Technical Support

Below is a list of some troubleshooting tips and tutorials that our online students have found useful. If you are experiencing a problem that you do not see listed below, please contact our 24/7 Blackboard Support Technicians at 1.866.847.1573 or CPSBlackboard@neu.edu.

CPS Blackboard Help

Demo an online course

This demo includes info about course material, assignments, file uploads, and discussion board posts.

"How to" Blackboard tutorials:

Log in to the CPS Blackboard
Modify email address in personal information
Reading and posting to the Discussion Board
Uploading assignment files

Blackboard troubleshooting tips:

Courses aren't showing up on Blackboard
Math editor symbols aren't displaying properly
Quiz or test is freezing (Firefox Download)
Text box area is not showing up in Interanet Explorer
Browser says that the CPS Blackboard is unavailable, even though the site is not down.
Problems viewing PDFs on a Mac

Software Downloads (these are free third-party viewers)

Adobe Acrobat Reader
Word Viewer
Powerpoint Viewer
Mozilla Firefox web browser

Log in to the CPS Blackboard

You need to have an active myNEU account prior to the start date of the term.

If you are a student with a myNEU account, you need to:

1. Go to http://cpsblackboard.neu.edu
2. Starting on April 2, 2007 login to the CPS Blackboard using your myNEU login (your myNEU username + your myNEU password).
3. Access your course(s) in the My Courses section at the top right of your screen.

If you are a student without a myNEU account, you need to:

1. Go to http://myNEU.neu.edu
2. Follow the instructions and create your myNEU account.

Please note: It may take up to two business days from the time you register until your myNEU account can be created. After your registration is fully processed and you create your myNEU account, it may take up to an hour to activate.

3. Go to http://cpsblackboard.neu.edu/
4. Starting on April 2, 2007 login to the CPS Blackboard using your myNEU login (your myNEU username + your myNEU password).
5. Access your course(s) in the My Courses section at the top right of your screen.

You will be able to access CPS courses on the CPS Blackboard on the start date of the term.

Modify email address in personal information

1. Log in to your account at http://cpsblackboard.neu.edu/.
2. Make sure the "Northeastern Online Campus" is highlighted at the top of the page. If not, click on it.
3. To change personal information:
   1. Click "Edit Personal Information"
   2. Update your email address
   3. Click "Submit"

Reading and Posting to the Discussion Board

1. Log in to your account at http://cpsblackboard.neu.edu/.
2. Click on the course you want to post to, in the top right box of the Welcome (NUOL Campus) page.
3. Click "Discussion Board" in the navigation bar on the left.
4. Choose the forum (listed by topic or week) you wish to post to.
5. To start a new conversation:
   1. Click "Add New Thread".
   2. Fill in your subject and message.
   3. To upload a file, click "Browse", browse to the file on your system, select it, and click "Open".
   4. Click "Submit".
6. To reply to a post:
   1. Open the message to which you wish to reply.
   2. Click "Reply".
   3. Fill in your subject and message.
   4. To upload a file, click "Browse" browse to the file, select it, and click "Open".
   5. Click "Submit".

Uploading assignment files

1. Complete your assignment and save the file to your computer.
2. Log into your Blackboard account.
3. Click on your course from the "Welcome" page.
4. Click on "Course Materials".
5. Click on the current week or topic.
6. Click on the "Assignments" link.
7. Click on "View/Complete Assignment".
8. Type any extra comments to the teacher in the "Comments" box. NOTE: Don't paste your entire assignment into this box, unless it is only 5-7 lines.
9. Click "Browse", browse to your file on your system, select it, and click "Open".
10. Click "Submit".

Courses aren't showing up on Blackboard

• Has your course started? Courses are not available until the start date of the term.
• Are you logging into the CPS Blackboard using your myNEU username and password? Please read the CPS Blackboard FAQ for more information about how to log in to the CPS Blackboard.
• Did you register through the CPS website after the start of the term? It can take up to 2 business days to fully process your registration. Please wait 24 hours and your courses should appear.
• Make sure your registration has been processed, by checking your schedule in your myNEU account. If the course shows in your myNEU schedule, and it's been more than two business days since you registered, please contact CPS Blackboard Technical Help at 866-847-1573.

Math editor symbols aren't displaying properly

1. Disable popup blockers within Blackboard or configure them to not run on your site. (NOTE: You will need to turn popups back on to use Virtual Classroom.)
2. Set the browser security to run at the default level.
3. Set browser Privacy to Medium.

If you still experience problems, follow the steps below:

1. Ensure that a compatible version of the Java Runtime Environment is installed on the system.
2. Ensure that Java is enabled in the browser Advanced settings.

Quiz or test is freezing (Firefox Download)

Due to a problem with a recent release of Internet Explorer some of the ActiveX controls (such as the text editor boxes for essay questions) are causing tests to load slowly, or freeze altogether. If you are experiencing this problem we advise dowloading and using Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. Print these download/installation instructions, as you will need to shut down Internet Explorer before finishing the process:

1. Open Internet Explorer and go to www.mozilla.com/firefox.
2. Click the green "Download Firefox" button.
3. Choose "Save".
4. Browse to your desktop and choose "Save" again.
5. After the file finishes saving, close Internet Explorer and any other open applications.
6. Doubleclick the "Firefox Setup 1.5.0.2.exe" icon on your desktop.
7. Choose "Run".
8. Read the information, and click "Next".
9. Select the "I accept" button.
10. Click "Next".
11. Choose "Standard".
12. Click "Next", unless you wish to install Firefox to a location other than the default programs folder.
13. Check "Launch Mozilla Firefox now".
14. Click "Finish".
15. Use Firefox as you would Internet Explorer.

Text box area is not showing up when using Internet Explorer