Step 2 of the Wizard deals with the release of final grades in D2L.

Please Note: Selecting an option does NOT automatically release the Final Grade to students.

• Adjusted Final Grade: This option allows you to alter a student's grade by hand. This may include rounding a student's score up to the next letter grade or penalizing a student for absences.
• Calculated Final Grade: This option simply releases the total that D2L has calculated based on the scores that have been entered.

Step 3 of the Wizard focuses on grade calculations.

• Drop ungraded items: If this option is selected, grade items that have not been assigned a grade value will be ignored when final grades are calculated. This option creates a running total in your gradebook. If a student has received a 0 for an assignment, it is important that you enter a score of 0 for that assignment. If you don't, the student's final grade will not be accurate. If this option is changed after any scores have been entered into the gradebook, all final grades will become out of date and will require re-calculation.
• Treat ungraded items as 0: When this option is selected, grade items with no grade value will be given a grade value of 0. Selecting this option makes it look as though your students are failing for at least half of the course because they have not yet completed all graded assignments. If this option is changed after any scores have been entered into the gradebook, all final grades will become out of date and will require re-calculation.
• Auto Update: When this option is selected, the Calculated Final Grade will re-calculate automatically when any change that affects final grade calculations (i.e. modifying a user's grade, changing the 'bonus' property of a grade item, etc.) is made. If this option is NOT selected, the Calculated Final Grade must be manually re-calculated. Out-of-date final grades are indicated by a small calculator icon beside a user's final grade.

Step 4 of the Wizard allows you to select a Grade Scheme for your course. If you have not yet created any grade schemes for your course, only the default grade scheme will be available to you. The standard UA grade scheme is the default grade scheme and is as follows:

A	90 - 100+%
B	80 - 89%
C	70 - 79%
D	60 - 69%
E	0 - 59%

Step 5 of the Wizard allows you to set how many decimal places will be displayed to you in your gradebook.

Step 6 of the Wizard allows you to set display options for your students.

Step 7 of the Wizard gives you a summary of all of the options you selected. If you are satisfied with these settings, click Finish. If you would like to make any changes, click Back to move back through the steps.

Once the Wizard has been completed, you can begin creating your gradebook!

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Display Options

You can access Display Options by clicking Grades Settings located in the Grades Area menu. Here, you will be able to customize your personal gradebook display options as well as display options for your students.

• User Details - Choose to include additional user information such as their D2L email addresses, D2L student ID numbers, and D2L user names. The gradebook automatically displays the users' first and last names.
• Grade Details - Decide if you would like additional grade details to be visible.
• Repeat Users Details - How often do you want to see user details? Specify the number of grade items to appear between user details.
• Repeat Final Grades - Determine if you would like either the Calculated Final Grade and/or the Adjusted Final Grade to be displayed as the first item in the Grades List.



• Org Unit Display Options - Located as a link at the top of the Personal Display Options page. These options allow you to manipulate what your students can and cannot see. (Please note that you do have the ability to change the number of decimal places that 'Instructors' see as well as the number of decimal places a 'Student' sees. It is important to keep these numbers the same as different decimal places can give the impression of different grades. For example, D2L will round an 89.4 down to a B and an 89.49 up to an A.)

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Grade Items Display Options

Grade Items Display Options allows you to select which grade categories and items are displayed in the Student List. This only affects your view of the gradebook. It does not affect what your students can and cannot see. D2L and your computer may have a hard time processing such a large amount of information, therefore using this feature is often necessary if you have a high number of items in your gradebook.

To select individual categories and items to display, click Display Options on the Enter Grades screen. You can then continue to pick the items to display by checking the box to the left of each item. Note that if you have many grade items, the Display Options window may have a scroll bar. Be sure to click Save to save your changes.

Once you return to your Student List, you should be able to see the following message near the top of the screen - 'Note: Some grade items/categories are not displayed, click Display Options to change which items are visible.'

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Enter Grades by Item

Entering grades by item allows you to enter the scores of multiple students for a single grade item.

1. From either the Enter Grades screen or the Manage Grades screen, click the Grades icon to the right of the Grade Item name.
2. Enter the scores for each student.
   
