As part of Ohio University's Blackboard Retirement initiative, academic courses taught between Summer 2019 and Summer 2025 in Blackboard will be retained in a secure third-party archiving platform, K16, until June 2028. This article outlines the purpose of the archive and the process of requesting access to archived course materials. Content will be retained in alignment with the Blackboard Course Retention Standard.
Note: The archive is designed to support academic record retention activities, such as grade disputes and incomplete grade reviews. The archive is not intended for long-term instructional content storage.
Who can request archived materials
- Course instructors
- Department chairs
- School directors
- College leaders
- Other authorized academic administrators
For Current and Former Students: Requests for archived materials are typically submitted by the original instructor of record or an academic leader, such as a department chair or school director. If you need materials from a previous course, start by contacting your instructor or academic unit. If you're unsure who to contact, you may still submit a request and we'll help connect you with the appropriate person.
Description
This article includes:
- Archiving timeline and scope
- Purpose of the archive
- Step-by-step instructions for submitting a request via the Blackboard ticket form
Environment
- Platform: Blackboard
- Archiving Tool: K16 Solutions
- Retention Period: Until June 30, 2028
- Retirement Date for Blackboard: June 30, 2026
Archiving Overview
Blackboard courses that concluded between August 2019 and August 2025 will be archived until June 2028. All archived Blackboard content will be deleted from the archive after June 30, 2028.
Content Eligible for Archiving
- Academic courses created through OHIO’s Student Information System (PeopleSoft) for academic credit in Blackboard that were taught during the retention period.
- Content created in Blackboard with native Blackboard features will be retained, including discussion boards, gradebooks, and records of submissions and missing submissions.
Content Excluded from the Archive
The Blackboard archive only contains eligible academic credit-bearing courses retained under the Blackboard Course Retention Standard. The following content is not included:
- Third-party tools, integrations, and publisher content
- Blackboard organizations
- Test courses
- Continuing education (non-credit) courses
- Manually created courses
Purpose of Archiving
The archive is intended to support student record retention related to academic activities such as:
- Review of incomplete grades
- Resolution of grade disputes
Important: The archive is not a backup for instructional content. Faculty should download and save any materials they wish to reuse as soon as possible.
Request Archived Material from Blackboard
To request archived Blackboard course materials, submit a request using the Blackboard Ticket Form. After your request is submitted, OIT will review the information and contact you if additional details are needed.
- Submit a request: Start by submitting your request through the Blackboard Ticket Form. Be sure to include as much detail as possible—such as the course name, semester, and instructor—to help us locate the materials quickly.
- Request review: Once your form is submitted, a Blackboard Administrator will review the information and begin investigating whether the archived content is available.
- Additional follow-up (if needed): If we need more details to process your request, we may contact you to gather additional information or schedule a brief online meeting.
Additional resources
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