The Latest Enhancements in Achieve

Respondus LockDown Browser: Instructors can require the Respondus LockDown Browser for Achieve assessments at no extra cost, adding an extra layer of security for high-stakes quizzes and exams. Students launch the browser directly from Achieve, which locks down their device during the assessment. A Chromebook-compatible extension will also be available soon, expanding device support.

Exam Builder: Exam Builder allows instructors to automatically generate large, varied exams using question pools based on their chosen chapters, topics, and desired level of variance. This saves time, reduces grading discrepancies, and increases exam fairness by offering a randomised version to each student.

Manage Post-Submission Quiz Access: Instructors can now hide quiz content from students immediately after submission until the due date passes. This supports academic integrity by helping reduce answer-sharing during active assessments and high-stakes tests/quizzes.

iClicker Reactions: Emoji reactions give students a quick, low-effort way to indicate whether they’re following along—without interrupting the lesson. Instructors get real-time feedback on what’s landing and what’s not, so they can adjust on the fly, use class time more effectively, and avoid surprises on assessments.

Selective Translation in Vitalsource e-Books (LIMITED PILOT): A new Vitalsource pilot feature is being introduced for select titles to help students engage more effectively with course materials in their preferred language. Short text selections can be translated using the new “Translate” option in the Vitalsource context menu. This feature is designed to break down language barriers and improve comprehension, making it easier for students to connect with their coursework.

Student Practise Mode: This new setting allows students to retake a completed or past-due homework assignment for additional practise—ungraded and with unlimited attempts! Instructors can enable this option to help students prepare for exams and encourage mastery learning through extra practise.

AI-powered Question Generator: Instantly create new multiple-choice assessment questions from existing ones within Achieve. This innovative tool streamlines quiz building, ensuring assessments stay fresh, diverse, and engaging.

AI-powered Page Content Creation (Beta): This AI-powered feature simplifies page-level content creation, providing in-context AI assistance that helps instructors generate tailored, high-quality content. Through a conversational interface, instructors can quickly create and refine content directly on their page, saving time and staying focused on their workflow.

Instructor Pages: Highlights and Annotations: Students can easily highlight and add private notes to content in Instructor Pages, making studying more personal and focused. Instructors can also share their own highlights and notes, creating a more interactive and engaging learning experience.

iClicker: LMS LTI 1.3 Integration: iClicker now supports LTI 1.3 integration options for Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, and Brightspace—eliminating dependency on legacy tools and enhancing cross-platform compatibility.

iClicker: Web Polling (Beta): Instructors can run Multiple Choice polls for iClicker courses directly from the web—no desktop app required! This streamlined approach offers easier access, improved usability, and no installation hassle.

Maintain Content Order in LMS Sync: Content deployed from Achieve to Canvas and Blackboard will now maintain the same order as in Achieve. This update removes the need to reorder content after LMS syncing, saving time on administrative tasks.

New User Account Interface: A new, centralised user account experience allows instructors and students to manage their account info, orders, and course access from one place.

Inactive Student Alerts (Beta): A new alert widget highlights students who haven’t launched an activity in the last 7 days, helping instructors proactively identify disengaged learners.

Access Reports & Insights Tab from LMS: Easily navigate to the Achieve Reports & Insights Tab directly from the Course Tools page in your LMS. This update streamlines your workflow, giving you quicker access to valuable student data and insights directly from your LMS.

Export by Group(s) or Individual(s): Exporting the gradebook by individual or groups simplifies progress tracking and offers greater flexibility, especially for instructors managing exception groups. This feature saves time by eliminating the need to manually edit CSV files after exporting, making grade transfers and tracking more efficient.

Filter for Exception Groups: Instructors using exception groups can now filter their view by exception group(s), making it easier to review large gradebooks—ideal for managing large rosters, lab sections, or classes.

iClicker: LMS Attendance Sync: The iClicker Roster & Grade Sync (RGS) integration is getting an upgrade! Soon, you’ll be able to sync attendance percentages directly to the LMS gradebook, including a new “Late” status for more precise participation scoring.

Pop-out Side Panel: The new pop-out side panel in the Gradebook and Individual Student Gradebook offers a simple way to manage assignment details, student notes, and interventions—all in one place. Instructors can easily grant extensions, reopen assessments, update scores, and add notes directly within the Gradebook. This streamlines tasks and keeps everything organised for a more efficient experience.

Weekly Student Gradebook View: Instructors can view student grades and assignment completions on a weekly basis, aligned with the Course Week view found on the Course Home page. This new feature will make it easier to track student performance and progress week by week. Instructors can also toggle between viewing grades by Course Week or by gradebook categories, offering greater flexibility and control.

