Blackboard Ultra: Creating Custom Groups

This article outlines how to create group sets, configure student assignment methods, and manage student membership across custom, random, and self-enrollment groups in Blackboard Ultra.

Creating Custom Groups

Blackboard Ultra allows instructors to organize their students into Groups. Groups are a helpful tool which allow instructors to target assignments, communications, and files for specified groups of students.

• Blackboard Ultra Create and Manage Groups article

Note: This link directs you to a vendor-managed resource outside of the ACC Knowledge Base that is not managed by our department. While ACC Educational Technology Support periodically reviews external links for relevance and accuracy, we cannot guarantee the availability, accuracy, or ongoing support of vendor-managed content. 

Students can either be placed into Groups per instructor support, or you can allow for students to self-assign themselves to groups you have pre-made in the course.

1. Open the Groups tab in your Blackboard Ultra Course.
2. Click New Group Set located on the right-hand side of the webpage. This will open a new window to create a Group Set. Label the Group Set with a title.
   • Note: The Group Set should not be confused with the actual group of students created in the Course - Groups tab.
3. Next to the Group Students label, click the dropdown menu to select how you would like to assign students into groups.
   • Students can be assigned via Custom Groups, Randomly assigned Groups, or Self-enrollment Groups.
     • Custom groups are instructor chosen groups. Instructors must pre-assign students to groups.
     • Randomly assigned Groups will randomly generate a number of Groups and then pre-assign students to a Group.
     • Self-enrollment Groups allow for students to view the groups available and select which Group they would like to join. Instructors can always intervene and reassign students from these group
4. Within the Group Set, after you have selected how to Group Students, locate the purple addition field (+) line along the bottom of the webpage.
   1. Click this field to then build and label each Group you want within this Group Set.
      • Highlighting the purple addition field (+).
      • After clicking the purple addition field (+).
   2. After clicking the purple addition field (+) there is a prompt which appears with a box to label the new group in the field, New Group 1.
   3. This is the first official Group of this student Group Set.
   4. Label the Group and then add a Description as is appropriate.
5. Click the three dots alongside a student’s name and text box to Edit Group Membership. Assign the student to the Group you have created within this set.
   • Alternatively, instructors can create a new Group using the +Create a new group drop-down field.
6. Once a student has been assigned to a Group, their name and profile will now appear beneath that Group on the webpage.
   • Complete this process for all students to assign all students to Groups.

Be sure to click Save in the lower-right-hand corner of the webpage screen to save and activate student groups.

For a more in-depth explanation of Student Groups from the Student View Perspective, see the linked Blackboard Ultra Resource Video below.

Watch Video: Work in Groups in Blackboard - Students (0:57)

Note: This link directs you to a vendor-managed resource outside of the ACC Knowledge Base that is not managed by our department. While ACC Educational Technology Support periodically reviews external links for relevance and accuracy, we cannot guarantee the availability, accuracy, or ongoing support of vendor-managed content. 

 

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.
If you have found an error in this article or need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact an Educational Technologist.