2026 Winners

Augusta Technical College led a high-impact transformation of academic assessment by leveraging Blackboard Outcomes to create a centralized, efficient, and sustainable system. She developed preloaded program maps aligning outcomes, courses, and assignments, and integrated them with the LMS to enable seamless data collection. By centralizing data extraction through the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research, faculty workload was reduced while accuracy and consistency improved. The system provides robust longitudinal data, supports accreditation, and enables institution-wide, data-driven decision-making, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and strategic alignment.

University of the Cumberlands exemplifies excellence in assessment & institutional effectiveness by building a fully integrated, institution-wide culture of assessment and continuous improvement. Leveraging Blackboard’s Institutional Effectiveness solutions: Outcomes, Planning, and Accreditation. The university assesses every program annually using comprehensive student data. Their innovative approach with instructional design and Blackboard LMS enables scalable, real-time collection of learning outcomes data, resulting in actionable insights that inform decision-making. This approach directly contributed to a flawless SACSCOC reaffirmation with zero findings. Cumberlands sets the standard for authentic, data-driven assessment practices that elevate institutional quality and collaboration.

This collaborative work bridges assessment and career readiness. BbEAC is being used by faculty to understand their students’ performance and self-evaluation using the NACE career competencies. The NACE Competency Assessment Tool has been generated in Blackboard and then aligned with each NACE dimension for instructor use and student self-evaluations. This work fosters collaboration between the Office of Academic Program Assessment, the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills, and faculty. BbEAC has provided faculty an efficient assessment option that helps guide understanding and continuous improvement not just in the classroom but for the Center of Career Readiness and Life Skills.

Youngstown State Online’s Instructional Design and Development Center meets the Blackboard Adoption & Engagement criteria by leading a sustained, campus-wide strategy that moved Blackboard beyond implementation and into long-term, meaningful use. After the Original-to-Ultra transition, our team focused on maintaining momentum through proactive faculty training, course design support, cross-campus office hours, and monthly communications that helped instructors improve course quality and consistency. Our work demonstrates how Blackboard adoption can be transformed into a sustainable institutional practice that increases engagement, strengthens teaching and learning, and aligns with broader goals for student success.

University of Tabuk transformed Blackboard from a learning management system into a university-wide engine for academic accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement. Through an integrated ecosystem of internally developed solutions—Mutazamen for automated virtual class scheduling, Mutawasil for lecture monitoring and performance reporting, and Tahdier for automated attendance processing—the university strengthened faculty compliance, improved the consistency of online teaching, and enabled leadership to act on real-time academic data. This initiative scaled effective Blackboard adoption across the institution, improved operational efficiency, and contributed to the university achieving a 97% score on the National Digital Education Index -2025.

Geremy and Richard led NAA’s leap from paper‑based teaching to institution‑wide Blackboard adoption in under a year. With a clear strategy, standardized Ultra templates, and hands‑on faculty support, they delivered one of the fastest implementations on record and established consistent, high‑quality course design. Using AI‑assisted assessment and analytics, they doubled assessments, improved readiness, and raised student success rates to 90%+. Their leadership aligned technology with pedagogy and built a culture of continuous improvement, proactive support, and measurable impact.

Following the initial rollout of Blackboard Ultra, the Digital Learning Team at UWE Bristol focused on a second phase: an iterative cycle of continuous improvement. This 26/27 initiative demonstrates our dedication to responsive, stakeholder-led design with a commitment to a continued iterative process. Ongoing engagement was driven by listening and adapting to student and staff feedback. As a result, we integrated the Module handbook directly into the core template, creating a "single source of truth" simplifying administrative tasks and guaranteeing regulatory clarity. This shifts a technical migration to an evidence-based ecosystem. Our leadership is defined by ongoing refinement and collaborative approach, ensuring a consistent digital experience supporting our academic community.

At Sam Houston State University and across the Texas State University System (TSUS), Blackboard adoption has been driven not as a technology initiative, but as an institutional infrastructure strategy. Rather than deploying the LMS as a standalone tool supported by optional training, SHSU Online has led a deliberate effort to embed Blackboard into the daily academic and operational fabric of the institution—positioning it as essential infrastructure for teaching, learning, and institutional coordination. This approach has scaled to support over 209,000 users across five TSUS institutions, creating a unified, high-quality Blackboard experience regardless of campus affiliation.

