When students log into Blackboard, they normally see the Student Home tab. However, some students may see the Staff Home tab instead. This article will explain why this happens and what it means for the student.
Aside from being confusing, this discrepancy is harmless.
Explanation
Blackboard tracks a site-wide primary institution role for each account, which must be either student, faculty, or staff. People on campus may fit into multiple roles, but a technical limitation means that only one primary institution role may be selected for each user. Therefore, if a student is also employed as a staff member on campus, their primary institution role may be set to staff, causing them to see the Staff Home tab instead of the Student Home tab.
What it means
Seeing the Staff Home tab does not add any privileges to your Blackboard account. It also will not interfere with your ability to use courses as a student. You can continue to use Blackboard exactly as you normally would. However, we understand that this discrepancy can be confusing for students.
Conclusion
If you are a student who is seeing the Staff Home tab in Blackboard, please be assured that this is a harmless discrepancy. Your access to courses is still determined separately, on a course-by-course basis, according to your assigned role in that course. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the IT Support Services Help Desk for assistance.