Set course time zone and localization preferences

Updated 19 Feb 2024

You can set the course time zone, time and date format, and course language options from the Preferences > Time Zone and Localization page.

The time zone you select determines how your course calculates whether a student submitted an assignment on time or late. By default, the Eastern (U.S.) time zone is set in your course. If you select a different time zone on this page, it overrides any time zone set by students on their individual My Profile pages. In other words, if you select the Pacific time zone, your students’ time zone is also set to Pacific regardless of whether they changed the time zone on their My Profile page.

You can adjust course time zone settings at any time. After you adjust the time zone settings, assignment status icons and due times update to reflect the new time zone for your students.

If you are not in the Eastern time zone, you need to change your time zone on both the My Profile and on the Preferences > Time Zone and Localization pages. If you are in the Eastern time zone, no change is necessary. If you are not in the Eastern time zone, you must set your time zone in each course you teach.

1. From the Course Home page, click Instructor or Student to open the instructor profile page or the student profile page, respectively.
2. Click Course Materials > Add From Library or Course Materials > Manage Course Materials.
3. Click the preferences icon in the top-right corner of the window.
4. Select from among these options:
   • Course locale format

     Select an option to change the time and date format used in the course.

     • Numbers will be displayed as: Select a numeric format from the drop-down list.
     • Time will be displayed as: Select a time format from the drop-down list.
     • Short date will be displayed as: Select a short date format from the drop-down list.
     • Long date will be displayed as: Select a long date format from the drop-down list.
   • On-screen language display: If available, select the language in which you want course material to appear.
   • Online Help language display: If available, select the language in which you want course Help to appear. The course Help is the material that appears when you click Help in the top-right corner of the page.
   • Enable multiple locales to users: Select to let you or students switch locales from their user profile. To enable this preference, you must also check User profile overrides course preferences.

     If this option is cleared or if this option and Course overrides user profile preferences are both checked, when students click My Profile and change their profile settings to a different locale, their selections are ignored after they open this course.

   • Default Course Time Zone: Select an option from the list to change the time zone format used in the course.
   • Course Preference

     Select an option:

     • Course overrides user profile preferences: Select to ensure course dates, numbers, materials, and Help always appear using the locale and language you set on this Time Zone and Localization page. When students click My Profile and change their profile settings to a different locale or language, their selections are ignored after they open this course. This option is selected by default.

       Pearson recommends that you leave this option selected. If you do not change this setting and you are not in the Eastern United States timezone, your students may see their due date (alarm clock) on the next day on the calendar. This is because the due date time is automatically set to 11:59 PM of the date due. When your students log in, they may see their due time as 2:59 AM the next day.

     • User profile overrides course preferences: Select to enable students to change the locale and language in which course dates, numbers, materials, and Help appear. When students click My Profile and change their profile settings to another locale or language, the course appears using the location and language options they selected in their profile, rather than the options selected on this Time Zone and Localization page.

To allow students to change the locale for the course using their profile settings, click Enable multiple locales to users and User profile overrides course preferences.

To prevent students from changing the locale for the course using their profile settings, clear the Enable multiple locales to users box.

For an example of how these settings can change assignment due times, see Adjust due dates for different time zones.

Save preferences

To save your choices, click Save Preferences. When you finish setting preferences, click Save and Close.

If you go to another page before you save your changes, your changes are discarded and the previous settings are maintained.

Additional actions

On any Preference page, you can:

• Save your changes by clicking Save Preferences. If you go to another page before you save your changes, your changes are ignored and the previous settings are maintained.
• Generate a report of the settings you selected by clicking the download icon .