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Information for Faculty

This area is for Faculty looking for information about Brightspace. It contains the most complete, up-to-date, information we have. We understand that you are eager to get started in Brightspace and as we progress in the process, we will be communicating all information as we receive it.

School of Professional Studies: Design Help 
School of Education: Kristina Maricle 
School of Arts & Sciences: Jill Nobles 

Or email Design Help 

General Brightspace Questions

Are my courses in Brightspace?

Courses will only be available through Brightspace as students are enrolled. 

When can students access my courses?

The courses are not available to students until the Instructor makes them available. In order to allow students ample time to prepare and become comfortable in the new environment, we have asked that all course sections to open a few days before your first class for a preview period. During the preview period, there will be no required activities or assignments. It is simply an opportunity for students to log in, access your course information, and become comfortable with navigating in the Brightspace environment.

Brightspace Training and Access to Our Environment

When will I receive training in Brightspace?

All faculty have access to the Brightspace tab. Once you are logged into myRedDragon, faculty members have a “Brightspace” tab, click on “Access Brightspace” link and the SUNY Brightspace Fundamentals Course can be found under the My Courses tab. First-time online instructors can expect to take six to ten hours to complete the course. Experienced users of Brightspace can complete the training in one to three hours. D2L trainings are also being offered to Instructors throughout the semester. Reach out to the designers for more information.

When will I be able to log into Brightspace?

All faculty have access to Brightspace through the Brightspace tab in myRedDragon. If you do not see the Brightspace tab in myRedDragon, contact the Technology Help Center at x2500.

Course Copy and Support

When can I begin copying my content from previous courses?

You may begin anytime the new course has been created or ask your designer for a sandbox to prep your materials in.

Where can I find local support as I prepare my course in Brightspace?

Memorial Library B-117-C

Walk in hours with an instructional designer.

11:00 am to 1:00 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

School of Professional Studies: Design Help 
School of Education: Kristina Maricle 
School of Arts & Sciences: Jill Nobles 

Or email Design Help 

Third Party Tool Integration

What is considered a “3rd Party Tool” integration?

A 3rd party tool is any external web service or interactive website that students need to access from within the Brightspace environment. Third party tools typically (but not always) involve some sort of single sign-on or authentication to an outside resource. Examples of 3rd Party Tools include (but are not limited to):

  • Publishers textbooks and online interactive materials
  • Online Lab simulations and activities that require student participation and tracking
  • Online Testing tools
  • OERs and Online Homework
  • Plagiarism detection tools and/or locked browsers for quizzes

Third Party Tool Integrations do not include content that is uploaded directly into the Learning Management system. PowerPoint Presentations, pdfs, Microsoft Word documents, and links to YouTube videos or other informational-only websites are NOT considered 3rd Party Tool Integrations.

I use an online textbook or other 3rd party integration in my course. Will this automatically come over to Brightspace?

Unfortunately, No. Integrations will need to be rebuilt in Brightspace. SUNY has also expanded the process and requirements for integrating 3rd party tools into the new environment.  As part of this expansion, campuses are now required to provide additional information regarding tool accessibility and security. For this reason, we will need you to contact Design Help with your request.

What type of information do we need to collect from the vendor in order to have their product integrated into Brightspace?

SUNY will require the following information in order to integrate a product into their environment:

  • VPAT (Accessibility Compliance)
  • HECVAT (Risk Assessment and Security)
  • SOC Type 2 Report (Security Compliance)

In addition, SUNY will need detailed instructions for integrating the tool into Brightspace.  This includes:

  • The type of integration that the tool uses (ex: LTI1.3, LTI 1.1, etc)
  • Step-by-step documentation for the tool integration and configuration
  • Any Keys and Secrets needed for final setup

Since we (at SUNY Cortland) do not have the system access level to perform the integrations ourselves, we must collect this information and forward it on.

Does SUNY have a list of which 3rd Party Tools have already been vetted so that we do not duplicate efforts?

Since integration of each tool requires campus specific information, they are unable to provide such a list to us. They are requiring that all campuses provide them with all information for all tools they plan to use. If there is a change in the SUNY protocol or process, Design Help will communicate this to faculty.