Improvements Made to Final Grade Submission Tool

In Fall of this academic year, the campus implemented mandatory online grade submission for all final course grades. In conjunction with the Registrar??'s Office, Information and Educational Technology and the Teaching Resources Center (TRC) rose to the challenge of assisting professors, lecturers, and teaching assistants new to this method of grade submission. That all went smoothly is testimony to the hard work of many campus units and the instructors themselves.

The Office of the Registrar highlighted several significant advantages to online grade submission:

  • The reduced workload does away with staff overtime spent handling grading scantrons.
  • The online process makes grades available to students and staff much more quickly than did the manual process.
  • Faculty and staff do not have to hand deliver grades to the Registrar.
  • The online process provides increased accuracy of grading records and greater efficiency of the grading process.
A survey of the grading tools accompanied the grading form, and over 150 instructors shared their experiences regarding the online grading process. Comments were, chiefly, very positive, and requested improvements were undertaken immediately. For Winter Quarter, changes to the grading system include the ability to submit multiple course section grades simultaneously, and greater ease in uploading Excel and Open Office grade sheets for instructors who prefer to import those rather than use the provided bubble sheet.

As was the case last quarter, extensive help is available to instructors wanting assistance with the process. The TRC is offering 20-minute grading demonstrations (click on the TRC link on the Final Grade Submission Web site and drop-in help throughout finals' week; just stop by 25 Wellman with your grading data and they'll help you submit your grades. The IT Help Desk provides assistance via telephone and email (754-HELP an d ithelp@ucdavis.edu), and ET Partners are available for one-on-one assistance before and during finals' week (call 754-2115).

Instructors are reminded that final grades must be submitted within 72 hours of each final exam. The Final Grade Submission Web site is located at classes.ucdavis.edu/grading.