Final and Midterm Grading

Final Grading

Electronic final grade rosters and departmental control lists are available for each of the courses offered by your department this term. Please give these your prompt and careful attention so that we can provide fast, accurate service to students.

Departmental Personnel: Instructions

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Grade Roster Control List

The electronic control list replaces the paper control sheets for auditing the grade rosters generated for instructors in your department. In addition to including basic course and instructor information, the control list indicates the status of the grade roster (Ready for Grading, Submit to Registrar, or Posted), as well as the number of missing grades per roster if it is not yet completed. The control lists are real-time, allowing you to track the status of all grade rosters so that you can provide reminders and assistance to your faculty. To view the grade roster control list, log in to SIS and go to > Curricular and Enroll Rep Work Center > Resources > Grade Control List > enter a term and subject > select the appropriate class Nbr.

Grade Roster Inquiry

Departmental administrators/grades contacts will have inquiry access to grade rosters in SIS, so grade rosters will always be available and can be monitored by departmental personnel. You will need to update your SIS security to access these grade rosters. To view the grade rosters, log in to SIS and go to > NavBar > Navigator > Curriculum Management > Grading > Grade Roster.

Submission of Final Grades

All electronic grade rosters must be completed and submitted to the Office of the Registrar on or before the grading deadline. Once an instructor has entered all grades on a roster and saved the work, they click the “Submit to Registrar” button, saves again, and the process is complete.

Please note: Late grade rosters cannot be processed. Any grades not submitted by the grading deadline will need to be processed as if they were grade changes, using individual Grade Change Forms. Please encourage your faculty to submit their grade rosters in a timely fashion.

Posting of Final Grades to the Students’ Records

We will run a nightly process that posts the grades for all grade rosters submitted to the Office of the Registrar during the previous day. This process posts the grades to the students’ records and enables them to immediately look up their grades via MyUW.

Instructors: Final Grade Roster Instructions

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Procedure for Electronic Submission of Final Grades

The process for entry and submission of electronic grade rosters is as follows: access your grade rosters via MyUW Madison, enter the appropriate grade for each student on your roster, save your work, click the “Submit to Registrar” button, save again. Print a copy if you desire. Move onto the next grade roster. You may also partially complete a roster, save your work, and return to complete and submit it at a later time (by the deadline).

For quick, step-by-step instructions on entering and submitting final grades electronically, go to: Faculty Center – Grade Roster Tips.

For a more in-depth tutorial on the electronic submission of final grades, go to: Faculty Center – Entering and Submitting Final Grades.

Enter the appropriate grade for each student on your roster, save your work, click the “Submit to Registrar” button, save again. Print a copy if you desire. Move onto the next grade roster. You may also partially complete a roster, save your work, and return to complete and submit it at a later time (by the deadline).

Deadline for Final Grade Submission

Final grades are due no later than 72 hours (3 days) after the last final exam day. For the exact date, see the deadline for the current term. It is critical that this deadline is met. Late submission of grades results in restrictive academic actions on students that can have myriad negative impacts. Further, late grade rosters can not be processed. Any grades submitted after the deadline will need to be processed as if they were grade changes, submitting individual electronic Grade Changes for each student. See submitting grade changes for more information.

Please submit your grade rosters in a timely fashion; the earlier you submit the grades, the better the turnaround for your students. A nightly process is run that posts the grades for all grade rosters submitted to the Office of the Registrar during the previous day. This process posts the grades to the students’ records and enables students to immediately look up their grades via MyUW Madison.

Midterm Grades

True first-year students* can receive temporary midterm grades, to help them track their academic progress, usually over their first two terms at UW–Madison.

These grades are not recorded on the official transcript, and in fact are only visible to students in Student Center for about ten days.

Students who feel a midterm grade isn’t meeting their expectations are encouraged to work with their instructor, their advisor, and also the designated academic dean in their school or college. The goal is to help students explore the range of support on this campus, leading either to solutions that improve their studies or to a guided plan to drop the course before the last course-drop day.

[* “First year” generally means students for their first (and sometimes second) semester/term at any college or university. Transfer students are not considered to be first-year students, even if it’s their first semester at UW–Madison. Because first-time students can receive credits for study completed before enrolling at UW–Madison, a first-year student could have sophomore or junior standing in terms of the credits.]

Instructors: Midterm Grade Roster Instructions

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Grade Roster

Our office creates grade rosters for courses that have any enrolled first-year students. Instructors are notified by email at the end of week 5, alerting them to the first-year students enrolled in their courses.

