When a student participates in an academic course, they are typically completing assignments and taking quizzes and exams that result in a numeric score. Often, that score is simply a percent out of 100% of the points available.

Most academic institutions, including UW-Madison, do not accept numeric scores in their final, official, student registry. Instead, a letter grade is required. Therefore, numeric scores need to be converted into letter grades.

That conversion is accomplished through a device known as a grading scheme. This grading scheme is a table that designates ranges of percent scores, and identifies the appropriate corresponding letter-grade.

Academic grading at UW-Madison permits only the following grades in a for-credit, timetable course: A, AB, B, BC, C, D, or F. For more information, refer to the Valid Grades guide provided by the Office of the Registrar.

The following is an example of a valid grading scheme for UW-Madison.

100% to 94% = A
<94% to 89% = AB
<89% to 83% = B
<83% to 78% = BC
<78% to 73% = C
<73% to 66% = D
<66% = F

The numbers provided here merely serve as an example. Each college, school or instructor may have authority to determine their own grading schemes.

Canvas has a feature that allows the instructor to designate a grading scheme in a given Canvas course. Designating a grading scheme gives students feedback on their academic standing throughout a semester. It is also a requirement if you are employing the Faculty Center Grade Prep tool (found in the Canvas gradebook).

Unfortunately, the default, pre-built grading scheme in the UW-Madison Canvas instance does not conform to our valid grades structure. When designating a Canvas grading scheme for their course, you will need to either select another pre-built grading scheme or build one of your own.

The UW-Madison Canvas administrator created a basic grading scheme that does conform to the official UW-Madison valid grades. That grading scheme is titled UW-Madison and it has been placed inside every new Canvas course.

The UW-Madison grading scheme is displayed below.

100% to 90% = A

< 90% to 85% = AB

<85% to 80% = B

<80% to 75% = BC

<75% to 70% = C

<70% to 60% = D

<60% = F

If you are satisfied with this grading scheme, you can apply it to your Canvas course (see below.) If you are not satisfied with this UW-Madison grading scheme, you will need to build your own grading scheme (next).

To build your own grading scheme:

1. Open the Canvas course.

2. Go to Settings.

3. Scroll down and ensure there is a check in the checkbox labeled Enable course grading scheme.

4. Click the link Manage All Grading Schemes.

5. Select the New Grading Scheme button.
   

6. In the resulting window, give the new grading scheme a name. (You will be able to use this grading scheme in other courses, and in future semesters.)

7. Fill in all the rows as you wish, listing each letter grade and the appropriate percentages.

8. Use the add icon and the delete icons as necessary to expand or contract the scheme.

9. When finished, select Save.
   

Whether you choose to work with the pre-built UW-Madison grading scheme, or you have built your own custom grading scheme, you will finally need to apply a grading scheme to your Canvas course.

To apply a grading scheme to your Canvas course:

1. Open the Canvas course.

2. Go to Settings.

3. Scroll down and ensure there is a check in the checkbox labeled Enable course grading scheme.

4. Select on the drop-down box that appears. (See image.)
   

5. Select the desired grading scheme.

6. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select the Update Course Details button.