What are Course Content Updates? Course Content Updates keep your course current, relevant, and aligned with the latest developments in your field and learning science. Integrated seamlessly into Achieve, these updates are available throughout the year, giving you the flexibility to incorporate them into your course on your timeline.

Discover what’s new in Achieve for your subject below.

Biology Updates:

Updates to Morris, How Life Works, 4e: New Skills Primers on Time Management and Note-Taking help students develop strong study habits early, while the updated AI Primer introduces practical ways to use AI for learning. New Interactive Animation and Sequence Activities guide students through complex biological processes, improving comprehension and confidence before class. Paired with updated content reflecting the latest biological science, these tools help students come prepared and stay engaged.

Communications Updates:

New Student Speech Videos: Six full-length student speeches—four persuasive and two informative—are now available with built-in assessments to help students analyse what makes a presentation effective. Available as standalone videos or as part of video activities with assessments, these resources provide authentic examples to help students evaluate strong public speaking.

GoReact Advanced: Now with AI: Students get instant, personalised feedback during speech practise with AI-driven features, including targeted suggestions, automated analytics for pacing and filler words, and auto-generated transcripts for easy review.

LearningCurve: Expanded Question Pool: Speech Craft, 2e now includes an expanded question pool, offering students a broader range of personalised, adaptive quizzes and targeted feedback.

Updated Speech Craft, 2e e-Book: Updates ensure the e-book reflects the latest, most inclusive guidance on public speaking, with a stronger focus on audience analysis and delivery.

Economics Updates:

Assignable Interactive Graphing Questions: Covering 25+ core Principles topics, these questions let students engage with economic models by manipulating graphs, analysing data, and tackling a range of question types. All questions are assignable from the Achieve question bank.

Updates to Chiang's Principles of Macroeconomics for a Changing World 6e, Principles of Microeconomics for a Changing World 6e, and Principles of Economics for a Changing World 6e:

Universal Updates: New Personal Finance and Economic Decision-Making Appendix; refreshed videos reflecting today’s inclusive and accessible landscape.

Title-Specific Updates: Updated Economics of Food and Agriculture appendix; updated chapters with the latest data and real-world examples on macroeconomic topics.

Math Updates:

New Assignable Homework Questions in Achieve for Linear Algebra: Featuring 300 new algorithmic questions, including 44 unique “Identify the Error” problems that help students build conceptual understanding by evaluating worked solutions.

New Desmos Dynamic Figure Bank: Now live in Achieve for Rogawski's Calculus, allowing instructors to easily demo popular Desmos graphs directly in class.

Psychology Updates:

New Foundational & AI Skills Activities: Available in Introductory Psych, Developmental, and Psychopathology courses, helping students strengthen note-taking, time management, and responsible AI use.

AI-Powered Course Setup Assistant (Limited Summer Pilot): For Myers, Exploring Psychology, 12e—upload a syllabus and the AI assistant automatically maps topics to the prebuilt course structure.

Statistics Updates:

New “Identify the Error” Questions in Achieve for Statistics: These conceptual worked-problem questions help students build critical thinking by determining whether a solution contains errors.

Blackboard Content Deployment: With improved Achieve-Blackboard integration, content deployment and folder selection can now be managed directly within Achieve, ensuring a more seamless course setup.

Completion Timestamps in Gradebooks: Gradebooks now include enhanced "Date Completed" timestamps for students and instructors, clarifying when a student finishes an activity, and improving understanding of progress and accountability.

In LearningCurve: You'll see a "Target Score Reached" timestamp, even if the goal is met after the due date.

Assessment Clarity: The "Date Completed" will not change after the due date, regardless of any actions taken (like reviewing problems).

Create a Course in the Correct Template: By displaying the template name in the "My Courses" list and throughout course creation workflows, instructors can avoid errors during course setup. This update ensures that courses are created or copied with accuracy and efficiency.

LMS Grade Sync for Post-Due Date Reporting: This updated grade sync process from Achieve to the LMS allows grades to be reported only after the assignment's due date (instructors must select this option). This improvement aligns with user expectations and resolves the current issue of syncing grades based on individual student completion instead of the main assignment due date.

Maintain Assignment Order in LMS Sync: With this update, Achieve will ensure the assignment order matches the order of content when synced to the LMS, making course setup simpler and faster. This update eliminates the need to reorder content after syncing, reducing the time spent on administrative tasks.

Reset and Reopen Assessments When Granting Extensions: Instructors can now directly reopen or reset assignments when granting due date extensions, eliminating manual resets later. This update simplifies assessment management, reduces confusion, and streamlines the extension process.

Weekly Course Home View: A new weekly assignment view makes it easier for instructors and students to navigate their course home. This update streamlines progress tracking and introduces a more intuitive design for easier organisation.