Reporting midterm grades

Entry of midterm grades is not mandatory. You may not have had enough graded activity in your class to indicate a grade at this time, or you may have other ways of informing students of their grades. However, only midterm grades entered through Faculty Center will be reported to academic advisors and to special program advisors (such as the Center for Educational Opportunity, Center for Academic Excellence, etc.). Since these advisors can provide useful support to your students, please consider reporting midterm grades.

Deadline for Midterm Grade Submission

Midterm grades can be submitted over a several week period, ending before the last day to drop a course. Instructors will receive an email from the Office of the Registrar when mid-term grading is available. At the end of this grading period, we will send an email to first-year students with instructions on checking their grades in Student Center. These grades will be available to students for approximately 10 days.

Midterm grades are intended to be advisory in nature and are not recorded on the official transcript. After grades have been reported to students, entered grades will be removed and midterm grades and rosters will no longer be available. This is true for midterm grading only.

Additional Assistance

For technical assistance, contact the DoIT Help Desk at (608) 264-HELP (4357); help@doit.wisc.edu

For procedural and policy questions, contact the Office of the Registrar at (608) 262-3811 or email registrar@em.wisc.edu or your department administrative staff. For after-hours triage, contact the DoIT Help Desk.

For coaching or questions about using the electronic grade roster, contact the Office of the Registrar at (608) 262-3811 or your department administrative staff.

Student Privacy Rights

As soon as grades are submitted electronically and posted (nightly), students can access their grades in MyUW under view grades or by requesting a transcript. It is not appropriate to post grades on office doors or departmental bulletin boards, nor give students their grades via email or phone. Please do not compromise your students’ rights to privacy. Submit your grades as early as you can, and the students will have secure access to them.

FAQs

Submitting Grades

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Who can submit grades?

Given that departments and the faculty within them are responsible for grading, each department should consider its own best practices of grading.

The Office of the Registrar encourages each department to be proactive about entering the appropriate grading and approval authority for access to grade rosters in a timely manner.

When can I begin to submit final grades?

Final grade rosters are available beginning Thursday of the last week of a class.

When are final grades due?

Final grades are due to the Office of the Registrar three days/72 hours after the last final exam day, regardless of whether or not a two-hour summary block exam was held. This is the deadline approved by the Faculty Senate. Grading deadlines can be found on the Secretary of the Faculty Academic Calendar.

I heard that an extension can be requested. How do I know if I am eligible for that extension?

Instructors who have courses with two-hour summary block exams scheduled on the last three exam days may request a three-day extension to submit grades for those courses, if needed. You should log in to Faculty Center and check ‘My Final Exam Schedule’ to see if your course is scheduled in a summary block exam on the last three exam days; if it is not, you are ineligible for the extension and must submit grades by 11:59 p.m. on the grading due date.

If you are eligible, please note that every effort should be made to adhere to the faculty-approved grading deadline. Exception requests should only be made if extenuating circumstances exist preventing you from meeting the original deadline. To request an extension, you will need to complete the extension request form which is available once grading is open and must be submitted on time. Per the Faculty Policy, instructors who are granted an exception are given an additional three days/72 hours to submit their grades. The extended grade deadline is three days after the original deadline at 11:59 p.m.

I am eligible for, have request and been granted, an extension for a course. When are my grades due?

Per the Faculty Policy, instructors who are granted an exception are given an additional three days/72 hours to submit their grades.

Do I have to submit all grades at once?

Instructors can begin grade entry, save their work, and resume grade entry at another time.

All grades must be entered and saved before the grading deadline.  Instructors must then change the status of their roster to “Submit to Registrar.”

What will happen if my grades are late?

If grades are not submitted by the deadline, all students are given NR (Not Reported) grades.  The instructor will have to submit electronic grade changes for each student individually and Academic Deans will have to approve each individual grade change.

Who has access to the class grade roster?

All assigned instructors of a course will have access to class grade rosters to submit grades. Departmental Curricular Representatives can help with access issues.

Can a Teaching Assistant (TA) enter and submit grades?

It is the department’s decision whether TAs only enter, or both enter and submit grades. Grading status that can be set up though the Department’s Curricular Representative.

The grading system can be also set up so TAs only have the ability to enter the grades and the supervising faculty approves the submission of the grades.

How do I submit final grades using Canvas?

If you use Canvas, you may report final grades using Faculty Center. For further instructions visit the this KnowledgeBase document.

How do I enter and submit final grades in Faculty Center?

View instructions on submitting grades through faculty center, and visit this document for additional tips on entering and updating grades.

