1. Teaching and Learning with Blackboard
  2. Assessment Tools
  3. Grading
  4. Grade Submission to MyNIU

Grade Submission to MyNIU

Faculty who use the Blackboard Grade Center to calculate final grades are able to export final grades from Blackboard instead of manually entering grades in MyNIU, saving time and the reducing the opportunity for data entry errors. After submitting grades using this tool, faculty simply log into MyNIU to view the final grades and post for student viewing.

Note:  Faculty can submit grades until 11 AM on the date that MyNIU's window officially closes. This allows time for the grades to transfer; if grades were submitted from Blackboard after this time, they may not appear in MyNIU with sufficient time to review and post them by the deadline.

Features:

  • Allows a one-time submission of final grades from Blackboard to MyNIU
  • Works with all types of Blackboard courses:
    • Individual Courses
    • Master Courses
    • Combined Courses
    • Original Course View or Ultra Course View

Requirements:

  • Ultra Course View - Ensure that the  Overall Grade is set up to accurately reflect your grade calculation. If necessary, you can set this column to be based solely on another column, such as a manually entered grade or another calculation
  • Original Course View - An External Grade column must be set in the Grade Center prior to using the tool. This column must display a letter grade
  • Only Instructors of Record are allowed to submit grades
  • Faculty must log into MyNIU to confirm grades have transferred and to complete posting

Technical Details:

  • Submitted grades may take up to 15 minutes to appear in MyNIU
  • Submission will be successful if all of the following are met:
    • Valid/Current PeopleSoft Course
    • Valid Instructor of Record
    • Courses must have a grade roster in MyNIU
    • Grades should be blank in MyNIU prior to using the tool. Blackboard grades will be ignored whenever grades are already present in MyNIU

Steps for use - Original Course View 

  1. Customize the default letter schema in the Grade Center to match the grading scale for the course
  2. Assign the letter schema to the Total column and/or Weighted Total column and set this as the External Grade column 
  3. Navigate to the Control Panel and select Grade Submission. On the following page, review students' letter grades, changing them as necessary. Confirm letter grades by clicking the Submit button
  4. Log into MyNIU to confirm grades one final time. You will need to enter a last attendance date for any student with an F or I. Mark the grades as approved and post them

Steps for use - Ultra Course View

Status: Available

  1. Customize the default letter schema in the Gradebook to match the grading scale for the course
  2. Verify that the Overall Grade column is calculating grades correctly and is displaying appropriate letter grades
  3. Navigate to the Details and Actions pane and click Books & Tools. Then click  Grade Submission Ultra
  4. On the following page, click Submit Grades. Review students' letter grades, changing them as necessary. Confirm letter grades by clicking the Submit button
  5. Log into MyNIU to confirm grades one final time. You will need to enter a last attendance date for any student with an F or I. Mark the grades as approved and post them

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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Get Help

Technical Support and Student Help

Division of IT Service Desk

815-753-8100
servicedesk@niu.edu

Teaching Support and Faculty Help

Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning

815-753-0595
citl@niu.edu

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