Step-By-Step
Common Blackboard Access Problems
(Text version)

1. There are a number of common problems users sometimes face when attempting to access and use Blackboard. The most common problem is attempting to access Blackboard with the wrong username or password.

• Instructors and Staff members must request a Blackboard account from the Blackboard administrator. To request a Blackboard account click on the "Click Here" link located on the Blackboard splash page located at http://blackboard.tufts.edu
• All Tufts University students, by default, have a Blackboard account. A student's username is their last name plus the last 4 digits of their Tufts student ID Number. This username contains no spaces, hyphens or apostrophes. A student's password is their full Tufts University ID Number with no spaces or dashes.
• Note that the username/password combination for students is based on the student's Tufts University ID# and not their Social Security Number.

2. Another common problem is using an Internet browser that is not compatible with Blackboard or one that has been configured in a manner that cannot access the Blackboard server.

• Blackboard supports Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 5.0 or above and Netscape Navigator Version 5.0 or above and Macintosh Safari. You may be able to access Blackboard with other browsers but some of Blackboard functions may not work properly or may not function at all.
• If you are an instructor or a TA, It is strongly recommended that you access Blackboard with the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Blackboard and Microsoft are partners and for better or worse, Blackboard works better in Explorer than in any other browser.

3. Whether you use Microsoft Explorer, Netscape Navigator or Safari, your browser must be configured to accept "Cookies"

• In Microsoft Internet Explorer go to Tools / Internet Options and click on the "Privacy" tab. Make sure the Privacy setting is set to "Medium" or lower. If you change the setting make sure to click on "ok" at the bottom of the dialogue box.
• In Netscape Navigator go to Edit Preferences and double click on the Privacy & Security link. This will open the settings menu. Click on "Cookies". Make sure that the "Enable cookies based on privacy setting" radio button is selected. Next click on "View". This opens the privacy settings dialogue box. Make sure the Level of Privacy is set to "Medium" or lower. If you make any changes be sure to click the "ok" button.

4. Sometimes users experience problems due to browser "cache" problems. Many times this causes a blank page to be displayed in Blackboard with the word "Done" in the left hand corner of the page. To solve this problem (which is more frequent in Netscape than in Explorer) you need to clear your browser's internet cache. Before clearing your browser's cache make sure you are NOT on any Blackboard page.

• In Microsoft Internet Explorer go to Tools / Internet Options. Make sure that the default "General" tab is selected. Under "Temporary Internet files" click on the "Delete Files" button. Depending on the number of Internet files you have in your cache this may take some time. When complete click on ""ok".
• In Netscape Navigator go to Edit / Preferences and double click on the "Advanced" icon. This will open the settings menu. Click on "Cache". Click on the "Clear Cache" button. Depending on the number of Internet files you have in your cache this may take some time. When complete click on ""ok".

5. Another problem sometimes encountered by Blackboard users is the result of attempting to access Blackboard while behind a firewall that prohibits access. If you have a personal firewall installed on your computer and are experiencing Blackboard access problems you may want to turn off the firewall to see if that solves the access problem.

6. Finally, If you are accessing Blackboard via a Comcast Broadband connection you will notice that downloading files from Blackboard is very fast but uploading files to Blackboard is sometimes extremely slow. This is because Comcast sets a different bandwidth to users for uploading, than they do for downloading.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Step-By-Step procedure contact the Tufts Blackboard Administrator at: nhirsig@tufts.edu