Where submissions land

When a student submits, the file is uploaded directly to S3 via a presigned URL. Athenium records a Submission row keyed on (userId, assignmentId) — so a student can replace their submission until the deadline, but only one record persists per assignment.

Submissions are listed under the assignment, sorted by submitted-at, with a status indicator: On time, Late, or Pending.

Reviewing a submission

Click any row to open the review pane. Athenium streams the file inline — PDFs render in the built-in viewer, DOCX is converted to HTML for preview, and other formats fall back to a download link. Use the sidebar to scroll between students without leaving the pane.

Entering a grade

Type a number from 0 to the assignment's max marks and press Enter. The grade is saved instantly via the PATCH /api/submissions/[id]/marks endpoint and the student gets a notification.

Keyboard-driven grading

After saving, press J to move to the next student and K to go back. You can grade an entire class without touching the mouse.

Bulk grading

For lab exercises with consistent solutions, bulk grading is faster:

Open the assignment and switch to the Grades tab.
Select multiple submissions (Shift-click a range, or use the header checkbox to select all).
Type a single mark in the bulk action bar and click Apply.

Bulk-graded submissions still notify each student individually so the feedback loop stays personal.

Late submissions

Athenium doesn't auto-deduct marks for late submissions — that policy lives with you. The platform just labels them so you can decide. If you want a hard cut-off, untick Allow late submissions on the assignment editor before publishing.

Returning grades

When you're done, click Release. Until released, students see only the “Submitted” state — they don't see partially-graded results from a half-finished session.

Releasing is irreversible

Once released, students can see their grade. You can still edit the mark afterwards, but be deliberate about timing — releasing then revising can erode trust.

Analytics

After grades are released, the assignment page shows a small chart of the score distribution and the class average. You can also compare across assignments from the Analytics tab to spot topics where the cohort struggled.