Blackboard Grade Submission Tool Frequently Asked Questions

Why use this tool instead of posting grades manually in MyNIU?
The Grade Submission Tool allows NIU faculty to publish grades from the Blackboard Grade Center directly to MyNIU. Faculty who use the Blackboard Grade Center to calculate final grades will be able to choose to export final grades from Blackboard instead of manually entering grades in MyNIU, saving time and the opportunity for data entry errors. After submitting grades using this new tool, faculty will simply login to MyNIU to view the final grades and post for student viewing.
What are the steps to using the grade submission tool?

The steps are simple and may vary slightly depending upon how the Grade Center is used and whether grades are calculated automatically in Blackboard or tabulated manually. The steps to use the Grade Submission Tool include:

  1. Customize the default letter schema in the Grade Center to match the grading scale for the course
  2. Assign letter schema to the total score and/or weighted total column
  3. Set an external grade column in the Grade Center that contains the final grade
  4. Review scores and/or letter grade in the external grade column and assign letter grade to be exported to MyNIU
  5. Within the Control Panel select Course Tools, then Grade Submission and Submit Grades
  6. Login to MyNIU to confirm grades and complete posting

Note - Steps 1 and 2 assume use of the Grade Center to tabulate a final score and if desired apply weighting to calculate a final grade for the course. Faculty choosing to manually make these calculations and/or simply post the letter grades in Blackboard can add a new column manually, enter final grades for each student, and then skip to step 3.

What is an external grade?
An external grade represents the student’s final grade for the class. By default, the Total column is always set as the external grade. To change this, you can designate an existing column (Weighted Total) or create a new grade column. The grade submission tool uses this to determine what letter grade should be sent to MyNIU.
When can I submit my grades?
Grades can be submitted from the first day a grade roster is available until 11 AM on the day that grades are due. Grade submission from Blackboard closes an hour before grades are due to allow time for the data to transfer to MyNIU (it may take 15 minutes) and for you to review and post grades in MyNIU before the final deadline.
Can I re-submit my grades?
No. You can only submit grades once per course. If you made a mistake during the submission, you will have a chance to review the grades and make any changes in MyNIU before doing the final posting.

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