Setting up exams at a testing center
On the Exam Settings page (via the Settings tab on an exam in your testing center), you can configure how this exam is offered at that center. Below is a list of available settings and their purpose:
Name
The human-readable name of the exam as displayed to staff and students.
Labels
Assign one or more labels (e.g., "Midterm", "Final", "Accommodated") to categorize or filter exams and sessions.
For more details on creating and managing labels, see the Labels guide.
Visible to course staff
A toggle to control whether course staff (but not students) can see this exam and its sessions in PrairieTest.
Visible to students
A toggle to control whether students can view this exam and their reservations in PrairieTest.
Duration
The time limit students have to complete the exam, in minutes. This does not affect session length.
Start date / End date
The window during which students are permitted to begin the exam. Outside these dates, students cannot start new attempts.
Reservations can only be made in sessions whose start and end times are entirely within this window. For instance, an exam with a window of 15:30–17:30 cannot use a session that runs from 15:00–18:00. This fails both the checks that the session start time and session end time are within in the exam window.
Allow self-reserve
A checkbox determining whether students may make their own reservations for sessions. If disabled, only pre-assigned reservations are allowed.
Self-reserve start
If self-reservation is allowed, this date/time sets when students can begin making reservations for this exam.
Seat allowance
Must be a number between 0 and 100. Controls how much of any given session's capacity is available for this exam. For example, if set to 50%, reservations will only be able to use up to half the seats in each session.
Expected usage
An estimate (0–100%) of how many students will actually show up. Used internally for capacity planning and predictions.
Available sessions (Show sessions dialog)
The Show sessions button opens a dialog that displays exactly what students currently see when trying to self-reserve for this exam. This is a debugging tool to help center staff verify that exam settings are configured correctly.
How to read the dialog
Each row in the table represents a session that falls within the exam's date range. The columns show:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The session's scheduled date and time |
| Location | Where the session takes place |
| Type | Whether this is an in-person or online session |
| Reservable | Whether students can currently self-reserve into this session (Yes/No) |
| Capacity | Whether there's sufficient capacity for this exam |
| Date status | The date/time constraint status (see below) |
| Time limit | Whether the session provides enough time for the exam duration |
| Self-reserve | Whether the session allows self-reservations |
| Labels | Whether the exam and session labels are compatible |
Understanding the Date status column
The Date status column shows the status of date-related constraints that affect whether students can self-reserve:
| Status | Meaning | When this happens |
|---|---|---|
| Ok | Students can self-reserve (date constraints satisfied) | Current time is after self_reserve_start AND before the session's self-reserve cutoff |
| Reservations not yet open | Too early for students to reserve | Current time is before the exam's self_reserve_start date |
| Past self-reserve cutoff | Too late for students to reserve | Current time is past the session's self-reserve cutoff (session date minus self_reserve_limit) |
Practical examples
Scenario 1: Before self-reserve opens
- Exam
self_reserve_startis set to January 15 - Current date is January 10
- All sessions show: Date = "Reservations not yet open", Reservable = "No"
- Students cannot yet see or reserve any sessions
Scenario 2: Self-reserve window is open
- Exam
self_reserve_startis January 15 - Current date is January 20
- Sessions on January 25 show: Date = "Ok", Reservable = "Yes" (if other constraints pass)
- Sessions on January 21 with a 2-day
self_reserve_limitshow: Date = "Past self-reserve cutoff", Reservable = "No"
Scenario 3: Mixed session availability
- Some sessions may show "Ok" while others show "Past self-reserve cutoff" depending on each session's individual
self_reserve_limitsetting
Important notes
- This dialog shows exactly what students see—it does not show staff-only capabilities
- If a session shows Reservable = "No", students will see the reason in the "Reason" column when they try to reserve
- Staff can still make reservations on behalf of students regardless of what this dialog shows
Allow overrides / Maximum overrides
Settings to enable proctors to create manual override reservations, and a limit on the number per student.
Use default override dates / Default start & end dates
Options to control whether override reservations default to the session’s start/end times or use custom dates.
Pre-access text / Post-access text
Custom instructions shown to students before they start the exam and after they complete it.
Custom start URL
An optional link (e.g., to an external platform) used to launch the exam instead of the default PrairieTest link.
PrairieLearn access / assessments
If integrated with PrairieLearn, this section shows the access rule UUID and linked assessments for the PrairieLearn content.