Customizing the Grade Center

Overview

All the Grade Center functions are initiated from the Grade Center page. This view is customizable, giving Instructors the ability to sort items in ways to maximize efficiency and to view student information with a minimum of scrolling.

Columns can selectively be revealed and hidden from the Grade Center to reduce scrolling. Columns can be categorized in order to filter or sort them together. Columns can also be assigned a Grading Period to sort them together. Defining Categories and Grading Periods is discussed in Setting Up the Grade Center and Planning Assessment.

The Grade Center, by default, lists Students’ First and Last Names first. Students may be listed by username or Student ID as well, depending on how the Grade Center has been organized. Columns for gradable items and calculations of sets of graded items appear across the page. Icons display in cells to signify the availability of students, the visibility of items to students, and the status of Gradable Items, providing a current view of the state of the Grade Center.

Note: The ability to configure the Grade Center view, and the ability to manage columns and cells are available through the Grade Center page, within the Action Link that corresponds to each cell and column header.

Customizing the Grade Center Workflow

The following diagram illustrates a typical workflow an Instructor would undertake to customize the Grade Center.

Sorting the Grade Center

To facilitate seeing Grade Center data in different ways, Instructors, TAs, and Graders may sort all visible columns within the Grade Center based on different criteria including:

• Categories – User defined categories or default categories to identify the type of gradable item such a “Test” or “Lab Report”.
• Due Date – Instructor defined date that a gradable item is due.
• Creation Date – The date that a gradable item is created in the system.
• PointsPossible – Instructor defined total number of points a gradable item is worth.
• Display Name – Instructor defined name for the gradable item.

Note: Sorting based on the criteria defined here is not saved across sessions (persistent). It will last only as long as the current session. Once the browser is closed, the view will default back to its default view.

Showing and Hiding Users

Users can be hidden from the Grade Center View, reducing the number of rows in the grid. Hidden users are not removed from the Grade Center, and can be revealed at any time. To hide users follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select Show/Hide Users from the Action Link menu.
3. Check the users to be hidden.
4. Click Hide Users.
5. Click Submit.

Users that are hidden will appear grayed out on the Users page and will not appear in the Grade Center View.

To show hidden users follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select Show/Hide Users from the Action Link menu.
3. Check the users to be shown.
4. Click Show Users.
5. Click Submit.

Users that are shown will appear in black text on the Users page and will appear in the Grade Center View.

Organizing the Grade Center

The Organize Grade Center page aids in configuring the Grade Center display. The Grade Center display can be customized to:

• Freeze or unfreeze columns. If a column is frozen, when scrolling through the Grade Center view, that column will remain stationary.
• Hide or show columns.
• Modify the Categories of columns.
• Modify the Grading Periods of columns.

Some of these changes can be implemented through the drag-and-drop capabilities of the page.

To change the display of the Grade Center, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu,
3. Select the Grade Center column (displayed on the screen as a row) to be moved by clicking and holding any part of the row.
4. Drag and Drop the row to the desired location.
5. Click Submit to save changes.

Once the display order of the columns has been changed, all new columns added to the Grade Center are added at the end of the display order, unless associated to a particular Grading Period. If a Grading Period is associated to a column, then the column will display in the Grade Center within the Grading Period range.

Note: If two people are modifying the Grade Center Organize Grade Center at the same time the changes made by the first will be overwritten when the second person saves the changes.

Hiding and Showing Grade Center Columns within the Grade Center

Instructors have the ability to hide any columns from displaying within the Grade Center. Hiding a column from displaying maintains all existing information associated with the column, but prevents it from being seen within the Grade Center. Hiding columns that are not currently being used reduces the length of the grid, thus reducing the need for continuous scrolling.

To hide a column, follow these steps from the Grade Center page:

1. Move the cursor over the column to be hidden.
2. Click the Action Link to display the contextual menu.
3. Select Hide Column.

Or:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Select the check boxes of the Grade Center columns to be hidden.
4. Click Show/Hide.
5. Select Hide column from the Action Link menu.

Hidden columns will appear grayed out in the Grade Center view.

6. Click Submit to save changes.

Instructors are able to reveal hidden columns along with all the associated data, restoring the display in the Grade Center. To show columns, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Select the check boxes of the Grade Center columns to be revealed.
4. Click Show/Hide.
5. From the Action Link menu, select ShowColumn.
6. Click Submit to save changes.

Making Columns Visible to All Views of the Grade Center

Grade Center Views can be customized using different criteria, one of which is Grading Periods (see Creating Grading Periods for more information about creating Grading Periods). To maintain consistency among different views of the Grade Center, some columns such as a final grade column can be selected appear in every view of the Grade Center.

Columns listed under Shown in all views of the GradeCenter appear in all views. To make columns visible in all views, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Select the Grade Center Column (displayed on the screen as a row) to be moved into the Shown in all views of the Grade Center table by clicking and holding any part of that row.
4. Drag and Drop the row into the Shown in all views of the Grade Center table.
5. Click Submit to save changes.

To remove columns from the Shown in all views of the GradeCenter section, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Select the Grade Center column (displayed on the screen as a row) to be moved from the Shown in all views of the Grade Center table by clicking and holding any part of that row.
4. Drag and Drop the row from the Shown in all views of the Grade Center table to a table below.
5. Click Submit to save changes.

Freezing and Unfreezing Panes

Grade Center columns can be frozen in place so they do not move while scrolling through the other data. The columns containing students’ first and last names are frozen by default. Frozen columns remain in position on the left side of the Grade Center while the rest of the columns can be scrolled through. This feature can be used for example to easily match up individual students with their data across the length of the Grade Center. Instructors can freeze and unfreeze any of the columns on the Organize Grade Center page.

To freeze or unfreeze a column in any of the Grade Center views follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. To freeze a column:

1. Drag the dark gray bar down below the desired row.
2. Drag a row above the dark gray bar.

4. To unfreeze columns:

1. Drag the dark gray bar above the desired row.
2. Drag a row below the dark gray bar.

5. Click Submit to save changes.

Tip: To help ensure consistent views of the Grade Center, freeze any Weighted Grade Columns and Total Points Columns.

Modifying Column Categories

From the Organize Grade Center page, it is possible to change the Grade Categories of existing columns. A Grade Center Category is a classification of a Grade Center column for a course. For instance, “Homework,” “Test,” or “Quiz” are possible Categories that can have Grade Center columns associated to them.

To change a Grade Category through the Organize Grade Center page, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Select the desired columns to change by selecting the corresponding check boxes.
4. Select the new category from the list displayed under ModifyCategory.
5. Select the Category to which to change the column or columns.
6. Click Submit to save changes.

Modifying Grading Periods through the Organize Grade Center Page

In the Organize Grade Center page, it is possible to change the Grading Periods to which columns are associated. Grading Periods are segments that can help manage the Grade Center. Grading Periods, for example, can be defined as Terms, Semesters, Quarters, Years, and so on, and can have date ranges that further define them. Grading Periods are not created by default. They must be defined by Instructors, if desired.

To modify the Grading Period of a column, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Select the desired columns to change by selecting the corresponding check boxes.
4. From the Action Link Menu under Modify Grading Period select the Grading Period for the column.

To create a new Grading Period follow the Manage Grading Periods link at the top of the page.

5. Click Submit to save changes.

Or

1. Click Manage in the Action Bar of the Grade Center.
2. Select OrganizeGradeCenter from the Action Link menu.
3. Open up the Grading Period destination by clicking the + box.
4. Drag and Drop the column to the desired Grading Period section.

Only one column can be moved at a time.

5. Click Submit to save changes.