What's New for Faculty

Check out the latest release updates for teachers.

April 2026

New Proctor tab for real-time assessment management

We’ve added a Proctor tab to assessments, giving teachers a single place to monitor and manage students while an assessment is in progress.

The Proctor tab makes it easy to see which students have started, paused, or submitted an assessment and to take action immediately without searching for student status information. It’s designed to help you respond quickly and confidently during active assessments.

From the Proctor tab, you can:

  • View student assessment status in real time.

  • See when a student begins, pauses, or submits an assessment.

  • Allow a student to continue or retake an assessment.

  • Extend an individual student’s due date without changing assessment settings.

  • See why a LockDown Browser session was paused (if applicable).

To access the Proctor tab, select an assessment from the Assignment Center or class Assignments tab, then select Proctor.

Use the context menu next to a student’s name to allow a retake, allow a student to continue, or extend that individual student's due date. Available options change based on the student’s current assessment status.

Note: With this release, Allow retake, Allow continue, and Extend due date are no longer available on the assessment Evaluation tab.

For LockDown Browser assessments, a Reason column appears when an assessment is paused, providing details such as swipe detection or the student’s device entering sleep mode.

For more information, see Assessment Proctor.

Assignment List Updates

In list view of the Assignment Center and the Assignments tab on class pages, teachers can now select the number in the Submitted column to open a flyout with student submission details. The flyout lists all students in the class, including those who haven’t submitted their assignment, along with their submission status and timestamps. Selecting a student’s name opens their assignment evaluation page.

Tip: For details on the Status icons, see Gradebook Key.

Teachers can also add three new columns to these list views:

  • Publish grade

  • Add to cumulative grade

  • Mark as extra credit

These updates make it easier to view submission statuses and assignment details at a glance.

Teacher-Managed Proctor Exit Passcodes for LockDown Browser

When enabling LockDown Browser on an assessment, teachers can now set a unique proctor exit passcode for that assessment instead of using the school-wide default. If students become aware of the passcode, teachers can update it at any time in the assessment settings to maintain test security.

Assignment Titles in Reports

Reports that previously showed assignment abbreviations now display assignment titles instead.

Marking Period Grade Calculation Enhancements

Existing Grades Indicator

When calculating marking period grades, teachers now see a green checkmark next to students who already have a grade entered. Students without an existing grade no longer display the red missing icon, making it easier to quickly identify which grades are complete.

Include Previous Section Grades

When calculating marking period grades, teachers who define their own calculations now have an Include previous section grades option. When enabled, this option allows grades from a student’s earlier section of the same course to be included in the calculation if the student transfers sections.

For example, a student completes Semester 1 in English 1 - A and transfers to English 1 - C for Semester 2. If the final grade is calculated as (Semester 1 grade + Semester 2 grade) / 2, enabling Include previous section grades uses the Semester 1 grade from English 1 – A and the Semester 2 grade from English 1 – C.

March 2026

LockDown Browser Behavior Update

When a student uses an application switch gesture (such as a three-finger swipe on Windows touchpad devices or two finger swipe on Mac devices) or the Mac user switching feature during an assessment, LockDown Browser now closes and pauses the student’s assessment.

The teacher must allow the student to resume the assessment before they can continue.

Turnitin LTI 1.3

This release adds support for Turnitin’s New Standard Assignment configuration in the Turnitin LTI 1.3 integration.

The following issues have been resolved:

  • Grades entered for New Standard Assignments in Turnitin now pass correctly to Blackbaud’s Learning Management System.

  • The correct due time for New Standard Assignments now displays in the Turnitin interface.

  • Assignments converted from LTI 1.1 to LTI 1.3 are no longer duplicated when launching the integration.

View Previous Assessment Submissions

Teachers can now review earlier submissions when a student retakes an assessment. From the evaluation page, use the dropdown next to Show only essay questions to select a prior submission. Previously, allowing a student to retake an assessment deleted their earlier submissions.

Teachers can enter grades and comments for the most recent submission only.

Extra Credit Gradebook Icon

In gradebooks, you can now quickly identify extra credit assignments by a blue star icon.

February 2026

Allow Students to Re-open Submitted Assessments

Teachers can now allow a student to re-open and continue an assessment after submitting it, without clearing the student’s answers. Previously, teachers could only allow students to retake a submitted assessment, which erased all existing answers and required the student to start over.

To allow a student to re-open a submitted assessment, select Allow continue on the student's evaluation page.

Submitted Column for Online Submission Assignment Details

In list view of the Assignment Center and class Assignments pages, a new Submitted column shows how many students have turned in online file or text submissions for an assignment. Teachers can select the Submitted number to open a flyout that displays each student in the class, their submission timestamp, and gradebook indicators (e.g., Missing, Submitted before due date, Submitted after due date, etc.) Selecting a student’s name opens their assignment evaluation page.

January 2026

New Faculty Assignment Experience Updates and Enhancements

Next meeting due date

When selecting Next meeting for an assignment Due date, the date selected will be at least one day after the Assigned date.

For example, if a class meets daily and a teacher creates an assignment on Monday morning, selecting Next meeting will set the Due date to Tuesday,

Full screen view of file submissions

For assignments with file submissions, teachers can now select the new tab icon to open the file in full screen.

Auto-save comments

This release also addresses an issue where grade, skill, and rubric comments did not autosave consistently.

LockDown Browser Integration for Assessments

LockDown Browser™ is now available as a premium add-on integration for online assessments. LockDown Browser deters cheating by restricting student access to other websites, applications, and system tools when taking online assessments.

