Canvas Release: Close Dates for Grading Periods (2017-01-28)

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erinhmcmillan
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

This document explains the full functionality available in the Multiple Grading Period Close Dates feature as noted in Canvas Production Release Notes (2016-10-08), Canvas Production Release Notes (2016-10-29), Canvas Production Release Notes (2016-12-10)Canvas Production Release Notes (2017-01-07), and Canvas Production Release Notes (2017-01-28)‌.

 

Canvas validates assignments against closed grading periods in the Gradebook and SpeedGrader and various settings and options in the Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes feature areas. For each grading period, the close date is the same as the end date, unless the close date is changed by an admin. Instructors cannot edit any assignments with due dates in a closed grading period.

 

Additional updates will be available in upcoming releases that validate the close date across all other Canvas feature areas. Updates to the limitations will be posted in Release Notes for details as they are resolved.

Please be aware of the current course-level limitations as outlined at the end of this document.

 

For institutions that use grading periods, admins can add a close date to their grading periods. This feature allows admins to extend the time that instructors can edit grades after the grading period has ended.

 

Account-level features are not available in Free-for-Teacher accounts.

 

 

Account-Level Close Date Field

At the account level, each grading period includes a close date. By default, the close date is the same as the end date with the time of 11:59 PM. However, the close date can be edited to any date after the end date. If the close date is after the end date, the instructors can edit grades between the end date and the close date. For instance, if the end date for a grading period is November 11, and the close date is changed from November 11 to November 20, instructors would have between November 11 and November 20 to make any edits to grades in the prior grading period.

 

By default, start dates for new grading periods default to 12:00 AM.

 

grading-periods.png

 

Course-Level Close Date Verification

At the course level, Canvas validates assignments against closed grading periods in Canvas.

 

At the course level, Canvas validates all assignments against closed grading periods in Canvas. For each grading period, the close date is the same as the end date, unless the close date is changed by an admin. Instructors cannot edit any assignments with due dates in a closed grading period.

 

Close Dates in Assignments

Assignments allows instructors to create assignments for the course. Once the close date has passed, Assignments does not allow assignments to be changed by instructors.

 

  • Assignments: Instructors cannot delete individual assignments for any student, group, or section in a closed grading period.
    • Differentiated assignments: the Assign field in assignments cannot be edited by an instructor for anyone who already has the assignment due in a closed grading period.
  • Assignment Groups: If a course includes assignment groups, instructors cannot delete assignment groups if they contain an assignment or quiz for any student, group, or section in a closed grading period. Additionally, instructors cannot move assignments and quizzes that are part of a closed grading period to another assignment group. However, instructors can move open assignments and quizzes to another assignment group.
  • Assignment Group Settings: Assignment group weights can only be managed through the Assignments page. Once an assignment group has any assignments in a closed grading period, instructors cannot change any assignment group settings, including assignment group weights, drop rules, and whether or not assignment groups are weighted. When settings can no longer be edited, the assignment group settings window is grayed out. Instructors can still view the assignment group weights and drop rules, if any.
  • Assignment Attributes: If any due date is in a closed grading period, instructors who edit an assignment view a message that many attributes cannot be changed. Assignment attributes include assignment name, point value, assignment group, grade display (including GPA scale and letter grade options that affect the assignment grading scheme), group assignment options, and moderated grading. Instructors can still edit content in the Rich Content Editor, the submission type, and the peer review option. If an assignment due date is not in a closed grading period, all fields are editable as normal.

 

Current Limitations

  • Editing and changing rubrics. If a rubric is changed in one of the graded assignment types in a closed grading period, the changes to the rubric value will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.

  • Changing the course grading scheme. If the grading scheme for the course is changed, the new grading scheme will affect how the assignment grades are calculated and therefore affect the total grade in the closed grading period.

 

Close Dates in the Gradebook

The Gradebook allows instructors to change grades between the grading period end date and the close date. Once the close date has passed, the Gradebook does not allow grades to be changed by instructors.

 

The Gradebook also verifies grading periods as part of a CSV upload. Grades cannot be changed for an assignment in a grading period. If grades have been changed for an assignment in a closed grading period, Canvas generates an error message after the CSV upload has completed. This behavior also considers differentiated assignments when verifying uploaded files.

 



 

Close Dates in Quizzes

Quizzes allows instructors to create quizzes for the course. Once the close date has passed, Quizzes does not allow assignments to be changed by instructors.

 

  • Quizzes: Instructors cannot delete quizzes for any student, group, or section in a closed grading period.
    • Differentiated assignments: the Assign field in quizzes cannot be edited by an instructor for anyone who already has the quiz due in a closed grading period.
  • Quiz Groups: If a course includes quiz groups, instructors cannot delete quiz groups if they contain a quiz for any student, group, or section in a closed grading period. Additionally, instructors cannot move quizzes that are part of a closed grading period to another quiz group. However, instructors can move open quizzes to another quiz group as necessary.

