Setting up an Assignment

From the 2025/26 academic year onwards, all online submission points and grade columns for summative tasks will be created and kept up-to-date automatically in Blackboard module sites based on SITS data. This will apply to both first sit and reassessments. You should not need to create any submission points or grade columns for summative tasks, unless you are using PebblePad or Blackboard Tests (as these assessment items cannot be created automatically, but you will see a weighted total column in Gradebook for these assessments).

Students can make use of the auto-created summative submission points to submit formative drafts of their work (e.g. to check for similarity if you enable Turnitin).

Missing submission points

If you have a 2025/26 Blackboard module site, and there is no submission point or grade column created for your assessment(s), it is likely that key information is missing in SITS (such as the due date, assessment name, or assessment item type). Please contact the Digital Education & Service Development Team for guidance. Once the information is updated, your submission point(s) and grade column(s) will appear automatically.

If you don’t have a 2025/26 Blackboard module site, you should request it. If the assessment data in SITS is correct, your submission point(s) and grade column(s) will appear after the site has been created. If not, please follow the guidance above.

If you need a submission point for a module from an academic year prior to 2025/26, you will need to set this up yourself.

Wrong assessment item type created

If you discover that an assessment item has been created in your 2025/26 Blackboard module site but it was not the type that you were expecting (e.g. a manual grade column was created but you needed an assignment submission point for online submission, or an assignment submission point was created but you needed a weighted total column because your assessment is a Blackboard Test), please contact the Digital Education & Service Development Team for guidance.

Duplicate submission points

If you have manually copied or created submission points and grade columns in your 2025/26 module sites, you will find that you have duplicate submission points and grade columns following the automatic creation of these items. If students have already submitted work, you should retain the submission point with student submissions and delete the duplicate submission point without student submissions. Automatically created submission points can be identified either by being the first item at the top of the Assessment (or Reassessment) learning module or folder, or by the updated student instructions for 2025/26 beginning ‘Student declaration’. If you are unsure which is the correct submission point or grade column that you should retain, please contact the Digital Education & Service Development Team for guidance.

Create Assignment:

Within the Assessment folder, select the add content plus symbol and press Create to open the Create Item panel and select Assignment. The New Assignment page opens.

Assignment Content:

Step 1. Give the assignment a title, by selecting the title box in the top left. Please note that for summative tasks the first part of the title needs to match the title in SiTs (e.g. " 001 Coursework ... ") for various assessment related admin tasks.

Step 2. For summative assessments, please copy and paste the standard instruction text in the Type text box.

Step 3. If you wish to attach file/s you can use the paperclip icon.

Step 4. By default, the assignment will be hidden from students. When you want them to see it, select the drop-down and select Visible to participants.

Assignment settings:

Step 1. Some common settings are available on this page, and you can click on the link to change that settings.

Step 2. Click the settings cog to access all the assignment settings.

a) You will need to change the due date to match SITS and set the time to 15:00.

b) Attempts allowed needs to be unlimited.

Step 3. Amongst other settings, you can:

a) Mark the assignment as formative.

b) Mark using points or a grading schema.

c) Add a marking rubric.

d) Enable Turnitin, submissions will be checked through Turnitin.
(Note there is a slight delay after clicking Enable Turnitin before the settings load).

e) Collect submissions offline.

Step 4. When you create an assignment, a gradebook column is created automatically.

What students see when submitting

Collect submissions offline

You can create assessments that appear on the Course Content page that don't require students to upload submissions. You can add instructions, files, a rubric, so students can prepare for the offline work. You can also enable conversations, but you can't add questions or grade anonymously.

Examples of offline work:

Oral presentations
Science fair projects
Acting performances
Artwork delivered in person
Face-to-face team building exercises, panel discussions, and debates

Instructors who teach hybrid courses may find this type of assessment most useful. For example, you can use a rubric to grade an in-class presentation as a student presents. No need to take notes or add a score later.

When you create an assessment, you can choose to collect submissions offline in the settings panel on screen and ensure the collect submissions offline option is clicked and highlighted. When students open this type of assessment, they're informed they can't submit work online. If you create groups to collect submissions offline, students can view their group members. For submissions collected offline, you can't allow multiple attempts.

Please refer to our support article for further information and guidance on how to set up and grade assignments without a submission point.

Assessment and Feedback