GRS: Insight Card Improvements: The enhanced GRS Insight cards streamline access to aggregated student feedback, helping instructors quickly identify student challenges and gain actionable insights. Key enhancements include:

• Keyword search function for student responses
• The option to expand or collapse views
• Updated "Challenges" card featuring student comments and email addresses
• Faster loading times for larger courses

Insight Cards Redesign: The updated Insights tab now pre-loads all Insight cards and organises them into three key areas: Assignment Performance, Course Performance, and Goal-Setting/Reflection Surveys (with GRS already included). This streamlined layout enables instructors to quickly access important data, saving time and effort in managing insights.

iClicker: RGS Participation/Performance Syncing: Enhanced options for iClicker’s Roster & Grade Sync (RGS) allow separate syncing for participation and performance points. This update, previously in Classic integrations, improves grade management in the Cloud, giving instructors better control and transparency over grades.

AI Tutor Enhancement: Enhancements have been made to the user interface of the Student Homework experience for the AI Tutor. These user-informed improvements are designed to optimise both the user experience and the tutor's pedagogical approach, ensuring students receive the right support at the right time—without creating overreliance on the AI.

See if it’s available for your discipline, and try it yourself!

AI Tutor: Expanded Availability: By popular demand, the AI Tutor will be available in open beta in Spring 2025 for additional disciplines. Instructors will be able to opt-in for all current versions of templates in these disciplines: Analytical Chemistry, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Evolution, Genetics, Geography, Non-Majors Biology, Nutrition, IGOB Pilots

iClicker: AI Question Creator Updates: Instructors can now upload files as context for question creation, streamlining the development of customised course content. New question management tools include: copying question sets, adding descriptions, multi-delete, and adding more questions to individual sets.

Create a free instructor account today to try it out!

iClicker: Instructor Desktop Timer: A new timer tool is now available for any timed classroom activity, adding another layer of interactivity to the teaching and learning experience. Accessible via the app toolbar, the Desktop Timer can be used anytime, improving functionality and supporting effective classroom management.

iClicker: Student Access and Subscriptions: The latest improvements to iClicker Student Access and Subscriptions simplify navigation and understanding of subscription requirements for each course. Students can now easily differentiate between: attendance-only, Achieve-covered, and site-licenced subscriptions.

This update clarifies which subscription is required for each course and when it’s needed, helping students make informed purchasing decisions.

iClicker: Student Reactions: New emoji reactions let students share their thoughts in real-time during class, expressing feelings like confusion or excitement. Accessible via the floating toolbar, this feature enhances student engagement and helps instructors better understand students’ emotions and understanding.

Instructor Pages: Highlights and Annotations: Students can make private highlights and annotations on course materials, while instructors can easily share their notes. This private note-taking enhances effective studying, while instructor-shared notes boost engagement with the material.

Short-Form Writing Assignments: Short-form writing assignments empower students to reflect on prompts and content, enabling instructors to focus on the substance of their writing instead of the mechanics. These new low-stakes assignments help educators assess students' true understanding of the topic.

What are Course Content Updates? Course Content Updates keep your course current, relevant, and aligned with the latest developments in your field and learning science. Integrated seamlessly into Achieve, these updates are available throughout the year, giving you the flexibility to incorporate them into your course on your timeline.

Biology Updates: Real-World Simulations in What is Life?Interactive simulations bring biology concepts to life through real-world scenarios, with teaching tools like PowerPoints and worksheets included for Phelan, What is Life? 5th Edition.

Communications Updates: A.I. Tools for Speech Communication

Interactive activities and an instructor guide help students critically and responsibly incorporate A.I. into speech assignments while fostering ethical awareness.

Economics Updates

NEW Interactive Graphing Questions: Achieve now features interactive graphing questions across 30+ key Principles topics, helping students visualise and apply economic concepts in real time. With 5-10 questions per topic, students manipulate economic models, interpret real-world data, and strengthen critical thinking skills.

Updated Math and Graphing Tutorials: Interactive tutorials covering 10 key math topics now include new videos, algorithmic questions, reflection prompts, and immediate feedback to help students master essential skills.

Decision Points for Every Chapter: Scenario-based activities in Stevenson/Wolfers texts are now available for every chapter to help you engage students in real-world decision-making and critical thinking.

Decision Points Fully Adapted for Canada: Scenario-based activities in Milligan/Oreopoulos/Stevenson/Wolfers texts created to help you engage students in real-world decision-making and critical thinking are now fully adapted for Canada.

Math & Statistics Updates

NEW Pre-Built Homework Assignments: Every section of Taalman’s Calculus with Integrated Precalculus in Achieve now includes pre-built homework assignments, adapted from end-of-chapter questions and Achieve’s extensive calculus library, saving you time and simplifying course setup.

