How do I add an assignment?

Go to the Assignment tool.

Select the Assignments tool from the Tools Menu in your site.  

Click Add.

Click the Add button to add a new assignment.

Give your assignment a title.  

The title of your assignment should be something descriptive and unique, as this is the title students will see when they go to the Assignments tool to submit their work.

Add assignment instructions.

Enter the instructions for the assignment into the Rich Text Editor.  You may use the editor to format your assignment description, and add images, links, or other media if desired.

Add honor pledge. (Optional)

If you would like to add an honor pledge to your assignment, check the Add honor pledge box.  

Student view of honor pledge.

When the honor pledge option is selected, students must agree to the statement pictured above that reads "I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance on this assignment" in order to submit their assignment.

Add Attachments. (Optional)

If you would like to attach any additional files to the assignment, such as a grading rubric or peer review rubric, click the Add attachments button to browse for and attach file/s.

Specify the availability.

When you create a new assignment, the Open Date will default to the current day, and the Due Date and Accept Until dates will default to one week later.  Change the dates using the calendar icon to bring up the date-picker pop-up calendar.

  1. The Open Date for your assignment is when it becomes available for students.  
  2. The Due Date is the deadline to turn in the assignment.
  3. The Accept Until date allows you to accept late submissions after the due date (late student submissions marked as late).  If you do not accept late submissions, you may leave the Due Date and Accept Until date the same.

Tip: Often, faculty like to set the time on the due date to 11:55 PM, as that is the latest time you can select on a given day.  Selecting 12:00 AM will display the date as the next day, and this may confuse students about the actual due date if they assume they have all day to turn in their work.

Send a reminder email. (Optional)

If you would like a reminder email to be sent 24 hours before the due date, check the box next to Send a reminder email 24 hours before the due date.

Hide due date from students. (Optional)

If you would prefer for students not to see the assignment due date, check the box next to the Hide due date from students option.

Add due date to Calendar. (Optional)

If you would like your assignment due date to be added automatically to the Calendar in your class, check the Add due date to calendar box.

Add an announcement. (Optional)

If you would like an announcement to be automatically posted to the site regarding the open date for your assignment, check the Add an announcement about the open date to Announcements box. If you enable an announcement about the option date, you will also have the option to choose an email notification for the announcement.

Note:  The announcement will be posted immediately when you post your assignment, regardless of the actual open date of the assignment itself.  This option is best used to announce changes in a due date, or the availability of a newly posted item.

Assign to.

You may display your assignment to everyone in the site (the default), or to selected groups.

Note: You must have existing groups in your site in order to select the second or third option.

Assign to each individual member of the selected group(s). (Optional)

If you select the Each individual member of the selected group(s) option, the settings will expand to show a list of all existing groups in the site.  Select one or more groups to display the assignment to those groups only. If you selected the Group Submission option, you may limit the groups that are allowed to submit here.


Note: This option only controls the visibility of the assignment for users in different groups. By default, each member of the group still submits an individual assignment, but this display setting allows you to identify different assignments for different groups or sections. 

Assign to the selected group(s), as a group assignment (one group member submits on behalf of the entire group).

If you want students to submit one assignment per group, use The selected group(s), as a group assignment (one group member submits on behalf of the entire group) option.

If you've chosen more than one group to submit a group assignment, a notice will appear offering to scan the groups for duplicate participants (students who appear in both groups). Select the Check Now button.

If there are no duplicate participants, you will receive a Success message confirmation.

If duplicate participants are present, an alert message will be displayed listing participate and group details. You need to resolve all duplicate entries before the assignment can be posted. To learn more about how to manage groups and participates, go to the Site Info tool.

Choose the submission format.

There are several submission formats that you may accept.

  • Inline only: Student may only submit a response by entering their content into the Rich Text Editor. The attachment option is not available. This is a good option to choose if you want to be able to grade all of the responses online without having to download or open any files.
  • Attachments only: This format removes the Rich Text Editor option and leaves only the attachment option available.
  • Inline and Attachments: This is the default format and it allows students to either enter content into the Rich Text Editor inline, or attach a file, or both.
  • Non-electronic: This format choice is for assignments that you expect students to submit in person, but you want the option to view assignment details and/or grade the assignment in Sakai.
  • Single Uploaded File only: If you want students to submit a file, but you only want a single file, this is the option to choose. (Both the Inline and Attachments and the Attachments only option allow students to upload and submit more than one file at a time.)

Choose your preferred format from the drop-down menu.

Allow resubmission. (Optional)

If you select Allow Resubmission, you may specify:

  1. The number of resubmissions allowed for the class
  2. The deadline for resubmitting
  3. Whether to notify students via email when the grade is released and resubmission is available

Tip: You may also choose to allow resubmissions on an individual basis when you grade student submissions.

Submission notification.

