Grading and Grade Entry

• Grade Entry FAQ
• Grading System
• Incomplete Grades
• Grade Changes
• About the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module
• Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module FAQ
• Entering Midterm or Final Grades
• Importing Grades
• Exporting Grades

1. How do I get to the progress report and/or final grade entry page?
2. What do I do once I get to the progress report and/or final grade entry page?
3. How can I see a list of students in my class?
4. When does the final grade entry window open?
5. When are final grades due?
6. If I am teaching a short session course during a Summer Semester, when are my final grades due?
7. Must thesis (7000- and 9000-level) grades be entered?
8. Am I required to enter progress report grades?
9. When are progress report grades due?
10. I think I have entered my progress report and/or final grades, but I am not sure. How do I check?
11. If I enter my grades on T-Square do I also have to enter them in Banner?
12. Where can I find instructions for uploading my grades from a spreadsheet?
13. I missed the deadline to enter my final grades. How can I enter my final grades now?
14. I missed the deadline to enter my progress report grades. How can I enter my progress report grades now?
15. Can I change an Incomplete (I) or Not Reported (NR) final grade from a prior term online?
16. Do I have to enter the Last Date of Participation field when entering final grades?
17. I still have questions, whom do I contact?

1. How do I get to the progress report and/or final grade entry page?

• Log into BuzzPort
• On the "Faculty" tab locate the "Faculty Toolkit" panel
• Select the "Registration (OSCAR)" link
• Select "Faculty Services"
• Make your selection from the menu options

2. What do I do once I get to the progress report and/or final grade entry page?

• Select the appropriate grade for each student from the drop-down list in the "Grade" column
• Enter "Last Date of Participation" for any student assigned "F" or "I" grades

3. How can I see a list of students in my class?

• Log into BuzzPort
• On the "Faculty" tab locate the "Faculty Toolkit" panel
• Select the "Registration (OSCAR)" link
• Select "Faculty Services"
• Select the "Summary Class List" option

4. When does the final grade entry window open?

It opens at 8:00 am on the Monday of final exam week.

5. When are final grades due?

Grades are always due by noon on the Monday following final exam week

6. If I am teaching a short session course during a Summer Semester, when are my final grades due?

There is no separate grade entry for short session courses. Grades for short session courses are due at the same time as regular session courses, by noon on the Monday following exam week.

7. Must thesis (7000- and 9000-level) grades be entered?

Yes. All grades must be entered online.

8. Am I required to enter progress report grades?

Yes, if you are teaching a 1000- or 2000-level course. Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grades must be entered for all students in 1000- and/or 2000-level courses.

9. When are progress report grades due?

See the Academic Calendar.

10. I think I have entered my progress report and/or final grades, but I am not sure. How do I check?

• Log into BuzzPort
• On the "Faculty" tab locate the "Faculty Toolkit" panel
• Select the "Registration (OSCAR)" link
• Select "Faculty Services"
• Select the "Summary Class List" option
• Check if your grades are posted in the "Final" column

11. If I enter my grades on T-Square do I also have to enter them in Banner?

No. If you enter your grades in T-Square, they are automatically moved to Banner. However, you must enter "Last Date of Participation" in Banner for any students assigned "F" or "I" final grades

12. Where can I find instructions for uploading my grades from a spreadsheet?

• Log into BuzzPort
• On the "Faculty" tab locate the "Faculty Toolkit" panel
• Select the "Registration (OSCAR)" link
• Select "Faculty Services"
• Select "Upload Your Grades From a File" option
• Select "Grade Upload Help Information"

13. I missed the deadline to enter my final grades. How can I enter my final grades now?

You cannot enter the grades on-line. You must complete a pink grade change form for each student. Blank forms can be obtained from the academic office of your department.

14. I missed the deadline to enter my progress report grades. How can I enter my progress report grades now?

You cannot enter the grades on-line. You must individually notify each student in your 1000/2000 level classes as to their progress in your class.

15. Can I change an Incomplete (I) or Not Reported (NR) final grade from a prior term online?

No. You must complete a Grade Change Form for each student. Blank forms can be obtained from the academic office of your department.

