You can create a custom text column in Blackboard to help you make notes about your students. This columns holds about 32 characters and spaces so this option isn’t for lengthly comments just for short identifiable text and you can only see about 20 characters without scrolling. Some examples are:

• you may have minors in your course and you might want to be reminded without having to go back to UAOnline
• you might need to know which operating system or software version students are using
• if you have stacked your 400-level and 600-level sections into one Blackboard section, you might want to identify which students are graduate students
• similarly, if you have stack two or more disciplines together (COJO/FLM, ANS/ANTH, BA/SPRT for example) you might need to know this difference
• if a student has told you that the student would be out for specific dates
• you might want to identify which students are in your program or who might be taking the class as an elective

…and many more details that you might find helpful in managing your class.
To accomplish this, go to the Full Grade Center and select Create Column. Give the column an identifiable name. Under Primary Display select text. Assign 0 (zero) for Points Possible and select No for Show this column to students.

As with all new columns, this column will appear at the end of your Grade Book. Go to Manage -> Column Organization to move the column to be more usable. Most likely, you’ll want to move it to the very front section where you see the students name, last access and other identifying information. Use the arrow icon to the right of the item name to drag and drop to a new location.

Here is an example of what it might look like:

 

For more information see Blackboard Learn information