Student Help Desk

503-977-8200 | Outside the Portland Area: 1-866-922-1010 ext. 8200 | shd@pcc.edu

Blackboard CE6 Frequently Asked Questions

Accessing your Blackboard Course

Accessing Course Content

Contacting Support

I cannot remember my username and/or password.

Username

To log in to Blackboard CE6, your username will be the same as your MyPCC account.

Password

  1. Your password is the last 4 digits of your PCC ID number. Your PCC ID starts with a G and can be also be located by logging into MyPCC.
    2. My Profile
    1. Log into MyPCC
    2. On that first screen (the home tab) click on "My Profile".
    3. Near the top of the page look for "PCC ID" under the "What is my..." heading. The item next to it starts with a G and then has 8 numbers. Your password will be the last 4 numbers.

      Once you have determined what your Username and password are, you are ready to log in to Blackboard.

  2. If you forgot your password, click here and enter your PCC email. You password will be e-mailed to you.

I am entering the correct username/password and I still cannot login.

  • You must be officially registered at PCC and be on the official class roster before you can access your online class. If you are on the class wait-list, you will not have access to the class.

  • Once you are moved from the wait-list to the class roster, you will need to wait 24 hours before you can access your class.

  • Access to courses is given on the start date of the course or first day of the term.

  • Not all courses have a Blackboard component. Also, some online courses are hosted outside of Blackboard.
    Community Education and Non-credit courses use http://www.pcc.edu/community/ and Community Education Online uses a different web site.
    Please check your class schedule or contact your instructor for confirmation.

  • Sometimes you cannot login to Blackboard from a browser bookmark. If you want to create a bookmark, please go to http://pcconline.blackboard.com and create a bookmark of that page. The page says "We've Moved..." Bookmarks created on the Login page (where you type in your user name & password) will not allow you to log in.

  • Your Institution You may get taken to the wrong login page. If you see the "Your Institution University" logo, go back one page and refresh your browser, or close it completly and try again. see image

  • Last effort is to clear your browser Cache (in Firefox) or Browsing History (in Internet Explorer 7). Also try to completely closed your browser and open it back up.

 

I just registered for a class and I cannot see it.

  • Access to courses is given overnight. If you just registered for a class today, please try again tomorrow (we are currently working on speeding up this process.)

I do not see my course listed.

  • You will be added to your course on the first day of the term.
  • Not all courses use Blackboard. Community Education and Non-credit courses use their own web site and have their own support staff.
  • Please check your class schedule or contact your instructor for confirmation.

I am being denied access to my course.

  • You may have been dropped from a class. Please contact your instructor for further assistance.

Blackboard says that I am not using a compatible web browser.

Browser support for Blackboard CE6

Blackboard CE6 now supports many of today's popular web browsers. However, they cannot support all browsers, so you can use Blackboard's browser check tool to ensure that you're using a supported browser.

What is a "supported browser"

A supported browser has been tested by Blackboard to ensure that it works consistently with the online course environment. Some of the most recent updates may not yet be supported. If you are using Blackboard with an unsupported browser, you will likely get a pop-up window reminding you that your browser is not supported. This pop-up window is very annoying, and it may be worth using a supported browser just to avoid the popup window.

Download a different browser

If you do not have one of the above browsers, you can download one from the following sites:

Blackboard says that I am not allowing pop-up windows.

  • See the list of pop-up blocker to check if you have any of the software listed.
  • A pop up blocker may still be in effect. Please double check that your Internet Explorer pop-up blocker is turned off by going to the Tools menu and selecting Pop-up Blocker.
  • If you have the Google and/or Yahoo toolbars installed, please be aware that these also come with built-in pop-up blockers which must also be disabled. Look in the preferences screens to turn those pop-up blockers off.
  • Finally, some Internet security type software such as Norton Internet Security include pop-up blockers. Those should be disabled as well.

Blackboard says that I am using an incompatible version of Java.

If your course uses the Chat tool, you may need to install a different version of Java. We've found that for Windows users, Java 1.5 update 7 works best with Blackboard CE6.

  • If you're having problems with Chat or My Files on your computer, try installing Java 1.5 update 7.
  • You will need to uninstall newer versions of Java in the Control Panel. To remove them, go to Start > Control Panels > Add or Remove Programs and remove Java 1.5 updates 8 and greater. (sometimes called JRE 2)
  • Windows Vista users will need to use Java 1.6. At this time, Windows Vista will not work with the Chat tool. If your course requires you to participate in Chat, please call our faculty support desk for assistance. 503-977-8227.
  • If you have a version prior to 1.5 update 5, please also install this version if you are experiencing problems in your course.

I do not see an item that my instructor says is available to students.

  • The content may be available in between two dates, you may be trying to find this content before or after this date range. Please contact your instructor for further assistance.

Mail doesn't work.

  • You may be double-clicking on the mail link. Check behind the Blackboard window to see if it was sent to the back.
  • If you still cannot find the mail window, then there is a good chance that pop-up windows are still being blocked even if Blackboard was unable to detect this. Please review this pop-up blocker FAQ entry and Norton Internet Security settings.

Can I forward Blackboard emails to my personal email account?

  • Blackboard has an internal mail system. Each message is contained within each course and cannot be forwarded to an external email address.

I cannot attach files. The My Computer icon is not visible.

  • When you first log in, you are asked if you'd like to run the Java applet. You must click on "Yes" or "Run" or "Grant" (depends on the version of the browser you are running.) If you have an option that says "Always", you should click on that so that it never asks again.
  • If after following those instructors you still have this problem, go to the TOOLS menu, select Internet Options, click on the Advanced tab, see if youhave a category called "Microsoft VM" and if so, make sure all 3 checkmarks underneath are NOT checked. Restart your computer and try again.
  • If none of this helped, go to the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs and uninstall ALL versions of Java that you can find, install Java 1.5 update 7. Restart your computer and try again.
  • Also, make sure that you are using a compatible browser.

My test will not launch after I click on "Begin Assessment."

I do not see one or more of my grades in a course.

  • Some grades may have not been released to students. Please contact your instructor for further assistance.

None of this helped. How do I contact you?

Help is available during the term hours by phone at 503-977-8200 or 1-866-922-1010 ext. 8200 for Outside Portland Area. You can also contact us by e-mail at shd@pcc.edu. E-mails are answered during regular business hours Monday through Friday except for holidays.

When calling, try to have as much of following information as possible:

  • Nature of the problem, including pertinent URLs.
  • Login name and password.
  • Time of occurrence.
  • Location of user.
  • ISP (Mindspring, Netzero, AOL, etc.)
  • Browser and version (Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6, Safari, etc.)

Providing the information above will help either staff more quickly and accurately assist you, whether it involves troubleshooting a problem or offering a quick tip.