Staff Guide: Coursework tool

The MMS coursework tool is used to administrate coursework submission and marking at the University of St Andrews. This guide will cover:

Coursework Tool Configuration

Viewing Submissions, Marks and Feedback

Uploading / Resubmitting

Entering Marks and Feedback

Coursework tool configuration

This section of the guide will discuss how to configure and maintain the tool.

  • Most schools request the coursework configuration from the previous year to the new year, however module admins can create new coursework tools in a module by:

    1. Log into MMS
    2. Access the module by locating the module on the Modules page or entering the module code into the Search function.
    3. Scroll down to the Tools section.
    4. In the Additional tools section select the check box next to the Coursework submission tool.
    5. Select the blue Create Tools button.
    6. Locate the new tool in the Tools table.
    7. Rename the tool and adjust the Group type or Assessment type if required.
    8. Select the Update Tools button to save.

    The Group type option links the tool with group types. For example if the group type was set to ‘Tutorial’ then tutors will only see students in their Tutorial groups.

    The Assessment option can be used to apply a filter on the tool. The Primary filter will show all students. The Reassessment and Deferred filters will show students who are required to do further assessement on the module.

  • Once a coursework tool has been created it can be accessed by:

    1. Logging into MMS.
    2. Locating the module on the Modules page.
    3. Selecting the tool link.

    OR

    1. Logging into MMS.
    2.  Locating the module on the Modules page.
    3. Selecting the Module title.
    4. Scroll down to the Tools section.
    5. Locating the coursework tool in the table.
    6. Selecting the Overview link next to the tool

    The default staff view of the coursework tool consists of a table with each row representing a student. The heading row will list the assignment titles which can be used to access the assignment titles.

  • Coursework tools can be configured by adjusting the following factors:

    • Student identification: There are two options: Show only student IDs, which is used for anonymised marking, and Show student names and student IDs
    • Single/doubling marking: The default option is Single marking, however the double marking option can be used if multiple users are marking the same submissions.
    • Summary statistic visibility: this controls the student’s ability to view the summary statistic graphs.
    • Coursework marking scale: The types of marks that will be entered into MMS. The most common options are:
      • UStAndrews20PointMark — The standard St Andrews 20 point marking scheme.
      • PercentageMark — Marks will be entered between 0 and 100.
    • Lateness policy: MMS can penalise students based on recorded lateness. Most units have a default for the whole unit based on the new Lateness Policy
    • Default assignment due time: used to auto-populate the ’time’ field on the assignments tab which will be covered in the next subsection.
    • Default feedback window: will be used to auto-populate the ’feedback window’ field on the assignments tab which will be covered in the next subsection.

    To configure the coursework tool:

    1. Access the coursework tool.
    2. Select the Configure link from the navigation panel on the left.
    3. Select the Toolwide Settings tab.
    4. Make adjustments as required.
    5. Select the Save Settings button to save.


  • Once the Coursework tool has been created, assignments can be added so that students can upload submissions and marks can be stored.
    To create an assignment:

    1. Access the Coursework tool.
    2. Select the Configure link from the navigation panel on the left.
    3. Select the Add Assignment button.
    4. Complete the assignment details.
    5. Select the Save Assignments button to save.

    The fields that can be adjusted in the assignment table are:

    • Assignment Name – The name of the assignment
    • Short Name – This is displayed where the available space is limited but can be the same as the assignment name.
    • Due date – The date in which the majority of the students have to submit the assignment (individual students or groups of students with different due dates can be handled using extensions.
    • Feedback window – The number of days after the due date after which students will be able to view their feedback.
    • Relative weight – the weight of an assignment relative to the other assignments.
    • Style – The assignment style. There are four options:
      • Turnitin Submission – Creates an assignment in Turnitin to test student submissions for plagiarism. Turnitin should only be used for text submissions.
      • MMS upload – the standard upload style allowing students to upload large files and files of any type.
      • Paper Hand-In – Students will be able to view the assignment and any marks/feedback, however they will not be able to submit files.
      • Staff Only – This assignment type is only visible to staff, students will never be able to view any information in this assignment type, including marks and feedback.
    • Grade Visibility— The visibility of the assignment grade and feedback. This can be altered at any time.
    • Allowed types — When left blank students can submit any file type. To add a restriction, type in the allowed file extensions separated by a comma e.g. ‘doc, docx, pdf’ (without the quotes). Turnitin Note: This option will disappear for Turnitin submissions as Turnitin has it’s own file limitations.