3. Click Save to save your changes.

In addition to entering scores for each student, you can also add comments to each score by clicking the Comments icon to the right of each score. A new window will open, allowing you to enter Comments for Student (comments visible to you and the student) and/or Instructor Only Comments (comments visible only to you). You may also want to include Overall Comments. Overall Comments will be displayed to all users enrolled in your course and can be added by clicking Show details and overall comments.

Along the top of the Grade Item screen you will also see the following three icons:

• Clicking Event Log allows you to see who has modified scores for students, what was done, and when. This is especially helpful when there are multiple TAs or Instructors enrolled in the course. You will also see this icon to the right of each student's name. This gives you the ability to check the log for an individual student rather than searching for the student's name in the Grade Item log.
• Clicking Grade All allows you to enter one score for all users.
• Clicking Clear All will PERMANENTLY DELETE any scores that have been entered.

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Enter Grades by User

1. From the Enter Grades screen, click a student's name. The Grade user screen that appears will contain all of the grade information for that user.
2. Enter the scores for each grade item.

   

3. Click Save to save your changes.

In addition to entering scores for each grade item, you can also add comments for each score by clicking the Show Comments link under each grade item. You can then enter Comments for Student (comments visible to you and the student) and/or Instructor Only Comments (comments visible only to you).

Other options that can be found on the Grade User screen include:

• Flagging a user to identify them for future reference. Students cannot see flags.
• Emailing a user directly.
• Recalculating a user's Final Calculated Grade
• Entering an Final Adjusted Grade
• Releasing a user's Final Grade
• Previewing to see how users will view their grades.

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Enter Grades by Category

If you would like to enter the scores of multiple students for several Grade Items at once, you may want to try entering grades by Category. Doing so allows you to see multiple students and Grade Items at one time, saving you the trouble of moving among several different screens.

1. From either the Enter Grades screen or the Manage Grades screen, click the Grades icon to the right of the Grade Category name.
2. Enter the scores for each Grade Item and for each student.

   

3. Click Save to save your changes.

In addition to entering scores for each student, you can also add comments to each score by clicking the Comments icon to the right of each score. A new window will open, allowing you to enter Comments for Student (comments visible to you and the student) and/or Instructor Only Comments (comments visible only to you).

If you have entered several scores and would like to delete them all, simply click Clear All . Doing so will PERMANENTLY DELETE any scores you have entered.

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Spreadsheet View

An alternative to entering grades by Category is to use the Spreadsheet View. This view allows you to enter grades using Tab and Enter on your keyboard.

1. From the Enter Grades screen, Switch to Spreadsheet View . If you are already in Spreadsheet View, you will see Switch to Standard View.
2. Enter the scores for each Grade Item and for each student.
3. Click Save to save your changes.

Because you will be entering multiple scores, be sure to Save often.

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Importing Grades

Many instructors use Microsoft Excel to perform calculations that are not easy to create in D2L. If you are using Excel, you can save your gradebook as a CSV file and import that file into D2L.

Please Note: Any imported grade information will PERMANENTLY OVERWRITE and DELETE existing information. Make sure to double check column headings before importing.

1. From the Enter Grades screen, click Import Grades .
2. Click Browse and locate the saved CSV file on your computer.



3. If there are items in your CSV file that do not already exist in your D2L gradebook, select Item Creation. If this has been selected, D2L will create new grade items in your gradebook.
4. Click Next.
5. The next screen will notify you of any errors that were found in your file. Click Next to continue with the import.

   

6. Next, D2L will allow you to preview the information in your import. Once you have checked over the information, click Import to complete the process.

   

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Exporting Grades

Grade items, categories, and final grades can be exported into a CSV (comma separated values) format that can be read by Microsoft Excel. This allows you to keep a copy of your grades outside of D2L.

1. From the Enter Grades screen, click Export Grades .
   
2. Select the information that you would like to export. Under Export Options, we recommend selecting only Username and Last Name along with the Grade Value options you choose.
3. Select the Grade Items you would like to export.
4. Click Export to CSV.
5. When the Export Grades window opens and says Your file is ready to download, click the blue link to the file.

   

6. At this point, you may either Open the file or Save the file to your computer.

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Creating Grade Categories

Using Categories in your gradebook allows you to:

• Group similar grade items together
• Distribute points/weight evenly across grade items
• Drop the highest and lowest grade values

To create a new category in a POINTS gradebook:

1. Click New Category, located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.



2. Enter a Name for the category. You may also choose to give your category a Short Name.
3. If you choose, you may enter a description for the category. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
4. If students have the opportunity to earn more points than are assigned, you MUST select Can Exceed.
5. Select Distribution if you would like all grade items in this category to be worth the same. If you do not wish to do this, skip to step 8.
6. If you have chosen to distribute points evenly across items, enter the number of points each item will be worth.
7. Distributing points evenly throughout the category allows you to drop the highest and/or lowest scores. Simply enter the number of items you would like to drop in the text boxes beside Number of highest non-bonus grade values to drop for each user and/or Number of lowest non-bonus grade values to drop for each user.
8. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display category Statistics to everyone.
9. Click Save to save your category. If you wish to create multiple categories, you may also click Save and New.

To create a new category in a WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Category, located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Enter a Name for the category. You may also choose to give your category a Short Name.
3. If you choose, you may enter a description for the category. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
4. If students have the opportunity to earn more points than are assigned, you MUST select Allow category grade to exceed category weight.
5. Select Distribution if you would like all grade items in this category to be worth the same. If you do not wish to do this, skip to step 8.
6. Distributing weight evenly throughout the category allows you to drop the highest and/or lowest scores. Simply enter the number of items you would like to drop in the text boxes beside Number of highest non-bonus grade values to drop for each user and/or Number of lowest non-bonus grade values to drop for each user.
7. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display category Statistics to everyone.
8. Click Save to save your category. If you wish to create multiple categories, you may also click Save and New.

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Creating Grade Items

Grade Items may or may not be created within a category. The choice is up to you. To see how categories can be beneficial, click here. Grade Items can only be created by clicking New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.

Grade Item types include:

• Numeric: This is the most commonly used grade type. The student receives a designated score (e.g.: 8/10).
• Selectbox: The student receives a symbol and the associated grade value designated by the instructor using a course-specific grade scheme. Before this grade type can be used, you must first create a Grade Scheme.
• Pass/Fail: The student receives either full or no credit.
• Formula: The student's grade is based on a custom formula you create.
• Text: The student receives a text comment.
• Calculated: The student views a grade item that is made up of selected grade items (e.g.: Assignment 1 + Essay 1 + Quiz 1 = Week 1 Grade). This grade item does not affect the final grade.

Please Note: If you choose to create a Formula, Text, or Calculated item you will not be able to place it inside a category.

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Numeric Grade Items (Points)

To create a Numeric Grade Item in a POINTS gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Numeric from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you would like to, use the Category drop down menu to select the appropriate category. If you have not already created a category and would like to do so, you can click New Category.
5. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
6. Enter the point value in the Max. Points field.
7. If students have the opportunity to earn more points than are assigned, you MUST select Can Exceed.
8. Check the box to the right of Bonus if this is a bonus item. For more information regarding Bonus Items and Extra Credit, click here.
9. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for your course or this specific item. Ignore this menu if you have not created a grade scheme.



10. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



11. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Numeric Grade Items (Weighted)

To create a Numeric Grade Item in a WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Numeric from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you would like to, use the Category drop down menu to select the appropriate category. If you have not already created a category and would like to do so, you can click New Category.
5. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
6. Enter the point value in the Max. Points field.
7. Enter the Weight the grade item will have on the final grade.
8. If students have the opportunity to earn more points than are assigned, you MUST select Can Exceed.
9. Check the box to the right of Bonus if this is a bonus item. For more information regarding Bonus Items and Extra Credit, click here.
10. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for your course or this specific item. Ignore this menu if you have not created a grade scheme.



11. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



12. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Selectbox Grade Items (Points)

Selectbox Grade Items can only be created if you have already created a Grade Scheme. To create a Selectbox Grade Item in a POINTS gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Selectbox from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you would like to, use the Category drop down menu to select the appropriate category. If you have not already created a category and would like to do so, you can click New Category.
5. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
6. Enter the point value in the Max. Points field.
7. Check the box to the right of Bonus if this is a bonus item. For more information regarding Bonus Items and Extra Credit, click here.
8. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for this item.



9. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



10. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Selectbox Grade Items (Weighted) 

Selectbox Grade Items can only be created if you have already created a Grade Scheme. To create a Selectbox Grade Item in a WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Selectbox from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you would like to, use the Category drop down menu to select the appropriate category. If you have not already created a category and would like to do so, you can click New Category.
5. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
6. Enter the Weight the grade item will have on the final grade.
7. Check the box to the right of Bonus if this is a bonus item. For more information regarding Bonus Items and Extra Credit, click here.
8. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for this item.



9. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



10. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Pass/Fail Grade Items (Points)

To create a Pass/Fail Grade Item in a POINTS gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Pass/Fail from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you would like to, use the Category drop down menu to select the appropriate category. If you have not already created a category and would like to do so, you can click New Category.
5. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
6. Enter the point value in the Max. Points field.
7. Check the box to the right of Bonus if this is a bonus item. For more information regarding Bonus Items and Extra Credit, click here.
8. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for your course or this specific item. Ignore this menu if you have not created a grade scheme.



9. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



10. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Pass/Fail Grade Items (Weighted)

To create a Pass/Fail Grade Item in a WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Pass/Fail from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you would like to, use the Category drop down menu to select the appropriate category. If you have not already created a category and would like to do so, you can click New Category.
5. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
6. Enter the Weight the grade item will have on the final grade.
7. Check the box to the right of Bonus if this is a bonus item. For more information regarding Bonus Items and Extra Credit, click here.
8. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for your course or this specific item. Ignore this menu if you have not created a grade scheme.



9. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



10. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Formula Items

Formula Grade Items cannot be placed inside a category or given a weight. To create a Formula Grade Item in either a POINTS or WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Formula from the list of grade items
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.
5. Enter the point value in the Max. Points field.



6. Click Edit Using the Formula Editor to launch the formula editor, which is where you will build your formula. Please Note: Any grade items that you want to use in the formula must be built before you get to this stage.
7. Build your formula and click Insert.
8. If students have the opportunity to earn more points than are assigned, you MUST select Can Exceed.
9. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for your course or this specific item. Ignore this menu if you have not created a grade scheme.
10. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



11. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Text Grade Items

Text Grade Items cannot be placed inside a category. To create a Text Grade Item in either a POINTS or WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Text from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.



5. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.



6. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Calculated Grade Items

Calculated Grade Items cannot be placed inside a category as they are not associated with a specific point value or weight. To create a Calculated Grade Item in either a POINTS or WEIGHTED gradebook:

1. Click New Item located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select Calculated from the list of grade items.
3. Enter a Name for your item. You may also choose to give your grade item a Short Name.
4. If you choose, you may enter a description for the item. To do so, click Show Description. If you would like students to see the description, you will need to check Allow students to view description.



5. If students have the opportunity to earn more points than are assigned, you MUST select Can Exceed.
6. Use the Grade Scheme drop down menu to select a grade scheme that you have created for your course or this specific item. Ignore this menu if you have not created a grade scheme.
7. Select the Grade Items to Include in the calculation. You may select all grade items by checking the box found at either the top or bottom of the list.



8. Clicking Show Display Options will allow you to choose whether or not to display the item's Statistics to everyone. Under this heading, you can also alter the grade item's appearance in your gradebook so that it does not look like all other items.
9. Click Save to save your grade item. You may also click Save and New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items.

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Bonus Points and Extra Credit

Many instructors give their students a chance to earn Bonus Points or Extra Credit on assignments. You can use the gradebook to help you add these extra points into the Final Grade.

Bonus Grade Items

It is important to note that a Bonus Grade Item does not add points to the total number of points possible in a course. It is designed to give credit to students who complete the assignment without negatively affecting the Final Grades of students who do not complete the assignment. For example, instead of receiving a 0 on the assignment for not turning it in, a student doesn't receive a score at all when it comes to the final grade calculation.

To create a Bonus Grade Item:

1. Select and create the appropriate type of Grade Item.
2. On the Edit Item screen, check the box beside Bonus .
3. Click Save to save your changes.

Please Note: When using Bonus Items, you will need to allow the Final Grade to exceed points/weight. If you don't, the most a student can earn is 100%. If the Bonus Item is inside a Grade Category, you will need to allow the category to exceed points/weight. If you don't, the most a student can earn is 100% of the category.

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Re-Ordering Grade Items and Categories

When a new Grade Item or Category is created, it is automatically placed at the end of the Grades List. The instructions for moving these items are as follows:

1. Click Re-Order located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Use the Sort Order drop down menus to select the order each grade item and category will appear in. Please Note: If you choose to move a category, all grade items associated with that category will also be moved.
3. Click Save to save your changes.