Interactive Video Activities for Algebra Review: Help students review topics like rounding, proportions, and functions through engaging video content.

Calculus Placement Test: Assess prerequisite knowledge with a 25-question placement test to identify review needs and guide student learning.

Updated Excel Tutorials for Statistics: New 3–5-minute videos deepen statistical analysis skills in Excel, perfect for lab settings or individual assignments.

100+ New Introductory Psychology Videos: Expanded video collection covering Alzheimer’s, bias, therapy advances, and more, all assignable and assessable with gradebook reporting.

80+ New Developmental Psychology Videos: New videos and activities illustrate key concepts while addressing privacy concerns, making it easier to connect course material to real-life applications.

AI-powered Tutor*: The AI chatbot-embedded Assessment homework offers instant guidance and personalised support, promoting meaningful learning without giving away answers. It reduces reliance on external resources (such as Google or Chegg) and allows students to ask questions anytime, leading to better preparation and more productive discussions during office hours.

*Limited to specific courses in Fall 2024.

Content-First Assessments: Enhance understanding of core concepts with short, interactive activities that merge multimedia content with assessment. These assessments empower students to self-evaluate progress, fostering metacognition and self-reflection in an engaging, low-pressure environment.

Contextualised Student Assessments: This feature streamlines grading settings for instructors and clarifies assessment criteria for students, enhancing the assessment experience by improving grading settings creation and offering clear assessment guidelines. Feature 3: iClicker: AI Question Creator

iClicker: AI Question Creator: This AI-powered tool enables educators to seamlessly create engaging questions for classroom activities, effectively addressing the challenge of fostering active learning while significantly reducing the time spent on devising questions. Learn More

iClicker: Formula/Symbol Question Type: The new iClicker Formula/Symbol question type enables students to answer with equations, mathematical expressions, symbols, and Greek letters. This feature provides instructors, especially those in STEM fields, with the ability to ask more complex polling questions, presenting a more engaging challenge beyond the typical Multiple Choice.

Achieve's Support Community Search: Access curated help content seamlessly through Achieve's Help Center search, designed to provide quick and easy answers within the platform.

Content Collection: Consolidate all instructor resources onto a single page, streamlining access to prebuilt publisher materials and custom content to easily search and filter.

Create Pages with HTML Editor: This feature introduces a new user-friendly HTML editor, making it easy for instructors to create an HTML page and integrate it with other Achieve course content. With centralised updates, changes to one document automatically apply across all courses, streamlining content management.

Enhanced Gradebook Export: Instructors can optimise their workflow by exporting only the Course Total and Category Totals for each course. Select your preferred grading format from the export dialog box, offering a simpler view of grades and enhanced flexibility to accommodate your needs.

iClicker Events for Site Licenses: Now available for site license institutions, iClicker Events transforms audience engagement at meetings and events. With easy-to-use live polling and insightful data gathering, it enhances interactivity and fosters connections, making every gathering a success. The best part is that participants don't need an iClicker account to join, making engagement easy and accessible. Learn More

iClicker's Mobile Quick Join: Enroll in courses or join events on the go with a simple scan of a QR code, a join code, or a quick search (for courses). This feature streamlines the iClicker app experience, making it faster, more convenient, and reducing errors.

Printable Assessments (Beta): Printable Assessmenprovidedes a convenient option to print Assessments (exams and homework) with unanswered questions, simplifying the process of accommodating student needs, administering exams, and meeting departmental requirements.

Side Panel for Gradebook: Simplify your workflow and manage assignment details, student notes, and due date extensions directly within the Gradebook. This pop-up side panel feature ensures a seamless experience across Achieve, allowing instructors to effortlessly extend due dates, update scores, and annotate within the context of real-time Gradebook data.

Student Activity Launch Log Export: Instructors can now download logs detailing each time a student initiates an activity in Achieve, providing crucial insights into students' work habits and verifying their system usage times. This feature enhances instructors' understanding and oversight of student engagement.

Topic Selector for Course Setup: When creating a new course, instructors can easily customise the course by reviewing, reordering, removing, or adding chapters/modules right from the start. This streamlined process enhances the course setup experience, making it simpler for instructors to personalise prebuilt courses to their liking.

Enhanced LTI Advantage: Seamlessly deploy ungraded content in Canvas with LTI 1.3 (LTI Advantage). We've expanded LTI 1.3 capabilities to bridge the gap with our current integrations, ensuring a superior user experience with more flexibility and improved functionality.

Streamlined Content Deployment to Canvas: Enhance content deployment to Canvas by utilising the LTI 1.3 (LTI Advantage) update, ensuring a seamless Achieve-Canvas integration. This upgrade simplifies the transition to LTI 1.3 for institutions, offering a smoother, more intuitive experience for users.