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See Student Questions About Assignments. Then, use your browser's back function to return to this topic.
How do I create assignments?
You can create assignments in content areas, learning modules, lesson plans, and folders.
- From the Assessments menu, select Assignment and provide the name, instructions, and the files students need. You can use the options in the editor to format text and add files. You can also add files in the Assignment Files section.
- Select Browse My Computer to upload a file from your computer. The file is saved in the top-level folder in your course's file repository: Course Files or the Content Collection. You can also attach a file from the repository.
-OR-
Drag files from your computer to the "hot spot" in the Attach Files area. If your browser allows, you can also drag a folder of files. The files will upload individually. If the browser doesn't allow you to submit your assignment after you upload a folder, select Do not attach in the folder's row to remove it. You can drag the files individually and submit again.
You won't be able to drag files to upload if your institution uses an older version of Blackboard Learn.
You can use the file name or provide another name for the file.
- Optionally, select a Due Date. Assignments with due dates automatically show in the course calendar.
- In the Grading section, type the Points Possible and optionally, add a rubric. Expand the sections to make selections such as anonymous grading, how the grade is displayed, and the number of attempts. You can allow more than one attempt on an assignment.
- Make the assignment available when you're ready for students to access it. Select the appropriate options for availability, tracking, and display dates. Display dates don't affect an assignment's availability, only when it appears.
- Select Submit.
You can also create a group assignment and release it to one or more groups in your course.
- Each group submits one collaborative assignment and all members receive the same grade.
- You can create a single assignment and assign it to all groups, or create several unique assignments and assign them to individual groups.
Hide Columns from Students
Can I control when students see their grades and feedback?
You can hide a column from students' My Grades pages while you assign grades and feedback. When you hide a column from your students, you still see it in the Grade Center grid.
- From the Grade Center, access a column's menu and select Edit Column Information.
- On the Edit Column page, navigate to the Options section.
- Select No for Include this column in Grade Center calculations and Show this column to students.
- Select Submit.
The graded work won't appear to students on their My Grades pages. If a student accesses the graded work from inside a content area, no grade or feedback appears.
In the Grade Center grid, the column appears with the Column Not Visible to Users icon next to the column title.
When you're ready to release grades and feedback to students, access the Edit Column page and select Yes for the two options.
How do students know their assignments were successfully submitted?
When students submit assignments successfully, the Review Submission History page appears with information about their submitted assignments and a success message with a confirmation number. Students can copy and save this number as proof of their submissions and evidence for academic disputes. For assignments with multiple attempts, students receive a different number for each submission. If your institution has enabled email notifications for submission receipts, students will also receive an email with a confirmation number and other details for each submission.
You and your students won't be able to view confirmation numbers if your institution uses Blackboard Learn 9.1 Q4 2016 or earlier. Student email notifications and student access to receipt history were introduced in Blackboard Learn 9.1 Q2 2017.
Administrators and instructors now have a retrievable record in the system even if an attempt, assignment, or student is later deleted from the course. These records are maintained in the course and also retrievable after the archive and restore process.
How do I grade assignments?
When you create an assignment, a Grade Center column is created automatically. From the Grade Center or Needs Grading page, you can see who has submitted their work and start grading. Students access their grades from their My Grades pages or the assignment's Review Submission History page.
You can grade assignments inline, with delegated grading or anonymous grading, or through SafeAssign.
Can I edit, delete, or reorder assignments?
Yes, you can! Use the drag-and-drop function or the keyboard accessible reordering tool. For details, visit the in-depth help topic below.
More on creating and editing assignments
How do I use SafeAssign?
SafeAssign is a plagiarism detection service you can enable when you create an assignment.
- In the Grade Center, locate the assignment with SafeAssign enabled. When students have made their submissions, you see the Needs Grading icon. Open the cell's menu and select the attempt.
- On the Grade Assignment page, a SafeAssign section appears in the grading sidebar. While the report processes, this statement appears: Report in progress...
- When the report is ready to view, a percentage appears in the grading sidebar. Expand the SafeAssign link and select View Originality Report to view the results in a new window.
