Brightspace CI: Date Management and Display

Intended Audience: Collaborative Instructors
This article pertains to courses taught by local teachers as part of a collaborative partnership.

Introduction:

Collaborative instructors in Brightspace courses have the ability to display due dates and availability dates on the Lessons page for both students and instructors. This can be a helpful way to keep students on track with their coursework. To set these dates, instructors can navigate to the Edit page for each assessment type, including assignments, quizzes, and discussions. For more information on using the Manage Dates tool in Brightspace to set due dates and dates of access in bulk, please refer to the following article: Use the Manage Dates Tool to Set Assignment Due Dates in Bulk. To set dates for other course items such as lessons, units, and folders, please follow the instructions below. 

Details:

1. First, open the course in Brightspace and then navigate to the Lessons page.
2. Next, tap a unit, folder, or lesson to open it. 
3. With the item selected, click the ellipses in the upper right corner and then choose Edit.
   
   • For units and folders, tap Add Due Date to open the due date field and enter a date. You can also set dates of availability on this page by clicking the triangle next to "Availability Dates" and entering the dates. When finished, tap the Save button to apply changes.
     
   • For lessons, enter a date in the Due Date field and set "Availability Dates" by clicking on that section. When finished, tap the Save button to apply changes.
     On the Lessons page, teachers will be able to view any due dates that have been set as well as the dates of availability, if applicable.

When students view the course, they will also see the due dates and dates of availability on their Lessons page. In addition, for students and teachers, the due dates will populate in the Calendar widget on the Class Homepage, if enabled.

Additional Information

Students can submit their assignments after the due date, as the due date itself does not prevent late submissions. When an assignment is submitted late, the assignment detail page will show that the assignment was submitted after the due date, along with how many days it was overdue. However, it's important to note that the Gradebook does not indicate lateness; this information is only visible on the assignment detail page.

For quizzes that include teacher-graded items, they will appear in the Gradebook even if completed after the due date. If a quiz is auto-graded, it generally will not appear in Gradebook past the due date unless the settings are adjusted on the quiz’s Edit page under the Assessment tab by deselecting the Automatic Grade option.

Currently, Brightspace does not allow setting due dates specifically for Discussion Board Assignments. Instead, it only allows for Availability Dates to be set. To remind students of due dates for these assignments, instructors can create a calendar event that will show up in the Calendar widget on the Class Homepage, assuming this feature is enabled.

Regarding content accessibility, any lessons, folders, units, assignments, or quizzes will not be visible in the Lessons menu until their start date and will disappear after their end date. In the case of Discussion Board Assignments, instructors have the option to control visibility before the start date and after the end date through settings on the Edit Topic page.

Finally, due dates are displayed prominently on the Lessons page, on the Calendar widget of the Class Homepage (if activated), and on the specific pages for each assignment, quiz, or discussion.