Grades

[arvalent]

I am an instructor. My course has several assignments that have variable due dates. Students can submit some until the end of the semester. Their total grade displayed gives the impression they have an A+ in the class. However, if they do not submit all of the assignments by the end of the semester, those assignments convert to Zero. Is there a way to give students a more accurate view of what their final grade will be if they do not submit all of the assignments?

[RecycledElectro · Accepted solution]

Yes. 

Option 1:

Ask students to uncheck the "Calculate grades based only on graded assignments" box when they see their grades. You can demonstrate in Student View by showing the grades you can enter for Test Student. It on the right side of the student's view of the Grade Book below the "Assignments are weighted by group:" thing.

Option 2: 

Set the "Due" date for the assignment at some point in time before the last day to turn in it. After the "Due" date passes, Canvas assigns anything not turned in to be a 0.

Set the "Until" date to the last date to turn in an assignment.

Here is an example of an assignment "Due" on January 16th, but available "Until" January 20th. For example, you could have all the assignments "Due" at midterm, but available "Until" dead week.

[paul_fynn]

Hi @arvalent 

There are a number of different aspects to your question in terms of how you (and your institution) choose to configure Canvas assignments and due dates, and in particular whether the date from which a penalty applies corresponds to the date up to which student can submit work. We use 'Available To' to manage and minimise opportunities to continue submitting past a due date.

From my personal point of view, the core issue is that the Grade that is calculated and assigned in a Canvas course is an Instructure construct based on the internal logic of how Canvas is set up mediated by either (or all of)

1. how the instructor chooses to configure the assignments and various aspects of their individual courses
2. your institutional, sector and state requirements for grade management
3. the overall interpretation by your IT team or provider of what the relationship should be between what Instructure Canvas courses and assignments calculate, and the final grade awarded for
   1. the assignment
   2. the unit of delivery
   3. the overall award/qualification

That construct may suffice for smaller courses or organisations with more straightforward academic regulation than ours. Institutions, course teams and individual instructors will generally need to determine, and manage, the relationship between the three, potentially separate, costructs.

In our institution in terms of Canvas Grade and Institutional Grade 'never the twain shall meet' - not entirely true, but our Academic Registrar requires control of the calculation and averaging process, including minutiae such as how many decimal points a grade calculation is made to, which is not currently available in Canvas. This is because as a self-regulating HEI we have our own 'grade construct' that satisfies our external stakeholders.

I outlined some of our challenges in this earlier post When is a Canvas Grade NOT the students Academic Grade , and it would be interesting to see wider contributions here - @RecycledElectro has already offered some pointers that may expand on their reply to your issue below on that thread ..... once you have the answer to your won question, perhaps you might also contribute there ?