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Faculty guide
A step-by-step guide to the new grading experience
1. About this guide
2. What is changing, at a glance
3. Opening the Gradebook
4. The Gradebook list view
5. Adding and managing items
6. The To Do workflow
7. Grid view and column indicators
8. Search and filters
9. Gradebook settings
10. Grading a student submission
11. Accommodations
12. Assessment settings and submissions
13. Group assignments and posting
14. The Overall Grade
15. All grades for one student
16. Quick reference
17. Frequently asked questions
18. Getting help
Learn@Seneca is moving to a new Gradebook experience on August 6. This guide walks through the parts of the Gradebook faculty use most often, with annotated screenshots of each screen.
The underlying grading model has not changed. Points, categories, grade schemas, accommodations and posting all work the way they did before. What has changed is the layout: the information is grouped differently, more of it is visible at once, and several controls that used to be several clicks away are now available directly from the grading workflow.
If you only read one page of this guide, read this one.
The Gradebook is reached from the main course navigation, in the same place as Content, Calendar, Announcements and Discussions.
1Gradebook — opens the Gradebook for this course. The number beside it is a count of outstanding items.
The list view is the default landing screen. It brings coursework, categories, due dates, grading status and posting status together in one place, which makes it easier to scan a course and identify what needs attention.
1View toggle — switches between grid view and list view.
2To Do — opens the To Do area. The badge shows how many items are waiting.
3Settings — opens the Gradebook settings panel.
4Item — the name of each gradable item, with a submission count underneath.
5Category — the grade category, such as Assignment, Test, Form, Discussion or Journal.
6Due Date — the due date and time for the item.
7Grading Status — how many attempts still need grading, or All graded when none remain.
8Post — a button appears here when graded work is ready to be released to students.
These two columns tell you what to do next for each item, so they are worth understanding properly.
1Grading status — shows the number of attempts waiting to be graded. Once every attempt is graded this reads All graded.
2Post button — releases grades and feedback to students. The number tells you how many grades will be posted.
Each row also has a sort control and an options menu at the far right of the table, for reordering items and reaching item-level actions.
Items can be created from inside the Gradebook, without going back to the course content area. The add menu appears from the item list.
1Add Item — creates a new gradable item that is graded manually, such as a participation or presentation mark.
2Add Text Item — adds a non-graded row used to label or separate parts of the gradebook.
3Add Calculation — creates a calculated column built from other items, using functions and operators.
4Add Total Calculation — creates a total column across a set of items or categories.
5Add Attendance — adds an attendance item that can be marked for each class meeting.
The To Do area is the quickest way to find work that needs attention. It has two parts: work that needs grading, and grades that are ready to post.
1Needs Grading — the count of attempts waiting for a grade across the whole course.
2Grade button — opens that item directly in the grading workflow. The number is how many attempts are waiting.
Each card also shows the due date and the date of the oldest ungraded attempt, which is a useful way to spot work that has been waiting longest.
1Needs Posting — grades that have been entered but not yet released to students.
Selecting Post on a card releases the grades and feedback for that item. Use Show more at the bottom of the list to see every item rather than the first few.
Grid view lays the course out like a spreadsheet, with one row per student and one column per gradable item. It is the fastest way to see overall class performance.
1Student — student name and ID. The display of names and IDs is controlled in Gradebook settings.
2Overall Grade — the running overall grade for each student.
3Assessment columns — one column per gradable item, with each student’s grade in the cell.
Assessment columns now use small status indicators rather than a separate icon for every assessment type. Two are worth learning:
Search and filtering are the tools that make a large class manageable. You can search the gradebook by student or by gradable item, and narrow the view to exactly the work you need.
1Filters and views — the panel where all filtering options are set.
2Students — limit the view to one or more named students.
3Groups — limit the view to a course group.
The panel also filters by category, by assessment type, and by specific gradable items. Filters combine, so you can narrow to a single group’s results on a single assignment.
The settings panel opens from the gear icon in the top right of the Gradebook. It controls how student information is displayed and holds the import and export tools.
1Student name — choose between first name last name, or last name, first name.
2Student ID — show or hide the student ID column.
Last name, first name is usually the better choice when you are working alphabetically through a class list.
1Upload and download gradebook — export grades for offline work, or upload a completed file back into the course.
2Grade Schemas — the mapping from percentages to letter grades. Manage Grade Schemas opens the full list.
