Relevant to: faculty and staff
This article contains information considered accurate at the time of publishing. Technology updates, changes in University security practices, policies and procedures may effect the information in this article - updates to articles are scheduled on a periodic basis and will address any required changes.
Empire Online and ITS Roles in Third Party Tools
Empire Online and ITS do not provide direct support for third-party tools, including, but not limited to, publisher platforms such as Pearson, McGraw-Hill, and Lumen. This includes:
- Content Design on Third-Party Platforms – course developers are responsible for setting up and configuring content within third-party publisher platforms. This includes organizing materials, enabling necessary features, and ensuring the content is ready for students.
- Ongoing Maintenance of Publisher Content – tasks such as setting up instructor access, managing content copies across terms, and facilitating instructor-student communication within publisher platforms must be handled directly by the school/department in coordination with the vendor.
- Technical Issues with Third-Party Tools – any issues encountered with these tools should be addressed through the vendor’s support services. Publisher contact information should be included in the course, and both instructors and students should be advised to reach out directly to the vendor for assistance. Our ITS and Empire Online teams are unable to provide troubleshooting support for these platforms.
Why We Do Not Provide Direct Support for Third-Party Tools
Third-party publisher platforms are external systems that operate independently of Brightspace or other university-supported systems. Their content, technical infrastructure, and user management are controlled by the vendors, which means:
- We do not have administrative access or knowledge to make changes, troubleshoot, or resolve issues within these systems.
- Vendors frequently update their platforms, and we cannot guarantee ongoing compatibility or functionality within Brightspace.
- The most accurate and up-to-date support comes directly from the vendor, who has the knowledge and is best equipped to address technical or content-related issues.
How Empire Online Can Assist
While we do not provide direct support for third-party tools, our team assists with their integration into Brightspace in the following ways:
- Integrating Tools into Brightspace – ensuring publisher tools are correctly linked within the course, integrated with the gradebook, and aligned with the syllabus.
- Providing Clear Instructions – help developers with creating instructions to ensure instructors and students have clear guidance on how to access and use the tools within Brightspace.
- Accessibility Review – The Digital Accessibility Team reviews third-party tools and works on Equally Effective Alternative Access Plans (EEAAPs) as needed.
For any additional support related to these tools, instructors and students should contact the vendor’s technical support team.