How to Submit the Final Course Grade and Comments (Medical School) (Ultra)

Overview

This page can serve as a glossary of different item types you can upload in your course.

Instructions

• Click the icon above the name of the test

• Choose ‘Question Analysis’. This will give you the Average and the Standard Deviation.

• Process your TEST statistics

• • Average (Mean) = XX.X and Standard Deviation = XX.X

• • • # of SD from mean = X (i.e., how many SD from the mean is still passing - this is usually 1.5 or 2 SDs below the Average score.

• • Passing Grade = XX.X

• • • Multiply the SD by the number of SDs your course uses to determine the passing grade 

    • Subtract this value from the Average to get the passing grade.

    • If your course has a fixed test score for passing (e.g. 70), note that as the passing grade.

• • Marginal Grade = XX.X - YY.Y

• • • Marginal grades are the bottom 5% of all passing grades.

    • Multiply the number of students who obtained a passing grade with 0.05

    • This will give you the number of students who passed who should get a marginal grade

• Please write these down! 

• Open up the downloaded file using Excel.

• • • Note: If you get a format warning while opening the file, select ‘Yes’ to ignore it and open the file.

• Look for the FINAL_LETTER_GRADE column

• Ignore the other columns but do NOT delete them.

• Use the column marked FINAL_LETTER_GRADE column

• Sort the file by USERNAME. This prevents problems with sorting by last name issues - e.g. O'Connor

• Students who failed the course will be assigned an F; students who were marginal will be assigned an M; students who passed the course will be assigned a P.

• NOTE: In Excel the column headings that were downloaded from the Gradebook CANNOT be edited. Blackboard includes in each column heading name a numeric identifier that is required by Blackboard, e.g. Column Heading: Test Quiz 1 | 7450. DO NOT REMOVE THESE!

• Save the file after you finish, and click Yes when it gives your format warning message.

• WE STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU DO THIS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVED AN 'F' IN YOUR COURSE!

• • Click on the student's cell marked 'F'.

• • Select View

• • A window will appear. Click the + sign in the upper right corner to expand the Feedback window.

  • Type your feedback directly in the 'Enter your feedback' box. An example: "You have received a final grade of F for this course. Please arrange for a meeting with me as soon as you are able to."

• • Repeat this step as necessary depending on the number of students who received an 'F'.

Second Step:

Follow this guide to post your student grades

• This is an address used only by the administrative folks who need to see test and course grades. You do not have to send individual e-mails to Student Affairs, OCS, Registrar, etc.

• The email should include:

• • A message that you have uploaded the test grade and has released them to your students

• • The test statistics - Average, Standard Deviation, Marginal range, Passing Grade

• • ALSO ADD the number of Ms and number of Fs (NO NAMES!)

• • NO FILE SHOULD BE ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL

• The email should include:

  • • A message that you have uploaded the test grade and has released them to your students

• • • The test statistics - Average, Standard Deviation, Marginal range, Passing Grade

• • • DO NOT PUT IN ANY STUDENT NAMES or GRADES

• We also strongly suggest that you place this as an ANNOUNCEMENT in your course.

• Student Affairs has a special tool to see the grades in Blackboard

• The Registrar staff have a special tool to see the grades in Blackboard

Important Additional Notes

• Although the registrar records ONLY P or F for the course, the students with an M grade will automatically be converted to a P when the grades are imported automatically from Blackboard to ISIS.

• A change in grade for a student who remediates a course must be communicated to the above email address.

• • If a student drops out of a course during the semester, the student is automatically deleted from the student roster and from any subsequent Excel file generated.