When to Use?
Messages were turned on in Blackboard for both instructors and students in October 2022. If an instructor or leader does not want Messages enabled on their site, they should follow the instructions below.
Procedure
- Enter the course or organization where you would like Messages off and click on Course Settings in the upper right corner.

- Under Messages, toggle the indicator to the "Off" position. The icon will change from a green check mark to a gray x icon.

- When Messages are off, any message sent from the course or organization will be sent only from a do-not-reply email (do-not-reply@lms.gvsu.edu) to the recipient(s).
Note: This does not mean that messages can no longer be sent out from within an Ultra course. Students and instructors will still have access to an envelope icon that they can use to send email notifications from within an Ultra course. The email comes from a do-not-reply email.
At this time, even after Instructors turn Messages off in a course, the 'envelope' icon found in different parts of the course remains:
Students will still see the envelope icon near the instructor's name:

Instructors will see the envelope icon near student names in the gradebook:

This message will be sent as an email notification only. Instructors/Students cannot reply to emails sent from this do-not-reply email (do-not-reply@lms.gvsu.edu). If the message you are sending students requires a reply, please email students directly from your GVSU email account. To create a clickable email link for students to use in your Ultra course to reach out to you, please see our article on Creating an Email Link in Your Blackboard Course.