Setting up assessments

How do I set up an assignment?

Please see the Getting started with Cadmus guide that provides step-by-step instructions.

Is the Word Count a hard limit or soft limit? 

Soft limit. It will notify students when they are over the limit. 

Does the Referencing force a specific reference style? 

It will notify and provide resources for the selected style but won't force it. For further guidance on referencing, students can go to Cadmus Help Docs. 

Can students attach files, such as coversheets?

Yes, but this must be enabled. In your assessment instruction settings you must toggle on ‘Enable File Upload’ so students can attach files.

Screenshot of the Enable File Upload toggle

Open

If file upload is enabled, students can upload files in the Files tab.

Screenshot of the Files tab in the student environment.

Open

 

Does Cadmus work with Scales or does it require numerical grades? 

Cadmus does not have a scale, it uses points. 

Accessing Cadmus

Can I access or create assessments on Cadmus directly? 

No, you can only access Cadmus via Moodle. 

Why does the ‘Go to Cadmus’ button not show?

In order for the button to appear you must be enrolled on the course and not set the date of the assignment for the future as this will prevent the button from showing.

Student Experience

How can we encourage students to write directly in Cadmus? 

Cadmus provides scaffolding tools (checklists, resources, citation prompts, structured templates) that only work if students write within the platform. Students can paste from Word, but writing in Cadmus gives them reminders, progress tracking, and integrity assurances. Faculty messaging will be important to encourage this.

How do I view as a student?

Please see the Getting started with Cadmus page that provides the instructions.

Will students be able to work offline and how is their work synced? 

Cadmus supports limited offline writing in the browser. Work auto-saves and syncs once the student reconnects. 

While we strongly recommend working online, we understand that students need to work at different times, in different places – sometimes without an internet connection. The only times they strictly need an internet connection are when they first open Cadmus and when they submit. If Cadmus is open in their browser, and the internet connection drops, students will see the ‘Working Offline' notification.

While offline, Cadmus will try reconnecting in the background and the save status next to the ‘Review to Submit button’ will show saving. All changes will be saved locally on the student’s browser until reconnected to the internet. Once back online, all changes will be backed up to the cloud, and 'saving' will change to 'saved'. If offline for a long period, do not close the browser, refresh the window, or clear your internet cache/history until back online.

Please avoid using incognito or private browsing to prevent any saving issues when back online. Please also refrain from having Cadmus open in multiple browser tabs or windows.

Does Grammarly extension work with Cadmus?

Yes, it does.

If students have the Grammarly extension installed in their browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.), they can use Grammarly suggestions instead of Cadmus spell check while they work.

Install the Grammarly browser extension in the preferred browser (Chrome is recommend). Then in Cadmus, click on the ‘Settings’ icon, click ‘Disable Cadmus spell check’.

Students may also use Cadmus Spellcheck when working on their assignments.

It's helpful to be aware that any underlines or corrections Cadmus Spellcheck makes are only visible to the student writing, and won't appear underlined in the final submission.

Assessments, Marking and Feedback

Can formative assessments be used in Cadmus to help students practice before summative submissions? 

Formatives can be set up in the same environment, helping students learn the workflow before high-stakes tasks. Students can practise using Cadmus in the Student Practice Assessment 25/26 Moodle course, or you can create your own demo within your course. 

Can students reuse formative work in summative submissions (e.g. a draft that becomes a final submission)? 

Cadmus has a draft feature which enables students to continue editing on the same assessment. This avoids the need to copy and paste from a formative into a summative and maintains tracking data.

Alternatively, students can paste in prior writing. Cadmus will still log the paste action, so it’s transparent in activity reports but this may affect the reliability of the data. We would recommend using the draft feature if the formative becomes the summative.

Can Cadmus adapt to existing departmental workflows (e.g., offline marking, Excel templates, Moodle/SharePoint integrations)? 

Submissions can be exported for offline marking. Cadmus integrates with Moodle, so submissions flow into existing LMS processes through Moodle Assignment. This allows markers to mark, feedback and grade via Moodle. 

Can I still use Marking Workflow? 

Yes, you can use Marking Workflow within Moodle Assignment.

Can multiple markers be used in Cadmus? 

