Brightspace Frequently Asked Questions
Check out our newly updated Brightspace FAQs! This list runs through the most common questions the Brightspace Support Team gets throughout the year. If you have any questions not listed here, be sure to contact our Support team for assistance.
The course homepage for your course听is the landing page when students access the course. You can add various widgets, such as calendar, tasks, etc. to the homepage. You can also add widgets to external resources such as Macmillan, McGraw Hill Connect, Pearson MyLab, and more.
This guide also details how to change the theme colors of your course, with examples below.
听
Updated Summer 2026
Edit the Homepage layout and add/delete Widgets
- In the NavBar, click Course Admin
- Under Site Setup, click Homepages
- Find the existing Course Homepage听and select听Copy
Click Simple, Standard VU Homepage听鈥� Copy to edit your new homepage
Under Widgets, click Add Widgets听to add the appropriate widgets to your homepage. Note, more than one widget can be added to one panel of the home page. You can also听Change the Layout, and听Delete听widgets by clicking the听X听in the upper right corner of the widget.
Click Save & Close
After you鈥檝e saved your new homepage, be sure to set it as the active page by selecting it from the Active Homepage dropdown list and clicking Apply
Set or Change the course banner image
To add a custom banner image for your course homepage, go to your course and take the following steps:
- Click the three dot Homepage Options icon in the bottom right
- Click Display Homepage Banner to show a banner image on your course homepage
- When enabled, a placeholder banner image will be added to the top of your course's homepage along with the name of your course.
- To customize this banner image, click on the three dot听Banner Settings icon near the top right of the image.
- Through these Banner Settings Instructors can change the image, customize what text is shown on the banner (if any), and can remove the banner
- Through these Banner Settings Instructors can change the image, customize what text is shown on the banner (if any), and can remove the banner
Change the Theme Colors of the Course
A few examples of Theme Colors:
To customize your course theme, take the following steps:
- Go to Course Admin听->听Navigation and Themes
- Click on the Theme tab and either click Create Theme or make a copy of your current Course Theme
Click on your course copy to open the Edit window.
On the Edit Theme page, name the theme and select the colors you wish to use.
Under Primary Color听and听Accent Color, choose the colors you would like. Be sure to select Dark or Light foreground to determine whether the text will be black or white.
Note: If your color contrast does not meet accessibility standards, you will see a message that says 鈥淲CAG AA standards not met.鈥� If this happens you must make your color lighter or darker to accommodate users with visual impairments.
When you're done, click Save and Close.
Activate your new theme by going to Course Admin听->听Navigation and Themes听->听Navbars tab and click on your active Navbar.
On your Navbar鈥檚 edit window, click Change Theme听and select the theme you just created.
Click Save and Close. You should see your new colors now:
4. Activate your new theme by going to Course Admin听->听Navigation and Themes听->听NavBars听tab and click on your active NavBar.
5. On your NavBar鈥檚 edit window, click Change Theme听and select the theme you just created.
6. Click Save and Close. You should see your new colors now: