The way you share question sessions with your students using AMBOSS is changing. This guide will help you navigate these updates. The changes are designed to make it easier to create question sessions and provide more detailed insights into your students’ performance.
What is changing for you?
We have migrated all your old question sessions to the new format. Existing question sessions will be called “University sessions”. And any new question sessions you create will be called “Educator assignments” and will have the benefits mentioned above.
What do you need to do now?
Review your existing University sessions and decide if you want to make any updates. If you do not need to make any changes, no action is required.
Note: You will recognize them because they have an asterisk (*) at the start of the name.
If you do need to make changes (such as updating the questions or articles), as well as for all the new Educator Assignments you create moving forward, you will need to:
- Go to Educator assignments via Teaching > Assignments.
- Duplicate the existing University session
- Edit the questions and/or articles
- Assign Learners to the created Educator assignment and set a start date. They will be notified about the assignment via email
- Optional: You can also share a link to the assignment with your students
Your assignments are now ready! Please note that your view when using the copy link for educator assignments will differ from that of your students. As an educator, the link will direct you to the assignment editing page, whereas a learner will be taken directly to the questions they need to complete.
Do you need to create new assignments from scratch? Have a look at this quick video or our How-To guide here.
FAQs
Question: What are the different types of assignments?
Answer: There are 2 types of assignments: University sessions and Educator Assignments.
- University sessions: A University session is the format you are likely familiar with. It allows you to share questions with learners by simply providing them with a link. We migrated all your existing University sessions as part of the transition. You can now find them under Educator Tool and Educator assignments.
- Educator Assignments: Educator assignment, located in the Educator Tool menu, is the new, advanced format to create assignments.
Question: What is the difference between a migrated University Session and an Educator assignment?
Answer: Both migrated university sessions and Educator assignments appear under the "Educator Assignments" tab and have a similar visual layout. However, they differ in key functionalities.
University sessions we migrated:
- Sharing: These sessions can be distributed only using the Copy URL link. The learners can access it directly without being individually assigned.
Editing: University sessions are static and cannot be edited. To edit it, you will need to duplicate the session, which will create an Educator assignment.
Educator Assignments
- Sharing: Unlike University sessions, simply sharing the link to an Educator assignment is not enough. You must assign the assignment to the learners for them to gain access.
- Editing: Educator assignments can be edited after creation, but only while they are in "draft" mode. Once an assignment is made "active" by assigning at least one learner and setting a start date, it is no longer possible to edit the questions or add articles.
Question: How do I know if it is a University session or an Educator assignment?
Answer: Effective September 2025, you will notice a new naming convention for migrated sessions. To help you easily distinguish them from Educator assignments, all migrated sessions will now have a star symbol (*) at the beginning of their titles. For example, a session titled "MICR: Week 1" will become “*MICR: Week 1”.
Question: Which link can I use to share my assignment with my students?
Answer: The link to be used will vary depending on the type of assignment you would like to share.
- Sharing migrated University sessions: All your existing links, e.g., in your LM,S will continue working. If you don’t have the link anymore and need a new one, you can share University sessions with learners by using the Copy URL link. This generates a direct link that you can distribute, allowing learners to access the questions without needing to be individually assigned.
- Sharing Educator Assignments: Learners will need to be assigned to the assignment to gain access. Once you have assigned them, they will automatically receive an email notification, so you do not need to send them anything else. If you still want to share a link within your LMS, be sure to use the Copy URL link, and most importantly, make sure you have already assigned the learners to the assignment.
Question: I have older links from the original University sessions in my LMS. Will these still work
Answer: Yes, these links will continue working. You will also be able to see the progress and performance of learners in Data & analytics.
Question: I can’t edit my assignment. Why is this the case?
Answer: This is because your assignment is a University session, which cannot be edited. To make an editable version, you can duplicate the session. This action will create a new Educator assignment that you will be able to edit and customize as needed.
Question: I don’t want to assign learners to Educator assignments, but rather send a link as I was doing with my University sessions. Can I do this?
Answer: At this time, it is not possible to share Educator assignments via a link without first assigning learners to them. However, our team is working on an auto-assignment feature that will allow you to share Educator assignments with a link in the future, without the need for manual assignment.
Question: I don’t want the students to be notified when I assign an assignment. What can I do?
Answer: Currently, there is no option for individual users to turn off email notifications when assigning assignments to learners. However, this feature can be disabled at the institutional level by the AMBOSS team. If this is something you would like to do, please reach out to institutions@amboss.com.
Question: I need to include additional students in the assignment. Is this possible?
Answer: Yes, it is possible to add additional learners to an existing assignment as long as the end date has not been reached. The process for doing so depends on the type of assignment:
- University session: There is no action required on your part. New learners can simply join using the same link you originally provided.
- Educator Assignments: You will need to manually assign the additional learners to the assignment. However, if you have already shared the assignment link in your LMS, the same link will work for the newly added learners.
Question: Can I simply copy the URL I see when editing the assignment and paste it into my LMS?
Answer: No, the web URL from your browser's address bar will not work for learner access. To share the assignment with the learners, you must use the "Copy URL" function found within the assignment's settings.
Question: I tried to open the Copy URL link, but I don’t see the questions; only the option to edit the assignment.
Answer: This is the expected behavior. Because you have educator access, the system recognizes you and redirects you to the assignment's editing page. This allows you to manage the content, settings, and learner assignments. You can, however, preview the questions while you are on the editing page.
Learners, however, will be directed to the learner-facing version of the assignment, where they can directly see and answer the questions.