Speedgrader and the Gradebook

Assignments are created in the Assignments section of Canvas. Creating an assignment will create a column in the Canvas gradebook. Grading in Canvas is done in the Speedgrader. The options available to you in the SpeedGrader will be slightly different depending on the type of assignment submission (file upload, text entry, quiz question, etc.) and whether you are using a rubric.

Giving students feedback on assignments

Within the SpeedGrader, there are several different options for leaving feedback. Here are some guides that will explain those options:

Help your students find your feedback

Do you feel like your students aren’t reading the feedback you give on assignments? It may be that they can’t find it in Canvas. As stated above, there are several types of feedback you can offer students, and they find that feedback in different places in their Grades section. If you are using annotated feedback (that left within the text of a student paper submission), you may want to suggest that your students access that feedback on a computer instead of a mobile device. The small screen size can make it harder to view annotated feedback on a phone. Here are links to some Canvas guides that you can give to students to help them find their feedback:

Feedback Overview Video for Students (first 1:30 is about peer review)
Grades Overview Video for Students
How do I view assignment comments from my instructor?
How do I view rubric results for my assignment?
How do I view annotation feedback comments from my instructor directly in my assignment submission?

If your students are using the mobile app, they will need to access information differently than on a computer. Here are some links to guides on how to access items in the mobile apps:

Use rubrics for grading

Are you using rubrics in your Canvas assignments, but you still have to manually enter the student’s score after using the rubric? If so, this means your rubric has not been set to automatically populate the rubric score. To fix this, simply go to the Assignments section and click the assignment with the rubric. On the rubric, click the pencil in the upper right corner. Check the box that says, “Use this rubric for assignment grading” and hit update rubric. Now when you use the rubric, it will automatically submit the score to the gradebook once you save your rubric scoring in the Speedgrader.

Removing Students No Longer Enrolled from the Gradebook

Students who drop your courses will remain in your gradebook to retain the records of any grades they accrued in your course. However, you can hide these students from your gradebook view. To hide these students, go to the Gradebook, put your mouse over Student Name on the first column. Once your mouse is over Student Name, three dots will appear to the right. Click the three dots on the right. Under "Show" it is likely that Inactive and/or Concluded Enrollments have check marks. Simply click them to get rid of the check marks and this should hide those students from your gradebook. If you need to access that student’s grades later, simply reverse this process. You may need to reverse this process to see a student for a "Last Date of Attendance" request.

Adding “0’s” to the Canvas gradebook

If you have students who missed submissions, you will need to enter a 0 into the gradebook for those assignments. If you do not, those assignments will not count towards their grade, thus artificially increasing the total grade. You can enter the zeros manually in the gradebook by clicking in the cell, typing zero, and hitting enter. If you have a column that has many missing assignments, you can enter them manually, or you can set a default grade. To do this, go to the top of the column, click the three dots, and the click Set Default Grade. In the popup box, type “0”. Leave the “Overwrite already-entered grades” box unchecked. As long as you do not check that box, Canvas will enter a zero for each missing grade, and leave the other grades unchanged.

Checking your weighted grades in Canvas

If you are using weighted grades, you may want to manually calculate a student grade to determine if the gradebook is working in the way you expect and calculating grades as your syllabus describes.

Canvas calculates weighted grades using the overall percentage for an entire Assignment Group, not for each assignment score within a group. If there are varied point values in the Assignment Group, those with the higher point values will count more heavily on the student's grade. If this is not how you want your grades to calculate, you can find details on how to adjust for this here: https://teach.uiowa.edu/icon-weighted-gradebook-equally-distribute-assignment-values

Remember, if you are weighting grades, you must use Assignment Groups. You can learn more about weighting with assignment groups here: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10059-how-do-i-weight-the-final-course-grade-based-on-assignment-groups

Exporting your Canvas gradebook

Once you have completed all grades, you may want to export your gradebook as an Excel sheet to retain grades for your records. To do this, go to the gradebook, click Actions at the top, then click Export. Make sure you save the file in a secure space since it will include student grades.

How do I transfer my grades from Canvas to Catalyst?

If you are not putting grades into Canvas and you need instructions for manually entering grades into Catalyst click here.

If you want to override any grade (ex. make a C+ a B-) in Canvas before submitting it to Catalyst you can find instructions for doing so here.

Getting your grades moved from your Canvas gradebook to the Catalyst systems requires a couple steps in Catalyst. However, you should start by verifying that you have a grade scheme selected in Canvas. If you do not have a grading scheme enabled in Canvas, your grades will NOT transfer to Catalyst.

Check Your Grading Scheme in Canvas

In your course, go to Settings. On the Course Details tab, look for Grading Scheme about halfway down, and make sure the “enable grading scheme” box is checked. Next click “view grading scheme.” Verify that the grading scheme aligns with your course requirements. If it does not, click the pencil and enter your grading scheme. If you made changes, click Update Course Details at the bottom to save your changes. Complete this process in each course. Now you are ready to head to Catalyst.

Transfer Grades into Catalyst

To get to Catalyst, go to catalyst.uc.edu or use the Catalyst link in Bearcats Landing. Duo may be required for entry. Once Catalyst has opened, click Faculty Center. In your Faculty Center, make sure you are on the correct term; click Change Term if you need to make a change. Now click the grading roster icon for the course you want to grade.

You may be asked for the Last Date of Attendance for students who withdrew from your course. If you are asked for Last Date of Attendance you will likely need to return to Canvas to get information about those students. Instructions for accessing details on students who have withdrawn from your course are here, if needed.

Once you have added the Last Date of Attendance for students, you are ready to pull grades from Canvas. Make sure you are on the Grade Roster tab. Then, verify that the Grade Roster Type is set to Final Grade. Now click “Canvas Grade Import Authorize.”

You will now need to give Catalyst permission to access Canvas. Click Authorize on the popup box.

Once authorization is complete, you will be returned to Catalyst. Click the Canvas Grade Import button. Catalyst will now pull in your grades from Canvas.

Check to make sure the grades have transferred properly. If you receive an error message it should direct you to the problem. If you are unable to resolve the issue contact IT@UC.

If your grades are correct, click Save at the bottom. Now you will need to approve your grades. At the top of the page, select Approved from the drop-down menu in the Grade Roster Action box and click Save.

Grade Roster Action section of Catalyst where you will select Approved and Save your grades.

The final step is to post your grades. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Post. Your grades are now final.

Catalyst grade roster page where you will post your grades.

Repeat this process for each course. Congratulations on finishing your semester!

If you need additional details on the grade submission process click here for a KB article.

Approve and Post Grades

After you have pulled grades into Catalyst from Canvas, or manually entered them, you need to approve and post them. Under the Grade Roster Action section toward the top of the page, use the Approval Status drop-down menu to select Approved. Click Save. Now, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Post. You have now completed grading for this course. Use the same process to enter grades for your other courses.

Last Date of Attendance

If you need to use the Canvas gradebook to get Last Date of Attendance for a student who withdrew from your course, you will need to make that student visible in your course. Go to your gradebook. The first column has student names. At the top of the column, click the three dots next to Student Name. In the pop-up box, click Inactive Enrollments. This will add back the students who are no longer enrolled in your course.