Blackboard: Quota Tips and Tricks

NOTE: Due to the large size of Audio, Video and narrated PowerPoint files, they should not be uploaded directly to Blackboard. They should be uploaded to Chipcast (or YouTube) and the share link for the media should be added to Blackboard. The following article outlines this process: Upload / Share Existing Media.

Each course on the Blackboard system has a quota limit of 1 GB. This is generally enough space to accommodate a semester's worth of content, however, you may need to adjust this and only upload a week's worth of material at a time. Courses exceeding the limit will display a notice near the top of the Blackboard window when attempting to upload additional course content.

NOTE: Additional course content cannot be added until the course is brought below the quota limit. Please note that removing content from the course does not reduce the quota unless the corresponding file is removed from the Course Files area as well. (See Checking and Removing Unused Course Files section below.)

Checking Current Quota Usage to Remain Under 1 GB Limit

A warning will be sent to the instructor should their course go over 920MB.

1. In the Control Panel, expand the Files area and click on the Course ID. This will be the first option listed.

 

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the Course ID. Then, click on 360° View.

 

3. The resulting screen that appears will contain several headings. Locate the Properties section, and make note of the information listed under Folder Size.

 

4. If the value listed here is less than 1 GB, there is no need for concern. If the value listed here is approaching or greater than 1 GB, it is a good idea to evaluate the content in the course and eliminate unneeded and / or redundant content.  Media files should never be added directly to Blackboard--they should be uploaded to Panopto and a shareable link to the video may be added to Blackboard.
    

NOTE: The value listed next to Folder Size in the Files area does not include any student-generate content (i.e. Assignment Submissions). This content does not, however, count against a course’s quota limit on the system.

Checking and Removing Unused Course Files

To check for unused files in your course that are counting towards your course quota, 

Click the 3 Dot menu to the right of the magnifying glass > Unused Files:

Check the top box to the left of “File Name” to select all the unused files in the course > Delete Files > Confirm Delete Files:

Managing Files to Reduce Sizes

• Before uploading large PDF files to the course, use Adobe's online file compression tool to reduce the size:
  https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/compress-pdf.html
• Powerpoint presentations containing multiple photos or graphics should be compressed to prevent unnecessarily large file sizes, refer to the following section for more information.

Reduce File Size of a Picture in Microsoft Office

Linked here is the Microsoft's walk-through on Reduce the file size of a picture in Microsoft Office.

Use PowerPoint's built-in image file compression feature to quickly reduce the size of all images in your presentation. Right-click on the image and select Under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Adjust group, click Compress Pictures.

 

• When inserting photos in a presentation or document, try to use the .jpg format to obtain the smallest size possible. Most image formats can be converted to .jpg using basic photo editing programs, such as Microsoft Paint and iPhoto. Photos saved in .jpg may show some quality loss, however, the file sizes are typically much more manageable than other file formats.
   
• All videos, such as recorded lectures, YouTube clips, and the like, should be placed on a separate streaming server (i.e. CMU's Chipcast / Panopto) and linked to within Blackboard. Contact the Help Desk to receive assistance from the Media Production team.
   
• If uploading a recorded audio clip, always use the .mp3 format rather than older formats such as: .wav, .aiff, or others.
   
• If creating PDFs using Adobe Acrobat, consider converting the document to grayscale. Grayscale PDFs are typically 50% smaller than color PDFs.
   
• If creating color PDFs using Adobe Acrobat, consider using RGB color versus CMYK. CMYK color uses an additional data channel that creates larger file sizes in comparison to RGB color documents.

Consider the Use of OneDrive to Store Unused Course Files

If you have course content that you would like to preserve for later, but may not be actively using in your course now, you may consider the use of Microsoft OneDrive to help reduce course shell quota allocation used. Storage space is allocated to all students, faculty, and staff by default, so this option is available to everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is there a quicker method to check whether all files in a course are linked or unlinked, rather than accessing each individual file?
A2.

1. Click on the 360° View option on the main Course Files folder.

 

2. Scroll down to the Files and Subfolders section. If a checkmark appears in the Linked column, the file is being used within a Blackboard content area. Unlinked files will not display a checkmark. Click on the folder and repeat the process to check multiple files within them.

 

Q2. My course is over quota even though looks to be empty when I look in the Course Files area. What could be the cause?
A2. If your course is over quota and you have verified that it is empty, contact the OIT Help Desk at (989) 774-3662 or helpdesk@cmich.edu.

Q3. My course is over quota, but I do not want to remove any of the existing files I currently have. Can I request to have more space allotted on the system?
A3. Additional space is allotted on a case-by-case basis and only if a course has reached the currently set limit. Contact the OIT Help Desk at (989) 774-3662 or helpdesk@cmich.edu to request a quota increase. You may also consider the use of the Microsoft OneDrive storage allotted to all current faculty, staff, and students to store course content you want to preserve, but may not be actively using.