3Student Performance — set alerts that identify students who may need attention.
Student Performance alerts can be based on an overall grade below a value you set, a number of missed due dates, or days since the student last accessed the course. Course-level preferences such as automatic zeros also remain in this panel, further down.
Selecting a specific student’s grade opens a student-level panel on the right. This is where most day-to-day grading happens, and it is the screen that has gained the most in the new design.
1Grade Details — the panel header, showing the student name and the item being graded.
From the top of this panel you can enter a grade, post that individual grade, and open the full submission. Arrows in the header move between assessments without closing the panel.
1Submission Details — attempt information, including when the work was submitted.
2Assessment Feedback — feedback shared with the student when the grade is posted.
3Grader Notes — private notes for teaching staff.
4Accommodations — accommodation information for this student, in context.
1Submission Details — expanded to show the attempt and submission information.
2Assessment Feedback — remains available below the expanded section.
3Grader Notes — also remains available without leaving the panel.
Each accordion opens independently, so you can read submission details and enter feedback without losing your place in the class list.
One of the more significant improvements is that accommodation information is easier to reach while grading. You can review accommodations, exemptions and extensions without leaving the Gradebook workflow.
1Accommodations — the panel where accommodations are selected for a student.
Accommodations set here apply across the course. When you create graded items, students with accommodations appear in the item settings, so the accommodation is applied without being set up again each time.
Selecting an assessment name opens a side panel on the right, so item settings can be reviewed without leaving the Gradebook.
1Due date — the due date and time, with the option to set no due date.
Below the due date the panel covers late submission handling, whether new attempts are allowed after the due date, class conversations, presentation options such as one question at a time and randomised questions, and the grading and submission settings for the item.
1Accommodations — students with accommodations are listed here alongside the other item settings.
This summary view shows due date, grade category, the grade out of, attempts allowed and accommodations together, which is a quick way to confirm an item is set up correctly before releasing it.
1Submitted — how many students have submitted, out of the total.
2To grade — how many attempts still need a grade.
3To post — how many grades are entered and waiting to be released.
The list below these counts shows each student, when they attempted the work, and their status. Students who have not submitted are marked clearly, and late or unopened attempts are flagged. You can search by student name and filter by student status.
Group assignments have their own submissions screen, showing groups rather than individual students.
1Grading status — whether each group’s submission has been graded.
2Grade — the grade assigned to the group.
3Post all grades — releases the grades for every group at once.
The overall grade helps students keep track of their performance in your course. It is calculated using relative weights for gradebook items or categories.
1Overall Grade Settings — where the calculation and display of the overall grade are configured.
2Calculate grades based on points — an option to calculate from points earned out of total graded points.
The Overall Grade appears as its own column in both the list view and the grid view, and can be hidden from students if you prefer not to show a running total.
You can also open a single student and see every item at once. This view is useful when preparing for a meeting, writing a progress report, or answering a question about a student’s standing in the course.
The panel lists each gradable item with its status and grade, and gives access to feedback and to the student’s accommodations.
No. The grading model is unchanged. Points, categories, schemas and posting all behave as they did. The difference is where the controls sit and how much you can see at once.
Grades are not visible until they are posted. Check the Post column on the item row, or the Needs Posting section of To Do.
The list view shows one row per gradable item and is best for seeing what needs attention. The grid view shows one row per student and one column per item, and is best for seeing overall class performance.
Assessment columns now use smaller status indicators instead of a separate icon for each assessment type. A document with a pencil means work needs grading, and a paper plane means grades are ready to post.
Yes. Download grades is in the Gradebook settings panel, along with upload gradebook for bringing a completed file back in.
Yes. Grade schemas remain available in the new experience and are reached from the settings panel.
Some assessment settings lock once students have started their attempts, for example prohibit backtracking and randomise answers. The panel explains this where it applies.
In the student grade details panel, in the Accommodations section, so you do not need to leave the grading workflow.
Yes, and this is the default. Enter grades as you work, then post when you are ready to release the whole set.
A To Do list also appears on the Courses page, which surfaces grading tasks across your courses before and during the term.
For support with the new Gradebook, contact the Teaching & Learning Centre. Staff can walk through the new workflow with you, help set up grade schemas and calculations, and answer questions about accommodations and posting.
The new Gradebook is live in Learn@Seneca on Aug. 6.
If you are looking for something and cannot find it, please email teaching@senecapolytechnic.ca
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