What is a Multi-Format Assessment?
A Multi-Format Assessment (MFA) is a new type of exam or assignment in Cadmus. Unlike classic Cadmus assessments, which primarily support long-form text-based assessments, MFA can include different types of questions within the same assessment. These question types include:
- Multiple choice
- Short answer
- Extended response
- Fill in the blanks
- True/false
MFA is compatible with all devices and browsers that you already use with Cadmus. For more details on supported devices and browsers, refer to our support documentation.
Accessing your assessment
Once you’re ready to get started on your assessment, you can access it from the course page in the Learning Management System (LMS).
To access your multi-format assessment:
- Click on the Cadmus assessment link in your LMS.
- Accept the Cadmus collection notice. This tells you about usage data that’s collected in Cadmus.
- Click Go to Cadmus.
- The Student Environment will open in a new tab, where you can access and complete your assessment.
When accessing an exam, You’ll see the exam details with the assessment title.
Click Start Exam to enter the MFA student environment and begin the assessment
MFA Student environment
The MFA Student Environment is made up of three main parts:
Assessment
The Assessment tab is where you’ll find information about your assessment, as well as the questions you’ll be answering.
Assessment overview
The Assessment overview is where you’ll find the requirements, resources, and academic integrity agreement.
To access the resources provided as a part of the assessment, click the Resource link or the File tile under the Resources section.
To go to the first question click Next
Assessment outline
The Assessment outline is the left panel which includes a list of all the sections and questions in the assessment. You can use this to quickly navigate through the entire assessment.
The outline also shows the status of each question.
- A tick indicates that a question has been attempted
- An exclamation mark indicates that a question has been skipped
- A label icon indicates that a question has been bookmarked.
Work Area
This is the main area where you’ll find the questions within the assessment and respond to them.
Each question block displays:
- The question number.
- The question text.
- Points - Maximum points that can be awarded for each question.
- Bookmark button - Saves a question to be revisited later.
- Response options - Varies based on the question type.
- Back and Next Buttons - Click these buttons to navigate through the assessment. Note that clicking these buttons without answering the question automatically flags the question as skipped.
How to use the response options to answer each type of question is covered in different articles.
Count-down Timer
The countdown timer indicates the time remaining until the assessment is due.
To hide the countdown timer, click the X button. To show the hidden countdown timer, click the Clock button.
Notes
You can use the Notes tab to plan or collect research - it’s really up to you. It won’t be submitted with your work, so you can use it however you like.
Action Bar
The Action bar enables you to access the Cadmus Manual, toggle the spell-checker, navigate through the questions, and submit your work. It also displays the saved status of your work.
To access the Cadmus Manual:
- Click the Book button to open up the Cadmus Manual. It’s full of helpful university resources on things like academic writing and referencing.
Inside the Cadmus Manual, you’ll also find a link to the Cadmus Help Centre in case you have any questions or issues while working in Cadmus.
To toggle the Spell Checker
- Click the Settings button to open up a dropdown-menu
- Enable or disable the spell checker by clicking on the Toggle button
To navigate between questions:
- Click the right arrow button to move to the next question.
- Click the left arrow button to move to the previous question.
Submitting work in MFA
To submit your assessment when all questions have been answered:
- Click Review to Submit.
- When submitting an assignment, you can review your submission.
- To submit an assignment, Click Submit as final
NOTE: You can submit a final any number of times before the assignment's due date.
To submit your assessment when some questions haven’t been answered:
- Click Review to Submit
- When there are questions that haven't been answered, you’ll be asked to confirm your submission.
- Click Submit Now to submit anyway.
- To go back to the assessment click Continue Working.
- To go back to the assessment and reattempt a question click on the Question number. Then repeat steps 1-3.
The final submission for your assignment will be displayed in a new tab called Final next to Assessment and Notes.
The process of submitting drafts remains the same.
To submit your assessment when some questions haven’t been answered, but the time is up for an exam
- When the time is up, and some questions haven't been answered, you’ll be asked to confirm your submission.
- To submit on time, with questions that have not been answered, click Submit Now.
- To re-attempt any skipped or bookmarked questions and continue working, you’ll need to accept a late submission penalty. You can do this by clicking Continue working and submit late. This will take you back to the assessment
- You can also click the Question Number to go back to a specific question. Doing so will also incur a late submission penalty.
What is bookmarking and how to use it
Bookmarking a question allows you to tag a question that you want to revisit at any point during the assessment.
To create a bookmark, simply click on the Label Icon on the desired question block.
This question will be displayed as saved for later in the Assessment outline.
