NIU has limited storage available for files in Blackboard; it is essential that we manage that storage carefully to reduce costs to the university and ensure that students have the best experience possible. While we currently only retain courses for 5 years, we have seen a significant increase in recent years that places us too close to our storage quota. It is necessary that we take additional steps to manage file storage.
Based on a thorough analysis by the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), we have determined that video files directly uploaded to Blackboard by both faculty and students are the primary cause of the rapid increase in file storage. For example, in the Spring 2024 semester, the largest video files (those over 300 MB) accounted for only 0.1% of all files but consumed 38% of the file storage used that term. As a result, we are establishing a file size limit for video files uploaded directly to Blackboard by both faculty and students.
Effective August 5, 2024, video files 300 MB or larger cannot be uploaded to Blackboard. This limit applies to both faculty and students. These files can instead be uploaded to Kaltura and embedded into a Blackboard course (by faculty) or submitted to a Blackboard Assignment (by students). Faculty and students can also upload larger video files to Microsoft OneDrive or Stream and share them via a link.
If you have questions about how to post and share videos with your students, or how to have your students submit videos for assessments, please reach out to the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at citl@niu.edu or schedule a consultation with their team.
