Message to Faculty
Subject: May 2025 – Brightspace Update – Transition Updates and New Features
From: Evan Silberman
Sent on: 5/16/2025
Dear CUNY Faculty,
As the spring semester ends, we’re pleased to share the Brightspace transition reached a major milestone. Brightspace is now available across CUNY. This shift reflects a significant effort by our LMS transition teams in the central office, campuses, and our faculty body. We are grateful for this community effort!
In this update, you’ll find developments that will benefit you, along with resources to help you prepare for what’s ahead.
Transition Updates –
Group 4 Kickoff
The Transition Group 4 Kickoff took place on January 14, 2025. This group is on track for a full Brightspace launch in Summer 2025 (Note: 12-6 schools including LaGuardia Community College will launch in Fall 2025). Students in Transition Group 4 who did not already have access through a course from a previous transition group began to gain Brightspace access on April 2, 2025, with enrollment in a summer course. We met with Campus Teams regularly throughout the spring to help them prepare their campuses. In addition, we continue to hold synchronous training sessions through May 22.
Group 3 Progress
This spring 2025, faculty and students from Transition Group 3 at City College, College of Staten Island, and Hunter College started using Brightspace. This is a significant milestone, especially with College of Staten Island being the largest campus physically and Hunter College having the largest enrollment size at CUNY. We are pleased to share that our thorough planning and preparations have led to a smooth transition, as confirmed by the teams at these campuses.
New and Upcoming Features –
Grade Passback
The Grade Passback tool in CUNYfirst will be available for the Spring 2025 grading period beginning May 16th. The tool is aimed at streamlining the final grade submission process for faculty by allowing faculty to import final grades directly from Brightspace into CUNYFirst, thereby reducing manual entry and errors. Support resources including a knowledge article, video, guide and FAQs (attached) is available to assist faculty in using the tool effectively. Note: Grade passback cannot be used for merged courses.
Brightspace Awards Certificate
Launched in April, this configuration will allow the display of a course certificate on LinkedIn and other platforms and will be used for cybersecurity and other training purposes. For more information on the details that are shared, please visit: https://community.d2l.com/brightspace/kb/articles/6076-share-awards-to-your-linkedin-profile
To learn how to generate a public link for sharing awards, please visit: https://community.d2l.com/brightspace/kb/articles/17238-introducing-sharing-awards-with-a-public-link
New Quiz Evaluation Experience
The new quiz evaluation experience is designed to enhance the user interface and streamline the evaluation process for instructors and other evaluation roles. The feature is currently being tested but the plan is to enable it before the summer semester starts on May 27. For more information, please see the following video of the New Quiz Evaluation Experience | Instructor.
Rubric Levels
Rubric Levels will allow instructors to see the rubric level ranges when creating and evaluating rubrics. In addition, learners will be able to see the rubric criteria level range when viewing rubrics. This configuration is currently being tested, and we will provide more details when available.
Insights Portal
The Insights Portal Dashboards have been enabled for faculty and instructors. Instructors can then access course-specific data where they are listed as the instructor of record. Below are some key features of these dashboards.
- Engagement Dashboard: At-risk identification, assignment completion tracking.
- Learner Engagement Dashboard: Individual learner metrics across courses.
- Assessment Quality Dashboard: Quiz and question statistics.
Additional information about the dashboards is available in this Brightspace Community article. If you do not see these dashboards, please contact your LMS Admin.
Training Opportunities: Dive Deeper with Brightspace
To help you navigate Brightspace with confidence, we’re offering two key ways to enhance your understanding:
- Pre-recorded Instructor Training Sessions:
These sessions provide step-by-step guidance on key features and are available for you to watch at your convenience. Faculty can access these sessions at any time to support their transition to Brightspace. - “Ask Me Anything” and “Grades” Sessions:
Dive deeper into your questions with our training team during these live, interactive sessions. Ask Me Anything:
Tuesday, May 20 | 11 AM – 12 PM (Register here)
Thursday, May 22| 1 PM – 2 PM (Register here) Grades:
Wednesday, May 21 | 12 PM – 1 PM (Register here) - Updated YouTube Videos:
We’ve refreshed our Brightspace Transition Playlist with new videos, including ABCs of Content and Engaging Learners. These resources are designed to support you in making the most of Brightspace. Explore the full playlist here.
We encourage all faculty members to take advantage of these opportunities to maximize your Brightspace experience.
Looking Ahead
Your participation in Brightspace training is key to shaping the future of teaching at CUNY. We are creating new workshops to enhance student engagement and instructor presence using Brightspace tools like Intelligent Agents and Video Notes. Details will be shared soon. These opportunities will equip you with tools to enhance your classroom experience and support a seamless transition. Thank you for your dedication to strengthening education across our community.