Viewing submissions, marks and feedback

The following section will discuss how to view assignments, and download student assignments, view marks, and view previous feedback.

  • The staff view of the coursework tool consists of the table with each row representing a student. The student matric number is also a link to the student record card.

    The assignment titles will link through to the Assignment overview pages.

    An example of the coursework overview.

    The running average is the weighted average of the marks that have been entered for assignments that have a due date before the current date.

    The overall average is the weighted average of all the assignments, assuming a grade of zero for all assignments without a grade.

    The Individual link will display the student’s view.

  • To view an assignment:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title in the coursework table.

    The assignment overview comprises a table with each row representing a student.

    Student submissions will be represented by an icon in the File column, with the date of submission appearing in the Submitted column. Any lateness will be displayed in the Lateness column.

    If they have been entered marks and feedback are visible in Grade and Feedback columns. Grades surrounded by square brackets e.g. [10.0] are hidden from students.

  • To download the student submission individually:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework table.
    5. Locate the student in the table.
    6. Select the file icon to download the submission.

    To download student submissions on bulk:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework table.
    5. Select the Zip (by student id), PDF or Zip & Coverpages links (above the table).

  • Feedback

    The View Feedback pages can be used to view the mark and feedback history for a student assignment. To view the mark and feedback history:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title in the coursework table.
    5. Locate the row corresponding to the student
    6. Select the [View Feedback] link in the Feedback column.
    7. Select the Previous Feedback tab to view entered feedback

    The Previous Feedback tab contains a table of all undeleted feedback given for the student on the selected assignment. The table has the following columns:

    • Given by: The name of the user who entered the feedback
    • Date: The date the feedback was given
    • Status: This will always display ‘ACCEPT’.
    • Visibility: This option will display the possible audience of the feedback, not the current visibility status which is displayed on the Configure page. Current options include:
      • Student and Staff: The feedback can be made visible to both staff on the module and the student.
      • Staff Only: The feedback will only ever be visible to staff, and will not be visible to the student.
    • Comment: Any text feedback.
    • File: Any file that was uploaded as feedback. If a file was uploaded it will be represented by a file icon. Select the file icon to download the file.
    • Delete?: To delete an item of feedback, select the check box in the Delete? column, and select the Delete Selected Feedback button.

    Staff can enter as many items of feedback for an assignment for a student as required.

    Grade History

    To view the grade history:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title in the coursework table.
    5. Locate the row corresponding to the student
    6. Select the [View Feedback] link in the Feedback column.
    7. Select the Grade History tab to view entered grades

    Note: Students will only be able to view the most recent mark entered for an assignment.

  • Turnitin is a global online plagiarism detection tool that compares submitted documents with online sources and sources within it’s archive to give submitted work at Turnitin Score. The Turnitin score is the percentage of the document which is similar to other documents within the Turnitin database. A low score indicates that there is little similarity and a score of 100 indicates that the entire submitted item has been copied from a single or multiple sources.

    To view the Turnitin scores:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title in the coursework table.
    5. Select the View Turnitin Scores button in the View Options section.
    6. The Turnitin score can be viewed in the Similarity column.
    7. To view the similarity report select the Similarity score.

    Note: Assignments need to be configured to use Turnitin before students start to submit files

Uploading on behalf of students

Occasionally it may be necessary for staff to upload on behalf of students. This can be done by module administrators and module coordinators.

The upload or resubmission process for student submissions depends on the assignment style, where an assignment has been set to be uploaded to Turnitin, the submissions or resubmissions will need to done in Turnitin.

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the coursework tool.
    4. Select the assignment title in the coursework table.
    5. Select the View Turnitin Scores button in the View Options section.
    6. Locate the student in the Turnitin Assignment Inbox.
    7. Select the three dot icon in the Options column.
    8. Select the Upload or Resubmit option. Note that if it is a resubmission you will receive a dialogue box explaining that Turnitin may take 24 hours to generate a report of multiple resubmissions happen in a short period of time. If this happens select Confirm.
    9. Select the Browse button and choose the file.
    10. Select the Upload and Review button.
    11. Select the Submit to Turnitin button.

    It may take up to 24 hours for Turnitin to return a copy of the file to MMS, this will not impact the lateness as MMS will still use the time the file was submitted to Turnitin.