Multiple markers can be used in Cadmus by adding them to a Marking Group and Marking allocation can be used in Moodle.

Can external markers mark in Cadmus?

If the external marker has access to Moodle they can mark in Cadmus and be added to a Marking Group.

Analytics and Academic Integrity

What data does Cadmus collect, who owns it, and how is it used? 

LSE owns all student data. Cadmus collects platform activity (typing, pasting, editing patterns) to provide integrity reports and engagement analytics. Data is not sold or used beyond the institution’s purposes. 

How does Cadmus future-proof against AI workarounds (e.g., keystroke generators)? 

Logs show natural editing and drafting patterns, which are hard to fake consistently. While no system is foolproof, Cadmus combines multiple indicators (time on task, drafting flow, similarity checks). 

Does Cadmus use AI to process or evaluate student work? 

Cadmus does not use AI to grade essays or process content. Automated marking exists only for structured short-answer tasks, which will not be used during this proof of concept. 

Can you tell if a student has accessed a resource? 

Yes, if a resource has been uploaded to Cadmus the learning analytics data Cadmus provides includes access of resources. You can tell whether they have accessed but it doesn't track how long they have accessed for.

Extensions

Do I need to update extensions in both Moodle and Cadmus?

No. Extensions set on Moodle will be automatically updated on Cadmus when a student logs in. If you set an extension on Cadmus, it will not update on Moodle.

Open

Extensions box with the ‘Sync from LMS’ button

Can I grant an extension before an assignment is released?

Yes, you can grant an extension on Moodle before the assignment is released. After releasing the assignment, if the student hasn’t logged in yet to automatically update the extension list in the Progress tab in Cadmus, you can click on the ‘Sync Class list’ button:

Open

‘Sync Class List’ button

Then in the Extensions box click the ‘Sync from LMS’ button. This will reveal the all the extensions.

For assignments that are set to future release, an extension can be set in Moodle but student’s won’t be able to view the extension on Cadmus until the assignment has been released. However, staff can view the extension in the Progress tab in Cadmus once you click on the ‘Sync Class list’ button.

Can extensions be applied to draft submissions?

No. Extensions cannot be applied to draft submissions.
However, you can change the draft deadline if students need more time. Extensions should only be applied to final submissions.

How do extensions work for assignments with both a draft and a final submission?

For assignments with draft and final submissions:

• Draft deadlines can be adjusted, but not formally extended.

• Final submission extensions should be applied in Moodle. This will automatically be updated in Cadmus when the student next logs in.

Can I change the extension date?

Yes, you can change the extension date in Moodle. The extension date will automatically update in Cadmus when a student logs in or when you click on ‘Sync Class list’ button.

Technical & Integration

Why are submissions showing as 15-18 seconds late on Moodle?

The deadline is the same on Cadmus and Moodle. Submissions on Cadmus get pushed through to Moodle after the deadline has passed. It takes approximately 15-18 seconds for submissions to be pushed to Moodle. This causes the submission time on Moodle to show as ‘Late’.

You can view the actual submission times on the Cadmus platform.

To mitigate the impact of this, you could either:

• Delay the deadline on Moodle by 1 minute (e.g. Cadmus 16:00, Moodle 16:01). Note, both times will be visible to students.

• Delay the deadline on Cadmus forward by 1 minute (e.g. Cadmus 15:59, Moodle 16:00). Note, both times will be visible to students. Students submitting within the final minute might be considered ‘Late’

• Inform students, staff and academics that there is a delay, so not to worry about this.

How does version control work, and can local storage/sync be enabled? 

Every draft version is saved in Cadmus automatically every 3 seconds. Local offline writing is supported, with sync on reconnection. 

How does it manage very large cohorts (e.g., 300+ dissertations)? 

Cadmus scales easily, with bulk workflows for submission, download, and integrity reporting.

All Teachers, Teacher (Editors) and Managers automatically have access to Cadmus if they are enrolled on the course. Markers can mark work offline or on Moodle so do not need to access Cadmus to complete their marking or feedback.

Support & Training

Will there be videos/training materials for students and admin teams? 

Cadmus have a range of support documentation on Cadmus Assessment Edit Tracking - Guidance for Students within Cadmus Help Docs.