The default notification setting is Do not send me notification emails for any student submissions.  If you would like to be notified, select either of the following two options:

  • Send me a notification email for each student submission: This option will send a separate email for each student immediately upon submission.
  • Send me one email per day summarizing notifications for student submissions: This option will send a digest email listing all student submissions for that day.

Choose the radio button for the notification setting you prefer.  

Note:  The notification email message will be sent to the external email address for your Sakai user account.  It does not send the notification to the Sakai Messages tool.

Choose Grading details.

The Grading section includes two options. The first option, Hide submitters' identities, allows the instructor to grade student submissions without seeing the associated student name in the grading interface.

Choose grade scale.

The second option in the Grading section allows you to choose a specific grade scale for the assignment. There are several grade scales to choose from:

  • Points: Allows you to assign points to an assignment for grading.  This is the option you should choose if you plan to send the assignment to the gradebook.
  • Letter grade: You may select this option if you like to grade your assignments by letter grade only.
  • Pass/Fail: Designates an assignment as pass/fail.
  • Checkmark: Allows you to mark assignments with a checkmark for completion.

Select the assignment's grade scale from the drop-down menu.

Note:  The only grade scale option that can be added to the gradebook automatically is Points.

Enter maximum points.

If you select Points as the grade scale, you must enter a maximum number of points for the assignment.

Use grading rubric.

  1. Select the Use the following rubric to grade this assignment radio button.
  2. Choose the desired rubric from the drop-down menu. Note: You must have existing rubrics in your site before they will display in the menu. Shared rubrics must first be copied to your site before they will be available for selection.
  3. (Optional) Preview the selected rubric to make sure that it is the correct one.
  4. (Optional) Check the box for Adjust individual student scores if you would like to be able to change the number of points awarded for individual criteria ratings while grading student submissions on a per-student basis.
  5. (Optional) Check the box for Hide Rubric from student if you do not want students to see the rubric prior to submitting.

Send grades to the Gradebook.

Within the points grade scale, there is also the option to Send grades to the Gradebook. Once selected, this reveals two additional options:

  • Create new Gradebook item: This will create a new item in the gradebook with the same name as your assignment title.
  • Associate with existing Gradebook item: This option allows you to link your assignment to an existing gradebook item. This is useful if you have already created items in your gradebook and you want to use one of them, rather than creating a new assignment. You may only link an assignment to a single gradebook item, and vice versa.

Tip: Remember that you must have a Points grade scale in order to add the assignment to the gradebook!

Use peer assessment.

Within the Points grade scale, there is also the option to Use peer assessment. Selecting this option will allow students to review their peers' assignment submissions.

  1. The Evaluation Period Finishes section notes the date when the last peer reviews can be submitted.  (This date must be after the Accept Until date for the assignment.)
  2. Anonymous evaluation allows students to submit their reviews without their names appearing to those they are evaluating.
  3. Allow students to see reviews of their submissions enables students the ability to view evaluations from their peers of their submitted assignment.
  4. The Number of submissions students must review is the total number of peer evaluations required.
  5. The Instructions for reviewers text box allows instructors to outline specific instructions to students regarding peer assessments.

Note: You must be using a Points grade scale in order to enable peer review.

Released grade notification.

The default notification setting is Do not send notification email to student when the grade is released.  

If you would like students to be notified, select the radio button for Send notification email to student when the grade is released.

Note:  The notification email message will be sent to the external email address for the student's Sakai user account.  It does not send the notification to the Sakai Messages tool.

Additional information. (Optional)

This section gives you the option of including additional information, such as a Model Answer, Private Note, or All Purpose Item.  

Click the Add link to add any of these items.

Model Answer.

The model answer can provide an example of the ideal correct answer or solution for a particular assignment.  

  1. You may enter your model answer in the text box provided.
  2. You may also click the Add Attachments button to browse for and select a file containing the model answer and/or solution.
  3. Use the Show to students option to select when you would like the model answer to be displayed: Before student starts assignment, After student submits, After submission is graded and returned, or After accept-until date.
  4. Click Save to save your changes.

Private Note.

If you would like to make any private notes, which are not visible to students, you may enter them here.

  1. Enter your notes in the space provided.
  2. Select who can read and edit the notes from the drop-down menu: Keep private to myself, Allow other instructors to read, or Allow other instructors to read and edit.
  3. Click Save to save your changes.

All Purpose Item.

You may also create an All Purpose Item that can be displayed based on specific dates or users.  

  1. Enter a Title for your item.
  2. Enter the content of the item in the text box provided.
  3. You may also click Add Attachments to browse for and attach file/s.
  4. Select when the item should be displayed.
  5. Choose which users can see the item.
  6. Click Save to save your changes.

Post your assignment.

Once you have entered all of your assignment settings, scroll down to the bottom and click Post to save your changes and post the assignment.