FAQ’s – LaGuardia Brightspace Resource Site

LaGuardia Community College library Help Desk

Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, we’ve posted frequent questions we have received about the transition timeline, the Brightspace platform, and about the support available to everyone. We’re continuously updating this page.

About the Transition

LaGuardia is in the final CUNY implementation wave (Transition Group 4). Structured implementation will begin in Spring 2025, with the system going live in the Fall of 2025. Course migration of at least two years of Blackboard courses is scheduled for Spring 2025.

Yes, faculty will see courses from at least the previous four years once they login to the Brightspace platform.

A communication to students will be sent during the Spring 2025 and in advance of the Fall 2025 semester. Students will receive information about how to login to Brightspace and how to navigate the platform to complete coursework. Additional social media and campus signage will also inform the college community about the transition to Brightspace.

CUNY will sunset Blackboard on December 21, 2025. This means that Blackboard will remain accessible until that date. All users are encouraged to download any content from Blackboard before December 21, 2025.

No. Faculty will start using Brightspace in the Fall 2025. Prior to that, faculty are encouraged to login to Brightspace to prepare their courses in advance of the Fall.

Yes, ACE will transition in the Fall of 2025 and will start delivering courses in the Spring of 2026. The transition team is already working with ACE representatives to plan training, communication, and launch.

About Brightspace

D2L Brightspace is the full name of our new learning management system. D2L is short for Desire to Learn. It is the founding company that created the LMS platform Brightspace. D2L is the company and Brightspace is the software application.

Users can go to brightspace.cuny.edu and use their CUNY login credentials to access Brightspace. Student access is planned for the end of Spring Session II 2025. Click here to learn more.

Yes, users can download the Pulse app to access Brightspace content. You can learn more about the app here. Alternatively, users can access Brightspace using any browser in their mobile devices.

CUNY turned off the attendance tool in Brightspace on December 28, 2024. Faculty are encouraged to follow their department-specific attendance policy and, when needed for grading purposes, use other tools (e.g., MS Excel). For more information on CUNY’s decision about this, click here.

Yes, Brightspace will offer organizations like Blackboard did. They will be accessible from the home page and will function very similarly to regular courses.

Yes, Brightspace integrates with CUNY-licensed accounts, and it also provides an integration with Microsoft Teams.

Brightspace offers the option to merge courses when needed. Faculty will need to reach out to IT by submitting a ticket via ServiceNow using their CUNY login credentials.

Faculty can use the View as Learner option to preview their course content as a student. This mode allows faculty to view content only and to submit a discussion post. To simulate how to submit an assignment or complete a test, faculty will need to use the CUNY demo student account included in their default course navigation.

By default, files cannot exceed 2GB.

Yes, faculty can use the copy option in Brightspace to move content from one course to another within Brightspace. For more information, click here.

About Support

There are multiple options. We encourage faculty to enroll in the self-paced course to learn about the basics of the LMS. For additional support, faculty can also attend training if needed. Click here to learn about the basics course.

Students will have access to a Brightspace course designed to introduce them to the platform. The course will be available in May 2025, and we will provide updates as soon as it is released. Stay tuned!

Staff are encouraged to take the Brightspace Basics self-paced course to learn about key features of the LMS. When needed, staff are invited to join a training session to learn more. Click here to learn about the basics course.

Yes, the transition team will post information about training available for all faculty and staff on this webpage. Additionally, there are two faculty in each academic department who will offer additional training sessions. Training will be available in different modalities (e.g., in person and remote).

Room B-127 is the LMS Help Desk. When needed, users are encouraged to visit this office during normal business hours Monday through Friday.

Acknowledgements

This Brightspace Resource Site has been developed to support faculty, staff and students in the transition from Blackboard to Brightspace. This site would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of the transition team who gathered and created resources for this site.

Please note that we are continuously updating this site to better serve the needs of the LaGuardia community. If you have feedback or suggestions, please reach out to [email protected].