> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.lena.africa/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create and publish an assignment

> Set an assignment’s question, marks and dates in Lena for Teachers, then publish it so students can hand in work.

An assignment is work students hand in, online or in person. A practice assignment has nothing to hand in. Every
assignment starts as a draft. Owners, teachers and assistants on a course can draft one; only owners and teachers can
publish it.

## Create it

**1. Start a new assignment**

In the sidebar, open the menu beside **New course** and choose **New assignment**. You can also go to
**Assignment** and choose **New**.

**2. Choose the course and name it**

Choose the **Course**, then enter an **Assignment name**, such as "Essay: how we remember".

**3. Write the question**

Type the question or instructions in **Assignment question / description**, and attach any files students need.
You can also add or change the question later, from the assignment's **Question** tab.

**4. Choose how students hand it in**

Under **Submission method**, choose **Online**, **In-person** or **Practice** (see the table below). For an online
assignment, choose the **Submission type**: **Text and file**, **Text only** or **File only**.

**5. Set the marks and dates**

Enter the **Assignment marks**, such as 20. Under **Availability**, set the **Start** (when students can open it)
and the **Due** date.

![The New assignment form with course, name, question, submission method, marks, start and due dates, and the Add to assessment and Accept late submissions switches](https://mintcdn.com/lenaafrica/L730hi-OSS5z45py/images/teacher/assignment-form.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L730hi-OSS5z45py\&q=85\&s=68feccafebcdf3d7735a9f7ea6a71d45)

A new online assignment, worth 20 marks, with late work accepted.

**6. Choose the rules**

Turn on **Add to assessment** to count the assignment toward the course's final grade. Turn on **Accept late
submissions** to take work after the due date, and set the **Late deadline** (it starts a week after the due date).

**7. Create it**

Choose **Create Assignment**. It opens as a draft, ready for a [rubric](https://support.lena.africa/teachers/rubrics.md) if you want one.

![An assignment's page with a Draft badge and the Details, Question and Rubric tabs](https://mintcdn.com/lenaafrica/L730hi-OSS5z45py/images/teacher/assignment-draft.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L730hi-OSS5z45py\&q=85\&s=552a0df9514dd2f6a676870c1ae86c11)

The new assignment, still a draft. Students can’t see it yet.

| Submission method | What students do | Marks and dates |
| - | - | - |
| **Online** | Type their work or upload files in Lena for Students. | Marks, a start and a due date. |
| **In-person** | Hand in physical work in class. You grade every student. | Marks, a start and a due date. |
| **Practice** | Nothing to hand in. Nothing is graded. | No marks and no due date. The start date is optional. |

## Publish it

**1. Check the draft**

Open the assignment and look over the **Details**, **Question** and **Rubric** tabs. Choose **Edit** to change
the details.

**2. Choose Publish**

Lena checks the assignment first. It needs a question, and if it has a rubric, the rubric must add up to the marks.
If there's a problem with the dates, a dialog says what it is (see the table below).

**3. Confirm**

In **Publish assignment?**, choose **Publish**. Students on the course see it in their list straight away, and can
open it from its start date.

![The Publish assignment? dialog warning that the assignment can't be moved back to drafts and the rubric can't be changed after](https://mintcdn.com/lenaafrica/1V8qk96nF4TQHWmx/images/teacher/publish-assignment-dialog.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=1V8qk96nF4TQHWmx\&q=85\&s=fb8d1a57ba075cb5d162d9d1563705d6)

Publishing is final: the assignment can’t go back to drafts.

| Dialog | Why | What you can do |
| - | - | - |
| **Due soon** | Students will have less than 24 hours to submit. | **Edit**, or **Publish anyway** |
| **Add a deadline** | There's no due date. | **Edit** the dates |
| **Due before it opens** | The due date is before the start. | **Edit** the dates |
| **The deadline has passed** | The due date is in the past, so nobody could submit. | **Edit** the dates |

Practice assignments skip the date checks.

## Extend the deadline

On a published online assignment, choose **Extend deadline**, pick the **New late deadline** and choose **Extend**.
Students can hand in until then, and work after the due date is marked Late. Extending turns on late submissions if
they were off.

## Good to know

* **Only drafts can be edited.** Once you publish an assignment, the only thing you can change is its deadline. You
  can't move an assignment to another course, even as a draft.
* **Keep a copy of the question.** On a published assignment, the **Question** tab has **Save assignment**, which
  downloads the question as a PDF, or a zip with its attachments.
* **Duplicate** (from **⋮**) makes a new draft copy without submissions. **Delete** removes the assignment with its
  instructions, submissions and grades, for good. Assistants can do neither.
* **Your assignments are in four tabs** on the **Assignment** page, grouped by course:
  * **Published**: open for students.
  * **Grading**: the dates have passed and the grades aren't released. A row reads "Ready to release" when everyone is
    graded.
  * **Drafts**
  * **Past**: grades released, or the course has ended, and every practice assignment.

## Troubleshooting

> [accordion] “Add a question first”
>
> The assignment has no question. Open the **Question** tab, choose **Add question**, then publish again.

> [accordion] “The rubric doesn’t match the marks”
>
> The rubric's points don't add up to the assignment's marks. The message says how far short or over it is. Edit the
> rubric on the **Rubric** tab; see [rubrics](https://support.lena.africa/teachers/rubrics.md).

> [accordion] Accept late submissions is greyed out
>
> It says "Set the due date first." Set a **Due** date, then turn the switch on.

> [accordion] Lena won’t accept my dates
>
> Lena's message says which date to fix. The rules are:
>
> * The **Due** date must be after the **Start**.
> * The **Late deadline** must be after the due date, and in the future.
> * A new deadline when you extend must be later than the one students already have.

## Next

> [card] [Add a rubric](https://support.lena.africa/teachers/rubrics.md)
>
> Grade criterion by criterion, and show students what you look for.

> [card] [Grade and release](https://support.lena.africa/teachers/grading-and-releasing.md)
>
> Mark the work that comes in, then give students their grades.


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