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Deleting Grade Items and Categories

*DELETING ANY GRADE ITEM WILL PERMANENTLY DELETE GRADES THAT HAVE BEEN ENTERED FOR THAT ITEM*

To delete Grade Items and Categories:

1. Click Delete located near the top of the Manage Grades screen.
2. Select the items and/or categories you would like to delete by checking the box to the left of each. Please Note: Deleting a category will NOT delete the associated grade items. These items will be moved to the end of the Grades List and will no longer belong to a category.
3. Click Delete Selected to complete the process.

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Using Formulas and the Formula Editor

You can use a Formula as a Grade Item or as a way to calculate the Calculated Grade at the end of the semester. The Formula Editor is where you build, edit, validate, and add formulas to a grade book

You can build formulas using a combination of grade items, grade item options, and functions - plus numeric, comparison, and Boolean operators. The complexity of your formulas can range from simple - determining the sum of a series of grade items - to increasingly involved - being able to drop the highest or lowest grade from a series of grade items before determining their sum.

In general, the steps involved to build a formula are as follows: (1) Choose the combination of function, grades items, and operators, and the relationship between them that you want to include in the formula. (2) Validate your formula. (3) Preview the formula, then (4) insert the formula.

The functions that are available to you: MAX, MIN, SUM, AVG(statistical mean), IF, and NOT(boolean logic).

We recommend asking for help the first time you try to build a Formula or at least ask a member of the D2L Support Team to double check the Formula to ensure it is calculating the way you expect. D2L@email.arizona.edu

Some examples of Formulas are shown below.

• Drop the lowest 2 grade items from a set of 3 grade items:
  = SUM{ [G1.UserGrade], [G2.UserGrade], [G3.UserGrade] } – MIN{ [G1.UserGrade], [G2.UserGrade] } – IF{ MIN{[G2.UserGrade], [G3.UserGrade]}=MIN{ [G1.UserGrade], [G2.UserGrade] } , MIN{ [G1.UserGrade], [G3.UserGrade] }, MIN{ [G2.UserGrade], [G3.UserGrade] } }
• If the number in an item is over 5, then subtract 2 points for each number over 5 from the semester grade:
  CALCULATED_FINAL_GRADE.UserGrade - IF{ [ITEM1.UserGrade] > 5, 2 x ([ITEM1.UserGrade] - 5), 0 }
• If a student's score in any item is below 80%, then the student automatically fails the course:
  IF{ MIN{ [ITEM1.Percent], [ITEM2.Percent] } < 80, 0, 100 }

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Viewing Options

There are several different options for viewing your Student List. You have the ability to view grade items for all users, for specific course sections, or for course groups that you have created. This is especially useful when working with a large number of students within a course.

Viewing grades by Groups or Sections can also allow you to assign grades by group or section. For example, if you are currently viewing only Group 1 on the Student List screen, you can switch to the Spreadsheet View and enter grades for only students in Group 1. Once in the Spreadsheet View, you can switch to any group or section you like.

Please Note: Groups must have been created before you can view the Student List by groups.

To sort your grades by Users, Sections, or Groups:

1. From the Enter Grades screen, use the View By drop down menu to select User, Groups, or Sections.
2. If you have selected Groups or Sections, a second Groups or Sections drop down menu will appear. Use this menu to select a specific section or group. You may also choose to view the gradebook by All Groups or All Sections.

Other notable viewing options include:

• Using the Search for field to search for a particular student. This is done by typing a search term (e.g. last name, first name, etc.) into the Search For field and clicking Search. You can also click Show Search Options to search for flagged students or students with a certain score on a grade item.
• Using the per page drop down menu located at the far right side of your grade book, just above the Final Grades column, you can define how many students are listed on a page. If you have a large class size and several grade items, using a smaller per page value can increase your system performance.

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Previewing student views of grades

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Viewing Statistics

There are 3 separate areas to view grade statistics in your Gradebook:

• Grade Items
• Grade Categories
• Final Grades

From either the Enter Grades or the Manage Grades screens, click the Statistics icon to the right of any grade item or category name to access course grade statistics.