  • To upload or resubmit for a student to MMS:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the coursework tool.
    4. Select the assignment title in the coursework table.
    5. (For resubmission only) Delete the current submission by locating the student in the assignment table, select the check box in the Select column, select the Deleted Selected Files button.
    6. Scroll down to the Upload Coursework section.
    7. Select the student from the drop down list.
    8. Select the Browse button and choose the file (the exact method will depend on the browser).
    9. Select the Upload button.

  • If a file is uploaded or resubmitted by a member of staff the submission time will be updated to reflect when the new file was uploaded. If needed, and inline with school policy, the submission time can be adjust:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the module.
    3. Select the coursework tool.
    4. Select the assignment title in the coursework table.
    5. Locate the student in the table
    6. Select the [View Feedback] link in the Feedback column.
    7. Select the New Feedback tab if not selected by default.
    8. Select the Calender icon and select the submission date from the dialogue box that appears.
    9. Overwrite the submission time using the format hh:mm
    10. Select the Save button to save.

Entering Marks and Feedback

There are multiple ways to add Marks and Feedback in MMS:

  • To manually enter marks:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Select the Enter grades for this assignment link in the top right.
    6. Locate the student in the table.
    7. Enter the grade into the Grade Column.
    8. To enter feedback either:
      1. Type feedback into the text field in the Add Written Feedback column.
      2. Select the Browse button in the Upload Feedback column and choose a file to upload.
    9. Select the Save Grades & Comments button.

  • To manually enter short-form feedback:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Select the Enter grades for this assignment link in the top right.
    6. Locate the student in the table.
    7. To enter feedback either type the feedback into the text field in the Add Written Feedback column.
    8. Select the Save Grades & Comments button.

  • To manually enter files as feedback

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Select the Enter grades for this assignment link in the top right.
    6. Locate the student in the table.
    7. Select the Browse button in the Upload Feedback column and choose a file to upload.
    8. Select the Save Grades & Comments button.

  • The New Feedback tab on the View Feedback pages can be used to enter short and long form feedback.

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Locate the student in the table.
    6. Select the [View Feedback] link in the Feedback column.
    7. Select the New Feedback tab if not selected by default.
    8. To enter feedback:
      • Written feedback: In the text box provided in the Comments to Student section, type or paste the written feedback. Select the Save button to save.
      • File as feedback: In the Comments to Student section, select the Browse… button and select the file. Select the Save button to save.
      • Staff Only Feedback: Staff only feedback can never be made visible to students. however, to enter staff only feedback type or paste the feedback in the large text box in the Comments to Staff section. Select the Save button to save.

  • Both marks and written feedback can be uploaded via CSV file:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Scroll down to the Upload Grades section.
    6. Prepare a CSV file with four columns (a template can be downloaded by selecting the Download a template file to fill here link):
      • Student ID – either username or matriculation number.
      • Grade – the grade, usually a number between 0 and 20.
      • Acknowledge – almost always should be blank unless recommended by the MMS Team.
      • Feedback – the written feedback.
    7. Select the Browse… button and select the file.
    8. Select the Upload Grades.
    9. Review the suggested changes, to prevent a change from being made de-select the check box in the Write New Grades? column.
    10. Select the Submit Grades button.

  • To bulk upload feedback files:

    1. Ensure all files to be uploaded start with the student ID.
    2. Log into MMS.
    3. Locate the Module.
    4. Select the Coursework tool.
    5. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    6. Select the Enter grades for this assignment link in the top right.
    7. Scroll down to the Bulk Response Upload section.
    8. Select the Browse… button.
    9. Select the files to upload. Multiple files can be selected by selecting the files while holding down the Shift key.
    10. Select the Upload Responses button.

  • Deleting Marks

    To delete coursework marks:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Select the Enter grades for this assignment link in the top right.
    6. Locate the student in the table.
    7. Delete the value in the field in the Grade column.
    8. Select the Save Grades & Comments button to save.

    Deleting Feedback

    To delete coursework feedback:

    1. Log into MMS.
    2. Locate the Module.
    3. Select the Coursework tool.
    4. Select the Assignment title from the coursework overview.
    5. Locate the student in the table.
    6. Select the [View Feedback] link in the Feedback column.
    7. Select the Previous Feedback tab.
    8. Select the feedback by checking the tickbox in the Delete? column.
    9. Select the Delete Selected Feedback button.

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