Quiz Date Restrictions, Time Limits, and Synchronous Quizzes

Utilizing the time limit function on the LEARN Quiz tool is a great way enforce an appropriate time limit for your assessment which is also a good strategy for assessment security. One setting that has the potential to cause confusion, and potential stress for a student is incorrect use of the Availability Start, End, and Due date/time on the LEARN Quiz.

Due Date

The Due Date determines the latest date/time that the quiz should be submitted. If a quiz is submitted after the due date, the submission will be flagged as late. It is then up to the instructor to determine how that late submission is treated. Brightspace (LEARN) quizzes do not require a Due Date.

Availability Start and End Date

The Start Date and End Date determine the timeframe in which students can access a quiz and select the Start Quiz button. Set the Start and End date if you want to prevent students from accessing/taking a quiz before or after a certain date and time.

Setting Time Limit

1. On the Edit Quiz page, click to expand the Timing and Display drop-down menu: 

2. Check off the Set time limit box if you want to set the time limit.
3. With the box checked you will see additional options:
   • Enter the time limit for the quiz (1)
   • Click Timer Settings to select the quiz type (asynchronous or synchronous) and behaviors for when the time limit expires (2)

Under Quiz Start, select Asynchronous for a regular quiz. To set up a synchronous quiz, select Synchronous. 

Under When the Time Limit Expires, select one of the following options:

• Automatically submit the quiz attempt – When this option is selected, the student’s attempt will be automatically submitted at the end of the set time limit. When the time limit expires, students will see a page letting them know their quiz is being submitted followed by the quiz submission view page. 
• Flag as “exceeded time limit” and allow the learner to continue working – When this option is selected, students be able to continue working on the quiz, but the attempt will be marked as Exceeded time limit once the quiz is submitted. 
• Do nothing: the time limit is not enforced – When this option is selected, it suggests to students how long the quiz should take to complete. Students can take more or less time than the recommended time without any penalty. 

If you want to give students unlimited time to complete the quiz, simply leave the Set time limit box unchecked. 

Synchronous Quizzes

Instructors can set up synchronous quizzes in which the quiz time limit starts and ends at the same time for all students, regardless of when a student started the quiz. This feature supports medium-high stakes quizzing when an instructor requires all learners to take the quiz at the same time, similar to in-classroom quizzing. Synchronous Quizzes are the only option to ensure a dedicated start and end time/cutoff using the quiz tool.

Setting up a synchronous quiz 

1. On the navbar, click Quizzes.
2. On the Manage Quizzes page, click New Quiz.
3. On the Quiz Creation screen, click to expand Availability Dates & Conditions section and enter the quiz Startand End date. 

4. Scroll down to Timing & Display and click to expand.
5. Check Set time limit, then enter a Time Limit in minutes.
6. Click to edit Timer Settings.

7. In the Timing dialog, under Quiz Start, select Synchronous: Timer starts on the start date.
   NOTE: If there is no Start time and date set for the synchronous quiz, a No start date set message appears under the Synchronous option and you are not able to save the quiz. Due date is disabled for synchronous quizzes.

8. Under When The Time Limit Expires, select one of the following:
   • Automatically submit the quiz attempt
     NOTE: If this option is selected and special access is required, it must be set up prior to the end of the time limit. Once a quiz has been submitted, the attempt cannot be re-opened.
   • Flag as “exceeded time limit” and allow the learner to continue working
   • Do nothing: the time limit is not enforced
9. Click OK.

Student view: Countdown timer and Timer warnings

For a student taking a synchronous quiz, the Start Quiz button is disabled until the start date and time comes. A countdown timer appears on the Quiz Start page indicating the time left before the quiz becomes available.

Once the quiz time arrives and student starts the quiz, they will see a countdown timer showing the time remaining for the quiz:

Students will also see timer warnings before they run out of time, so they can prepare their work to be automatically submitted or manually submit their work before it gets flagged as exceeding the time limit. These timer warnings provide learners with a message on enforced time quizzes to warn of time remaining. There are 3 timer warnings:

• 1 minute remaining on the quiz
• 5 minutes remaining (only available on quizzes with a 10 minute or longer quiz time limit)
• Half of the elapse time (only available on quizzes with a 20 minute or longer quiz time limit)

Adapted from Quiz Timing Improvements – Phase 3 of 3 – Brightspace

Recommendations

The best way to ensure your students are beginning a quiz within a certain time frame is to:

1. Clearly state a policy regarding late submissions in the quiz description and any reminders sent to students.
2. Set an availability start date/time when you wish them to begin.
3. Set the due date/time to the latest time you will allow the student to submit the assessment. Any quiz submitted after the due date will be marked late.