Cybersecurity

ℹ️ About

Cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility. This page is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology and Digital Innovation to provide practical guidance for protecting your data, your courses, and your students. The information here applies to all faculty, staff, and students using academic technology platforms at UHart.

🔒Data Security in Blackboard

What Blackboard Is and Is Not

Blackboard is FERPA compliant. It meets federal standards for protecting student educational records, including grades, assignments, and course communications.

Blackboard is not HIPAA compliant. Identifiable health information, including patient or client records that can be linked to an individual by name or ID number, should never be stored or shared through Blackboard under any circumstances.

What Not to Store in Blackboard

Do not store or ask students to share the following through Blackboard messages, assignment submissions, or discussion posts: Social Security numbers, financial information such as credit card or bank account numbers, identifiable health records or clinical information, or other confidential or proprietary data of any kind.

If you are unsure whether a particular type of information is appropriate for Blackboard, contact ACTECH before posting it.

Where to Store FERPA-Protected Data

OneDrive is the University's recommended location for FERPA-protected data, including downloaded gradebooks, graded assignments, and any documents containing student ID numbers. You can access OneDrive via MyUHart. 

Do not share OneDrive folders containing student data with others unless there is a specific and documented need. Delete any downloaded files from your computer's downloads folder after moving them to OneDrive.

🗂️ Continuity Planning: Backup Plans for Your Courses

No cloud-based platform is immune to disruption. Taking a few proactive steps now ensures that an unexpected outage does not leave you without options during a critical point in the semester.

Course Materials

Maintain copies of your course materials outside of Blackboard. OneDrive is the recommended location. Files stored there can be shared directly with students via a link or sent as email attachments if Blackboard is ever unavailable. This applies to syllabi, readings, lecture slides, rubrics, and any other materials you regularly post.

Exams

If you deliver exams through Blackboard, save a PDF copy of each exam in OneDrive. A PDF can be printed and administered on paper or shared via email if the platform is unavailable. This one step can prevent an exam from being canceled entirely during a disruption.
Note: randomize questions has to be unchecked for this but can be rechecked later.

Gradebook

Periodically export your Gradebook from Blackboard Ultra as a CSV or Excel file and store it in OneDrive. To export your gradebook, open your course in Blackboard Ultra, navigate to the Gradebook, select the export option, and choose your preferred file format. If you need assistance with this process, contact ACTECH and we will walk you through it. Note that assignment annotations are not included in exports, so download those individually and store them in OneDrive if you need a record of them.

Exporting Your Entire Course

Blackboard Ultra allows you to export a full copy of your course as a package file that can be reimported later. This is useful if you want to preserve your course structure, content, and settings for future semesters or as a long-term backup. For step-by-step instructions on how to export your course in Blackboard Ultra, visit our guide and follow the process.

Student Roster

Download your course roster at the start of each term and again before any high-stakes period such as finals week. Having student names and contact information outside of Blackboard means you can reach your class immediately if the platform is ever unavailable. You can also view your student roster information in Compass. 

💬 Communication Continuity

If Blackboard is ever unavailable, you have several reliable options for staying in contact with your students.

Email through your UHart account is the most direct fallback. A downloaded roster gives you everything you need to reach your class without Blackboard.

Microsoft Teams meetings can be scheduled and accessed directly through the Teams or Outlook apps. Meeting links can be copied from your calendar and emailed to students.

During any platform outage, please extend flexibility to students on course deadlines. Technology disruptions are outside of students' control, and grace in those moments reflects the kind of institution UHart is.

🛠️ Guidance for Other Instructional Technology Platforms

The same security principles apply to any platform you use alongside Blackboard.

Kaltura: Store copies of your media files in OneDrive in addition to uploading them to Kaltura. If Kaltura is unavailable, OneDrive files can be shared directly with students via a link, though without Kaltura's engagement tracking and metrics. If Blackboard is down, you can directly access Kaltura through https://mediaspace.hartford.edu and sign in after clicking "Guest" in the upper right corner of the page.

Other third-party tools: If you use any platform integrated with Blackboard for discussion, collaboration, or assessment, periodically export student activity or grade data from those tools and store it in OneDrive.

⚠️ Phishing Awareness

Phishing attacks targeting university communities are increasingly common. Bad actors often impersonate university offices, IT departments, or technology vendors to trick users into revealing credentials or personal information.

If you receive a suspicious email, do not click any links. Do not enter credentials on any page you reached through an unexpected email. Go directly to the known web address of any platform by typing it into your browser. Report suspicious emails to UHart ITS. UHart will never ask you to provide your password, Social Security number, or financial information via email, text, or phone.

As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping your information secure and out of the hands of bad actors, the University of Hartford has implemented Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) across UHart accounts. MFA adds an important layer of protection by requiring a second form of verification when you log in, making it significantly harder for attackers to access your account even if your password is compromised. 

📬 Questions and Contact

🎓Academic Technology & Digital Innovation

For questions about the request process, documentation, or timelines:
📧 actech@hartford.edu
📞 (860) 768-4661
📍 Mortensen Library, 2nd Floor

🖥️ITS Service Desk

For broader IT and security questions:
📧 helpdesk@hartford.edu
📞 (860) 768-4357