The end of the semester is fast approaching, so we're sharing three tips to make sure your Brightspace Grade Books are set up properly. If you want an extra pair of eyes on them, we invite you to book a consultation with us on our Bookings page.
In the Grade Book, click the gear icon in the top right of the page. Choose the tab titled "Calculation Options." Scroll down to the sub-title "Grade Calculations" and if "Drop ungraded items" is selected, it means you'll need to enter 0s for work that is not submitted. You can do that individually, or follow the steps in this recent Brightspace Minute. This means students have no surprises and can see when they've earned a zero. Alternatively, you can wait until the last deadline of the semester, and then change the setting to "Treat Ungraded Items as zero." This will fill in zeroes automatically for all empty grade cells in the Grade Book (which might knock some students for a loop and trigger a deluge of emails to you!)
In your Grade Book settings, you have the choice of which column to release to students. The Final Calculated Grade is the best choice during the semester, because it automatically calculates grades. However, at the end of the semester, if you would like the option to edit some of those calculated grades, you can transfer that grade data to the Final Adjusted Grade column and make modifications to it. You'll then need to change your settings so that your Final Adjusted Grade is the one being released to students, so the grade they see is what you want them to see. Learn these steps in this section of the Set Up Your Grade Book.
Even though you've checked the setting to release the final grade, there is one more step that's often missed. Read about how to release grades to students in the article, Display Cumulative Course Grades to Students.
To learn how to get Brightspace help from the CTL, see this page.
Center for Teaching & Learning
www.uvm.edu/ctl
ctl@uvm.edu