Creating and Administering Custom Exams

Jim Stover 2026-08-31

New Guide: Creating and Administering Custom Exams

Just added Custom Exams and Print to your subscription? Here’s the guide that walks Training Directors (TDs) and TD Assistants (TDAs) through the entire Custom Exam process, start to finish – with real screenshots at every step.

Custom Exams let you pull questions from up to 12 curriculum courses into a single practice exam. They’re a flexible tool for licensing prep, placement assessment, or any time you want a focused assessment drawn from existing material – but getting one set up touches three different screens across two systems, and it’s easy to miss a step the first time through.

What the guide covers

  • Creating a Custom Exam shell in the TMS, and enrolling students and an instructor
  • Building the exam template in the LMS – picking source courses, selecting lessons, and choosing a delivery method and question grouping
  • Configuring exam settings, including proctor and student access controls
  • Generating the exam and granting students access
  • What the exam looks like from the student’s side, up to launching the LockDown Browser

Who it’s for

This guide is written for TDs and TDAs – the people who actually build and configure Custom Exams. No prior experience with the feature is assumed.

Where to find it

The guide is available now as a downloadable PDF, ready to print or save for reference. Reach out to your training coordinator if you have questions after working through it.

Questions or feedback on Custom Exams? Let us know — this guide will keep evolving as the feature does.

New Feature: Create Filter Groups On the Fly in Roster > Add User

Jim Stover 2026-08-25

Good news for anyone building out their roster: you can now create a brand-new Filter Group right from the TMS > Roster > Add User screen. Need to sort a new user into a group that doesn’t exist yet? Create it in the moment, assign your user to it, and keep going — all in one place.

This is especially handy at the start of a new term or cohort, when you’re adding a batch of new users and setting up new groupings at the same time. Everything happens in one smooth pass.

Head to TMS > Roster > Add User to give it a try.

Effective July 1, 2026: Restricted Access to LMS Content for TDA Accounts

Jim Stover 2026-06-25

Effective July 1, 2026, all administrator (TDA) accounts, except the primary TD account will no longer have the ability to access course content in the LMS. This will not affect the ability for TDAs to access the LMS from the TMS via the Login to LMS menu item, however, access will be limited to reporting and the creation and administering of exams.

This change is being implemented to ensure compliance with the licensing agreement between the electrical training ALLIANCE (etA) and PTSI, while also protecting etA intellectual property.

Under the terms of this agreement, only authorized Training Directors may access course content purchased by the training location. Because TDA accounts are not included in the licensing agreement, etA must implement this change to remain in compliance with its contractual obligations. Therefore, TDA accounts will no longer be able to view or interact with LMS course materials.

After the July 1 effective date, any user with a TDA role that also needs to access course content in the instructor role will be required to be rostered, enrolled and granted access via an instructor account.

New Features – Print and Custom Exams are Coming to TPP

Jim Stover 2026-06-18

On July 1, 2026, we will be introducing two new features to augment TPP, the ability to print exam and create custom multi-topic test. These features will be available as a cost added option to any existing tier for $200/year.

Print Exams – With an important caveat, TLs will have the ability to generate 3 pdf versions (with answer keys), of an exam. What’s the caveat? Due to the limited nature of printed exam, advanced question types cannot be replicated and may preclude certain exams from being available in print (Construction Drawings, for example).

Custom (Multi-topic) Exams – TD/TDAs  will have the ability to create custom multi-topic (drawing from up to 12 courses) for use at the local training center. All other TPP features (such as the LockDown Browser) remain the same.

We realize that not every JATC/AJATC will find a use for these new features, which is why we are providing them as a “plus” option for training centers that desire them.

Stay tuned for a deep dive into how these new features work in an upcoming post.

New Feature: Session Archiving

Jim Stover 2026-06-02

Are the large number of old sessions slowing your workflow? We heard you, and today we dropped a new feature to help you manage your sessions: Session Archiving! If your enrollment dropdowns and Session Management screens are getting cluttered with old, unused sessions, you can now selectively hide them by selecting “Archive” from the session cog menu. Archived sessions are hidden by default, keeping your daily workflow clean and efficient. Don’t worry if you need to look back, though – you can easily use the new filter on the Session Management screen to view, manage, or even unarchive them at any time.

Streamlining Your Workflow: Simplified User Access Controls

Jim Stover 2026-05-30

Managing user access shouldn’t feel like a chore. Whether you are onboarding a brand-new cohort, adjusting mid-year subscriptions, or cleaning up your active user list, your administrative tools should move at the speed of your organization. That is why I am incredibly excited to share a sneak peek of our upcoming consolidated User Access workflow!

Does it ever feel like managing subscription and token workflows were designed by different people? (HINT: they were!) This upcoming update was created with one core philosophy in mind: giving you absolute flexibility without sacrificing speed. I know that individual account updates can take up too much of your day, so we have completely revamped how you will purchase, assign, and modify platform access within the training management system.

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ICA License Stacking is LIVE!

Jim Stover 2026-02-05

HUZZAH! Effective today, February 5, 2026, TMS administrators can assign consecutive ICA licenses to instructors without interrupting access. Training centers no longer need to wait for an existing license to expire before assigning a new one. This updated workflow allows a new license to be assigned in advance, ensuring continuous access with no gaps.

Jim Stover | Director | Training Management System