Is there an unsubmit button on Blackboard?
No. Anthology’s student help covers saving work, submitting it and submitting again when attempts allow, and it has no step that pulls a submission back. Both course views say the same thing about a single attempt. Ultra: “If your instructor allowed one attempt, you can’t edit your work after you submit.” Original: “If your instructor hasn’t allowed multiple attempts, you may submit your assignment only once. Before you select Submit, be sure that you have attached any required files.”
So what matters is whether you have another attempt, and if you don’t, what to ask your instructor for. Canvas has no unsubmit button either (can you unsubmit on Canvas?), while Moodle leaves it to a teacher setting and Schoology keeps every version you send (unsubmitting on Moodle, resubmitting on Schoology).
How do you resubmit an assignment on Blackboard?
Only when the assignment allows more than one attempt. In Ultra, the Details & Information panel shows “time limits, number of attempts, and grading rubrics” when you open the assignment. The steps differ by course view:
| Step | Learn Ultra | Original Course View |
|---|---|---|
| Save without submitting | Save and Close; later, Continue attempt | Save Draft; later, Continue on the Review Submission History page |
| Submit again | Open the assignment and select Start attempt, if attempts remain | “Start New appears on the Review Submission History page” |
| Check it went through | Select the assignment on the Course Content page; “A panel appears with the date and time you made the submission” | A success message with a confirmation number on the Review Submission History page |
| With one attempt | “you can’t edit your work after you submit” | “you may submit your assignment only once” |
A second attempt after the due date counts as late. Anthology: “If your instructor allowed multiple attempts and you submit an attempt past the due date, the attempt will be marked late. Any attempts you submit before the due date aren’t marked late.” Some courses also block new attempts after the deadline, with the message “you can’t make a new submission attempt after due date.”
Which attempt counts if you submit more than once?
Your instructor picks the rule, and a new attempt doesn’t always replace the old one. Anthology lists five ways the grade can be calculated:
- Average of all attempts
- First graded attempt
- Last graded attempt
- Highest graded attempt
- Lowest graded attempt
“In the assignment’s Details & Information panel, you can view your current grade and the calculation method.” Check it before you resubmit. Under Average, every attempt pulls on the grade. Under Lowest, a weaker second attempt lowers it. Under First, a later attempt doesn’t change a grade the first attempt already earned. To read your instructor’s comments on an attempt before you try again, see how to see feedback on Blackboard.
Can you delete a submission on Blackboard?
Not as a student. Deleting an attempt is an instructor tool. Anthology’s instructor help says that when a student submits the wrong file, “you may wish to delete the attempt or grant the student an additional one,” and adds that “the best practice is to grant the student an additional attempt.” In the Original Course View, instructors can grade an attempt, clear it or edit its grade, delete one or all attempts, ignore one “to keep it but omit the score from Grade Center calculations,” and use Allow Additional Attempt once a student has used them all.
If the assignment uses SafeAssign, a deleted attempt still leaves a copy behind. Anthology’s SafeAssign FAQ says “When a student’s submission is deleted, the content remains in the database.” If you resubmit the identical paper, SafeAssign “recognizes the previous submission as the same student’s” and leaves that match out of the Originality Report. What the report’s percentage means is in our SafeAssign score guide.
What should you send your instructor?
Anthology’s answer for a mistake on a one-attempt assignment is “you must contact your instructor to ask for the opportunity to resubmit the assignment.” Make the attempt easy to find. Anthology tells instructors that, to verify a submission, they can “ask the student for the submission confirmation number and look it up in the gradebook.” Include:
- The course and the assignment name.
- The confirmation number from your submission receipt, if you have one.
- What went wrong, for example the wrong file attached.
- What you are asking for: another attempt, or deleting the attempt so you can submit again.
In the Original Course View, the receipt shows the course, the assignment, the number of attempts and the “Submission date and time stamp.” You can download it as a .txt file, and Anthology says a copy also arrives by automatic email. Anthology’s advice: “Copy and save this number as proof of your submission.”
Does saving a draft keep it from being submitted?
Not always. Ultra saves your work automatically, for example “Two seconds after you stop typing in the submission area.” Saving is not submitting. The Original Course View help puts it plainly: “When you finish your assignment, you must select Submit. If you don’t, your instructor won’t receive your completed assignment.” One Ultra setting changes that. If your instructor turned on Prohibit Late Submissions, “your attempt will auto-submit at the due date if you haven’t submitted it manually,” and “In-progress and saved attempts will auto-submit at the due date.” A half-finished draft can become your one attempt.
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a Mac and Windows desktop app with a mode for Blackboard Learn Ultra courses. It works untimed tests made of six measured question types, drafts assignments and discussion posts, and skips timed and locked tests and courses still in the Original Course View. The attempt rules above apply to anything submitted under your name, and so does your school’s academic-integrity policy.
More: Silent Student on Blackboard.
Questions people ask
Can you unsubmit an assignment on Blackboard?
No. Anthology says you can’t edit a submitted assignment. You can resubmit only if your instructor allowed more than one attempt. Otherwise, contact your instructor.
How do I know if I can resubmit on Blackboard?
In Ultra, open the assignment and check the number of attempts in the Details & Information panel. In the Original Course View, Start New appears on the Review Submission History page when another attempt is allowed.
Can my instructor delete my Blackboard submission?
Yes. Instructors can delete an attempt or grant an additional one. Anthology calls granting an additional attempt the best practice.
Does resubmitting on Blackboard replace my first attempt?
Not always. Your instructor chooses whether the grade uses the average of all attempts or the first, last, highest or lowest graded attempt.
Is a Blackboard resubmission after the due date late?
Yes. Anthology says an attempt submitted past the due date is marked late, while attempts submitted before the due date aren’t.
Where do I find my Blackboard submission receipt?
In the Original Course View, a confirmation number appears on the Review Submission History page after you submit, and you can download the receipt as a .txt file. Save it as proof.
Sources
All fetched and checked October 29, 2026.
- Assessment FAQs (Anthology, Blackboard student help)
- Work on an Assessment (Anthology, Blackboard student help, Ultra)
- Submit an Assessment (Anthology, Blackboard student help, Ultra)
- Due Dates and Late Work (Anthology, Blackboard student help, Ultra)
- Assessment Grades (Anthology, Blackboard student help, Ultra)
- Submit Assignments, Original Course View (Anthology, Blackboard student help)
- Submission Receipts, Original Course View (Anthology, Blackboard student help)
- Grant Item-Level Accommodations and Exemptions (Anthology, Blackboard instructor help, Ultra)
- View Grade Details, Original Course View (Anthology, Blackboard instructor help)
- SafeAssign FAQs (instructor) (Anthology, Blackboard instructor help)
How this guide was made. We read each Anthology page listed above on October 29, 2026 and quote them directly. Ultra and Original Course View steps are kept apart because Anthology documents them separately. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source, then re-checked every quote against the live pages on November 2, 2026.
Related: How do you see feedback on Blackboard? · Can you unsubmit an assignment on Canvas? · How do you unsubmit in Google Classroom? · Does SafeAssign detect AI? · Silent Student on Blackboard · Blackboard grade calculator · All guides
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthology. Blackboard and Blackboard Learn are trademarks of Anthology Inc. or its affiliates.