Cadmus Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Not at all.  Cadmus will be used for assessments for which it is fit for purpose. An example of being fit for purpose is that the assignment does not require extensive formatting (such as a polished client brief in PowerPoint, or a layout for an infographic) or industry-specific software in which the work must be completed.  

There are several reasons to update the way you complete assessments. Most importantly, we are required to ensure that assessments demonstrate the degree to which you are acquiring the knowledge and skills set out in the curriculum. Cadmus enables you and your educators to track your progress on assessments, communicate how you are utilising resources, including various types of artificial intelligence, and foster an equitable environment for all students. This is referred to as “assurance of learning.” In Cadmus, your progress on an assignment is shared with your educator(s).  You can receive additional support if needed, and your educators can be assured that you are completing the work and making progress on the assignment. 

Cadmus is an increasingly popular assessment tool because it focuses on helping you make progress throughout your work on a piece of assessment. Alternatives that focus on the process of completing an assignment include conducting more assessment tasks in tutorials; we are also implementing this approach in many subjects at Bond University. Marking only the product of assessment (the document is turned in when done, rather than marked in part while it is being done) no longer works for assuring learning when AI can complete an assessment from beginning to end. Some universities are reverting to more exams, including high-stakes hurdles such as exams that must be passed at the end of a foundation, major and/or degree. We want to resist overreliance on examinations. 

Yes. Cadmus provides a Formatting Toolbar that lets you:

• Create titles, headings, and block quotes
• Apply bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough
• Use superscript and subscript
• Align text (left, centre, right, justify)
• Add numbered, bulleted, and checklist lists
• Highlight text and change font colours
• Insert images, links, tables, and code blocks

However, Cadmus uses preset styles—there are no pages, and you cannot change line spacing or page layout. 

No. Font type and size are preset in Cadmus to ensure consistency and fairness across submissions. You can still apply text styles (bold, italics, etc.) and colour highlights, but you cannot change the font family or size. For assessments that have professional standards requirements related to font families, your educator may ask you to assemble the main text of your assessment in Cadmus, then finalise the document in the software required for professional delivery. 

Cadmus supports tables and basic formatting. For complex graphs or equations, you may need to create them externally and insert them as images in Cadmus. Alternatively, you may prepare the text in Cadmus to accompany a table that is then finalised in the document layout software, such as Microsoft Word. 

If you have the Grammarly extension installed in your browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.), you can use Grammarly suggestions instead of Cadmus spell check while you work. To enable Grammarly, switch off the Cadmus spell check option in the settings area. 

Proficiency in the use of MS Word is an essential skill in the workplace today and will remain essential for many years to come. In many professionally targeted subjects, Microsoft Word and other software will continue to be used. In some cases, the work of building an argument or written text might happen in Cadmus so that your educator can scaffold your writing and learning, but the paper you hand in will have been finalised in Word. In other cases, the entire document creation process may occur in Word, particularly in small classes where work is progressively completed in the classroom.

Cadmus is designed to focus on content creation, assurance of learning, and academic integrity, not document design. While you won’t use Word-specific features like page layout, you will practice essential writing skills, referencing, and structuring arguments.  

Yes. You can start in Cadmus and augment with your preferred tool, then:

• Type references directly in the References section.
• Cadmus automatically applies the referencing style set by your teacher (e.g., APA, Harvard), including formatting like hanging indents.
• After you have typed or pasted individual references into Cadmus, you can compile them externally (e.g. in EndNote, Zotero) to finalise or check formatting, then copy them back into Cadmus for reassurance.

Please take special care with using AI when researching your work and do not use AI-generated references without checking the original source to verify contents and source accuracy. Hallucinated references are fabricated references. Fabricated content in student work is a special case of academic integrity violation. Recent events in Australian courts, universities and government agencies have shown the high costs of research source fabrication in official reports.  

Cadmus autosaves your work online as you type. If your internet connection drops temporarily, you can continue working offline, and your changes will be synced once you reconnect; make sure you do not close or refresh the browser window you are working in. For extended periods without an internet connection, it’s best to ensure you have a stable connection before starting your assessment. In many cases, you can read resources and do preliminary or filler work offline in other software during short outages, as long as you declare and demonstrate the process you used.  

