Automatically assign transfer credit scores for all previous assignments in Canvas

[angela_dean]

New HS enrollees transferring from other schools mid-semester usually arrive with transfer credits. Aeries can automatically apply proportional scores to all previous assignments in order to incorporate transfer credit, but in Canvas the teacher of the course must manually calculate each score and entered it into each equivalent assignment. This is incredibly tedious for a process that could be easily automated. 

For example: John Smith is a new student arriving from another school who earned a 72.6% up to this point in Geometry at his previous school. He needs to be issued credit for all of *my* previous assignments to reflect this credit earned. I must enter 7.26 for each 10 point assignment, 10.89 for each 15 point assignment, 36.3 for each 50 point assignment, and so on, and a comment added on each assignment that the score is earned due to transfer credit.

[angela_dean]

Hi Stephanie,

I think I may not have been clear, based on the way you changed the title of my post. I am not asking to have something sync from Aeries into Canvas, it was just an example of where the process can be animated. Canvas could have a similarly automated process, separate issue from syncing.

[Stef_retired]

Thanks, @angela_dean . How would the transfer student's activities from the previous school be populated in Canvas? Is the structure of the courses taken at the previous school identical to the course(s) for which the student will be granted partial credit? 

[angela_dean]

Thanks for responding @Stef_retired. No - this information is not populated in Canvas and the structures are not the same. We are given transcripts, unenrollment paperwork, or grade summaries for students. It is common practice across high schools to apply this "exit grade" to all previous assignments so that they are entering your class on the same footing that they left their old one from their old school.

[angela_dean]

@Stef_retired is it possible to change the title of the post to more accurately reflect what I am asking for, as it doesn't have anything to do with Aeries? Thank you!

[Stef_retired]

Thanks for this detail, @angela_dean . I'll move it forward for broader conversation in the hope that the discussion will reveal further details of how this is currently done (perhaps mirroring the process Aeries uses) and what would be needed to create a simpler process for administrators working with transfer students' records.

[angela_dean]

@Stef_retired ok, but the title is very misleading and I don't think will get this the traction it deserves. This is also not an administrative process.

[Stef_retired]

@angela_dean  Would the functionality require the user to access multiple courses in which they're not enrolled as teachers? If it does, this would need to be admin functionality. If it is specific to a teacher's course, we can amend the idea to specify that.

[angela_dean]

@Stef_retired No - these are students from entirely different schools and/or districts. They enroll with very little information, mid-semester, and as teachers all we have is an "exit grade" from their previous class.  This is a fairly universal process in high schools across the country.

For example: I, as a Geometry teacher, will get a new student arriving in October who was previously attending school elsewhere. At his previous school, let's say he had a 87% in his old Geometry class. In his new class, most common practice is to assign an 87% to all previous assignments we've given, and then the student will move forward with new assignments as usual. For a previous 10 point assignment I will issue 8.7 points. For a previous 50 point assignment I will issue 43.5 points, etc. So now the student is standing with an 87% in his new class too, ready to move forward.

What I am looking for is automation to assigning this percent proportionally to all past assignments rather than manually calculating point values, entering each score individually, and adding a comment such as "this score was assigned in accordance with transfer credit on XX date".

[Stef_retired]

Thanks, @angela_dean ; that's very helpful context. I made a few small edits to the description which I hope will make it clear.

[angela_dean]

@Stef_retired excellent - thank you!

[vlb1215]

My school district includes a military post and as a result, we get a lot of new students throughout the school year. We would benefit greatly from a feature in the Canvas gradebook that allows a student's transfer grade percentage to be entered in one place, then would populate all assignments prior to the student's enrollment date with that percentage. Currently, this all has to be done manually and can be very time-consuming for the teacher. 

[james_leuthold]

In Skyward, there is an option to enter a starting grade. As mentioned before, this is an automated process that allows me to enter a starting grade of 87% which Skyward will then automatically apply the appropriate point value to every assignment prior to the transfer student's start date. An identical option in Canvas would ease the burden on teachers when a new student starts mid-term by removing the need to change all previous assignments' statuses from "missing" to a hand-calculated grade or to an "excused" status. 

[Katie_Wasco]

Comments from Instructure

As part of the new Ideas & Themes process, all ideas in Idea Conversations were reviewed by the Product Team. Any Idea that was associated with an identified theme was moved to the new Idea & Themes space. Any Idea that was not part of the move is being marked as Archived. This will preserve the history of the conversations while also letting Community members know that Instructure will not explore the request at this time.