Brightspace Certified Administrator Program

Brightspace Certified Administrator Program Overview: 

The Brightspace Certified Administrator Program is a robust, hands-on, facilitated offering that helps Brightspace Administrators learn key skills, strategies, and best practices for running the Brightspace system. Successful completion of program assessments earn participants the Brightspace Certified Administrator Program Certificate.

What Should I Know About the Program Before I Begin?

• Launching August 2025!
• Participants are not required to be online at specific times. 
• You have three months from your date of registration to complete the program.
• The program includes required assessment activities including optional formative assignments, required assignments and quizzes.
• You will have access to your own demo site to complete all course activities.

Program Design

Duration: 3 months

Course Completion Estimate: 15 - 20 hours 

Required Assessments:

• 5 Assignments
• 3 Quizzes
• 1 Capstone Project

Audience

This course has been designed to benefit and appeal to both beginners and experienced Brightspace Administrators:

Beginners: This course will guide you through the key functions of Brightspace Administrator tools. In addition the the required assessments, the course offers helpful practice activities that are a great way to get hands-on experience with administrator tools.

Experienced: This course will validate your knowledge of how to set up Brightspace courses with a certificate. It will also provide experienced users with up-to-date information that reflects key changes to Brightspace Administrator tools. 

Brightspace Certified Administrator Program Agenda

Unit 1: Places and People

In this unit, you will explore a variety of tools requisite for preparing and maintaining your Brightspace.

You will learn about designing and implementing organizational hierarchies and structures; managing user access to your system and defining who can do what; and curating the online educational experience for everyone and everything in Brightspace on.

Unit 2: Settings and Display

Creating a cohesive, intuitive, and scalable Brightspace environment requires more than just content—it demands thoughtful design and system configuration.

In this unit, you'll explore the foundational tools that allow Brightspace administrators to shape the platform’s structure and appearance. From customizing navigation and themes to managing homepages, widgets, and public-facing assets, each tool plays a vital role in delivering a consistent and user-friendly experience.

You’ll also learn how to use configuration settings and form elements to tailor Brightspace to your institution’s unique needs. Together, these tools empower you to build a polished, functional, and flexible system.

Unit 3: Course Tools and Reporting

In this unit, you’ll explore key Brightspace tools that help Administrators manage system-wide course settings and defaults. Understanding how to configure these tools at the organizational level ensures a consistent and efficient experience for instructors and learners.

You’ll learn how to set and adjust default options for commonly used course tools, making it easier to maintain alignment with your institution’s goals and instructional priorities. These configurations can shape everything from enrollment automation to grading approaches.

You’ll also examine how tools like Data Hub and Data Purge support broader institutional goals by enabling data-driven decision-making and sustainable data management practices across Brightspace.

Unit 4: Change Management

This unit explores change management processes and resources that Brightspace Administrators can use to stay on top of product changes. This unit will also share some basic, research-backed change management strategies that support a smooth transition for any Brightspace system changes you and your organization want to implement.

Building Assessments and Grading Learners with Brightspace Agenda

This module includes workflows using intelligent agents and groups to help your learners stay on track. You will build intelligent agents with release conditions, and build groups that support a variety of learner needs. You will also learn about User Progress tool and how it can help you guide your learners to success.