King Faisal University is setting a new standard for responsible AI in higher education through the KFU AI Tutoring Assistant, seamlessly integrated with Blackboard. The solution delivers instant, personalized academic support using only verified course content, ensuring accuracy, trust, and academic integrity at scale. Students benefit from equitable 24/7 support, while a robust governance framework enforces ethical AI through controlled knowledge sources, cybersecurity, quality assurance, and human oversight. By uniting innovation, transparency, and inclusive digital learning, King Faisal University has established a scalable institutional model that advances student success and strengthens its position as a regional leader in responsible AI powered education.

Under Dr. Ashley Dockens' leadership, Lamar University established the Division of Innovation, Responsible Ethics, and CyberTech (DIRECT) and launched the AI in Every Program (AIEP) initiative. DIRECT unifies academic innovation with IT security under a single division, ensuring AI adoption is matched with ethical safeguards, cybersecurity, and compliance at every stage. AIEP engages all academic programs through a six-phase process to assess AI's disciplinary impact, build faculty capacity, and integrate AI responsibly into curriculum and course design. As early adopters of Blackboard's AVA suite, Lamar deploys these tools within a strategy informed by Blackboard's Trustworthy AI framework, embedding transparency, equity, and accountability into institutional AI practice.

To truly create ethical AI use it requires an institution to move beyond policy and into practice. At University of Phoenix, 3 foundational Academic AI Pillars were created to help guide our efforts with ethical AI use. These pillars consist of Pillar 1: embed AI into programs and course content; Pillar 2: leverage AI tools to enhance the learning experience; and Pillar 3: weave AI into processes, policies and workflows. For each of these pillars we have advanced the ethical use of AI at the institution by leveraging blackboard's AI conversation tools in support of Pillar 1, integrating an AI student support assistant connected to Pillar 2, and creating a robust AI policy and Center for AI resources aligned with Pillar 3. These actions have directly modeled ethical AI use and literacy.

The Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) undertook a statewide modernization initiative to transform how emergency management professionals access, complete, and track training. Serving tens of thousands of learners across Texas—including local jurisdictions, public safety personnel, and partner agencies—TDEM needed a scalable, secure, and learner-centered digital ecosystem to replace its legacy web-based training platform.

The Alarm Response Training (ART) program uses Blackboard to modernize training for first responders and security personnel supporting U.S. radiological security. As part of a feasibility study with the Office of Radiological Security (ORS), Blackboard was implemented to demonstrate improved participant engagement and accessibility. By integrating LMS access with in-person instruction, ART enables secure, mobile access to critical materials. This shift eliminates barriers associated with flash drives, improves engagement tracking, and supports real-time application of learning concepts in the field. By enhancing availability, coordination, and preparedness across diverse response roles, this program strengthens the ability to prevent and respond to threats involving radioactive materials.

Coppin's IDEA Team exemplifies institutional leadership in accessibility by transforming inclusive design into a sustained campus practice through strategic use of Blackboard Ultra and Ally. Rather than approaching accessibility as a compliance obligation, the team embedded it into everyday teaching and learning, equipping faculty to create accessible, engaging learning environments as a standard expectation. Through sustained professional development and cross-campus collaboration, the team built a proactive and durable culture of accessibility. By extending this work into ADA Title II readiness, the IDEA Team has established a scalable, high-impact model that removes barriers, strengthens student success, and sets a compelling benchmark for accessibility leadership in higher education.

Central Arizona College is shifting digital accessibility from a compliance-driven obligation to a strategic campus‑wide retention strategy. In response to a Spring 2025 institutional challenge to improve retention, the college reframed accessibility as a driver for student success and inclusive course design rather than enforcement. By leveraging Blackboard Ally as a catalyst for cultural change, accessibility was positioned as student retention strategy supported through faculty development. In one year, the institutional Ally score increased by 8.5% and 48 faculty members engaged in targeted, data‑informed training. Accessibility is now a shared responsibility embedded in teaching practice, leadership conversations, and institutional priorities.