 

Current Limitations

  • Changing assignment attributes. If specific attributes for a graded assignment type are changed in a closed grading period, the attribute changes will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.
    • Quizzes attributes: quiz type, assignment group, multiple attempts (details tab); quiz questions (questions tab); moderate quiz (sidebar).

Attributes that do NOT affect grades in a closed grading period for all graded assignment types include name, description changes in the Rich Content Editor, peer review options, and any other attribute not already specifically mentioned as a limitation.

  • Editing and changing rubrics. If a rubric is changed in one of the graded assignment types in a closed grading period, the changes to the rubric value will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.

 

Close Dates in SpeedGrader

SpeedGrader allows instructors to change grades between the grading period end date and the close date. Once the close date has passed, the Gradebook does not allow any grades to be changed by instructors. However, comments can still be added to any graded assignment type (assignment, graded discussion, or quiz).

 

Current Limitations

  • Changing point values in rubrics. If a rubric is used for grading and the rubric value is changed for an assignment or discussion in a closed grading period, the changes to the rubric value will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.
  • Using the same point value for a resubmitted assignment. If a student resubmits an assignment that has already been graded, clicking the link to use the same grade for the resubmission will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.

 



Additional Course-level Close Date Limitations

Additional updates will be available in upcoming releases that validate the close date across all other Canvas feature areas. Instructor grade adjustments aside from existing availability noted in this document may affect grades in closed grading periods.

The following scenarios are not currently restricted and may affect the total grade in a closed grading period.

 

Graded Discussions

  • Discussions: Instructors can delete graded discussions for any student, group, or section in a closed grading period, which will affect grades.
    • EXCEPTION for differentiated assignments: the Assign field in graded discussions cannot be edited by an instructor for anyone who already has the graded discussion due in a closed grading period.
  • Changing assignment attributes. If specific attributes for a graded assignment type are changed in a closed grading period, the attribute changes will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.
    • Graded discussion attributes: point value, assignment group, grade display (including GPA scale and letter grade options that affect the assignment grading scheme), group discussion options. 

Attributes that do NOT affect grades in a closed grading period for all graded assignment types include name, description changes in the Rich Content Editor, peer review options, and any other attribute not already specifically mentioned as a limitation.

  • Deleting a graded discussion. If one of the graded assignment types is deleted in a closed grading period, the deleted assignment will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.
  • Editing and changing rubrics. If a rubric is changed in one of the graded assignment types in a closed grading period, the changes to the rubric value will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.


Course Settings

  • Changing the course grading scheme. If the grading scheme for the course is changed, the new grading scheme will affect how the assignment grades are calculated and therefore affect the total grade in the closed grading period.


API

  • Using submissions_api_controller#update in the Submissions API. If a grade is updated via the Submissions API, the adjusted point value will affect the total grade in the closed grading period.
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2 Solutions
erinhmcmillan
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

Hi, Jason,

Thanks for your comments. I'm not entirely sure if you mean view-only for the course or just the grades. Term dates control both of those, as the grades are associated with the course. When the term concludes and the course is in a read-only status, read-only status relates to everything in the course, including the grades. As you noted, most grades end up outside of Canvas in a transcript, so keeping grades for previous terms is something that is associated with the courses and accessed through term dates.

Grading periods and terms work together in that courses associated with a term automatically inherit the grading periods created specifically for the term. With assignments, Canvas' job is to verify your assignment due dates and not let you create a due date before a term starts or after a term ends. In regard to grading periods, Canvas' job is to use the due date to determine which grading period the assignment belongs in. Term dates still trump everything, so even if you create a grading period date that is longer than the end term date (which you can do), Canvas won't let you create an assignment past the term date.

So if you want to keep students from viewing courses after they've concluded, the options I see are:

  • Shorten the close date for your last grading period (when students know grades are final) and/or lengthen the term date so they can still access the course and view their grades.
  • Use course or section dates to override the term date so that the course and grades can be viewed past the term end date.

Hope that helps!

Erin

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erinhmcmillan
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

Hi, Todd,

You are correct in that this behavior doesn't look quite right—assignments should be placed within the grading period. I've chatted with our Gradebook team and our support team and it's something we need to look into. (I checked to see if you had submitted a support case but I wasn't able to find one.) Ideally we'd like to get this reviewed by our engineers before you get to your next term, but I can't guarantee when this will be reviewed. If you'd like to follow along with the status of this behavior, feel free to file a support case so that our agents can associate your case with our new engineering ticket.

In setting a grading period to midnight, our engineers have already been working on a ticket that defaults a grading period start date to 12:00 am. Not being able to set a grading period to that time was part of that current behavior (because it wasn't supported). That ticket should be resolved next release (should all go well with our QA team).

Thanks!

Erin

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