In the past week you have probably noticed there have been serious issues with Blackboard and shuspace being down for lengthy periods. We have assurances from the technical team that fixing this is their number one priority and this problem has been escalated to the highest levels at Blackboard, Inc and Oracle (our database provider) to get a prompt resolution.  We recognise the high importance of Blackboard and shuspace for students and staff, and apologise for this unacceptable loss of service.