LMS Course Access Protocol

Learning Management System (LMS) Course Access Guide for College Representatives

This guide outlines when, why, and how a college representative (department chair, academic dean, or administrator) or their designee may ‘Quick Enroll’ in a Learning Management System (LMS) course.(Updated May 2026).

The purpose is to:

• Promote student success by ensuring consistent access to course materials.
• Protect instructional quality and ensure the quality and continuity of student learning.
• Support faculty and students through consistent, transparent processes.
• Maintain trust between faculty and administration.
• Clarify access duration, communication expectations, and removal procedures.

Guiding Principles

• Transparency: Faculty can expect access to their course to be limited to the access and accountability guidelines described below.
• Trust: Access is limited to the necessary people and shortest time required.
• Accountability: College representatives are responsible for promptly removing themselves when their purpose is fulfilled.
• Continuous Improvement: The LMS Steering Committee annually reviews use of this process to strengthen clarity, communication, and trust across all instructional modalities. On an ongoing basis, faculty can also submit questions and feedback to the LMS Steering Committee for review.

Definitions

• Access appointee: Anyone who has been granted access by a Department Chair to courses.
• Quick Enroll: An LMS feature, available on an ongoing basis, which allows Department Chairs and/or Deans to add themselves to a course in the instructor role.

Access and Accountability

An access appointee may enter a Blackboard course for a section in which they are not the instructor of record or a supporting instructor, subject to the following limitations. Note that the access appointee is any person who has been granted Quick Enroll access.

Routine Access

Routine access is for tasks performed in batches, to multiple sections, identified by criteria such as
course, modality, and/or materials. An example includes copying content that the department has determined is helpful to students. Each department may determine further defining criteria for routine access via their shared governance process, including the development of a method for routine review of minimum standards.

Routine access is granted by default.

Access By Request and/or with Permission

Access by request is at the request of the faculty member who is the instructor of record or a supporting instructor assigned to the course section in question. Reaching out to an access appointee asking for help with any Blackboard features or Blackboard troubleshooting is an implicit request for that person to enter the course in order to provide assistance.

Access with permission covers any case in which written or spoken verbal permission to access the
course was granted by the instructor.

Access by request and/or permission is granted by default.

Access for Non-Routine Purposes without Explicit Permission

A special circumstance must be identified in which a clear benefit to students exists and the faculty member is unable to provide timely support. In addition, access by an access appointee for a time-sensitive matter must be:

• Purpose-driven: Access is used only when a clear and documented instructional or administrative need exists; examples may include:
  • A faculty member is hospitalized or experiences a sudden family emergency. An administrator needs to access the course to post an immediate announcement to students and adjust imminent due dates.
  • A student files a formal complaint claiming the instructor is not providing required accommodations (e.g., extended time on quizzes). The supervisor must verify the LMS
    settings to investigate the claim.
• Time-limited: Access appointee is removed promptly once the need has concluded
• Transparent: Faculty are to be notified prior to when an access appointee is added, and when the review has concluded and they have been removed.

Exceptions to the above criteria are granted at the discretion of the subject dean, and only as needed to address the situation.

Individuals who use administrative accounts with elevated privileges must use these accounts for their intended administrative purposes only. Any unauthorized use or use that is inconsistent with the ACC Acceptable Use Policy will be addressed via existing administrative processes.