When viewing Statistics for the Final Grade, use the View Statistics for drop down menu to select to view either Calculated Final Grade or Adjusted Final Grade statistics.

Information that can be found in the Statistics section include:

• Number of submitted grades
• Class Average, Minimum, and Maximum
• Standard Deviation
• Median
• Mode
• Grade Distribution
• Individual user statistics

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Grade Schemes

D2L recognizes that not all courses use a standard grading scale. What might be considered a B in one course may be an A in another. Thus, it gives instructors the ability to create their own course grading schemes. Once a grade scheme has been created, you can set it as the default course scheme or it can be associated with only a specific grade item.

To access Grade Schemes, click Grades Schemes, located on the left side of your screen under the Grades Area menu.

Creating a New Grade Scheme

1. Click New.



2. Enter a Name for the scheme. You may also choose to give the scheme a Short Name.
3. Enter a Symbol type (e.g. A, B, C, etc.) and the corresponding grade range with the lowest value possible in the Start % column and the highest value possible in the Assigned Value % column. You may also select a Color to be associated with each grade range.
4. To add more grade ranges, click Add Ranges at the bottom of the list. You can add more than one grade range at a time by entering the number of ranges you would like to add and then clicking Add Ranges. To delete a grade range, click the Remove Range icon to the right of the range you would like to delete.
5. Click Save to save your changes.
6. Once your grade scheme has been completed, you need to put it to work. This is done by changing a grade item's Grade Scheme in the Edit Grade Item screen or the Edit Calculated/Adjusted Final Grade screen.

Copying Grade Schemes You can make copies of Grade Schemes. This includes copying a Grade Scheme from one course to another. To do so, you must be enrolled in both courses as an 'Instuctor'.

1. Click Copy.
2. Select the grade scheme you would like to copy.
3. Near the bottom of the screen, enter a New Scheme Name.
4. Make any necessary changes to the scheme.
5. Click Save.

Deleting Grade Schemes

1. Click Delete.
2. Select the Grade Schemes you would like to delete by checking the box to the left of the scheme's name.
3. Click Delete Selected.

Please Note: If a grade scheme is in use, you will not be able to delete it. You must first remove the scheme from any grade items that are utilizing it. You cannot delete organizational schemes.

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Calculation Options

Calculation Options is perhaps the most important area of your Gradebook. If you choose not to go through the Grades Setup Wizard, we highly recommend that this be the first area you visit when beginning a new Gradebook. In Calculation Options you will choose an appropriate grading system for your Gradebook and set preferences for the final grade calculation and release.

To get to the Grade Calculations screen, click Grades Settings followed by Calculation Options .

Course Grading Systems:

• Weighted System: Under a Weighted System, grade categories are assigned a weight as a percentage of the final grade, and grade items are assigned a weight as a percentage of their parent category (or of the final grade if they have no parent category). The grades tool will show warnings on the screen if the categories/items do not add up to 100%. You can choose to ignore these warnings and operate with your grades tool without a total weight of 100%. Keep in mind, however, that final grads will be calculate with the assumption that everything sums to 100%.



• Points System: Under a Points System, items are given a value in points. Categories are then calculated by the sum of the points of their child items. Therefore, the final grade becomes the total number of points of all the grade items.



• Formula System: Under a Formula System, items are given a worth in points and then a custom-defined formula determines how they contribute to the calculated final grade. We only recommend using this option if the first two options do not meet your needs. This option can be difficult to use and should only be used when the simpler options cannot meet your needs. Occasionally the Formula Editor will use parathensis that are not displayed in the Editor, but will be placed in the Final Grades Properties page so make sure to double check when troubleshooting.


Example:

If the number in an item is over 5, then subtract 2 points for each number over 5 from the semester grade
CALCULATED_FINAL_GRADE.UserGrade - IF{ [ITEM1.UserGrade] > 5, 2 x ([ITEM1.UserGrade] - 5), 0 }

If a student's score in any item is below 80%, then the student automatically fails the course
IF{ MIN{ [ITEM1.Percent], [ITEM2.Percent] } < 80, 0, 100 }

If Midterm 1 is less than Midterm 2 then take the average of both Midterms and replace Midterm 1 with this new number. Lastly add the new number with Midterm 2 to create the Midterm Category Score. (IF{([Midterm 1.UserGrade] < [Midterm 2.UserGrade]),(([Midterm 1.UserGrade] +
[Midterm 2.UserGrade]) / 2),[Midterm 1.UserGrade]} + [Midterm 2.UserGrade])

Final Grade Released

Please Note: Selecting an option does NOT automatically release the Final Grade to students.

