Release conditions allow you to create a custom learning path through the materials in your course. When you attach a release condition to an item, users cannot see that item until they meet the associated condition. For example, you could attach a release condition to the second topic in your course’s content area that would hide that topic until users viewed the topic before it. Or you could create a condition that required users to view a content topic before gaining access to a quiz, or one that required them to post to a discussion topic before they could see a content module.

Release conditions can also be added to intelligent agents to create email notifications for users. For example, you could create an intelligent agent that sends a reminder email to users who have not yet completed a required quiz or assignment in the course. This scenario is ideal for using release conditions with the "not" operator.

If you attach multiple conditions to an item, users must meet all conditions before they can access the item. For example, you could require users to visit the first three content topics in a unit before gaining access to an associated quiz.

Once a user meets a release condition, the condition is cleared for that user and cannot be reset. For example, if you attach a release condition to a discussion topic requiring users to achieve more than 60% on a quiz before they can access that topic, and one of your participants receives 72% on the quiz but you adjust their grade to 55% they will be able to access the topic because they did meet the requirement at some point.

You can access release conditions for any of the following course items:

• Awards

• Checklist

• Content modules and topics

• Custom widgets

• Discussion forums and topics

• Assignments

• Grade items and categories

• Intelligent Agents

• Announcements items

• Quizzes

• Surveys

• Set up conditions before users access the course - Create all of your course materials and set up your release conditions before the course opens to users. This gives you a chance to check for mistakes in the conditions or for circular, contradictory, or unnecessary conditions. If you add new release conditions after users have accessed the course, users might be confused by resources disappearing. Since conditions cannot be reset, you also risk having users meet conditions before your resources are ready (for example, accessing a content topic before it is finished).

• Avoid unnecessary conditions - Each condition you associate with a tool takes additional time for Brightspace to process. Using as few conditions as possible to set up a learning path minimizes the amount of time that users spend waiting for pages to load. For example, you set up a content topic, a quiz, and an assignment submissions folder for the second week of class. You want users to read the topic before taking the quiz, and you want them to read the topic and attempt the quiz before submitting the week’s work to the assignment submissions folder. For the assignment submissions folder, you only need to attach the condition that users attempt the quiz. Since users must read the content topic before they can take the quiz, it is not necessary to add this condition to the Assignments folder Assignment submissions folder.

• Avoid circular references - A circular reference makes it impossible for users to satisfy a set of conditions. For example, if you set the condition that users must view a content topic before they can access an assignment submissions folder, and then set a condition that they must submit a file to the assignment submissions folder before they can access the content topic, you have a circular reference. Users can’t satisfy either condition without satisfying the other one first. Circular references are more likely to occur with long chains of conditions. For example, a content topic that depends on a quiz that depends on an assignment submissions folder that depends on a checklist that depends on the content topic.

• Avoid impossible conditions - Ensure that your conditions are not impossible for users to satisfy. For example, a condition that users must achieve greater than 100% on a grade item would be impossible (unless bonus marks are available for the item). If users are unable to satisfy a condition, they are unable to access the content or tools to which the condition is attached.

• Avoid contradictory conditions - Contradictory conditions occur when two or more conditions that cancel each other out are associated with an item. For example, the conditions “User must achieve greater than 49.9% on Grade Item 1” and “User must achieve less than 50% on Grade Item 1” are contradictory. Users could not satisfy both conditions at the same time; they would not be able to see the item associated with these conditions.

• Release content based on learning ability and course performance - Include additional content in your course specifically for users who need extra help and release this content to users who score below a specified threshold on a quiz or grade item. Alternatively, release a special survey to users who attain a high score.

• Release content in stages - To reveal content topics to users only after they have read prior content, attach release conditions on the later topics or modules that require users to view earlier topics. This can provide a clear path through the material and prevent users from becoming overwhelmed by a large table of contents at the start of the course.

• Release content based on enrollment date - If your course has rolling enrollment, you can set course materials and assessments to become available relative to a users' enrollment date. This allows you to provide a structured path through the course for every user regardless of their enrollment date.

• Customize content for groups within a course - If your course has group projects and you want to provide different instructions or resources for each group, you can create separate content topics or modules for each project and attach release conditions based on group enrollment. Group members working on one project will see content related to their work without being distracted by content not relevant to them.

• Use a checklist to organize activities - You can create a checklist that lists the activities users should complete throughout the course. For example, a checklist for the first week might include reading the course’s introductory content, posting to an introductory discussion topic, and submitting a list of learning goals to the assignment submissions folder. You can set release conditions based on users checking off items from their checklist. For example, you might release an Announcements item on your course’s homepage once users check off that they have completed the first week’s activities.

• Use intelligent agents to monitor user activity or non-activity - You can set up intelligent agents with release conditions using the “not” operator to intervene with students who have not completed course work. For example, create an intelligent agent that sends a reminder email to users who have not yet completed a quiz attempt or submitted an assignment to an assignment submissions folder. 

Due to how Release Conditions work, there are a few factors that could be causing the content to not be released. We recommend checking the following:

1. Check and see if there are any mistakes in the Release Conditions such as using Less Than instead of Greater Than, attaching the condition to the wrong activity, etc.

2. Make sure the student has actually met the conditions by checking their Class Progress, Grades, or Impersonating the student from the Classlist

3. Make sure there are no complications with the Availability Dates (Start/End Dates)

4. Make sure the item in visible to users (eye icon should not have a dash through it)

1. Navigate to the activity or item you wish to add the Release Condition to

2. Add a new Release Condition

   • In Content: Click on the down arrow next to the item, select Edit Properties in Place, click Add Dates and Restrictions..., then click Create under Release Conditions

   • In Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions: Edit the activity, expand the Availability Dates and Restrictions menu, select Add Release Condition, then click Create New

3. For the Condition Type, select Group Enrollment under the Classlist section

4. Select the Group under Condition Details

5. Click Create when done

From there, only the selected group will have access to that item/activity.

Yes, you can create a Release Condition for an item, and then reuse it for other items. You must first have a Release Condition created, then you can do the following:

• In Content: 

  1. Select the down arrow next to the item

  2. Click Edit Properties in Place

  3. Select Add Dates and Restrictions...

  4. Click Browse under Release Conditions

• In an Activity (Assignment, Discussion, etc.):  

  1. Expand the Availability Dates & Conditions menu

  2. Click Add Release Condition

  3. Select Add Existing

If you want to have a release condition for all items in a Module or Submodule, it may be best to just create a Release Condition for the Module itself instead of adding it to each item.

Please note that if a student completes a Release Condition that has been reused in the course, they will have gain access to all items using the shared Condition (as long as there are no other conditions applied).