Electronic Grade Submission

Beginning in Spring 2008, grades must be submitted electronically. It is a two-step process.

  1. First, grades must be entered into the Blackboard CE (formerly WebCT) Grade Book for each course which requires grades submission.
  2. Second, a very simple web-based "Grade Wizard" will be used to retrieve the grades from Blackboard and submit them to Banner.

It is not necessary to use Blackboard for delivering the course. If you choose not to use Blackboard for your course, its only function will be to transmit a valid class roster to you and for you to type in your grades.

Each instructor will receive a hard-copy of the "Guide to Electronic Grade Submission" in campus mail prior to the grade submission period. An electronic copy is also available below, and it is best to print it in color. Most departments have appointed a "Grade Facilitator" who will receive training, and who will be available to help instructors with the process.

Training Opportunities

The guide linked above, along with a list of courses requiring grades, will be delivered to departments on Friday, April 18. Faculty are encouraged to read the guide carefully, as well over half of the calls to the help line (487-1111) resulted from issues that were explicitly addressed in the guide.

For instructors or staff who would like live training (in addition to the guide), four sessions will be available. The process will be demonstrated and questions will be answered by CIO Walt Milligan. These sessions are:

  • Tuesday, 4/22, 4 PM, U115 M&M
  • Wednesday, 4/23, 4 PM, U115 M&M
  • Tuesday, 4/29, 1 PM, U115 M&M
  • Wednesday, 4/30, 3 PM, U115 M&M

For maximum benefit, Instructors and staff should bring their guides with them to the training sessions. Questions, comments or requests for assistance are welcome at 487-1111 or courses@mtu.edu

Update, 4/1/2008

The electronic grade submission process has been going well. During the Mid-Term submission process, required for first-year students, only 14 sections (out of about 440) were not submitted electronically. The record for the Track A grades was even better.

Background Information:

Below is a 17 minute video which discusses the reasons and processes that Michigan Tech used in deciding to upgrade from WebCT v.4 to Blackboard CE (WebCT v.6) , and which discusses electronic grade submission issues. Download one of the players if needed.

Below are several news items from the OIT discussing the issues.