GRADE CENTER RESOURCES
The Grade Center is a critical component of each ulearn course whether the course is online, hybrid, or on-ground. The Grade Center should include a column for each graded activity in the course and two calculated columns that show the % Grade to Date and the Letter Grade to Date.
Retention and Student Support
Johnson & Wales takes student retention and support very seriously. Correctly calculating and up-to-date grade centers in ulearn are critical to supporting the university’s retention efforts. Faculty can utilize the grade center data to monitor student progress in the course and initiate communication for course support. Accurate, up-to-date grade centers let students know where they stand in their courses and when they may need to seek help. Also, student service departments rely on the grade center data to determine appropriate student interventions and eligibility in athletics.
The setup of ulearn Grade Center should match the evaluative criteria listed in the course syllabus. The % Grade to Date and Letter Grade to Date calculated columns need to be set up accurately from the beginning of the semester. By providing transparent grades, students can keep track of how they are performing in the course so they know when to reach out for support.
The % Grade to Date and Letter Grade to Date calculated columns are based out of 100%. Faculty can use points or weighted categories (i.e., tests 35%, participation 10%, etc). Faculty should refer to ulearn Grade Center requirements from the Expectations & Guidelines for the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
- Grade Center User Guides
Creating and Editing Columns
Grading and Feedback
Grade Center Organization
Grade Center Reports - Grade Center Setup by Type
Weighted Category (Percent) Grade Center
Total Points Grade Center - Which Method is Better for Calculating?
Weighted Categories
Total Points
Grade Center User Guides
Creating and Editing Columns
Create a Grade Column
Edit a Grade Center Column
Setting/Changing Due Dates
Delete a Grade Center Column
Delete a Blog, Discussion, Journal or Wiki Grade Column
Grading and Feedback
Grade Center Icon Legend
Entering Student Grades
Editing Student Grades
Needs Grading
Grade Center Filter Tool
Viewing Grade History | View Video
Leaving Quick Comments/Feedback in Student Grade Cells
Updating/Reverting Student Grades
Display Calculated Column as External (Final Letter) Grade
Set External Grade Column
Import Final Grades to jwuLink
Grade Center Organization
View Column Organization
Moving Columns in the Grade Center
Hide or Show Grade Center Columns from Students
Hide or Show Grade Columns from Instructor View
Hide or Show Students in the Grade Center
Create Smart Views
Grade Center Reports
Download a Grade Center History
Download Final Letter Grades Report | View Video
Downloading Grades to Excel
Uploading Grades from Excel
Viewing Assignment Submission Receipts
Grade Center Setup by Type
Weighted Categories (Percent) Grade Center
- 1. Create columns (manual) or create assignments, discussions, journals, blogs, wikis, tests/quizzes, Turnitin (which create columns in the grade center points are added) according to your syllabus. Note: it’s strongly recommended to use 100 points possible for all assignments.
- 2. Categories should match the evaluative criteria in the course syllabus.
- 3. Assign columns to categories for when you have multiple columns in one category so that all the assignments or all the quizzes in a category can be assigned a weighted percentage.
- 4. Create or Edit the % Grade to Date calculated column to assign weights to categories or columns according to the evaluative criteria in the syllabus.
- 5. Create a Letter Grade to Date calculated column to convert the percentage grade to a letter grade according to the selected grade scale (JWU undergrad or JWU grad)
- 6. Edit the Letter Grade to Date column and Set as External to enable the letter grade column data to export to jwulink final grades and communicate with uSucceed.
- 7. Enter grades for manually submitted assignments or for assignments, discussions, tests/quizzes, journals, Turnitin, etc., submitted to ulearn within 7 days of the due date.
- 8. Check for zeros in the grade centers. If a student submitted an assignment after a zero is entered, the zero grade must be reverted (updated) to ensure the new grade is counted in their course average.
- 9. Import Final Grades to jwuLink when final grades are due. Note: Instructors can still update letter grades submitted to jwulink after using the import from ulearn tool.
Total Points Grade Center
- 1. Create columns (manual) or create assignments, discussions, journals, blogs, wikis, tests/quizzes, Turnitin (which create columns in the grade center when points are added) according to your syllabus.
- 2. (Optional) Create categories and assign columns to categories if planning to drop points in a category (such as dropping the lowest quiz or lowest assignment grade)
- 3. Create a Total Points to Date calculated column (or edit the existing one).
- 4. Create a % Grade to Date calculated column to convert the total points column to display as a percentage.
- 5. Create a Letter Grade to Date calculated column to convert the percentage grade to a letter grade according to the selected grade scale (JWU undergrad or JWU grad)
- 6. Edit the Letter Grade to Date column and Set as External to enable the letter grade column data to export to jwulink final grades and communicate with uSucceed.
- 7. Enter grades for manually submitted assignments or for assignments, discussions, tests/quizzes, journals, Turnitin, etc., submitted to ulearn within 7 days of the due date.
- 8. Check for zeros in the grade centers. If a student submitted an assignment after a zero is entered, the zero grade must be reverted (updated) to ensure the new grade is counted in their course average.
- 9. Import Final Grades to jwuLink when final grades are due. Note: Instructors can still update letter grades submitted to jwulink after using the import from ulearn tool.
Which Method is Better for Calculating an Overall Course Grade?
Weighted Categories
With weighted grading, each course activity is put into one of the categories used for the overall grade-to-date calculation. ulearn automatically applies the weights specified in the calculated column to provide the overall course grade to date.
- Graded activities can be easily added or skipped without throwing off the overall balance between types of activities.
- Extra credit can easily be added to course activities in ulearn, but not the overall course grade.
- Categories can be set up to drop the lowest grade(s) each student earns within the category.
- Students understand grades when they are out of 100%
Total Points
With total points, ulearn divides the student’s points earned by the maximum available points that could possibly have been earned in the course. Only points for submitted assignments or manually entered zeros are counted toward the total points possible in the course.
- Adding graded activities or skipping graded activities can throw off the planned overall allocation of points within a course.
- Extra credit for activities or the overall course grade can be easily accounted for in the Grade Center.
Grade Center Support
Calculating course grades accurately is important. Faculty are encouraged to reach out to IDT for a Grade Center check or to ask other questions about your Grade Center. Contact IDT by phone at 401-598-2389 or by email at idt@jwu.edu.