UW-River Falls

Tutorial

Exporting end-of-semester grades to eSIS

Note: This service will be available starting with Fall, 2006 semester. Step-by-step instructions follow later in this document. As always, questions should be directed to d2l-help@uwrf.edu or call Mary-Alice Muraski (x0660) or Dan Semi (x4357).

Background: UW-Madison and UW-Green Bay piloted a process that allows instructors to transfer final grades from their D2L gradebook to their student information system Grade Roster with just a few mouse clicks. This greatly streamlines the grade submission process at the end of the semester for those instructors who use the D2L gradebook. UW River Falls is now one of seven institutions that utilize this process.

What is required: An instructor must have a D2L course and use the D2L gradebook. The D2L gradebook must include a Final Grade column and must have a grading scheme assigned to that column. The grading scheme will probably be a new grading scheme defined by the instructor or it can be the Organization Scheme (90-80-70 Plus/Minus) available to all instructors. The Final Grade cannot use the Percentage grade scheme provided as the default in D2L. The grading scheme must produce valid letter grades, e.g., A, A-, B+, B, and cannot include A/B, Ok, Pass, 92%, etc.

How it works: At the end of the semester the instructor reviews the D2L Gradebook and confirms that it is complete. With three clicks of the mouse the final grades are transferred to eSIS. The instructor logs into eSIS and navigates to their grade roster. The instructor clicks one button and the grades that were exported from D2L are brought into the Grade Input column of eSIS. The instructor confirms, Saves, and Approves their grades in eSIS.

Who benefits most: Instructors using the D2L gradebook with large classes will benefit most from this process. Instructors with very small classes might choose to enter grades directly in eSIS as they have in the past.

What if I make a mistake on a grade: This process imports grades into eSIS but the instructor must Save and Approve those grades before the process is complete. An instructor can still change one or more grades in eSIS after the import and before the grades are approved.

What if I don't want to use this service: This process is completely optional. Any instructor is welcome to enter their grades in eSIS as they have in the past.

The process of transporting final grades from D2L to eSIS follows.

Logon to D2L and go to the gradebook of the completed course.
Review the final grades. Letter grades need to be determined by the Adjusted Grade, not the Calculated Grade. The final grade must use a grade scheme that produces only those characters recognized by eSIS, e.g., A, A-, B+, B, etc. It cannot include characters such as A/B, Pass, 90%, etc.

Most instructors create their own grade schemes so they can define the exact grade cutoffs but a built-in scheme is also available for use. Instructors can also create a separate grade scheme to apply only to the final grade. It is acceptable to leave some student final grades empty in D2L as long as those grades are later entered in eSIS.
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Click on the Import/Export button in the gradebook . Then select the third import/export option: "Send final course grades to the Student Information System..." (Note that this option will not display if the gradebook was never set up.) Click the “Export to CSV file” button. You will see a "Grades Export was successful! " message when the grades are sent. If you receive an error message, wait a few minutes and try again.

Currently, grade files are downloaded from D2L every five minutes. There is a three minute delay for the grades to arrive on campus and make it to an area for import to eSIS course grade roster. So, after grades are exported from D2L the instructor will have to wait no more than ten minutes, and possibly less. An email is automatically sent to the instructor when the grades arrive for import into eSIS.
Logon to eSIS and navigate to the Grades Roster for the desired course. If the grade file is there, you will see a yellow "Import D2L Grades" button. Click it and the grades appear in the eSIS grade table. This process overwrites existing grades in the eSIS grade roster so any grades already entered in the grade roster will be replaced with whatever grade is being imported from D2L. This also means that instructors can import grades, return to D2L to make large-scale changes, and re-import the grades. It also means that an instructor can try it with just a few final grades and then come back and finish with all grades.

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Check over the grades and make changes as you see fit. Look for any missing grades and any grades that came in with unusual characters. Make corrections as needed.
Save and Approve your grades in eSIS as you normally do.

Notes on the Calculated and Adjusted Grades and grade schemes:

The structure of the D2L gradebook suggests that instructors can use either the Calculated grade or the Adjusted grade. For purposes of the eGrading process, that is not correct. The only grades that transfer are the letter grades associated with the Adjusted grades - letter grades associated with Calculated grades are never transferred.

Notes and FAQ:

Who do I contact for help? Contact d2l-help@uwrf.edu or call Mary-Alice Muraski (x0660) or Dan Semi (x4357) in ITS if you have questions on grade schemes, eGrading or other D2L issues.

When can I transfer my D2L grades to eSIS? You can transfer grades from your D2L course to eSIS any time during the open grading window at the end of the semester.

Can I transfer my grades more than once? Yes, you can transfer grade files from D2L to eSIS as often as you like until the course grades are Approved and Posted in eSIS. Each time you import grades into an eSIS grade roster they replace previously existing grades. Remember, it might take as long as eight minutes before the new grades are ready in eSIS; wait for the email.

What if I have multiple sections in my D2L course? When you export grades from a D2L course all grades for all sections are included. Each class section in eSIS picks up the appropriate students and grades associated with that section.

What if my D2L course has more than one instructor? Any instructor in a D2L course can initiate the grade export process. Only the instructor of record or primary instructor can logon to eSIS, import and finalize the grades.

What if I unenroll a student from my D2L course? Please do not do this. The last grade that student had will go into eSIS. To make things worse, there's nothing to draw attention to this in eSIS so it is likely to go through unnoticed. If a student has late dropped your course, their information should be removed from D2L by the over night process. It would be better to blank out the grade for that student, then assign an F, XF, or I in eSIS.

Can I use a grade scheme that I create in more than one D2L course? Yes, but you must copy it into each additional course.

Can I create a new grade scheme in D2L that I use only for the final grade? Absolutely.

December 19, 2006