Essay assignments only mark complete when text is typed in the box. Here is the fix.

BAYADA Byte Your weekly Byte-sized tech tip This week Populi Assignment type matters more than you’d think. The Type menu is where this gets decided. File tracks the attachment; Essay tracks the text box. What we learned We assumed a student could either type into the entry box or upload a document and an essay-type assignment would show as complete. It only registers as complete when something is entered in the text box. A file upload alone will not trigger that status — even though the file is right there. Do this instead 1 Switch the Type to File when the real work is a document. Status then tracks the attachment. 2 If it stays an essay, add one line to the instructions: paste a short summary in the text box, then attach the file. 3 Spot-check the gradebook the day after a due date. A cluster of incompletes is usually this setting, not a cluster of missing students. Why it matters A false incomplete costs a student an anxious evening and costs us a little trust. Getting the setting right is a small act of the care we ask them to give patients. Go deeper Introduction to Assignments and Assignment Groups Populi Support — how each submission type behaves Populi Support Center General how-to articles, and where to submit an issue when something does not behave as expected Share Your Byte Hit something surprising this week? Send it over and it becomes next week’s Byte.