Grades | How to import grades in Brightspace

In Brightspace you can import all the grades of the students at once via a .csv file. This functionality is especially useful whenever you have an Excel or .csv file containing their grades, such as a file received from ANS (Digital Examination).

This article shows how to:

How to prepare the .csv file

1. Download the .csv file template

Not every document is valid to upload the grades. Please follow the instructions below carefully. Extra or missing information can prevent you from being able to upload the grades.

Before importing a file into Brightspace, you need to have a template file with the right format to include the grades in. The best way is to export a template file directly from the course's page, fill in the grades, and then import that file back into Brightspace. To do so:

  1. Navigate to Grades in the green navigation bar

This will take you to the Grades' homepage.

navigate to Grades in the navbar
  1. Click on the Enter Grades tab
  2. Click on Export

This will redirect you to the Export Grades page.

in the tab Enter grades, click Swtih to Spreadsheet view

Under the Export Options section,

  1. Select the fields you would like to include in your file

We recommend the following:

Export options: Select OrgDefined Id, Points grade and Optional the email

Under Key Field select use the Org Defined ID, which is the student's number ID

Under Grade Values select :

  • Points grade to enter the points as-is; using decimals (for example enter a 7.8).
  • (Optional) Grade Scheme will allow you to enter the output of a grading scheme that is used for the Grade Item directly (i.e.: Pass, Incomplete, etc.). Do not select this if you do not have text grades. 

Under User Details select:

  • Email to include your students' e-mail addresses on the export file
  • (Optional) Group Membership can be useful when entering grades that are linked to a section or group-based assignments. Delete the column from your file once you have entered all the grades.
  1. Scroll down to the section Choose Grades to Export
  2. Select the grade items you would like to import grades to by clicking the select boxes on the left side

Select only the grade items. 

Do not select Categories, Subtotals, Formula, Final Calculated Grade, or Final Adjusted Grade. 

These items cannot be imported and will prevent you from uploading your file. Grade items will have a type description on the right side of the table.

select grade items
  1. Click on Export to CSV

A pop-up window Export Grades will appear. When the loading bar finishes loading:

  1. Click on Download

This action will download the .csv file to your computer.

 

export grades completion page, click download

2. Edit the .csv file

Once the template has been downloaded, you can start editing it and adding the grades.  To do so:

  1. Open the .csv file, you just downloaded with Excel

The document will look something similar to this.

excel downloaded

If your final document shows all information packed in the first column, it might be due to your Excel settings being shifted between comma (,) or dot (.) as a decimal separator. You can change this in Excel by going to File > Options > Advanced > under Editing options > check Use system separators or following this article. More information about this is here.

  1. Add the grades to the Excel file under the column with the corresponding assignment name 
  2. Important: Make sure your last column is named End-of-Line Indicator and includes the # symbol in all the cells of the column from the first to the last user

Do not modify any of the column names, names, or emails of students.

Any modification will lead to errors during the import process, as the system of Brightspace will not be able to recognize the name and make the correlation.

Your final document should look something like this:

final document
  1. Save the file on your computer

For more information on how to save a workbook to a .csv format visit this Microsoft page.

Now you have a .csv file with the right format and ready to be imported into your Brightspace course.

Follow the next steps to complete the importing process.

How to import the .csv file with grades

As soon as the .csv file is filled in with all the grades, it can be imported into Brightspace. To do so:

  1. In the grades homepage, navigate to the tab Enter Grades
  2. Click on Import
in the tab Enter grades, click Swtih to Spreadsheet view

In the Import Grades - Step1: Select File to Import page :

  1. Click on Choose File and select the .csv file you just created
  2. Click on Continue
Import grades page. Choose the file to import, select the checkbox under item creation section, click continue

In the next page Import Grades - Step 2: Errors and Warnings Found, when No errors or warnings found :

