Grade Book Setup Using the Grades Setup Wizard

The following article details how to use the Grades Setup Wizard to customize Grade Book calculations.

Please note that the course layout, steps, and screenshots shown below may differ slightly for your campus.

The Grades Setup Wizard can be used to quickly customize and update the Grade Book display, grade release, and calculation settings.

Using the Grades Setup Wizard

1. Navigate to Grades in your course and click the Setup Wizard tab along the top of the Grade Book. If your course shell is blank and this is your first time accessing the Grades area, the Setup Wizard may appear automatically.
   
    
2. The landing page for this tool will display the current Grade Book settings for the course and will update once changes are made. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Start.
    
3. Step 1 of 7. Choose the course Grading System. When you have finished, click Continue.
   1. Weighted will calculate items as a percentage of the final grade worth 100%.
   2. Points will sum the points students receive on grade items.
   3. Formula relies on a custom formula that allows you as the instructor to set conditions on grade items. This is an advanced option and may require extensive testing.
       
4.  Step 2 of 7. Choose how the Final Grade is released. When you have finished, click Continue. 
   1. Calculated Final Grade will display automatically calculated grades based on the weighted, point based, or formula grading system selected in the previous step.
   2. Adjusted Final Grade allows manual adjustments to be made to student's final grades before release.
   3. Automatically release final grade should be checked unless you wish to restrict students from viewing final grades. 
       
5. Step 3 of 7. Choose a preferred grade calculation. When you have finished, click Continue.
   1. Drop ungraded items will not include items which do not have a grade in the final calculations. Instructors must enter a grade of 0 (zero) for any gradable activities not submitted by students to ensure grade book accuracy.
   2. Treat ungraded items as 0 (zero) will count all items without a grade as 0s (zeros) in the final calculations. Ungraded items that are assigned a value of zero will display as 0*.
   3. Automatically keep final grade updated should be checked unless you wish to restrict students from viewing updated final grades.
       
6. Step 4 of 7. Choose a Default Grade Scheme. If your campus does not appear on this list, the default selected scheme can be maintained. Click Continue.
    
7. Step 5 of 7. Enter the number of decimals places to display when viewing student grades in instructor view. The value must be an integer between 0 and 5. Click Continue.
    
8. Step 6 of 7. Choose Student View Display options. When you have finished, click Continue. 
   1. Grade Details allows you to select Points Grade, Weighted Grade, and/or Grade Scheme to display student scores.
   2. Decimals Displayed shows students their graded scores to a specified number of decimals. The value must be an integer between 0 and 5.
   3. Characters Displayed controls the character length for text-based items.
   4. Final Grade Calculation determines whether students can view how their Final Grade was calculated.
       
9. Step 7 of 7. The last step displays your Grades Setup Summary for final review. Any changes can be made by navigating backwards through the steps using the Go Back button. If you are happy with your selections, click Finish.

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If you need further assistance or have additional questions please contact:
SUNY Online Support Services Help Desk
1-844-673-6786 | sunyonlinehelp@suny.edu