Exam Management

Scheduling & Time Limits

Scheduling controls when students can access and take an exam. BeamEdUp supports three scheduling modes and provides fine-grained control over availability windows, late submissions, and timezone handling. Schedule settings are managed via the /exams/:id/schedule endpoint.

Schedule Types

Choose a schedule type based on how you want students to access the exam:

Flexible — Students can start the exam any time within the start/end window. Each student's timer begins when they click "Start Exam." Best for practice tests and homework-style assessments.
Fixed — All students must start at the exact scheduled time. The exam becomes available precisely at the start date and the timer begins simultaneously for everyone. Best for formal exams and standardized tests.
Window — Students can start any time within a defined window, but once started, the exam timer counts down normally. Combines flexibility with a deadline. Best for assessments across different time zones.

Schedule Fields

Field	Required	Type	Description
Schedule Type	Optional	select	Determines how the availability window works. Options: flexible (anytime within window), fixed (exact start time), or window (start anytime within a range).
Start Date	Optional	datetime	The earliest date and time students can begin the exam. Required for fixed and window schedule types.
End Date	Optional	datetime	The deadline after which students can no longer start the exam. The exam timer still applies once started.
Timezone	Optional	select	The timezone for start/end dates. Defaults to the organization timezone. Important for multi-region institutions.

No Schedule Required

If you don't set any schedule, the exam is available immediately upon publishing and has no end date. Students can take it whenever it is assigned to them, subject to the exam duration timer.

Time Limits

BeamEdUp supports two types of time limits that work together:

Exam Duration — The total time allowed for the entire exam, configured in the duration field (in minutes). A countdown timer is displayed to students throughout the exam.
Per-Question Time Limit — Optional time limit for individual questions. When set, students must answer each question within the allotted time before the exam auto-advances to the next question.

Timer Behavior

When the exam timer reaches zero, behavior depends on the "Auto-Submit on Timeout" setting. If enabled, the exam is submitted automatically with whatever answers have been saved. If disabled, the student receives a warning but can continue — though the overtime is recorded.

Late Submission Policy

For exams with an end date, you can configure what happens when students submit after the deadline.

Field	Required	Type	Description
Late Submission Allowed	Optional	toggle	When enabled, students can submit after the end date with a penalty applied.
Late Submission Penalty	Optional	number	Percentage of marks deducted for late submissions. E.g., 10 means 10% penalty.
Grace Period	Optional	number	Additional minutes after the timer expires before auto-submission occurs.

Timezone Considerations

When your organization spans multiple timezones, scheduling needs careful attention:

All schedule dates are stored in UTC and displayed in the user's local timezone
The timezone field on the schedule overrides the display timezone for this specific exam
Students see the exam time in their local timezone on the dashboard
Use the window schedule type for cross-timezone exams to give all students fair access

Scheduling Best Practice

For high-stakes exams, use the fixed schedule type with a specific start time. Communicate the schedule to students well in advance using the assignment notification feature. For practice exams, flexible with a generous window works best.

Adding Questions

Assigning Exams