Unable to copy rubric from assignment in SAME course

[thomas_walker1]

When attempting to assign an existing rubric to a new assignment utilizes the link "Find a Rubric".

This opens a pop-up window "Find existing rubric", but the course I am currently in is not the default, is not at the top, is not evident, and is not searchable.

In fact the column that is apparently the course column is not searchable at all and after a number of years using Canvas I know it does not show the complete list of my previous courses.

The problems:

• Where does this list even come from?
• Why does it not prioritize the course you are already in?
• Why does it not at least prioritize other active courses?

The recommended solutions:

1. Add a new column in front of the Course column with the following options:
   1. Published courses
   2. Unpublished courses
   3. Archived courses
2. Add a course search feature within the course list

The first recommendation above is probably easier and faster and would solve most problems. The second solution would definitely help in the long run, especially within archived courses.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @thomas_walker1 ...

I think I have a solution for you that should help you find rubrics for the course you are currently working in.  This is a script written by @James Jones that I used to use quite often at my previous job, and I think you would find it helpful as well.  It is called Sorting the Find a Rubric dialog, and it is one of James' many "Canvancements" (Canvas Enhancements).  I'd recommend installing Tampermonkey in your Chrome browser for this.

Hopefully this will be of help to you.  If you have questions, you might be able to post a reply to his blog.  Good luck!

[thomas_walker1]

Additional information / concern: When trying to then import a copy of the same rubric from another course (one that the assignment with the rubric had been either copied from or copied to) the rubric is then imported as a duplicate (i.e. adds "(1)") and an unending copy of rubrics would be required. 

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @thomas_walker1 ...

I've seen that happen before where "(1)" appears one or more times after a rubric name.  Certainly frustrating, I can imagine.  Are you able to change the names of those rubrics to what you want...or just get rid of them completely so you are only using the rubrics that you want in your course?  Is the goal to re-use the same rubric in more than one assignment?  Or, do you have one rubric per assignment in your course?  Maybe some extra details from you would be helpful so that Community members can help troubleshoot.  Thanks!

[thomas_walker1]

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@Chris_Hofer wrote:

Are you able to change the names of those rubrics to what you want...or just get rid of them completely so you are only using the rubrics that you want in your course? 

The names can be changed but the (#) is the differentiator for rubrics "with the same name" (or in this case the difference between the same rubric brought in from outside the course rather than being reused) and I'd have to change their name to something new even though I want to use the same rubric.

These rubrics can be deleted, but then i am still stuck with the same problem: no rubric or copying the same rubric from a different course and it getting a new number.

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Is the goal to re-use the same rubric in more than one assignment? 

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Absolutely!

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Or, do you have one rubric per assignment in your course?

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This is what I'm trying to avoid, especially when it is something like a weekly assignment that outside of Canvas already has the same rubric.

I should also note that I completely understand the need for the (#). If I have a weekly assignment and decide that I need to update the rubric, I want to keep it similarly named so I can update it in future copies of the assignment and the course, but this is where the systems needs an update:

1. Finding a rubric should default to looking in the rubric list for the current course. Only after that should there be a selection between: Published Courses, Unpublished Courses, and Archived Courses
2. A rubric search feature embedded within Canvas (i.e. not requiring an external script)

Honestly, if the default was accessing the rubrics already in the course even before implementing the full Find Rubric process, #2 wouldn't even be as critical as known rubrics can be transferred to new courses simply by copying the assignment from the old course to the new one.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @thomas_walker1 ...

Fair points. I did find an existing feature idea that's been submitted already here in the Community called: [Rubrics] Finding Rubrics - Instructure Community - 375141.  As you can see, there's quite a bit of conversation about this, and the status is currently "Open".  But, please know that the entire feature idea process is going through some changes at the moment, and I'm not entirely sure when the new process will be announced/implemented.  I can at least point you towards this blog post by someone from Instructure:

Turning Your Feedback into Better Prioritization and Release Processes: Our Path Forward

I hope this will be of some extra help to you.

[thomas_walker1]

Ahh.

I did use the search element to see if there was already a topic, though I'm not sure why the search copy rubric didn't offer the finding rubrics result. Oh well.