bCourses
Notice of Canvas Security Incident
bCourses is now back online following a cybersecurity incident affecting Canvas, our learning management system vendor. The platform has been restored, though some users may experience intermittent performance issues with tools and apps connected to bCourses.
bCourses users do not need to take any further action at this time.
Access to all other Canvas sites is also restored, including Learn ( learn.berkeley.edu), OpenLearn ( openlearn.berkeley.edu), and UC Berkeley Extension ( onlinelearning.berkeley.edu).
Users of Learn, OpenLearn, Haas Digital, Berkeley...
Final Exams in bCourses: Strategies and Effective Practices
Many instructors find it valuable to deliver a final exam or end-of-semester assignment in bCourses. Delivering an exam in bCourses makes it easy for students to access the exam content and convenient for the instructors to grade at the end of the term. Yet some instructors worry about safeguarding academic integrity within bCourses, particularly since students can access Generative AI tools while they’re taking exams within bCourses. While Berkeley does not currently support any solutions that would block student access to external websites while...
New Course Retention Policy for bCourses Sites
bCourses is UC Berkeley's official campus Learning Management System (LMS), using the Canvas platform. To enhance the management of bCourses and comply with the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) records management policies, the university has established a bCourses Course Retention Policy that applies to all users of bCourses, including instructors, students, and staff. Below is an overview of the policy and implementation timeline; review the Knowledge Base materials for more details.
bCourses Course Retention PolicybCourses sites for academic courses are retained for...
Updated bCourses SpeedGrader View
Starting July 18, 2026, instructors may notice a slightly new design to the Speedgrader interface in bCourses. This update from the vendor (Instructure Canvas) focuses primarily on backend improvements for high-enrollment courses, such as faster load times and increased stability.
In addition to upgrades to the backend technology, instructors will also see the following minor UI changes when using Speedgrader.
Updated Sections SelectorThe right side of the SpeedGrader menu bar includes the student list for the assignment. The updated sections selector in the new SpeedGrader view indicates...