The Gordon Institute of Business Science redesigned its Corporate Finance Techniques PDBA course around a foundational commitment to universal accessibility. Every piece of mathematically complex content, including time-value-of-money formulas, annuity calculations, and capital budgeting models, was rebuilt as native, interactive HTML using LaTeX and MathJax, replacing inaccessible static PDFs and iFrame-hosted lessons. All custom components were developed to WCAG 2.1 standards, with full keyboard navigation, ARIA roles, focus management, and reduced-motion support. The result is a course in which every learner, regardless of device, assistive technology, or learning background, engages with technically demanding financial content on genuinely equal terms.

The University of Law participated in Fix Your Content Day 2025, implementing 29,362 accessibility fixes using Ally, benefiting 13,590 students (2.161 fixes per student). This raised their Ally score from 66.8% to 76.4%, securing 1st place in EMEA & 2nd globally. The process revealed systemic issues: low-scoring content in course templates was duplicating across all Blackboard courses. They've implemented institution-wide changes, including transitioning to a perpetual module approach & integrating accessibility scoring into initial course design. Designers now improve accessibility proactively rather than retrospectively. This transformation ensures sustainable improvements, embedding accessibility into every stage of course development & creating a genuinely inclusive learning environment for students.

Through the “Ultra Challenge,” VIU turned a major technology change into an institution-wide transformation, aligning people, processes, and technology around a single goal: delivering a better learning experience for every student. By combining academic innovation, operational excellence, and a deep commitment to listening to learners, the result was not just a redefined virtual-course experience, but a new way of designing, delivering, and continuously improving online learning.

The University of Reading’s Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team used Blackboard Ultra as an enabler to drive transformational educational change, rather than approaching the move as only a functional migration. We used Ultra’s new features to implement scalable changes to all University programmes of study and bring tangible improvements to the students’ daily learning experience. We used the process of moving to Ultra to introduce new standards for core teaching practices, bringing efficiencies and consistency. Our successful change management strategy included innovative data-informed dashboards to guide developments and direction, and new approaches to collaboration and co-creation.

The University of Pretoria (UP) used Blackboard to lead a pedagogically centred, evidence-led shift to Ultra, modernising the LMS into a scalable teaching/learning change, including accessible design and Artificial Intelligence (AI) workflows. Challenge: move beyond thin migration and build capability at institutional scale. Solution: stratified Professional Development (PD), in-product guidance, analytics, and a durable support ecosystem. Evidence (2025): 2,707 PD completions; 96.1% lecturer implementation; first-year indicators improved vs 2022 baseline and strong alignment with Teaching Strategy. Beyond UP, practices scaled to peers (VUT training) and influenced cross-border adoption (BPSC reference), setting new standards for innovation, collaboration, and shareable best practices.

Universidad de Las Americas has leveraged Blackboard as a strategic ecosystem to drive institution-wide transformation. Since migrating to Ultra, the integration of Ally, Illuminate, Adopt, AI and Videostudio has enabled the evolution from a standalone LMS to an integrated digital learning ecosystem that enhances accessibility, engagement and satisfaction. Through a student-centered pedagogical model based on standardized course design, learning analytics and AI-enabled tools, UDLA has scaled high-quality online modality. This transformation has increased the retention by 12.5 points and NPS has risen to 68, while strengthening data-informed decision-making and continuous improvement, positioning UDLA as a leading model of scalable digital transformation in higher education.

The award recognizes the contributions of BU Virtual, Boston University’s online education unit serving working professionals and lifelong learners, whose early adoption of Blackboard Ultra helped shape broader efforts to enhance teaching and learning. It also reflects the collaborative work of the Campus LX initiative, a university-wide effort focused on innovation, faculty support, instructional excellence, and student-centered design. Through Campus LX, faculty, academic leaders, the Institute for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, Information Services & Technology, BU Virtual, and other partners worked together to advance the University’s learning environment.

The University of Sheffield’s online MSc Health & Clinical Research Delivery, launched in 2023, achieved 335% enrollment growth with stable retention. By its 2025 graduation, students showed improved digital literacy and career growth. Purposeful pedagogy and intentional design ensured zero module failures and a 23% rise in top marks. A transition to Blackboard Ultra allowed us to build an engaging and inclusive learning environment, improving accessibility and inclusivity. By embedding custom HTML tools within Blackboard LMS, the team used dynamic digital practices to foster a strong global learning community. These results were internationally recognized as a model for digital pedagogy at the 2025 Blackboard Symposium.