Best regards,
Evan Silberman
Interim Senior University Dean of Academic Innovation
City University of New York (CUNY)
Archive
Message to Faculty: Attendance Tool Configuration Change
Subject:
From: Evan Silberman
Sent on: October 24, 2024
Dear Colleagues,
Under advisement by the University Office of Enrollment Management, the LMS Transition Team will disable the Attendance tool in Brightspace effective December 28, 2024.
The decision to implement this change is based on CUNY’s status as a non-attendance institution with the US Department of Education. While we are required to establish commencement of attendance, this is done through the established WN grade process. Any other form of attendance gathering at the Central Office level in addition to the WN process could compromise this status.
Faculty may maintain their own roll books, with classroom activity.
Sincerely,
LMS Transition Project Team
Message to Deans & Chairs: Brightspace Update (system-wide)
From: Wendy F. Hensel, Executive Vice Chancellor & University Provost
Colleagues,
I hope that you all had a wonderful, restful holiday weekend with your family and friends. I am writing to provide you with an update on our system-wide transition to Brightspace D2L, our new Learning Management System (LMS). I am pleased to report that the transition is gaining momentum in key areas, and that new faculty resources are now available to everyone.
1. Update on Course Migration
First and most critically, the central Brightspace environment is now complete. In short, that means that colleges in Transition group #1 (BMCC, SLU, SPS, Hostos, John Jay, Medgar Evers, and Queens) are able to begin customizing their Brightspace environment (e.g., personalizing it to the college’s identity and preferences for the navigation bar, widgets, etc.). As you may know, we experienced some delays in our course migration as a result of issues on the D2L management side. Fortunately, D2L has resolved these issues, and we are back on our anticipated schedule. The initial migration of courses from Summer 2023 will be completed by December 15 for transition groups #1 and #2 (Baruch, Bronx, Guttman, Kingsborough, City Tech, Queensborough, and York). Once that occurs, instructors can begin working in their courses to update them for delivery in Summer 2024.
Course migration for transition group #3 (City College, SPH, CSI, and Hunter) will be done in fall 2024 with courses being taught in Brightspace in spring 2025. Transition group #4 (Brooklyn, Journalism, Graduate Center, Law, LaGuardia, Lehman, and Macaulay) will follow with course migration in spring 2025 and course delivery in Brightspace in summer 2025.
2. Update on Support and Training for Faculty
There are many ways for faculty to begin preparing for the transition now. As of today, all faculty have access to Brightspace to create practice sites in the LMS, allowing faculty to learn and play in Brightspace with access to the tools and features CUNY has implemented at this stage of the transition. Instructions for creating a practice site can be found on the LMS transition website. The website also is being updated regularly to include recorded training sessions, archived communications, and our progress. Faculty have access to support provided by D2L through chat, email, and phone on a 24/7, 365 day/year basis.
In addition to these resources, Faculty in transition groups #1 and #2 are enrolled in the Brightspace Resource Course for Instructors. This self-paced training introduces the basics of course building, assignments, and quizzes, as well as resources to get started. Faculty will see the course in the dashboard when logging in at brightspace.cuny.edu. Faculty in transition groups #3 and #4 will be enrolled in fall 2024 and January 2025 respectively.
Brightspace Basics, a 4-workshop series, will be offered beginning in January and continuing through the start of the Fall 2024 semester for transition groups #1 and #2. Workshops will cover the following topics: Getting Started in Brightspace, ABC’s of Content, Engaging Learners, and Assessing Learning. Workshop dates will be published shortly. Additional workshops will be scheduled for transition groups #3 and #4. Working with Migrated Courses, an asynchronous workshop, will be available in spring 2024 to support faculty as they prepare their migrated courses for their go-live semester.
I encourage everyone to explore the extensive resources, including self-guided training, found on the web-based Brightspace Community. This resource can also be accessed by clicking the “Brightspace Help” in the upper left corner of the top navigation bar in Brightspace. All Brightspace training is voluntary but highly recommended.
3. Listening to Your Concerns
As we said at the beginning of this project, it is important that we hear from faculty and work in tandem to ensure the success of the transition to Brightspace. Based on input from numerous stakeholder groups, including the LMS Transition Advisory Team, USS, CTL Council, and the UFS FGL, the course navigation bar will be configured as fully editable, with the default navigation recommended by D2L. Colleges will be able to modify the D2L default to a campus-specific one and edit their Brightspace homepages as desired. Instructors likewise will be able to modify the navigation bar in their courses.
We have also heard some concerns raised about intellectual property and data ownership. I want to assure you that neither is at risk in our contract with D2L. The RFP to which D2L responded specified the following: The contractor’s solution must affirm CUNY’s ownership of data and faculty member ownership of their own intellectual property. As has always been true, the intellectual property of faculty using D2L will be governed by CUNY’s Intellectual Property Policy (cuny.edu).
4. Thank You
I close with thanks to the LMS Transition Team, UFS, and all who are involved in this significant project. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to a smooth rollout as we go forward. I will update you as new information becomes available.
