Canvas final paper / untimed take home exam resources

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Use your nesl.edu email address and password to access the following:

Submit a ticket using our Canvas exam setup form
If you'd like to meet virtually or in person, find a time that works for you at the following Bookings link: Canvas final exam support

Untimed take home exams

If you're administering an untimed exam but would like Canvas to automatically grade multiple choice and true / false questions for you, the information in the Timed Canvas exam resources guide can still be used. Just skip the steps that involve setting a time limit.

Use Assignments for final papers

Final papers and take home exams that won't involve automatically graded questions are best set up as Assignments in Canvas.

Tip: If you haven't used the Assignments page in Canvas before, it may be helpful to review the Canvas guide How do I use the Assignments Index Page? to get a better understanding of the information available to you.

The following guides from Canvas include short video and written instructions for setting up your assignment:

How to create an assignment for online submission
- For students to have the option to submit through Canvas, the assignment's Submission Type needs to be set to Online.
- You can choose whether students should type their answers directly into Canvas or upload a file with their answers.
  - Note: If you have a large class and intend to grade offline, accepting File Uploads only will give you the best experience when downloading student responses to print.
How to add or edit details for an assignment
- This includes how to add points. Any graded item in Canvas needs a point value if you intend to have Canvas help calculate student grades.
How to set availability dates for an assignment
- Setting an "Available From" date prevents students from seeing the exam early. Setting an "Available Until" date prevents new submissions after your exam window has closed.
How to limit submission attempts for an assignment
- By default, Canvas allows students to submit new versions of their assignment as many times as they want while the assignment availability period is open. If you'd like to limit the number of attempts students have, this guide provides the steps to do so.
How to add an assignment that includes anonymous grading

Helpful instructions to include for students

To help your students submit their work successfully, some suggested language to include in the assignment instructions can be found below:

If you're typing your answers in a Mac OS only program like Pages or in Google Docs, please ensure you save your file in pdf or docx format before uploading to Canvas.
Please leave yourself enough time before the assignment closes to upload your file to Canvas.

Accessing and grading student submissions

How to view the details of a submission for a student in SpeedGrader
How to download all student submissions for an assignment
- Note: If anonymous grading is enabled, student names are not included in the file names of the downloaded responses.
How to upload student submissions for an assignment
- If you marked up your student papers using track changes in Word, you can re-upload the annotated copies for students to review online.

Still need help?

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