Other Functions Within myUCF Grades
1. Release Columns. When you first create a column, upload a column, or have a column imported that has Scantron results, the grades will not be visible to students until you “release” them (this default cannot be changed). To release a column, locate the field named “Organize.” Pull down the menu and select “manage columns,” then click GO. The row labeled “Released” will indicate if a particular column is currently visible to students or not. Place a checkmark atop each column you wish to release to students, then locate the box on the right side of the page labeled “Actions.” Halfway through the list of actions is “Release columns”; pull down the menu to YES and click GO. (note: if desired, the “Hidden” command will hide the columns from you, the instructor, when in the normal view so that you don’t have to scroll so far to see the rightmost columns).
2. Adjust an individual grade. To edit an individual grade, click the “Edit” link just below the relevant column’s name. The page should reload with editable figures in the desired column. Do not forget to click UPDATE in the bottom left corner when done.
3. View grade statistics. Click the “Graph” link just below the relevant column’s name to see a graphical representation of the grade distribution, with other statistics (mean, median, standard deviation) also displayed at the top. You can also release statistics for students to see the same graph; this can be done at the Manage Columns page.
4. Perform grade calculations. Under “Organize,” select “manage columns” and click GO. At the bottom right, click ADD COLUMN, give it a name, and select the type as “calculated.” The new column should appear when the page reloads. Place a checkmark above the new column and click SETUP COLUMN at the bottom right of the screen. You may now create a formula to tabulate various columns that you’ve already defined, provided that they are configured as “numeric” (not alphanumeric). If you do not wish to perform the calculations inside myUCF Grades, it would be simplest to download the most recent grades to your computer, import them as CSV into Excel, and use Excel to create a new column and calculate grades. This new column can be uploaded as a CSV and displayed like any other grade to students.
5. Move columns. Under “Organize,” select “manage columns” and click GO. To move a column, place a checkmark in the relevant column (it’s best to do this one at a time) and find the controls in the bottom right of the screen for moving the columns to the left or to the right. You may use the pulldown menu to select more than one space at a time. Click GO after making your selection and the page will reload in the revised order. Note: it is important you not move columns around in Excel and then try to upload them to myUCF Grades; it is safer to do any column management online. You can, however, use Excel to delete all but the first name, last name, ID number columns and then create a brand new column as the fourth column in this file to be uploaded.
6. Deny or allow student access. Under “Access” you can manually deny access to one or more students who are part of your official roster, or you may allow access to those who are still listed on your roster but not longer officially enrolled (such as a student who withdrew or dropped).
7. View students records. Under “Records” you can temporarily narrow the range of students displayed. Afterward, the default display will not return to the full class until you select “view all students” and click GO.
8. Search student records. Under “Records” you can search records in several ways. This becomes especially valuable if you had first generated columns for special circumstances in your class. For instance, an alphanumeric column could be created for athletes, simply entering a value of “yes” for the relevant students and leaving the others blank. Other instructors may choose to create student groups, perhaps even providing multiple group names within the same column. A search of the records now yields the desired group.
9. Re-order the display on the main screen. By default, students are displayed in alphabetical order by last name. Clicking the name of any column at the top will reload the page with that particular column now alphabetized. This is also a quick way to view grades in descending order or to view group names in alphabetical order.
10. Add another instructor/GTA to your course. To allow another person to access your course as an instructor, select “add shared faculty” under “Access” and follow the instructions. You'll need to know the person's Webcourses ID number (it should be identical to the NID - they can find this out on the myUCF portal login page). Once you've given them access to the course, they can log in to myUCF as themselves, as they will see the course listed as though they are the instructor of record.
Continue Reading . . .
For Further Assistance
If you're having difficulty locating the Grades pagelet or trouble accessing it, contact the UCF Help Desk (407-823-5117 or helpdesk@mail.ucf.edu). The Faculty Center (407-823-3544 or fctl@mail.ucf.edu) is happy to consult with you about further applications or complications using myUCF Grades. Additionally, the Faculty Center offers regular workshops and one-on-one consultations on creating and maintaining Excel gradebooks.
