import

    Export select content within Blackboard Original, and save a copy before importing this into a course. You can also use this method to save course materials.

    • Open the course you want to copy from.
    • Under Control Panel, go to Content Collection and click on your course name/ID.
    • You'll see all the stored content, including file type, last edited date, and file size.
    • Select the files and folders to download.
    • Select the Download Package button. You can also find the Download Package option in the item's menu.
    • A window may appear asking you if you want to open the file or save it. Select Save File and select OK.

     

    • Open the course you want to copy to
    • In the Content Collection, go to the location where you want to upload files.
    • Point to Upload and select Upload Zip Package.
    • Browse for the file and choose the encoding type, if applicable.
    • Select Submit to start the upload.

     

     

  • Blackboard Original to Ultra

    Instructors have the ability to copy specific content from Original course to Ultra course, similar to copying from Ultra to Ultra. Follow these steps to copy content granularly.

    • Log in to Blackboard and navigate to the Ultra course you would like to copy content into.
    • Directly to the left of the Course Faculty box, there is a search icon, and three dots. Click the 3 dots 
    • Click Copy Items.
    • Find the course you would like to copy from, and click the arrow to the right of the course name and ID.
    • From here, you can copy content by group, or drill further down to specific content you want to copy. When you find the content you want to copy, check the box to the left of the content title.
    • Click Start Copy. You should receive an email when the copy process is complete. 

Step 3: Delete Unused Content

Open All Tabs
  • Blackboard Ultra

    • You can easily locate and delete unused course files in your course.
    • Open the course you want to copy from.
    • Select the ellipsis (three dots) menu at the top of the Course Content page
    • Select Unused Files.
    • Simply select the files you want to delete and then select Delete Files.

    screenshot of course homepage

  • Blackboard Original

    Original courses require a few more steps to find unused content. Therefore, we recommend isolating and removing the largest unused files. If you have large video files, please remove them and use Kaltura instead.

    • Open the course you want to copy from.
    • Under Control Panel, go to Content Collection and click on your course name/ID.
    • You'll see all the stored content, including file type, last edited date, and file size.
    • Use Accessiblity to Check for Use: Look for the Accessibility column. Items with a gas gauge or speedometer icon are in use and should not be deleted. For folders, you'll need to also check inside them. Use the Size column in the content collection to view large files not in use. You can download any unused content on your computer, by selecting the checkbox next to the file and clicking Download Package.

     

    • Review 360° View for Linked Items: To confirm which items are not active, open the Options Menu and select 360° View. A new tab will open. Scroll to the Links section. If an item is listed here as checked, it is actively used in the course. If not, it is inactive.
    • Return to the content collection and delete content not being used by selecting the checkbox next to the item(s), and click Delete.

     

Step 4: Upload Video Content using Kaltura

Use Kaltura to upload your course videos. This includes ensuring students upload videos through Kaltura.

Access the tipsheets here

Step 5: Share Large Files Through Cloud Services

Currently, faculty, staff and students can upload individual files as large as 500 megabytes to Blackboard. For files larger than 500 megabytes, please see the options available to students, faculty, and staff at the University of Miami.

Access the full guide

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