• Adjusted Final Grade: This option allows you to alter a student's grade by hand. This may include rounding a student's score up to the next letter grade or penalizing a student for absences.
• Calculated Final Grade: This option simply releases the total that D2L has calculated based on the scores that have been entered.

Final Grade Calculation

Choosing from the following options will determine how the final grade will be calculated in your gradebook.

• Drop ungraded items: If this option is selected, grade items that have not been assigned a grade value will be ignored when final grades are calculated. This option creates a running total in your gradebook. If a student has received a 0 for an assignment, it is important that you enter a score of 0 for that assignment. If you don't, the student's final grade will not be accurate. If this option is changed after any scores have been entered into the gradebook, all final grades will become out of date and will require re-calculation.
• Treat ungraded items as 0: When this option is selected, grade items with no grade value will be given a grade value of 0. Selecting this option makes it look as though your students are failing for at least half of the course because they have not yet completed all graded assignments. If this option is changed after any scores have been entered into the gradebook, all final grades will become out of date and will require re-calculation.
  
• Auto Update: When this option is selected, the Calculated Final Grade will re-calculate automatically when any change that affects final grade calculations (i.e. modifying a user's grade, changing the 'bonus' property of a grade item, etc.) is made. If this option is NOT selected, the Calculated Final Grade must be manually re-calculated. Out-of-date final grades are indicated by a small calculator icon beside a user's final grade.

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Final Grade Properties

The properties of the Calculated Final Grade and the Adjusted Final Grade can be edited by clicking Manage Grades. If you are already on the Manage Grades screen, Manage Grades will be highlighted in yellow. Then, click either Calculated Final Grade or Adjusted Final Grade, depending on which you would like to edit.

Once you are on the Edit screen, you have the ability to change the following for both the Adjusted Final Grade and the Calculated Final Grade:

1. Display name and short name
2. Can the final grade exceed the total points/weight available?
3. Determine what an A, B, C, D and E are using the Grade Scheme drop down menu
4. Statistics released to students - this option is only available for the Calculated Final Grade
5. Display Options - these have no effect on the student view, but if either Points/Weighted grade or Grade scheme symbol are not selected, the final grade will not display for you in the Student List.
6. Release Conditions - these can be found on the Restrictions tab of the Calculated Final Grade only

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Calculating Final Grades

Calculating final grades consists of:

• Recalculating the Calculated Final Grade - Please Note: If you opted to keep the final grade automatically updated, the final grade page should already be up-to-date (See Calculation Options for more information).
• Transferring Calculated Grades to Adjusted Grades
• Making adjustments to the Adjusted Grades
• Releasing the final grade to students

To get to the Final Grades page:

1. From the Enter Grades screen, click the Enter Grades icon in the Final Grades column

   OR

2. From the Manage Grades screen, click the Enter Grades icon to the right of Calculated Final Grade or Adjusted Final Grade

If you notice a small calculator icon in the Final Calculated Grade column for any particular user, your Final Calculated Grade is no longer up-to-date for that user.

There are two ways to remedy this:

1. Click the small calculator icon beside the individual's calculated grade to update.

   OR

2. Click Recalculate All to update the final grades for all users on the page.

If, after recalculating the Calculated Grades, you would like to make hand adjustments to any student's grade, follow these instructions:

1. Click Transfer All located near the top of the screen.
2. Use the text boxes in the Final Adjusted Grade column to change the student's score
3. Click Save to save your changes

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Releasing Final Grades

Releasing final grades is done from the Final Grades page. To get to the Final Grades page:

1. From the Enter Grades screen, click the Enter Grades icon in the Final Grades column

   OR

2. From the Manage Grades screen, click the Enter Grades icon to the right of Calculated Final Grade or Adjusted Final Grade

To release final grades to ALL students, simply click Release All located near the top of the screen. To release final grades to INDIVIDUAL students, check the box to the left of the student's name and the box under Release Calculated Final Grade or Release Final Adjusted Grade column. Click Save to save your changes. The name of this column changes depending on the option that you selected in Calculation Options.

