Grades: Set Up Grade Calculation Method

1. Access the Gradebook and click Grades Settings in the toolbar.

2. Click Calculation Options in the toolbar.

3. Decide what type of Course Grading System you want to set up. This decision should reflect the grade policies set forth in your syllabus. Options are:

Points - Grade items are assigned a specified number of points. Grade categories are simply the sum of grade items within the category. The final grade is the total number of points earned divided by the total number of points possible.

Example:
Assignments Category (40 points)
- Assignment 1 Item (20 points)
- Assignment 2 Item (20 points)
Final Exam Item (200 points)
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Final Grade: X/240 points

Weighted - Grade categories are assigned a weight as a percentage of the final grade, and grade items are assigned a weight as a percentage of their parent category (or, if they have no parent category, of the final grade).

Example:
Assignments Category (20% of final grade)
- Assignment 1 Item (50% of Assignments)
- Assignment 2 Item (50% of Assignments)
Final Exam Item (80% of final grade)
------------------------------------
Final Grade: X%

Formula - The final grade is calculated based on a custom formula. (See Using the Formula Editor for details.)

Examples:
- A formula can be used to compare two grade items (such as quizzes) and drop the lower of the two.
- A formula can be used to count a graded item twice.

The Formula option is more difficult to set up than either the Points or Weighted systems. It is strongly suggested that you do not use a formula grading system if either the points or weighted system can work for your course.

You will set criteria for Grade Items, including any formulas to be used with a Formula grading system, in a later step. See Create Grade Categories and Items for details.

4. Determine Final Grade Release conditions -- whether the students will see the Adjusted or Calculated final grade when final grades are released. Carmen calculates the final grade based on your gradebook settings.

Will you be adjusting the Final Grade in the end (e.g., to reflect individual bonus points or dropping an assignment?

If so, choose Release Adjusted Final Grade.
If the final grade will simply be the total points (or percentage) students received, select Release Calculated Final Grade.

The data in the Adjusted Final Grade column transmitted to the Registrar. Even if you are not adjusting final grades, you must copy the Calculated Grade to the Adjusted column in order to transmit grades from Carmen to the Registrar's system. See Submitting Final Grades to the Registrar for details.

5. Choose Final Grade Calculation options -- whether you'd like non-graded items included in the final grade and whether you'd like to automatically keep the final calculated grade updated.

Decide how you want Carmen to treat ungraded items: drop blank cells or treat them as zero.

Selecting Drop ungraded items prevents Carmen from treating ungraded items as ‘zeros’ and avoids misleading calculations early in the quarter when many items aren't yet graded.
Selecting Treat ungraded items as 0 records a 0 until you actually enter points received for all ungraded items. It is recommended that you don’t select this option until just before you calculate final grades, in order to avoid misleading calculations early in the quarter.
Automatically Keep Final Grade Updated:

If selected, Carmen automatically updates final grades when you make changes to any grade items. This feature ensures that final grades are kept up-to-date.
If not selected, you must manually recalculate final grades after updating any grade items.

Enabling this feature will slow down gradebook and may cause timeout errors for large courses (over 100 students). However, if you will be dropping the lowest graded item in a given category, enabling this option will help process that adjustment.

If you are using a Weighted system AND enable BOTH of the above options, weights of non-graded items are redistributed to force the weights to sum to 100%. This means relative weights can be skewed before all items are graded.

6. Click Save when done.