[SIS] Notification of error in Grade Passback Sync

[laura_clark]

I request that notifications of grade passback sync errors be delivered to instructors through the Canvas inbox, or by an alert within their Canvas account. We need a more proactive approach to alerting teachers of sync errors.  

• When busy, a teacher may sync and then move on to another task before the sync completes. Teachers are ALWAYS busy and may not wait or return for sync results.
• If a teacher does not return to the sync history page, they are unaware of errors and so do not seek to resolve them.
• Some teachers move Grade Sync out of course navigation when simplifying navigation for students not realizing they need this option visible to use it. We messaged that this link should remain in navigation but reaching hundreds of teachers and ensuring understanding is difficult. No Grade Sync, no History, no errors, no problem. That's a problem.
• The notification could include a sync error definition since many of the descriptions in sync history are not understood by an instructor and explanations are difficult to find.

To assist teachers in awareness of and resolution of errors, a notification is a good step!

[SHEBENE]

This is a great idea. I'm disappointed it's not already in place.

[Stef_retired]

@laura_clark 

Thanks for sharing this feedback. Would you specify the third-party SIS your school uses for grade passback?

[laura_clark]

@Stef_retired our district uses Synergy and One Roster.

[jperkins]

@laura_clark Thank you so much for this idea submission. I'm the product manager of our SIS Integrations. We are definitely aware of this need and are working towards getting this on our roadmap. Our first priority is to improve the grade passback error messaging displayed after the grades sync process to make them more actionable (and less cryptic) for teachers. We are planning on releasing these error messaging improvements in the upcoming fall semester.

This errors messaging improvement is necessary before notifications can be implemented or else we risk teaching teachers to ignore the notifications because they don't feel like they are helpful.

[DavidClore]

I definitely agree with you on this issue. My district uses PowerSchool and grade sync never notifies the instructor of issues with sync. I do not understand why this has not been added. This should be a priority for the Canvas team. Sometimes weeks go by until I realize that some of my grades are not properly syncing.