Frequently Asked Questions
I get an "Empty ResultSet" error message...
I get "No authentication credentials" error message...
Access to Blackboard Courses
Locating Plug ins and Readers
Discussion Board Questions
I don't seem to be able to post a reply...
My reply message is longer than the space provided by the Discussion Board...
Virtual Classroom Questions
Blackboard's Virtual Classroom doesn't start after I click the link...
Screen Text Size
Page Refreshing
My instructor says that a page has been updated but it looks the same to me...
I get an "Empty ResultSet" error message when logging into Blackboard. What do I do?
If you are receiving an "Empty ResultSet" error message there are two things to check.
First, make sure you are logging into Blackboard properly.
In order to log in to Blackboard properly, you must first enter the Blackboard Welcome page at http://blackboard.selu.edu/ and click the login button.
You may not bookmark the Login page and enter there -- Blackboard requires you to enter through the Welcome page.
If you are logging into Blackboard properly and you are still receiving the "Empty ResultSet" error message, then you will need enable Cookies in your browser settings. See Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on how to enable Cookies.
I get a "No authentication credentials" error message when I try to login to Blackboard. What do I do?
The "No authentication credentials" error message is caused by an incorrect security setting on your computer.
To correct this problem you will need to make adjustments to the browser settings. You will want to make sure your computer has JAVA and Javascript. You will also need to make sure your browser settings for Active Scripting is enabled. See Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on how to enable JAVA and Javascript.
I have to log in to Blackboard two times. The first time I get an error message and the second time it works. Why is this happening?
This is most likely due to the security settings with Internet Explorer. To correct the problem:
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Click on Tools, then Click on Internet Options.
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Click on the Security Tab.
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Click the Custom button.
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Scroll down to the bottom of the list to User Authentication. Select Anonymous Logon.
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Click OK.
I forgot my password -- what do I do?
Your Blackboard password is the same as your university WebMail password. If you forgot your password, access the Account Information page and click on "I forgot my password". Complete the fields and you will be able to change your password. Once your change the password, your password will be changed for WebMail, LEONet and Blackboard.
When will I have access to my Blackboard Classes?
Blackboard courses are generated using the Registrar's data. Students are automatically added to Blackboard courses when they register for the course. During the Add/Drop period, students are added automatically as the Registrar processes enrollment. It takes up to 24 hours from the time your enrollment is official for the Blackboard database to be updated.
Blackboard courses courses are set as “unavailable” by default. This means that the instructor can see it, but the students cannot.
Instructors will set the availability to "YES" when they want students to have access.
If a course you have registered for does not show up in your Blackboard course list, it is most likely because the availability has not been set to "YES". However, some instructors do not use Blackboard in their distance education courses. If you registered for a distance education course and the course does not show up in your My Courses box in Blackboard, you will need to contact your instructor.
If your instructor has asked you to login to Blackboard and it is not listed in your My Courses box, contact your instructor. Your instructor will verify that the availability of the course has been set to "YES" and will check the class roster to see if you are listed as enrolled in the course.
Blackboard does not seem to be operating properly. I have accessed Blackboard from this computer before and it worked just fine. What should I do?
Try rebooting your computer. Sometimes when "glitches" happen, the best thing to do is close everything down on your computer and start over. Reboot your computer and log back into Blackboard.
If you continue to experience problems, and you know that your computer and browser settings meet the requirements outlined in Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings, you may try contacting the Student Help Desk. The Student Help Desk can be reached by phone at 985-549-5555 or e-mail at studenttechhelp@selu.edu.
How do I locate Plug ins and Readers to download?
Visit the Browser Plug ins for handy access to a variety of available plug ins and readers you might find useful. These are all free downloads.
I cannot enter my comments into the discussion board. I can read the discussions and click on the "Reply" button, but there does not appear to be any way I can add my own comments. How do I join the discussion?
This is probably caused by the "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) editor used in Blackboard; some computer configurations do not display the WYSIWYG screen. You should try to turn off the WYSIWYG editor in order to revert back to the older text editor.
To disable your WYSIWYG editor,
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Click on the "My SELU " tab
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Click on the Course Tools
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Click on Personal Information
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Click on Set Visual Text Box Editor Options
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In Manage Visual Text Box Editor, change the setting to "Unavailable".
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Click the Submit button. You will then be able to use the older editor which should work without any problem.
My instructor recommended that I first write my discussion board comments in Word and then copy and paste that into the discussion board. However, if I type something that's long I can't paste it into the discussion board editor. How can I fix this?
The editor used in the discussion board is not intended to be used for really long notes. It will not handle any response that's more than about 4000 characters. If you want to just dash off a paragraph or two then the text editor is fine. However, for long responses (something that's a couple of pages or more) you will need to create a Word document and then upload that document into the discussion board. Uploading a long file also makes it easier for other folks in your class since they can then download your comments and read them at their leisure instead of plowing through several screens of text while online.
My instructor wants me to use the Blackboard Virtual Classroom, but it doesn't start after I click on the link.
First, if you are using some sort of "Popup Blocker" software on your computer that could be interfering with the virtual classroom. Disable that software and then try starting the virtual classroom again. See Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on how to disable your pop-up blocker.
Second, the Virtual Classroom relies on a recent version of the Java Virtual Machine. Download the latest version of Java (free download).
Also, see Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on JAVA and Javascripting settings.
Help! The font on my screen is tiny. What can I do to fix that?
Internet Explorer permits you to set the font size for your convenience. For some reason, yours got set to "Tiny." To reset your font to a legible size:
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Click on View. Then Click on Text Size.
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Click on choice -- medium or larger.
My instructor said he updated one of the pages on Blackboard, but it still looks the same to me. What's happening?
Web browsers will "cache" (or keep a local copy of) Web pages in order to make browsing faster. It is likely that you are looking at an old copy of the page that's actually on your computer rather than the most recent version that is in Blackboard.
You will want to refresh your browser by clicking on "Reload" or "Refresh" button located on your Internet tool bar at the top of the page. You can also force Internet Explorer to refresh the page using the keyboard command "Control + R".