Beginning of Semester Checklist

Head to achieve.macmillanlearning.com and log in using your instructor credentials.
If you don’t see your course yet—don’t panic! Keep going 👇

Your department may have had a course pre-created for you. You have a few options here:

• ✅ Use the provided course as-is

• 🔁 Copy your previous Achieve course and customize it as needed: https://mhe.my.site.com/macmillanlearning/s/article/Achieve-Copy-a-course

• 🛠️ Build your course from scratch by creating your own unit folders, assignments, and activities—fully customizable to your curriculum. You can also pull in ready-made content from Achieve’s extensive Resource Library, including:

  • eBook chapters

  • Grammar activities

  • Writing assignments

  • Surveys and diagnostics

  • Instructor lesson plans

💡 Starting fresh? I’m happy to help you map out your structure or co-design your units.

If you’re assigning work in Achieve—like LearningCurves, diagnostics, readings, or writing assignments—be sure to update the due dates to match your course calendar. You can:

• Shift all dates based on your first due date

• Copy exact dates from a previous term

• Manually set or adjust due dates throughout the semester

🕒 This helps keep students on track and reduces mid-semester confusion.

🛠️ Quick Tip: How to Adjust All Due Dates at Once

1. In your Achieve course, check the white box next to each assignment you want to adjust

2. Click the “Edit” button at the top

3. Choose to edit dates in batch or adjust them individually

📸 See the GIF below for a quick walkthrough!

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💭 Not currently using Achieve assignments, but curious?
There are hundreds of ready-to-go activities in Achieve’s resource library—including adaptive quizzes, scaffolded writing tasks, surveys, and more. If you’d like to explore how they might fit into your course (or department goals), book a quick chat with me—I’d love to help!

If your school uses an Inclusive Access or Immediate Access program, this step is required—it ensures students can access the Achieve materials they've already paid for through your LMS.

Here’s what needs to happen:

• You must link your Achieve course to your LMS course

• Students must then click any Achieve assignment link inside the LMS to activate their access and create (or connect) their Achieve account

🔄 Bonus: Once linked, Achieve will automatically sync grades to your LMS gradebook—saving you time and reducing manual entry errors.

📘 Step-by-step LMS Integration Instructions

💡 Skipping this step can block students from accessing their materials—even if they’ve paid through the bookstore.

Want to support student writing, motivation, and metacognitive skills—without adding hours to your workload? Achieve offers a suite of low-lift, high-impact tools, including:

• ✍️ Scaffolded writing assignments with drafting, revision, and reflection

• 🧠 Growth mindset and metacognitive check-ins

• 👥 Peer review tools to promote critical thinking and self-evaluation

📚 I have a whole section of this website dedicated to these tools—what they are, why they matter, and how to use them.
👉 Explore Writing Tools & Behavioral Activities

Students will only be able to access Achieve if:

• Your Achieve course is published

• Your Achieve course start term date is active

• It’s correctly linked to the LMS

• They enter through your LMS, not the Achieve homepage (or by Googling Achieve)

This ensures Inclusive Access works (if your university participates in this program), automatic grade syncing, and prevents login issues.

If you have questions about setup, assignments, writing tools, or what else Achieve can do—you’re in the right place. This site is full of walkthroughs, strategy tips, and resources just for instructors.

👀 Take a few minutes to explore—you might discover something new to make your semester smoother.

💬 Student Questions? We’ve Got a Separate Support Line Just for Them:
Students should visit:  
🌐 Macmillan Student Support
They can type “support agent” in the chat to connect directly with a live representative.

✅ Please avoid forwarding student questions to my email—this ensures they get the fastest support possible.