Documentation for administrators

Setting up testing centers

Create a testing center

Testing centers should be created every new term (for example, you should have a testing center for the Fall 2022 term and a new testing center for the Spring 2023 term). To create a new testing center, select the appropriate institution under the Institution administration panel from the homepage. Go to the Centers tab from the top menu bar and click Add testing center. You will need to provide the following information:

  • Name of the testing center (abbreviated version of the testing center's title)
  • Short abbreviation for the term
  • Title (testing center's full name)
  • Timezone
  • End date, usually a few days after the end of the term

Then confirm by clicking Add testing center.

Add center staff

Institution administrators can add testing center staff with owner and exam editor permissions, who will be able to complete setting up the testing center, as well as perform the day-to-day operations. A testing center can have more than one owner, and several other staff roles. See the Testing center staff documentation for details on the possible staff roles and their associated permissions.

Create courses

Similarly to testing centers, courses should be created every new term. To create a new course, select the appropriate institution under the Institution administration panel from the homepage. Go to the Courses tab from the top menu bar and click Add course. You will need to provide the following information:

  • Name of the course (use the rubric to keep it short)
  • Short abbreviation for the term
  • Title of the course (this can be in long form)
  • Timezone
  • End date, usually a few days after the end of the term
  • Optional list of course owners

Then confirm by clicking Add course.

Set up the student identification app

A Student ID App is a set of stand-alone web pages that interface between PrairieTest and university student ID services, including student ID card readers. These web pages should be served from university web servers. Go to https://github.com/PrairieLearn/pt-check-in to learn how to write a Student ID App for PrairieTest. Contact us at help@prairielearn.com if you need additional support to complete this step.

Once you set up the Student ID App, go to the Inst Settings page from the top bar menu, and click the edit button next to Read-ID App URL to enter the link to the student card reading application.