Organization Administrators and Platform Managers can learn more about starting a free 30-day trial and purchasing the integration in Core.

When enabled:

  • Assessments cannot be opened in other browsers.

  • Assessments run in full-screen mode and cannot be minimized.

  • Browser actions are limited to Back, Forward, Refresh, Stop.

  • Messaging, screen-sharing, virtual machine, and remote desktop apps are blocked.

  • Print, screen capture, copy/paste, right-click menus, keyboard shortcuts, and task switching are disabled.

  • Students cannot exit until their assessment is submitted.

Teacher experience

Teachers simply select Enable LockDown Browser within their assessment settings. Allow students to resume independently is disabled when Enable LockDown Browser is selected. Fore more details, see LockDown Browser for Faculty.

Student experience

If students manage their own devices, they must install LockDown Browser before accessing assessment questions. LockDown Browser only needs to be installed once per device.

  1. Students select Take or the assessment name to open the assessment.

  2. Students can select Test LockDown Browser to ensure it is installed before they access the assessment questions. If it is not installed, they will receive an error.

  3. Students select Begin test.

  4. Students select Close applications and Continue to close any blocked applications.

  5. LockDown Browser launches in full-screen mode and students complete the assessment.

    • They can select the + icon at the top of the browser to open the Insert Symbol dialogue box.

    • If Enable virtual calculator is selected for the assessment, they can select the calculator icon to open it.

  6. When finished, students select Submit, then Close to exit LockDown Browser.

Note: If a student opens a submitted assessment to review their results, the results page also opens in LockDown Browser.

New Faculty Assignment Experience available

We’re excited to introduce a streamlined, modern workflow designed to make creating and grading assignments faster and easier. This update focuses on quick assignment setup, simplified grading, and customizable preferences.

Your administrator must enable the new assignment experience before you will see any changes.

New Assignment Creation Preferences

  • Before you get started with the new assignment creation experience, review your Assignment creation Preferences. New default options for assignment settings, such as File submission, Evaluation method, and Due dates/times, will save you time in the new assignment creation process. These new preferences are only available once your administrator has enabled the new experience.

    • Faster Assignment Creation

    To add an assignment using the updated experience from your Assignment Center, class Assignments page, or gradebook, select +Add, then Quick assignment.

    • Clean, modern interface: The old assignment page has been redesigned to reduce clutter and scrolling.

    • Same settings, better layout: All your familiar assignment options are still here, just organized for easier navigation.

    • Video: Watch this short feature video for a quick overview.

    Simplified Grading Experience

    When the new assignment experience is enabled, you'll see an updated assignment grading page. For now, you can switch between the new grading view and the classic one via the Use new grading interface toggle in the upper right.

    • Side-by-side view: See student submissions on the left and grading tools on the right for a smooth workflow.

    • More space for student work: The new layout maximizes the view of submissions so you can focus on feedback.

    • Key features:

      • Instant access to comment boxes for quick feedback

      • Easy status check with a student dropdown

      • Rubric grading in pop-up modals

      Note: The new grading page does not affect Graded Discussions or Assessments.

    Enter standard report card grades in bulk

    In grid view of the teacher grade entry page, teachers can now enter the same standard report card grade for multiple students at once using Bulk edit.

    Warning: In the bulk editor, the checkbox for a grade is marked automatically when you enter a grade and it must remain marked in order for the grade to save.
    Additionally, marking the checkbox for a grade and saving a blank grade will delete an existing grade.

    1. In Faculty:

      Select Classes, choose your class, then select the Grading tab.

      OR

      Select My Day, then Schedule & Performance. Then choose a Traditional marking period (indicated by a (T)) from the Grading tile on the right side of the page.

    2. Optional: To display grades for previous marking periods, select Show previous grades.

    3. Select Bulk edit.

    4. Select the students to apply the grade to.

    5. Under Adjusted grade, select or enter a grade.

      Warning: If a selected student has an existing grade, applying a bulk grade will overwrite their existing grade.

    6. Select Save or Save and close when finished.

    Check out our Back to School resources for teachers!

    Old faculty report card grade entry experience removed

    With the July 15 release, the old faculty report card grade entry experience will be removed from class pages.

    With this change, the New Grading tab will be renamed Grading and you can access the new experience there, as well as through My Day, Schedule & Performance, by selecting a marking period on the Grading tile.

    Pinned assignments in student Assignment Center

    Students can now pin important assignments to the top of their own Assignment Center for quick access and visibility.

    To "pin" an assignment to Pinned assignments, a student selects the pin icon next to the assignment in list view of the Assignment Center. To unpin an assignment, they simply select the pin icon next to the assignment in list view again or select the icon next to the assignment under Pinned assignments.

    Pinned assignments displays in both the list and grid views of the Assignment Center, however, students can only pin assignments from list view at this time.

    Student Assignment Center with Pinned assignments tray

    Gradebook calculation settings

    In gradebooks set up by marking period, we now display a warning message for teachers if the Calculation method selected for a subsequent marking period does not match the Calculation method selected for the first marking period. The warning message only calls attention to the mismatched calculation methods and does not prevent teachers from saving.

     

    Additionally, when the Calculation method is set to Total Points with Weight or Percentages, the sum of any Weight (%) values entered must now equal 100%.

     

    Teacher Preferences in calendar views

    Teachers can now access their Preferences from the calendar view of the Assignment Center and the Assignments tab on class pages by selecting Preferences at the top of the calendar.

    For more information on setting you Preferences, see Assignment Center.