Message to Faculty: D2L One-Hour Brightspace Demo Webinars for Faculty
From: Office of Information Technology Services
We are excited to announce the first look into Brightspace at CUNY. We have partnered with D2L and CUNY to provide one-hour webinars to demo the Brightspace platform for faculty.
Please register at https://bit.ly/3FzIfBR
Schedule of Sessions:
Wednesday, November 1, 1 pm
Friday, November 3, 10 am
Monday, November 6, 1 pm
Thursday, November 9, 12:30 pm
Monday, November 13, 1 pm
Wednesday, November 29, 11 am
Please email Brightspace@qc.cuny.edu if you have any questions about these sessions.
Message to Deans & Chairs: ITS Brightspace Transition Information & Resources
From: Troy J. Hahn, Assistant Vice President & Chief Information OfficerQueens College, City University of New York
I trust this message finds you in good health and high spirits. It is with genuine enthusiasm and eagerness that I extend a warm welcome to you as we embark on the transition from Blackboard to Desire2Learn’s (D2L) Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS).
For information and resources related to the Queens College Brightspace transition, please visit our dedicated website: Brightspace Transition at Queens College | Brightspace Learning Management System | Queens College, CUNY.
Over the past several months, our dedicated training team has worked tirelessly to ensure that this transition is as seamless and stress-free as possible. We understand that any change of this magnitude can lead to questions, uncertainties, and even some anxiety. Please rest assured that we are fully committed to providing you with the necessary support and resources throughout this transition, with the ultimate goal of ensuring a successful and enriching experience for both you and your students.
We recognize that a transition of this scale, which may represent a significant shift in how you deliver your lectures through an LMS, can be both exhilarating and challenging, occasionally even frustrating. Both the IT Services (ITS) and the Center for Teaching & Learning (CETLL) understand the emotions that come with such change, and we want you to know that we are here for you. To facilitate this, we have created an MS Teams Channel called “Brightspace Transition – Faculty Support.” This channel will serve as a platform for active engagement beyond training sessions and departmental interactions. I strongly encourage you to utilize this space to ask questions and share your thoughts, as your queries often reflect those of your peers who may be hesitant to ask. It’s important to note that the Faculty Support Teams channel is an open platform, and you will need to join it independently; IT and CETLL will not assign you to the group.
To our esteemed Department Chairs, I would like to encourage you to sign up for your department’s virtual roadshow. This transition roadshow offers a valuable opportunity to discuss the transition within the context of your department and to address any department-specific questions your faculty may have. While participation is not mandatory, it is highly recommended for a more tailored and productive experience.
To help you adapt to D2L, we have designed a series of training sessions that will comprehensively cover all aspects of the new platform. These sessions will be tailored to accommodate varying levels of expertise, whether you are an experienced online instructor or new to online teaching. Sign-up opportunities for training sessions will become available in November.
As we embark on this transformative journey, remember that change often brings opportunities for growth, innovation, and improvement. Your adaptability and enthusiasm are invaluable assets that will contribute to the success of this transition. We are committed to providing you with the resources and assistance you need, including support for video production, gamification, learning paths, educational technology, and design support, should you wish to explore these avenues.
Your dedication to providing the best education to our students is deeply appreciated, and we are confident that this transition will empower you to continue doing so effectively.
We express our gratitude for your unwavering commitment to excellence in education, and we eagerly anticipate collaborating with you in this exciting new phase.
We are ITS, and we are here to help.
Message to Deans & Chairs: Information to Participate in the QC LMS Transition Team
From: Patricia Price, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Troy Hahn, Chief Information Officer
CUNY is undergoing a system-wide transition in its enterprise Learning Management System (LMS), from Blackboard to Desire to Learn/Brightspace (D2L/Brightspace). Selected by a University-wide committee, D2L/Brightspace will provide a contemporary and ADA-supportive teaching and learning interface across all modalities. Because Queens College is a proven leader in academic technology adoption, we have been assigned to Wave One of the phased rollout. Content will be migrated in the fall of 2023, and we will switch to D2L/Brightspace for Spring 2024 courses. Academic Affairs will partner closely with the Office of Information Technology Services and CUNY to provide faculty with a robust suite of orientation, training, course development, and tech support throughout the process. Communication is the key to successful change management, and we are committed to transparency, accuracy, timeliness, and inclusion.
Please consider participating in the QC LMS Transition Team (email your name and department to LMSTransition@qc.cuny.edu). For regular updates, please check this website as well as the CUNY LMS Transition Website.
Please share this information with your faculty, including those who will be going on fellowship leave in the coming year. We will send communications about the transition to faculty, staff, and students later this summer, before the start of the fall semester.
Thank you for your cooperation and support.
Getting Started
To get ready for the move to the Brightspace environment, faculty are encouraged to do some clean up on their current Blackboard courses. Once cleaned up, it is advised that courses be backed up by exporting the course. Learn more about this HERE.
Office Information
Brightspace Learning Management System
Email: brightspace@qc.cuny.edu