eGradebook Users: Creating a Canvas Gradebook for Manual Entry of Grades

The documentation below is geared towards eGradebook users and the process of manually entering and importing scores and grades within the Canvas Gradebook. 

 

Access the Canvas Gradebook

With Canvas there is no need to request a course site or gradebook because Canvas course sites are auto-generated, based on instructor of record and enrollments in Peoplesoft, months in advance of the semester start.  Each Canvas course site has an electronic gradebook that can be customized and copied over to other Canvas sites, similar to what eGradebook provided when copying preferences from semester to semester.

Log into canvas (canvas.umn.edu) to find your course site.
 

Build a Gradebook Structure

In eGradebook, “Assignments” were added to create columns in the gradebook and “Categories” were added to create groupings of various assignments for organization and/or applying weights for grading.

In Canvas, “Assignments” are added to create columns in the gradebook, but to create groupings of various assignments for organization and/or applying weights for grading, Canvas uses  “Assignment Groups” instead of Categories.

Create an Assignment (Column)

To create a gradebook column in Canvas for the manual entry of grades, create a non-submission assignment in the Gradebook.

Create an Assignment Group (Category)

To organize, categorize or group assignment columns together, or apply weighted grading to assignments in Canvas, add an Assignment Group.

Set up Gradebook Calculations

In eGradebook, the “Grading Basis” (weighted or total points) and “Grade Cutoffs” (A=93%, A-=90%, B+=87%) were set up on the Calculations page. In Canvas, the set up of the grading basis and grade cutoffs occur in two different places.

Set a Grading Basis: Weighted or Total Points

Canvas is similar to eGradebook in that you can have a weighted gradebook or a total points gradebook. Note: The default grading basis in both Canvas and eGradebook is total points. To set up a weighted gradebook, refer to the Canvas documentation on how to weight final course grades.

If you are setting up a total points gradebook, then no further action is required for this process because the final course grades are based on total points by default.

Set Grade Cutoffs by Applying a Grading Scheme

In eGradebook the “Grade Cutoffs” (A=93%, A-=90%, B+=87%), were part of the Calculations page. In Canvas, the grade cutoffs can be set up when you apply a course Grading Scheme. Note: Applying a course grading scheme is required for exporting final grades from Canvas and into PeopleSoft Faculty Center.

Canvas is similar to eGradebook in that you can apply the default grading scheme or you can create and apply your own customized grading scheme. Note: the Canvas grading scheme only allows grade cutoffs based on percentages.

View and Adjust the Gradebook Display

In eGradebook, the “Display Options” page controlled what information is displayed to the instructor(s) and the students. It contained general information (course meeting days, time, and location etc.), and display settings for grade statistics (mean, median, standard deviation etc.). It also included an attendance span, which could be used to generate the “Attendance” tracking page, and included a commenting feature to display course level comments to all enrolled students.

In Canvas, the display options and settings for adjusting what is displayed is mainly handled within the “Grades” area and the course “Settings” area. Note: some of the display options that were available in eGradebook are shown by default (e.g. grade total and summary, distribution graphs) in Canvas.

Below are some step-by-step Canvas guides to help adjust the gradebook display options and settings:

Verify Access Rights for Instructors, TAs, and other Grading Roles

Canvas course sites will automatically include enrolled students, instructor(s) of record and Teaching Assistants directly from PeopleSoft. Each Canvas role type has an associated set of permissions that give the user appropriate levels of access to Canvas functions in that site.

If you have additional TAs and/or co-instructors who cannot be added to Peoplesoft via department scheduler etc., refer to the process for enrolling an observer to manually enroll TAs and other grading roles. Note: To choose another role other than observer, select another role option from the drop down menu, such as “non-editing instructor” or “Undergraduate TA”.

Additional Canvas Gradebook Documentation

 Below are some additional online guides for the Canvas gradebook.