EXAM - How to find and submit an assignment?
Here is some important information and recommendations for finding, understanding, and submitting an assignment on the new ZoneCours platform.
- 1 Basic tips before you begin
- 2 During the exam: finding the assessment
- 3 Understanding the summary of an assessment on the Assignments page
- 4 View assignment information
- 5 Submit an assessment
- 6 After the exam: confirming the submission of an assessment
- 7 For students with accommodations
- 8 If you encounter any problems
Basic tips before you begin
Check your exam schedule: refer to the schedule provided by your instructor or the one available on HEC en ligne. Your ZoneCours course site also displays the schedule in several places (Assignements, Calendar, Dashbord, etc.).
Check HEC en ligne to see if a room has been assigned for the exam. If so, your exam will be in person. You will therefore need to go to the classroom. Note: For students who are entitled to extra time, refer to the schedule you will receive by email rather than the one in the calendar on the course website.
If the exam is taking place in person, make sure you have tested your internet connection a few days before the exam, as no backup computers will be available.
If you are taking your exam from home:
Avoid having other people use the same network connection (downloads, online games, streaming videos, etc.).
If possible, use a wired connection.
Do not use a mobile device to take your exam.
Use the latest version of a supported browser: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari. Also check that your devices' operating systems are capable of running these applications and that they are up to date. To check your browser's compatibility, visit this page on the provider's website.
Close all unnecessary applications on your computer. Only access the websites you will need during the assessment.
Avoid opening the same exam in multiple tabs in your browser.
Disable the sleep function during the exam, as it may cause anomalies and even disconnections.
Temporarily disable automatic updates during your exams. Some updates may take several minutes or significantly affect the proper functioning of the device.
If a document (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) must be downloaded and then submitted at the end of the exam:
Once the document is open on the computer, save it on your computer (My Documents, Desktop, etc.), even if the document is empty.
Save the document regularly while you are working on it.
Make sure that the file you submit is the correct one and that it is not corrupted or unreadable.
During the exam: finding the assessment
Using the Assignments page
In your course site, click on the Assignments link in the course navigation menu. All available assessments will be displayed. You can filter them by date or by type using the buttons at the top right. If the Show by Date filter is selected, they will be sorted chronologically into groups such as: Overdue Assignments, Upcoming Assignments, Undated Assignments, and Past Assignments. The assessment with the closest due date will be at the top. Click on the assessment to be submitted to begin the exam.
Understanding the summary of an assessment on the Assignments page
On the Assignments page, each assessment displays its name [1], availability dates [2], due date (if applicable) [3] and the value of the assessment in points [4].
Informations
The small icon in front of the title gives you additional information about the nature of the assessment. In this case, the sheet of paper with a pencil is the icon for an assignment.
Availability dates and times [2]
The first date you see is the availability date. Sometimes you are asked to submit work within a specific time frame, so the availability date and time represents the period during which you have access to the work.
If the assignment says Not available until [date] at [time], this means that it is locked and unavailable until the specified date.
If the job indicates Available until [date] at [time], this means that it is available and you can submit until the specified date and time.
If the job has the status Closed, it means that it is no longer available and submissions are closed.
Due dates and times [3]
The second set of dates are the Due dates. Any assignments submitted after the due date are marked as late. If you exceed that due dates, you will have until the availability deadline [2] to submit the work before it changes to Closed status and submissions become impossible.
Not all assignments necessarily include a due date, as this field is optional. If there is no due date, refer to the availability dates and times [2] to find out when you can submit the assignment.
Important!
The value for seconds is set to 0 by default, unless the value for minutes is set to 59, in which case the seconds will be set to 59.
This means that if you see a due date or closing date of, for example, 4:30 p.m., the system understands this as 4:30:00 p.m. and will consider the submission late from 4:30:01 p.m. onwards. However, if the submission is set for 4:59 p.m., the system understands this as 4:59:59 p.m. and will consider the submission late from 5:00 p.m. onwards.
In the example above, you should understand that the assessment is available until September 9 at 12:00:00 p.m., and that there is no grace period allowed (the deadline date and time is identical to the availability date and time), so at 12:00:01 p.m., it would no longer be possible to submit.