How do I submit grades from an Excel spreadsheet?

Grades rosters must be downloaded as a .csv file format.  Grades can then be entered into the spreadsheet.  The grade roster must then be uploaded into the Faculty Grading Center. A very precise template must be adhered to ensure an accurate mapping of the data back into the system. Visit this document for instructions importing and exporting grades.

If you are unable to export the grade roster, make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled.  If have additional issues, contact the DoIT Help Desk at 608-264-4357.

When will students’ final grades be posted?

Once submitted by instructors, grades are posted nightly. Grades must be submitted no later than three days/72 hours after the last final exam day, regardless of whether or not a two-hour summary block exam was held. See this page for future term grading deadlines.

How do I submit an early grade before the end of the term? (Graduate students for graduating purposes only)

The grade will need to be submitted using the non-roster grade change eForm. For detailed instructions and link to the form, see this guide.

Grade Changes

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Who can submit grade changes?

Any instructor with the ability to submit grades can also make electronic grade changes.

How do I submit a grade change?

When and how can I change a grade on the grade roster?

The “Ready for Grading” status means that grades can be changed within the grade roster at the instructor’s leisure. A status must be on “Ready for Grading” to edit or input any grade.

The “Submit to Registrar” status means the grades are ready to be posted by the Office of the Registrar. When the status is changed to “Submit to Registrar,” grades will be posted the same night.

Grades can only be edited if the grades have not yet been posted and the instructor switches the status back to “Ready for Grading.” After grades are edited, the instructor must change the status back to “Submit to Registrar.”

If grades have been posted, the instructor must complete a grade change.

What if an electronic grade change is not possible through the Faculty Center?

The use of a non-roster grade change form is appropriate to submit grades that aren’t available through the Faculty Center (Extended Incomplete, Permanent Incomplete), or other unique occasions where an electronic grade change isn’t possible. For detailed instructions and link to the form, see this guide.

How do I change a grade for student that is not on the grade roster?

This could happen if the student added the class too late to appear on the grade roster. The grade change will need to be submitted using the non-roster grade change eForm. For detailed instructions and link to the form, see this guide.

Grading logistics

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What is the difference between a class roster and a grade roster?

A class roster is a tool to monitor enrollment of students in each class you are teaching. You will see one aggregate class roster for any combined section course or cross-listed course.

The grade roster is used to submit final grade. You will see an individual grade roster for each graded section of any combined section course (e.g., lecture with discussions) or cross-listed course.

What if I am unable to see or access a grade roster?

Contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@em.wisc.edu or (608) 262-3811.

What if a student does not appear on the grade roster?

The student will first need to fill out the required paperwork to add the course (Course Change Request). After the course is added, a grade change will need to be submitted using the non-roster grade change eForm. For detailed instructions and link to the form, see this guide.

When will students’ final grades be posted?

Once submitted by instructors, grades are posted nightly. Grades must be submitted no later than 72 hours after the last final exam day, regardless of whether or not a two-hour summary block exam was held.

Valid grades

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What are valid grades?

If you attempt to enter an invalid grade, you will receive an error message and will be prompted to click on the list of valid grades from which to choose.

Just as a reminder the grade is AB, not A/B or A-B. Click the magnifying/spy glass to view the list of valid grades.

How do I know which grades are valid for a particular student or class?

Click the magnifying/spy glass to view the list of valid grades.

What grade is valid for an auditor?

Valid grades can be viewed by clicking the magnifying/spy glass. Auditors may be assigned an S (Satisfactory), NR (No Report) or NW (No Work).

What grade should a student on the roster get if they never attended class?

The grade of NW (No Work) should be assigned to students who enroll in a course and never attend. No Work means that the instructor has no evidence that the student ever attended and no work was ever submitted.

A failing grade should be given to any student who does attend for part of the term and then stops participating, unless there are grounds for assigning a grade of I (Incomplete).

What if a student who withdrew is still on the grade roster?

Assign the grade earned by the student for work performed. Once the withdrawal has been processed, a grade of “W” will override all grades for that term.

What grade do I give a student that did not fulfill the honors requirements?

Instructors may assign a grade of Q indicating that there is a question about the student’s honors enrollment in the course. To cancel (or add) the honors designation, a change must be initiated and completed, using a Course Change Form (add/drop).

What grade do I give if a student needs to change credits in a variable credit course?

Instructors may assign a grade of Q indicating that there is a question about the student’s credit enrollment in the course. To change credits load of a course, a change must be initiated and completed, using a Course Change Form (add/drop).