Exporting Blackboard Grade Book to Banner

The end of Spring semester is just around the corner and you may need help preparing your Blackboard grade book. Here are the steps to preparing Blackboard Grade Center for export to Banner.

Create a Grading Schema

By default, Blackboard’s Grade Center follows UIC’s 10-point grade scale (A=100-90, B=89-80, C=79-70, D=69-60, F=59 and below). If your grading scale differs from UIC’s default scale listed above, you will need to set up a grade schema in Blackboard. Read this article or view this video to learn how to set up a personalized grade schema. LTS recommends using a letter grade schema for more precise grading.

Set External Grade Column

Next, you need to set the External Grade column.  The external grade column by default is the Total column in the Grade Center but you can set it to a different column, including the weighted column if you are using weighted grading.  If you need to export grades from a different calculated column, make sure to enable the preferred column by selecting the chevron to the right of the column and selecting the “Set as External Grade” column. The green checkmark will then be present on this preferred calculated column. To learn more, see this article on adding a total grade column.

Troubleshoot Common Problems in Grade Center

Are you having trouble getting your grades to calculate correctly? Here are some solutions for  common Grade Center problems.

Running Total

If your Total or Weighted Total column doesn’t seem to be calculating correctly first review the information on Running Total.

• Make sure to enter in zeros for no submission in columns used to calculate grades for calculated grades in the Total or Weighted Total columns with Running Total.
• You do not need to enter zeros for no submissions, as any grade column without a grade is automatically a zero for calculated grades in the Total or Weighted Total columns without Running Total. However, you need to review columns not in use as these will also be interpreted as zero as well. You can delete the unused column or select the chevron to the right of the column, select “Edit Column Information,” and set “include this column in Grade Center calculations” to No.

Review All Column Settings

If your Total or Weighted Total column still doesn’t seem to be calculating correctly, review your column settings. Check any column settings by selecting the chevron to the right of the column and selecting the “Edit Column Information.”  If a column is set to No for “include this column in Grade Center calculations” then any grades in that column will not be used in the calculated column. Change this setting to Yes to enable it to be included in the calculated column.

Weighted Total using Percentages

If your Weighted Total column still doesn’t seem to be calculating correctly, then review the percentages assigned to each assessment to ensure that an incorrect percentage is not causing your Weighted Total column to miscalculate.

Weighted Total using Categories

If your Weighted Total column with categories doesn’t seem to be calculating correctly, then review the assigned categories for your columns. Check that all your columns have the accurate category assigned to them. For example, if you created a quiz category for all eight quizzes in your course then check to make sure each Quiz column is assigned to this category.

Extra Credit with Total Column

Have you added an extra credit column to Grade Center and students’ scores have dropped? It is important that you create an extra credit column with zero possible points. The Total calculated column divides the earned points (numerator) by the possible points (denominator). If you set an extra credit column with possible points, then this point value will increase the possible points in the Total calculated column and will negatively impact students’ grades.

Export Grades

Blackboard’s Export Grades Tool enables the download of grades onto an Excel spreadsheet before uploading to Banner’s Faculty Grade Entry. First, you need to export your grades from Grade Center as an excel spreadsheet and import it into Banner XE grading. This video shows you how to export your grades from Grade Center.

Once you have exported your grades from Grade Center, visit my.uic.edu, and Find Midterm and Final Grades. Once there, you will import your Excel sheet into Banner XE grading. For help with importing your grades into Banner, see Step 3 in Banner XE Faculty Grading.

Get Help

If you would like help setting up Blackboard Grade Center, request an appointment with one of CATE’s Instructional Designers.

Visit teaching.uic.edu for more tips, resources and strategies for online teaching.

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