Please let us know what questions you have. We’ve collected some common ones below. Email us your questions at: Brightspace@sps.cuny.edu.
If you prefer to remain anonymous, submit your question to our Feedback Form. A member of the the Steering Committee and/or Implementation Committees will respond as soon as possible. Additionally, we’ll add the question and answer to the list below. Click on a question to reveal the answer.
When will the changeover occur?
SPS is targeting Summer 2024 as the first set of courses to run on Brightspace. More details can be found on our Timeline page.
Will I still be able to access Blackboard once the changeover occurs?
Yes, CUNY users will have access to Blackboard through the end of 2025.
How do SPS users access Brightspace?
Faculty and staff may access brightspace.cuny.edu now using their CUNY First username/password.
Student access is planned for the end of Spring 2024. SPS Courses will be taught on Brightspace starting in Summer 2024.
Will my past course sites in Blackboard be migrated to Brightspace?
Yes, Blackboard courses from Summer 2022 through Spring 2024 semesters will automatically be migrated to Brightspace. All active Dev Sites will be migrated to Brightspace as well. You’ll find the course content and other course activities are included in the migration. No student information will be migrated (no student enrollments, no student artifacts/posts etc.).
What's the difference between D2L and 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.
How can I explore and get hands-on experience in Brightspace?
Faculty can create practice sites in Brightspace with two limitations: practice sites may not include SPS-specific tools like VoiceThread, Digication, and Panopto, and faculty cannot enroll students despite the default text in the widget. Faculty can also use past courses migrated from Blackboard as a sandbox site.
Staff cannot create practice sites, but are welcome to reach out to us if they would like to set up practice sites for their unit.
Student access is scheduled for May 2024.
What's Brightspace like?
Faculty now have access: Brightspace.cuny.edu. You’ll see that Brightspace has a sleek and clean look and feel. It is highly responsive to users, formatting the screen to fit whatever device is used to access. Here is a sample screenshot of the home screen:
What can I expect in the new LMS platform?
Overall, a much better experience! A CUNY-Wide committee of students, faculty and staff vetted and selected D2L Brightspace as our next learning management system for many reasons. Basically, it offers a simple and clear path for students to succeed. It comes with powerful tools, customizable content, and a support structure to help us along the way. Additionally, it is compatible with the SPS licensed 3rd party tools, allowing for seamless integration. Learn more about it at D2L Brightspace for Higher Education.
