About "Unavailable Guests"

When a student officially drops a class (through EKU Direct), that student's enrollment in the related Blackboard site is automatically changed from the "Student" role to that of an "unavailable Guest."

To view a list of ALL users in your Blackboard site, click Users and Groups > Users, and then follow the directions. On the results window, look for any entries that have a "knockout" icon and the grayed-out word Guest. Such entries indicate that the student's registration status changed from Registered to dropped or withdrawn, etc.

This status (1) prevents the student from entering the course site, (2) hides the student's address from course email, and (3) hides the student's name from the Grade Center. Thus, it is very useful for instructors who want to preserve a "dropped" student's records in Blackboard, while continuing to send email and post grades (etc.) only for active students in the course. Unavailable Guests are "ghosts" from the registration system.

Notes for Instructors

  1. For the most part, instructors need to do nothing about Unavailable Guests. They cannot enter your course and they will not appear in your email lists or in the Grade Center. If you remove them from your course, you destroy all records of their activity.
  2. If a dropped student becomes re-registered, the Blackboard status will change automatically back to Student.
  3. You can change a user's role in Blackboard, from the down-arrow for that entry on the List of Users. But any role changes you make for registered students are purely temporary and will be overriden within an hour.
  4. If a student stops attending class but does not officially drop, your best strategy is to go to the Grade Center and "hide" that student from your view. To do this, in the Grade Center, click the down-arrow for that student's entry and select Hide User. To restore a hidden student, go to Manage > Student Visibility.
  5. For instructors with "Common Materials" sites: because your enrollments are not handled automatically, your List of Users will NOT reflect any changes in registration status. You are free to use the "Unavailable Guest" role settings as you desire, or to Remove any students who stop attending your class.
  6. For further information and help, call the help desk.