This option can be changed at any time during the course of the semester by going to Grades Settings and then Calculation Options. It is not uncommon for an instructor to begin the semester using the Calculated Grade and then switch to the Adjusted Grade at the end of the semester.

Please Note: If you have made hand adjustments to any one student's final grade, you must choose to release the Adjusted Grade, otherwise students with adjusted grades will be unable to see the correct score.

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D2L and Grade Roster - Submitting Final Grades

 

All course grades must be electronically submitted using the UA's Grade Roster system. If you have questions that are specific to Grade Roster, you will need to contact your trained Department Contact directly.

Final Grades from your D2L gradebooks can now be automatically imported into Grade Roster. Please visit our Grade Roster Help Page for instructions on this process. If you have any questions, or if you would like assistance with preparing your Final Grades or completing the import, do not hesitate to send us an email at D2L@email.arizona.edu

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My exam has two separate scores

Some Instructors may choose to enter an exam grade as a single grade item while others choose to separate sections of an exam into multiple grade items so that they can show students how they did on each part individually.

To do this:

1. Create a new Grade Category for you exam. If you are working in a Weighted gradebook, make the category's weight the total weight of the exam. For example, if your exam is worth 20% of the semester grade, then the categories weight should be 20.
2. Create new Grade Items for each section of the exam (e.g. Multiple Choice, Short Answer, Essay, etc.) In a Weighted gradebook, the weight of all grade items in the category will add up to 100%. 

Please Note: We recommend adding comments to either the grade category or each of the grade items so that your students will know what they are looking at in the gradebook. This will help reduce any confusion.

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Tracking Attendance

Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to track attendance using D2L. We have come up with a couple of options that you can use to keep track of students' absences. Please keep in mind, however, that neither of these options can automatically subtract points or a percentage from the final grade if a student has more than a certain number of absences. For example, students in your class are allowed 3 absences. For every absence after the 3, you subtract two percentage points from their final grade. D2L cannot calculate this.

One option is to record absences using a Text Grade Item. This will allow you to manually input the number of absences as well as their dates. Then, at the end of the semester, you can adjust the students' Final Grades using the Adjusted Final Grade column.

• Text Grade Items

1. Click here to learn more about creating Text Grade Items.
2. Once a Text Grade Item has been created, you can begin recording absences. To do this, find the item you created and click the Enter Grades icon to the right of the item name.
3. Find the student(s) with the absence and enter the date of the absence or the total number of absences (e.g., 8/29/07 or 3).
4. You may also choose to enter comments for each student. Such comments might include the dates of the absences or a warning. This is done by clicking the conversation bubble to the right of the student's grade. 
5. Once you have completed recording absences, click Save to save your changes.

• Numeric Grade Items

  Another option for tracking attendance in your course is to assign a grade value to class attendance/participation using Numeric Grade Items. You may choose to do this using a single grade item or several grade items. See the examples below:

  Using a single Class Participation grade item:
  If you decide to use only one grade item to track attendance, you may want to include comments to your students so that they know what is happening with their grade. This will help to reduce confusion.

  Using several grade items:
  The down side to using a grade item for each day of class is that your gradebook can become quite large, which can cause processing errors in D2L. This can be avoided by changing the paging value to a smaller number.

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Failing one section means failing the entire course

Some instructions like to break their course down into units that require students' complete comprehension of the material. Occasionally, the grading system for these courses is setup so that if a student fails one unit they fail the entire course. Unfortunately, D2L's Final Grade cannot calculate this. You can, however, use Calculated Grade Items to help you keep track of students' progress. Click here to learn more about creating Calculated Grade Items. Once you have created your Calculated Grade Items you may want to re-order your gradebook to move the items closer to the items they contain, if possible

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Curving a Grade Item or the Final Grade

It is possible to apply grading curves to specific grade items, including the Final Grade. This is done by creating a new Grade Scheme. You can use the Grade Scheme to specify letter grades and their grade ranges.

Click here to learn how to create a Grade Scheme.

Once you have created your Grade Scheme, follow the instructions below to apply it to selected grade items.

1. From the Manage Grades screen, click the title of the grade item you would like to edit.
2. Using the Grade Scheme drop down menu, select the Grade Scheme you created.
3. Click Save to save your changes.

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