Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains a list of frequently asked questions about Smartwork. If your question does not appear here, please visit the W. W. Norton service desk via the link at the bottom of the page.


Can Smartwork grades be moved from one student set to another student set?

No.  Grades cannot be transferred from one student set to another. However, there is a workaround if the student is being moved between student sets belonging to the same instructor.  

Before the student is moved to the new student set, the instructor can export a .PDF of the Student Detail through the Class Activity Report for each completed assignment.  Once the instructor moves the student to the new student set, the instructor can update the student’s grade for each assignment by opening the Student Detail for the particular assignment and manually updating the question points for each assignment.

If assignments are published in points, are the assignments weighed differently than assignments in percentages?

No.  Assignments in points and percentage are weighed equally.  

I’d like to remove a question from my published assignment. When is the ideal time to remove the question?

Instructors who want to remove a question from their assignment should remove the question before the Grades Accepted Until date expires.  

If an instructor tries to remove a question from an assignment where the Grades Accepted Until date has expired, a pop-up will appear upon clicking the save button with a reminder that the Grades Accepted Until date cannot precede the current date.  As an alternative, instructors can provide credit to all their students by locating the question in the Question Detail of the Class Activity Report by clicking “Give Credit to All” students.

If a student attempts Practice questions in the Late Work Penalty period, will they incur a penalty?

No.  If a student attempts Practice questions during a Late Work Penalty period, they should not be docked a penalty percentage.  Practice questions are meant to be practice, so the student should not lose or gain points for them.

I’d like to change the “Show Solutions” settings in my assignment, but the updated selection cannot be saved.  How can this be resolved? 

Instructors can update their assignment settings before the Grades Accepted Until date by updating the setting and clicking Save.  However, if the instructor wants to make a change after the Grades Accepted Until date and they attempt to save the setting change, they will see a pop up message reminding them that the Grades Accepted Until date cannot precede the current date.  The instructor has the option to update the Grades Accepted Until date if they want to apply their assignment setting changes.*

* If an instructor has a Late Work Penalty on their assignment and they decide to update the Grades Accepted Until date to change their assignment settings, it will update the penalty period for all students (including students who incurred a penalty).

I’m currently using a Learning Management System for Smartwork and would like to give my students Extra Credit assignments.  How can I do this? 

Extra Credit is not available for courses using a Learning Management System.  

I’m currently using a Learning Management System for Smartwork and would like to use the Drop the Lowest Grade option for my course.  Why can’t I find the pencil option in Student Grades? 

Drop the Lowest Grade is not available for courses using a Learning Management System.  

If I publish an assignment without a Grades Accepted Until date, will the unpublished assignment be factored towards students overall average? 

No.  Assignments that are unpublished or do not have a Grades Accepted Until date will not be factored into students overall grade average.  

I’d  like to provide a student with early access to a regular assignment and extra time for their time limit.  Is there a way to make an accommodation for the student?

Yes.  Instructors should be able to access the Class Activity Report of the assignment to provide early access to the student ahead of when the assignment will be available to the entire class.  Instructors can follow these steps to make accommodations for their students:

  1. Click the assignment title.
  2. Click the Class Activity Report button.
  3. In the Class Activity Report, locate the student’s name and click the expander to open the Student Detail.
  4. In the Student Detail, click Edit to publish the assignment early for the student or add any additional exceptions.  
  5. Click Save to apply the settings.

Is it possible to update the number of attempts and penalty percentage for each of my assignments without going into each assignment to make those changes?

No.  However, it is possible to apply a number of points, attempts, penalty percentage to all the questions within an assignment editor through the “Adjust all question settings” row.  Once you add a specific number of points, attempts  or penalty percentage, click “APPLY TO ALL” to save those changes to your assignment.

Is it possible to schedule assignments to be published at a specific time instead of manually publishing the assignment?

No.  It isn’t possible to schedule assignments to be published.  Instructors will need to manually publish the assignment.

I’ve extended the Grades Accepted Until date on an assignment, but a student is seeing a different date.

If you’ve previously granted a student with a Grades Accepted Until date exception, you will need to update the Grades Accepted Until date through their Student Detail in the Class Activity Report.  

I’ve extended the Grades Accepted Until date on an assignment, but a student is unable to resume their assignment questions.

If a student exhausted all their attempts or viewed the Solution to their assignment questions prior to the Grades Accepted Until date extension, they will not be able to submit additional attempts for those questions.   

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