Create and Manage Question Pools

Question pools are used to group related questions for exams. They can have a hierarchical structure, with one or more topic pools to further categorize content.

An example question pool hierarchy for organizing questions for an exam about computer operating systems might be structured as follows:

• Operating Systems (question pool)

• Desktop (topic pool)

• Windows (sub-topic pool)
• MacOS (sub-topic pool)
• Linux (sub-topic pool)

• Mobile (topic pool)

• Android (sub-topic pool)
• iOS (sub-topic pool)

Question pools have general properties that are applied by default to new questions created in the pool.  These defaults can be overridden on the question level.

In this topic, we focus on managing question pools in the Question Pools Manager.  Question pools can also be added and managed in bulk through an import process.  For additional information, please see Import Question Pool Data via the Data Loader.

Add a Question Pool

To add a first-level question pool

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager. 
2. Click the Add button to the right of the Question Pool: drop-down field.
3. The New Name field is shown. Enter a name for the new pool and click Submit.

Add a Topic Pool

You can add a topic pool as a sub-level of a first-level question pool or as a sub-level of another topic pool.

To add a topic pool

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager
2. Select an option in the Question Pool: drop-down field. If you are adding a topic pool to an existing topic pool, choose an option from the Topic Pool: drop-down field.
3. Click the Add button associated with the Topic Pool level for which you are creating a new Topic Pool.
4. The New Name field is shown. Enter a name for the new pool and click Submit.
5. Enter a name for the new pool and click Submit. 

Configure the General Question Pool Properties

After adding a question pool, you can update it to configure default properties for new questions created in the pool, specify the program or module sessions for automatic exemption, and select users to receive email notifications when there are questions pending approval.

To configure the general pool properties

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager.
2. Select the question, topic or sub-topic pool from the drop-down lists.
3. Click Update for the pool you want to update. 
4. Update the settings in the General section as required. These will be the default values applied to new questions created in the pool. They are not automatically applied to existing questions. For detailed information about the available settings, please see Pool General Properties Field Descriptions.
5. Move on to the Automatic Exemptions section or click the Submit button to save the properties.

Configure Question Pool Automatic Exemptions

The system allows you to automatically exempt learners from specific programs or module sessions if they score sufficiently on questions from a question pool.  

To select a program or learning module for automatic exemption 

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager.
2. Select the question, topic or sub-topic pool from the drop-down lists.
3. Click the Update button.
4. In the Automatic Exemptions section, click the + icon. 
5. Choose the appropriate courses.
6. Select OK.

To remove a program or learning module, click on it in the list and then select the - icon.

Configure Question Pool Email Notifications

You can configure the question pool to send reminder notifications to yourself and other administrators when questions are added to the pool that require approval.

To configure reminder emails

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager.
2. Select the appropriate question, topic or sub-topic pool from the drop-down lists.
3. Click the Update button.
4. In the Reminders section, configure the email recipients and email frequency.

1. In the Recipients field, click the selection button.  
2. Choose the appropriate users and click OK.
3. In the Frequency field, select a frequency for the emails. Notifications are only sent when there are questions in the pool that have not been approved. 

5. Click Submit.

Configure Question Pool Permissions

Permissions can be configured for question, topic and sub-topic pools to specify who can edit them or assign questions to them.  Depending on your organization's syste configuration, permissions from a parent pool to each of it's child pools may be inherited.  When this is not the case, you will need to explicitly set permissions on any child pools.  For more information, please see the System Administration guide.

To configure question pool permissions

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager.
2. Select the question, topic or sub-topic pool from the drop-down lists.
3. Click the Permissions button.
4. Select the users to which you are granting read-only or unrestricted access permissions.
5. Click Save.
6. Click Close.

Merge Question Pools

You can merge question pools to move all of the questions from the source pool to another question pool. You then have the option to reassign questions within the target pool.

To merge a question pool

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager.
2. Select Merge Pools.
3. Select the pool you want to merge from the source drop-down lists.
4. Select the pool you want to move the source level questions into from the target drop-down lists.
5. Click Submit. The page refreshes with a list of the questions that were moved.

Delete Question Pools

You can only delete question pools that do not have any questions assigned to them or any or their topic or sub-topic pools.  

To delete a question pool

1. Go to Manage Center > Learning > Exam Utilities > Question Pools Manager.
2. Select the question, topic or sub-topic pool from the drop-down lists.
3. Click Delete for the pool you want to delete. The pool and its sub-pools in the hierarchy are deleted.