Blackboard Troubleshooting Guide
If you cannot find your course listed in Blackboard:

• Did you register and pay for the course on the same day? We now have a Pay As You Go policy (Contact Admissions and Records at x7231 to determine your status in the course.)

• If you registered and paid, when did you register for the class? (If a student registered after May 19, 2003, it will take 2 business days to be enrolled in a Blackboard course. For on campus classes, students who register late will be registered by the second week of classes.)

• Are you using the correct web address (http://bb.vccs.edu)

If you receive an error message from the Blackboard login screen  ("The Username and Password you specified were incorrect or you do not have access to this resource."):

• Are you using the correct username? (Look up your username at https://vccserver01.vccs.edu or in http://who_am_i.vccs.edu/
  Click on View VCCS student and staff directory.)

• Are you using the correct password?   It is the month, day, and year of your birth in the format MMDDYY.)

• Maiden Name Issue: Have you ever gone by another last name? If so, try it in one of the look ups and see if that allows you access to your Blackboard account.

If you can login to blackboard, but do not see your course listed: 

• Has the next semester begun? (Courses are not officially available in Blackboard until the first day of the semester.  Summer semester begins May 19, 2003.)

• Is the course listed under "My Courses" on the "My Institution" page?

• Is student clicking on the correct course title on the "My Institution" page?

If you cannot get Blackboard to display:

• Are you using the correct browser? (either Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape 6.0 or higher. See that your 128 bit encryption is enabled.  Check the browser version if not sure.

• Are you using AOL or MSN? (If so, Explorer or Netscape should be opened in a separate window.)

• Are you using your home computer or a computer at work? (If using an employer's computer, the company's computer security system may prevent access to the Blackboard software.  Contact your computer department to determine if your company has a firewall.) 

• Have you emptied your cache lately? Here is how to complete this important computer housekeeping task.

If you have read through all these questions and are still unable to access your course, please send an email to ifarrell@vw.vccs.edu with your complete name, course number and section, and a detailed description of the problem.