The Submissions module turns BricksMembers into a full learning management system. Students submit work — text, files, or links — and instructors review it, provide feedback, and approve or request changes. Everything lives inside your Bricks Builder site, so you get a complete assignment workflow without third-party tools.
What You Can Do
Submissions give you:
- Multiple submission types — Text, files, URLs, or any combination
- Review workflows — Approve, reject, or request resubmission with feedback
- Status tracking — Students see where they stand; reviewers see what’s pending
- Due dates — Global or per-student, including drip-based and group-based dates
- Resubmissions — Students can revise and resubmit when reviewers request changes
Getting Started
Go to BricksMembers → Settings, find the “Submissions” card in the Modules section, and toggle it on. Configure reviewer roles (which WordPress roles can review) and the post type slug if needed, then save. A new Submissions menu appears under BricksMembers.
Making Content an Assignment
Any post, page, or custom post type can become an assignment. Edit the content, find the BricksMembers Assignment meta box, and check Enable as Assignment. Then configure:
- Submission Types — What students can submit (file, text, URL, or mixed)
- Due Date — When submissions are due
- Max Attempts — How many times students can submit
- File Types — Allowed extensions (PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG, PNG, GIF, ZIP, etc.)
- Max File Size — Size limit per file
Submission Types
Text — Students enter written responses in a rich text editor. Ideal for essays, reflections, and short answers.
Files — Students upload documents (PDF, DOC, DOCX), images (JPG, PNG, GIF), or archives (ZIP). You can add custom extensions in the assignment settings.
URLs — Students provide links to external work — portfolios, GitHub repos, videos, or live projects.
Mixed — Allow any combination of text, files, and URLs in a single submission.
The Student Experience
Students interact with assignments through Bricks elements you place on your lesson pages. They view the assignment, complete their work, upload files or enter text as configured, and click Submit. After submitting, they see their status: Not Submitted, Submitted (awaiting review), Approved, Rejected, or Resubmit Requested. If a reviewer requests resubmission, the student sees the feedback, makes improvements, and submits again (if attempts remain).
The Reviewer Experience
Reviewers find submissions in the admin (BricksMembers → Submissions), via email notifications when new work arrives, or on a custom dashboard built with Bricks query loops. To review: open the submission, view the student’s work, download files if needed, choose Approve, Reject, or Request Resubmission, add feedback comments, and submit. Reviewers get email notifications for new submissions and resubmissions; students get notified when a review is complete.
Due Dates
Set a single due date for all students in the Assignment meta box, or use drip-based dates (e.g. due 7 days after the assignment unlocks on Day 5). With Groups enabled, due dates can be relative to the group start date, so different cohorts have different deadlines.
Building with Bricks
Add a Bricks Form element to assignment pages and set its action to Submit Assignment (BRM). In the BRM Submissions control group, map your form fields (text, file, URL) to the submission type and configure display options: show submission history, show reviewer feedback, and custom submit button text. Use Bricks conditions (Has Submitted, Submission status, Can Submit) and dynamic tags to display the current status, pending review badge, approved/rejected state, or due date countdown.
Dynamic Tags
{brm_submission:status}— Current status{brm_submission:attempt}— Attempt number{brm_submission:date}— Formatted submission date{brm_submission:feedback}— Reviewer feedback text{brm_submission:due_at}— Due date (when set){brm_submission:reviewer}— Reviewer display name
Conditions & Query Loops
Use Bricks conditions to show content based on submission status: Has Submitted, Submission Status (approved/rejected/pending/resubmit_requested), and Can Submit (attempts remaining). Build custom dashboards with a Query Loop set to the brm_submission post type — list a student’s submissions across assignments, or list all submissions for an assignment (for reviewers). Custom filters for status, assignment, and student appear automatically in the query settings.
Groups Integration
When both Groups and Submissions are enabled, group leaders can review submissions from their group members even without a site-wide reviewer role. Leaders receive email notifications when members submit work, and submission activity updates the member’s “last active” timestamp in the group.
File Security
Submitted files are stored in a protected directory with direct URL access blocked. Downloads go through BricksMembers access checks — only the student, reviewers, and admins can access files.
Common Use Cases
Online courses — Add quiz submissions (text), project uploads (files), or portfolio links (URLs) to lessons.
Certification programs — Gate progress on approved submissions, track completion across modules, and generate certificates on program completion.
Coaching programs — Clients submit work for review, coaches provide detailed feedback, and the process continues until approved.
Best Practices
- Set clear expectations — describe exactly what students should submit
- Configure reasonable file sizes and attempt limits
- Provide specific, actionable feedback to help students improve
- Monitor pending submissions so reviews don’t pile up
- Test the full flow as a student before launching
Troubleshooting
Students can’t submit? Check that “Enable as Assignment” is checked, the student has access to the content, max attempts haven’t been reached, and the due date hasn’t passed.
Files not uploading? Verify the file type is allowed, the file size is under the limit, and WordPress upload permissions are correct.
Notifications not sending? Ensure WordPress mail is configured, reviewer roles are set correctly, and for Groups, that the leader has the leader role.
Can’t review submissions? Confirm your role is in the reviewer roles list; for group leaders, verify active group membership with the leader role.
