ICOLLEGE GRADES

What is the Grades tool?

Similar to the layout of an Excel spreadsheet, the iCollege Grades tool, also called the gradebook, allows instructors to enter students’ grades. With only a few settings, the overall grade is calculated automatically, which eliminates the need to create formulas.

Students are notified in iCollege when new grades are entered. They can access the Grades tool to see any grades that have been entered by an instructor. While the instructor’s view displays all students in the course, the students will see only their individual grades. With the Grades tool, instructors can choose among options to control the way grades are released to the students, allowing students to always see a real-time update of their current grade or, if instructors prefer, the final grade can be hidden and released at the end of the semester.

How to Access Grades:

The Grades tool can be accessed in any iCollege course through the link on on the course navbar.

Key Features:

Automatic grade calculations
Points or weighted grades
Allow grade exemptions
Visual indication of low scores
Grade exclusion
Bonus points
Event log

See What Grades Can Do:

Use it to enter grades and automatically provide timely feedback on student performance.
Support students' academic goals by allowing students to see for themselves their class standing.
Track attendance or participation in the Grades tool to motivate student engagement.
Support your students by providing individualized and confidential feedback.

FAQs

Is it possible for my students to see their current grade via the gradebook?

Yes. When you go through the gradebook Setup Wizard, select the option to Drop ungraded items for “Step 3: Grade Calculations.” When choosing this option, the system will calculate the grade using the grades currently entered in the gradebook and will ignore any blank items. Note: Be sure to enter a 0 for any items the student didn’t submit so that the grade is calculated correctly.

Example:
A student has the following grades:

Quiz 1: 100
Quiz 2: 100
Quiz 3: Student missed this quiz

If Quiz 3 is left blank in the gradebook, the student’s current grade is displayed as 100. If Quiz 3 has a grade of 0 properly recorded, the student’s current grade is displayed as 66.67.

I planned to have 5 assignments this semester. However, due to time constraints, the students only had 4 assignments. How do I ensure the grades are calculated correctly?

You can accomplish this in two different ways. You may choose to exclude the fifth grade item from the grade calculation OR delete the fifth grade item from the gradebook. We suggest excluding the grade item so that when you copy your current course for a future semester, you will still have the grade item and the applicable grade associations.

Excluding the Grade Item

Edit the extra grade item and select None for the Category so that the item is not in a grade category.

Category screenshot

In the Grading section,
- For a Points gradebook, select the "Exclude from Final Grade Calculation" option.
- For a Weighted gradebook, enter 0 in the Weight field.

Grading Screenshot 1 Grading Screenshot 2

Under the Restrictions tab, select the Hide from Users option.
Click Save and Close.

For more information on Grade exemptions, please see the GSU Knowledgebase Article, Create Grade Exemptions in iCollege.

How can I drop the lowest quiz or assignment grade?

To drop the lowest grade(s), you must have a grade category in your gradebook. The category provides a way to group related grade items like assignments, homework, and quizzes to facilitate grade calculation. All of the related grade items must be assigned to the proper grade category.

From Manage Grades, create (or edit) a grade category.
From the Distribution section, select Distribute weight evenly across all items.
Enter the number of grades you want to drop in the Number of lowest non-bonus items to drop for each user field.

For more information on Grade exemptions, please see the GSU Knowledgebase Article, Create Grade Exemptions in iCollege.

How can I display the letter AND numerical grade for the overall grade?

From Enter Grades, click the drop-down arrow for Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade.
Select Edit.
Choose Letter Grades from the Grade Scheme drop-down menu.
Under the Show heading, ensure that Points grade, Weighted Grade, and Grade scheme symbol are selected. If not, click Override display options for this item and select the appropriate options. Do this for Student View and Managing View.

For more information about Grade types and how to select a grade type, please see the GSU Knowledge Base article, Different Grading Types for your iCollege Gradebook.

I would like to see statistics for my students' grades. Is this possible?

Yes. From the Enter Grades or Manage Grades screen, click the drop-down arrow for the desired grade item. From the menu, select View Statistics. You can view overall class statistics as well as individual user statistics.

Get Support

Get Started

CETLOE Support

Workshops and Webinars
Throughout the year, CETLOE offers instructor workshops on the iCollege Grades tool and other learning tools. Please check the workshop schedule for instructor workshops.

Learning Technologists

Georgia State Faculty can request help from our CETLOE Learning Technologists for assistance with any of the GSU Supported Digital Learning Tools.

For the fastest response to your questions, please email [email protected] or call 404-413-HELP to submit a help ticket.

By submitting a help ticket, you can be sure that your questions are directed to the appropriate team members, ensuring that you get the help you need, when you need it.

For help using the Grades tool to support your teaching, request a digital teaching tool consultation through the faculty help request.