Now that the semester is in full swing and midterm exams are rapidly approaching, it seems like a good time for a brief refresher on New Gradebook, which was adopted university-wide in January 2020.
New Gradebook functions in much the same way as the Classic Gradebook, however, there are some important changes of which faculty and staff should be aware:
- The Mute Assignment Function has been Replaced with Grade Posting Policies
Grade Posting Policies control the visibility and release of grades and feedback to students. These replace the legacy Mute/Unmute feature in Canvas’s New Gradebook. Grade Posting Policies can be set to “Automatic” or “Manual”.
- Automatic Grade Posting (the default setting): Grades and feedback are visible to students as soon as they are entered. “Hiding” grades will hide already-entered grades and feedback, however anything else entered after selecting “Hide Grades” will be visible to students immediately.
- Manual Grade Posting: Students’ grades and feedback are hidden by default, and they must be posted before students can see them.
To set a course-level Grade Posting Policy, go to Grades, click on the Settings (gear) icon, and select the Grade Posting Policy tab:
To set a Grade Posting Policy for an assignment, open the Assignment Options Menu (three dots) at the top of the Gradebook column and select Grade Posting Policy.
For more information about “hiding” vs legacy “muting” grades, see: “Is ‘Hide Grades’ the Same as the Legacy ‘Mute Assignment’ Feature?”
2. Post Grades to Release Grades and Feedback to Students
Release grades and feedback for assignments with a “Manual” Grade Posting Policy by selecting Post Grades from the Assignment Options menu.
3. Assignment Status and Course Late Policies
New Gradebook includes several colors that indicate an assignment’s status, including late, missing, resubmitted, dropped, and excused. Status colors are primarily indicators that may assist instructors with the grading process. An assignment’s status color will not affect the grade unless a course-wide Late Policy has been established.
For more information about colors and icons in the Gradebook, see: “How do I use the icons and colors in the Gradebook?”
See the following for additional information about New Gradebook:
Questions? Email us at canvas@pobox.upenn.edu
Last Updated: 20 Oct 2021