Your work is autosaved. If you experience technical issues, please contact your educator using the contact details provided on iLearn, or the IT Helpdesk at +61 7 5595 4444 or Dial 7 on campus (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm AEST), or [email protected]. Cadmus has reported a continuity rate of over 99.9% to the international community of universities it serves. Universities report very high levels of reliability. They often joke that it’s better than paper, which is at risk of being destroyed by dogs getting the munchies.  

Cadmus works best on desktop or laptop browsers. Some features may not function properly on tablets or mobile devices. Check the recommended browser list before starting. Most mobile browsers have “desktop mode” functionality, which should be used with Cadmus. 

Cadmus supports major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If your browser crashes, your work is saved automatically. Reopen Cadmus in a supported browser to continue. 

Yes. Cadmus is designed with accessibility in mind, including compatibility with screen readers and keyboard navigation. If you need specific accommodations, contact the Accessibility and Inclusion office to discuss your Learning Access Plan: [email protected]  

Cadmus does not use invasive monitoring. It records submission data and basic activity to promote academic integrity, but does not track personal browsing or keystrokes outside the platform. The purpose of keystroke records is for continuity and continuous saving so that you do not lose work, and to provide educators with evidence of your work in progress. It can also provide analytics that flag potential actions, indicating a student has not written a passage independently. Bond University has legal obligations to monitor students’ use of its networks, computers, software and technology services. Cadmus fits within this remit. Many accrediting agencies and regulators (such as Law Societies and professional associations) require universities to undertake monitoring for assurance of learning.

Cadmus adheres to stringent privacy and data protection standards. Your work and personal data are stored securely and used only for assessment purposes. Bond University has reviewed and approved these standards before adopting Cadmus, as its data privacy protection practices are consistent with those of Bond University, which requires the careful guarding of student records. 

Bond University must assure learning and assessment integrity. Therefore, we always reserve the right to investigate concerns about academic integrity. As a learning community, we work hard to ensure that educators DO NOT depend on machine-based plagiarism checking tools for any decision about the originality of your work. Cadmus integrates plagiarism checking tools; however, these are dependent on individual educators following up and reviewing all flags first, and then conducting personalised reviews of your work if required. It is important at a small, personalised university that students receive guidance and checking from their educators. Our goal in using Cadmus is to shift from policing academic integrity violations caused by AI use to building AI education in our assessments. Our advantage is that we can provide responsive feedback. We also use other tools, such as Turnitin, to safeguard against excessive similarity in student writing compared to that of information resources.  

Cadmus has a built-in feature to indicate whether AI can be used, and this will be set to permit the use of AI. However, Bond University has its own AI Framework. Refer to the task description for specific guidance on using generative AI in the assessment task. In most cases, your written assignments will fall into the category of AI-Supported. In some cases, assessments will require the use of AI as part of the learning outcomes for the assignment; these will be labelled as AI-Focussed. 

Cadmus tracks several aspects of your writing process to help your instructors support you effectively. The platform monitors your writing patterns, showing whether you're typing directly into Cadmus or pasting in text from elsewhere, and records how much time you spend actively working on each task. It tracks when you work throughout the assignment period, revealing whether you're spreading your effort consistently or concentrating it near the deadline. Your revision process is also captured, including how often you edit and refine your work, which demonstrates your critical thinking and development. By combining these indicators, the platform helps your instructors identify early when you might be struggling, enabling them to offer timely support before submission deadlines. 

Bond University will provide you and all students with training for using Cadmus every semester. Look out for digital signage and information at the start of the semester and in the Academic Skills Centre and the Library. 

Your educator is always the best person to alert when you are struggling with a piece of assessment. In addition, you may contact the Academic Skills Centre and the Faculty Librarians. Staff in the ASC and Library have teamed up with ITS to ensure that you have access to support with Cadmus. Contacts:  

• Academic Skills Centre
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Phone: +61 7 5595 4783
• Make an appointment with your Faculty Librarian
  • Ask a Librarian,
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Phone: +61 7 5595 1510 

Yes. Cadmus has created an extensive library of student support: Students - Cadmus Help Docs