If a 5 minute grace period were allowed, for example, you would see the example above. This means that you would have until 12:00:00 p.m. to submit without any mention of a delay, but you would have the option to submit until 12:05:00 p.m before the evaluation closes. Any submission between 12:00:01 p.m. and 12:05:00 p.m. would be considered late, and at 12:05:01 p.m. it would no longer be possible to submit.
View assignment information
When you click on an assignment, here is an example of the information you should see:
In the first section [1], you will see the title, points, and the due date and time for the assessment (date and time of submission without mention of late submission). For example, here, the assessment must be submitted before September 9 at 12:00:00 p.m. to avoid a late submission.
In the second section [2], on the left you will see the number of attempts allowed and the time slot during which the assessment is available. For example, here the assessment is available from September 8 12:00 a.m. until September 9, 12:05:00 p.m. It is therefore possible to submit until 12:05:00 p.m., but since the deadline above is 12:00:00 p.m., if the submission is made between 12:00:01 p.m. and 12:05:00 p.m., there will be a late submission note on the assessment. On the right, an Add Comment button allows you to add a comment that can be read by the teacher when grading.
In the third section [3], you will find instructions to read before starting the assessment. If a file needs to be downloaded to take the exam, it will be available in this section.
In the fourth section [4], you will find the drop box where you will need to upload the file to be submitted. You can drag the file to the box on the left or click on it to select a file from your computer.
When a file is uploaded, it can always be deleted and replaced. The dragged file appears at the top of the drop box, and a trash can is available on the right if you need to delete it and replace it.
In the fifth section [5], you must read and check this honor pledge to comply with the School's plagiarism policy. This pledge must be checked in order for you to click on the Submit Assignment button.
In the sixth section [6], you must click on the Submit Assignment button to submit your work.
If further attempts are permitted, the button at the bottom will change to New Attempt to allow subsequent attempts until all attempts have been used up.
Other information that may be included in an assessment
Rubric
On some assessments, under the "information" section [3], you may find a rubric like the one in the example above. This will allow you to see the assessment criteria and their associated points.
Teamwork
You may also see an alert box indicating that the work is a team effort and that if you submit it, it will count for all team members.
Submit an assessment
When you are ready and have uploaded your file, don't forget to click the Submit Assignment button at the bottom of the page to confirm your submission.
Important reminders before submitting an assessment
ZoneCours allows you to submit files up to 5GB in size via the drop box.
If file restrictions are configured, there will be an indication of the allowed files on the drop box.
It is important to have a file name that is as short as possible and to avoid repeated characters (for example, underscores).
For some assignments, only one attempt is allowed.
If only one attempt is allowed, it will be impossible to modify a submitted assessment, even if the exam deadline has not passed.
It is important to respect the submission deadlines and, ideally, to submit your work a few minutes before the deadline to avoid any problems.
When submitting an assessment, ensure you see the submission confirmation before closing your browser or the Exam Zone page. See below for submission instructions.
Important!
After clicking the Submit Assignment button, please note that you will not receive an email confirmation that your work has been submitted. The instructions below will confirm that your assessment has been submitted.
After the exam: confirming the submission of an assessment
Here are the indications that will confirm that you have successfully submitted your evaluation.
First, after submitting, the progress bar at the top changes to the following:
Submitted on [date] [time]
NEXT UP: Review feedback
For example, above, we can see that for attempt 1, a file was sent on September 8 at 4:07 p.m. and that the next step for the student will be to review the instructor's feedback once the work has been graded.
Secondly, a preview of the uploaded document, entered text, or any other type of submission will also be visible at the bottom of the page.
Third, in Assignments, a new note Not Yet Graded appears under the assignment title, indicating that the assignment has been submitted and needs to be graded.
Fourth, in Notes, you will also find information about the submission time and status of an assessment.
For students with accommodations
It is exactly the same as for other students: your assessment will be available at the scheduled time and you must submit your work according to the schedule. Accommodation time will be taken into account on a case-by-case basis.
If you encounter any problems
Delete your browsing data (cookies, cache).
Try using another supported browser.
Try reconnecting.
If the problem persists:
Unless otherwise specified, for synchronous remote exams, there will be a support person available to assist you in case of technical issues. You can contact the support person via Teams.