This initiative transformed Blackboard Ultra from a course-level exam tool into a sustainable institutional framework for readiness and exit exams. Jouf University used Blackboard Ultra Sections, AI-supported question banks, phased mock exams, and structured monitoring to improve student preparation, standardize practice across colleges, and enable data-informed intervention. The initiative achieved broad institutional impact, serving 851 students across 10 colleges and 21 programs, supported by 134 monitoring records and 383 outreach sessions with 4,407 attendances. Measurable gains across exam cycles confirm teaching impact, scalability, and continuous improvement, making it a strong model of Blackboard-enabled teaching excellence.

Jessica Vlasica designed and implemented the Ethics Motivation Lab, an original gamified narrative framework developed for a graduate-level course on Gamification, Game-Based Learning, and Serious Games within the Specialized Program in Educational Innovation and Emerging Technologies at EPG UPC (Lima, Peru). Rather than teaching gamification as content, the course becomes a live gamified experience in Blackboard Ultra. Students learn through it, within it, and critically from it. The framework integrates a six-mission narrative arc, a 0–720 XP progression system, Blackboard Ultra’s native Achievements, AI-generated interactive artifacts, and ethical AI as both tool and object of critical inquiry — a replicable model for transforming graduate education.

The Ultra Academy is an Ultra course site that brings together the Frequent Learner Program (a suite of structured PD resources) and the Communities of Practice. Together, they deliver a scalable, gamified approach purpose‑built to support institutional transition to Ultra. Rather than migrating legacy content, the Program promotes an intentional rebuild approach to enable course redesign using evidence‑based digital pedagogy. Progressive scaffolded Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers provide institutional standards and practical guidance, while game‑based learning elements sustain engagement. Using Ultra and Ally, the initiative embeds pedagogy and accessibility into everyday practice, positioning professional development as a driver of teaching excellence and digital transformation.

The Division for Teaching and Learning at Universidad del Pacífico implemented a faculty development program to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into teaching in 2025. The initiative combined pedagogical training, practical application, AI literacy, use of ChatGPT, and integration with Blackboard LMS through the AI Design Assistant. Faculty redesigned courses, created AI-supported assessments, and enhanced instructional strategies, moving from basic understanding to structured and practical integration in course design and evaluation. The program reached 104 faculty across departments, achieving an 84% completion rate and over 80% satisfaction and applicability. This program moves from AI awareness to structured, responsible use in course design, assessment, and student engagement.

Norfolk State University (NSU) merits the Blackboard Catalyst Award for transforming digital pedagogy into a measurable engine for student success. Through a pedagogy-first professional development ecosystem aligned with Quality Matters standards, NSU redefined Blackboard from a tool into a powerful evidence system driving continuous improvement and academic rigor. The impact is undeniable: Faculty Empowerment—expanded use of analytics, interactive learning, and automated feedback; Student Success—stronger outcomes through early interventions and authentic learning; and Institutional Strength—more courses meeting high accessibility and clarity standards. NSU's professional development ecosystem stands as a leading model for turning technology into a transformative learning impact.

The Course Roadmap to Equity (CoRE) is a phased digital accessibility initiative building lasting faculty competency through live professional development and a structured self-paced microcredential in Blackboard. Recognizing accessibility as both a legal obligation and an equity imperative, UMBC designed CoRE to meet faculty where they are, offering flexible pathways for varying schedules and expertise levels. In Fall 2025, 350+ faculty and staff attended live workshops and used Blackboard Ally to generate accessibility reports. Institutional Ally accessibility scores rose from 66.5% to 78.7% -- a 12.2 point gain. Results directly informed the CoRE microcredential program with multiple pathways and achievements, recognizing faculty commitment to equitable course design.

Odessa College’s Professional Learning Center led an institution-wide redesign of assessment, aligning institutional and program outcomes within a clear, sustainable two-tiered framework. After completing a cycle through Blackboard's juried assessment model, the team identified key challenges and led a strategic transition to Blackboard Outcomes as early adopters, contributing to its development. Through targeted professional training and development support, they built campus-wide engagement and ownership. This work transformed a complex, inconsistent process into a transparent, scalable system that advances continuous improvement.