Now that the 2026-27 modules are available to teaching staff, you can use the Blackboard Module Partners tool to merge your courses. 

The Blackboard Module Partners Tool is accessed through myadmin.aber.ac.uk, and information on how to use it can be found on our FAQ: How do I merge modules in Blackboard (staff)? 

Merging courses is an effective way of dealing with separate courses with the same content so you don’t have to upload materials to two or more different courses. 

This process makes one course the Primary (previously parent), whilst the other course(s) becomes Secondary (previously child). There’s no limit on how many secondary courses you can make but there can only be one primary. 

Examples from Aberystwyth 

Many members of staff are currently using the merge course facility across the institution. Some examples are: 

1. Modules are taught the same content but there’s a module available for different years. 

2. Modules that bring together different degree schemes and have different module IDs, e.g. dissertation modules. 

Essentially, any module/course that shares the same content is ideal for Merging courses. 

What do students see? 

Students will see the name of the course that they are enrolled on (even if it’s the secondary course) when they log into Blackboard but they will see all the content placed in the primary course. Instructors will not be able to place content in the secondary course. 

Things to consider 

Now, before the start of term and whilst course content is being built, is the perfect time for linking your courses. Whilst the linking of courses does save time in the loading of materials, here are some points to consider: 

• All content can be viewed as soon as the courses are merged (as long as students are enrolled on the course). In addition to PowerPoints and lecture materials, this also includes Announcements and other interactive tools on your primary course. 

• Historical student interactions on a secondary course (such as using blogs or posting in discussion boards) won’t be available once the courses have been merged. 

• Any submission points created on a secondary module before the merge takes place will no longer be able to be viewed. We would advise creating these again in the primary course. 

How do I control content so that it is only viewable to a module cohort? 

Whilst all content is automatically visible once the courses are merged, you can use groups and adaptive release if you only want the content to be visible to a specific module cohort. This might be useful, for example, if you have merged a 2^nd year and 3^rd year course but your students on the different courses have separate assignments. You can use groups – 1 for the 2^nd year students and one for 3^rd year students and limit who can see the assignment information and submission point. See our guidance on Creating Groups and Release Conditions.  

Merging Courses and the Grade Book 

Once the merging takes place, all students will appear in the Grade Book of the primary course. It is possible to filter the gradebook using Merged Modules so that you only see the information for students on the relevant modules. 

Click the filter button highlighted below and choose from the dropdown for merged courses: 

If you’d like further information on this process or have any questions, please contact us on elearning@aber.ac.uk.