Canvas - Considerations for Final Grading in the Canvas Gradebook [UW-Madison]
Before the Semester Begins
- Ensure your course has been assigned a grading scheme.
- If you will be using a weighted grading scheme:
- ensure your assignment groups are set up properly.
- ensure your assignment group weights are set up properly.
- If you are dropping any lowest and/or highest scores, ensure those are set up properly.
Throughout the Semester
Any cell in the Canvas gradebook that possesses a dash ("-") is considered by Canvas to be ungraded. An ungraded assignment is ignored by Canvas in its calculation of a final grade; the points associated with that assignment are considered nonexistent. When assignments remain ungraded, inaccurate grades are displayed in the gradebook, seen by instructor and student alike. Also, leaving assignments ungraded can adversely effect the performance of assignment group rules, such as "dropping lowest/highest grades".
- Ensure all assignments receive timely grades, even if that grade is a zero. It is the instructor's discretion what "timely" will mean.
- If a student can be excused from an assignment, you can enter "EX" in the corresponding cell.
- Ensure all grades have been posted. (This pertains to the Manual Grade Posting Policy.)
- There are several ways within Canvas to assign extra credit.
At the End of the Semester
Manually adjusted grades
By default, all final grades in Canvas are calculated exclusively by the following factors:
- The points available for the individual assignments.
- The grades given to the individual assignments.
- Any percent weighting that has been put in place.
- Any "drop lowest or highest" rules that have been put in place.
The column on the far right of the gradebook will show the "final calculated grade."
Canvas provides an option for any course that would allow the instructor to go straight into the gradebook and override the "calculated final grade". This feature is found in Settings, under the Feature Options tab.
Once the feature is enabled, the feature needs to be turned "on".
- Go to the Canvas gradebook.
- Select the Gradebook Settings button (the gear icon in the upper-right corner).
- Select the Advanced tab.
- Place a check in the checkbox labeled "Allow final grade override".
That will cause a new column, called "Override", to be displayed on the far right side of the gradebook. That Override column is fully editable. Instructors can grant to any student an official override grade. That override grade is what will appear in the student's gradebook.
Transferring Final Grades to Faculty Center
The final grades that appear in the Canvas gradebook are not the final official grades for University of Wisconsin-Madison. Grades only become officien when they are entered into the Faculty Center, which is maintained by the Office of the Registrar. The process for manually entering grades into the Faculty Center are laid out in this KnowledgeBase article, Entering and Submitting Final Grades.
Instructors with large-enrollment courses (typically, more than 50 students) may want to explore the Faculty Center Grade Prep tool. It is intended to smoothly and easily simplify the transfer of grades from the Canvas gradebook into the Faculty Center. For details and instructions, refer to Canvas - Faculty Center Grade Prep Tool and Final Grade Preparation [UW-Madison]