  1. Click on Continue
  • If any errors or warnings are found, they will be listed here
  • If a student is listed in the .csv but not in the course there will be an error Unrecognized user
  • If some of the grades are empty there will be an error
errors and warnings found page, errors will be shown here. Click continue

In the next screen Import Grades - Step 3: Preview Import you will see a preview of the grades to be imported. You can occur a final check and then:

  1. Click on Import

If a student was already graded, an arrow will indicate the update of the grade. It will be changed from a previous value to the new one (e.g. 8/10 -> 7.3/10).

import grades preview, an arrow will show if the grades are being modified from previous values to new ones, click import to confirm the import process

After the process completes, the message Imported successfully will be shown on the screen and you will be directed back to the Enter Grades page.

How to import grades from ANS (Digital Examination) to Brightspace

After the students have completed their digital examination in ANS, you can download a file that contains their grades. This file has a different format than the one that can be imported into Brightspace, therefore it cannot be directly uploaded.  Follow the steps below to learn how to import the file from ANS to Brightsapce.

1. Download the files

1.1. Download the file from Digital Examination (ANS)

  1. Follow the link for step-by-step instructions
  2. Select Student ID and E-mail on the export results
  3. Click Export

The export will be sent to you by e-mail.

1.2. Download the template from Brightspace

  1. Follow the step-by-step instructions here, to prepare the file
  2. Select Org Defined ID from the Key Field section
  3. Select Email from the User Details section
  4. Select only the grade item that corresponds to Digital Examination
  5. Click Export to .csv

2. Adjust the Digital Examination (ANS) file

Three elements need to be adjusted in the Digital Examination (ANS) file:

Title in Digital Examination (ANS) file Rename to...
Student Number OrgDefinedID
Column Mark or Points Name of the grade item as is in the Brightspace .csv

e.g. Exam Points Grade  <Numeric MaxPoints:10>
Delete the unwanted column (Marks or Points)
Add a column End-of-line Indicator
  1. Open the excel file from Digital Examination (ANS), and leave it open
  2. Open the .csv file from Brightspace
  3. Copy the first row
excel downloaded update

Go to the ANS file and

  1. Delete the column Marks or Points and
  2. Paste it in the first row
  3. Add a last column with the label End-of-line Indicator
  4. Fill in the column with a hashtag(#)
Example from Excel From Ans

In case the file you downloaded from Brightspace contains more information such as First Name, Last Name, Group Membership, etc, do not copy-paste the first row. 

Make sure to:

  • Replace the title: Student Number   >  OrgDefinedID
  • Replace the title: Marks  or Points > Name of the grade item, as in Brightspace
  • Delete the unwanted column (Points or Marks)
  • Add the last column End-of-Line Indicator

 

It should look like this :

Final format of the file

Go to the settings of EXCEL, and :

  1. Save as .csv file
  2. Import to Brightspace

More on .csv file format

CSV stands for comma-separated value, which is a type of file where data is organized in columns separated by a comma ( , ) or semi-colon ( ; ) characters.

A .csv file needs to have dots (.) as decimal separators and commas ( , ) or semi-colons ( ; ) as separators.

Brightspace needs the following three components to be able to import grades from a .csv file:

  • The Student Number (in Brightspace: OrgDefinedID) including a hashtag( # )
  • The grades listed under the name Grade Item <Grade values info>; for example Exams Points Grade <Numeric MaxPoints: 10> will import the grades listed to the Grade Item Exams in Brightspace
  • The End-of-Line Indicator (#)
OrgDefinedId
 Exams Points Grade <Numeric MaxPoints:10> End-of-line Indicator
#student.number001 9.0 #
#student.number002 7.9 #
#student.number003 8.0 #

Files in .csv format can be created and modified with text editors or with Excel. Excel has the functionality to convert .csv files into .xlsx files.

If you have a file where the values are separated by another character different than a comma, use the function Replace all (default is Ctrl+H) to replace all list separators with commas.

 

Now you know how to import grades in Brightspace!

Want to know more about Grades? Please visit: 

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