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Important Information about Managed Hosted Deployments of Blackboard Learn

Date Published: Oct 21,2021


CategoryProduct:Learn; Version:Learn
Article No.: 000075975

Product:  
Blackboard Learn


Information:

Please see the text below for a message about Learn deployments from Jim Chalex, Vice President of Product Management at Blackboard.  

Since we communicated our plans to move Blackboard Learn to the cloud in 2014, we have spoken with you about the key benefits from the technical perspective: easier change management, immediate access to the latest features and enhancements, updates without having to take the system offline and, ultimately, more peace of mind. 

In a recent client survey, we saw higher satisfaction scores from instructors at institutions hosted in the cloud. They noted a noticeable improvement in the quality of products, ease of use, and depth of functionality. These are some of the reasons why schools are moving to the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) deployment of Blackboard Learn at a faster pace. An overwhelming 76% of institutions are on SaaS already, and we expect more than 80% of institutions to be on SaaS by the end of 2021. The move to SaaS is part of our shift towards simplifying our business and will allow us to increase capacity for innovation and accelerate bringing new capabilities to market. 

 

In August of 2020, we provided you with guidance around our support plans for the non-SaaS deployments of Blackboard Learn.  

 

This post is to reiterate that after December 31, 2022, Blackboard Learn will no longer be available through a Managed Hosting deployment. 

 

It is important to note that this is only for the Managed Hosted Deployments of Blackboard Learn. Self Hosted Learn deployments will remain fully supported through the end of 2023, and in the coming months, we plan to share more details for those impacted clients. Upon moving to SaaS, you can keep the same course experience with the Original Course View.  

 

Next Steps 

 

  • We encourage Managed Hosting clients who have not finalized their transition dates to work with their Blackboard representatives to identify that timeframe.  

  • If you have not selected a transition window by July 1, 2022, our cloud services team will schedule a December 2022 date for your institution or organization.  

 

The benefit of selecting a date earlier is that you will be able to schedule around your institution’s or organization’s calendar and holiday schedule.   

 

Your Blackboard representative, or a member of our cloud services team, will be in touch in the coming weeks to answer questions and to start the process. We also offer the following cohort-style workshop to provide you with more information.  

 

We are committed to providing you with timely and accurate information to help you plan your transition to SaaS. Please read the FAQ below for more information:   

 

FAQs 

 

What happens to my Managed Hosted instance of Blackboard Learn on January 1, 2023? 

 

  • By Dec 31, 2022, all remaining clients on the Managed Hosted deployment of Blackboard Learn will be transitioned to SaaS. 

 

What do I need to do to plan for the move to SaaS? 

 

  • Your Blackboard representative, or a member of our cloud services team, will be in touch in the coming weeks to answer questions and to start the process.   

 

 

Does this impact the Original Course View? 

 

  • No, the Self Hosted and Managed Hosted deployment support timelines shared earlier are not connected to the Original Course View, which is available for use on our SaaS deployment. 

 

What else do we have access to after moving to SaaS?  

 

  • SaaS unlocks access to additional solutions to support your students, faculty and administrators. Some of these, which are included as part of your SaaS license, are:  

 

 

 

 





The information contained in the Knowledge Base was written and/or verified by Blackboard Support. It is approved for client use. Nothing in the Knowledge Base shall be deemed to modify your license in any way to any Blackboard product. If you have comments, questions, or concerns, please send an email to kb@blackboard.com. © 2024 Blackboard Inc. All rights reserved