16. Do I have to enter the Last Date of Participation field when entering final grades?

The "Last Date of Participation" field should only be entered for students assigned an "F" or "I" final grade. The date should be the last date on which the student either attended class or demonstrated "participation" in the class in some way such as turning in homework, turning in a paper, or taking an exam or quiz. Use whatever the most recent date was when the student indicated some form of participation in the class.

17. I still have questions, whom do I contact?

The Registrar's Office is eager to help you.

Email the Registrar's Office

Authoritative information regarding grades and grade point averages is published in the Catalog.

Catalog: Rules & Regulations V

Effective September 17, 1973

According to the Rules & Regulations V3, a student may be assigned a grade of "I" under the following circumstance:

Assigned when a student was doing satisfactory work, but for nonacademic reasons beyond their control and deemed acceptable by the instructor, was unable to meet the full requirements of the course. If the student's performance was so poor as to preclude their passing, the instructor shall assign the grade of F". "Last Date of Participation" should be entered for any student assigned a final grade of "F" or "I".

Acceptable reasons for assigning an "I" would include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Personal illness of the student
• Family emergency (death in family, serious illness in family, birth of child, etc.)
• Computer failure/software problem/lack of data supplied by outside source
• Travel required by job that could not be rescheduled

The student should be able to provide documentation to the instructor for any non-academic reason.

Other factors that should be considered and general guidance:

• The emphasis is on the fact that the reason is not academic in nature and that the student was doing satisfactory work.
• Students should not be instructed to sign up for the course again in order to make up an "I" grade and should only lack a small portion of course work. If the student is missing so much work that a passing grade could not have been assigned, a grade of "F" should be assigned.
• The rule of thumb for this is that approximately 70% of the term should have passed for an Incomplete request to be appropriate.
• The instructor may also consider the type of assignments that were missed such as group presentations, group projects, laboratories, or other examples where it would be difficult to recreate the work or conditions for the work to be completed.
• An incomplete should not be granted in order for a student to redo a test, quiz, or exam in order to improve their grade.
• Discussions about a possible Incomplete grade for a student should not occur until late enough in the term when it can be determined that the student is passing and that they have successfully completed enough of the class to have a reasonable chance of making it up by the deadline.
• When completing a grade correction form to remove the "I" grade, the instructor is required to identify the nonacademic reason that the "I" was given, not what the student was required to do to make up the work.
• Once a final grade is assigned to a course, it cannot be converted to an I (Incomplete) grade. An I grade must be assigned as part of the final grading process.
  • If a grade other than an incomplete is assigned during the final grading process, and special circumstances affected the student's matriculation at the end of the semester, the instructor may, at their discretion, allow the student to complete the missing assignment(s) within a reasonable period of time. When the instructor has evaluated the completed assignments, a change of grade can be submitted in the normal manner.
• Students who receive a grade of "I" (Incomplete) should consult the Student Rules & Regulations VII regarding the length of time allowed to make up the Incomplete. An extension of the time needed to make up the missing assignments is possible, but should be done only under extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control. This is at the instructor's discretion.
  • The reasonable time frame of an extension for making up an Incomplete grade is dictated by the professor, based on whatever assignments are missing. The student must comply with it or be assigned the grade they have earned.
  • When the extension of the due date is approved, an exact date must be provided to the Registrar's Office such as “12-1-2022.” This date is entered into an extension field in Banner which is what avoids the conversion of the Incomplete to a grade of F if not completed by the due date.
  • Acceptable reasons for allowing an extension of the deadline for making up an Incomplete grade include:
    • The instructor is not available during the semester in which the make-up assignments are due.
    • The student is participating in a co-op or internship and is not actively enrolled in coursework for that semester and is therefore unable to focus on the Incomplete grade.
    • The instructor, for whatever reason, cannot continue working with the student on the Incomplete grade make-up and the School must assign a different instructor to work with the student.
    • The student continues to experience the illness or extenuating circumstances that warranted the Incomplete grade initially. If this continues beyond a calendar year, as a rule of thumb, a discussion with the student's academic advisor around a petition to the faculty to withdraw from the course might be advisable or even necessary.
• An important thing to keep in mind is that at the end of every semester the Registrar's Office runs the “I to F” process. After an incomplete has been converted to an “F” grade it will not be changed back to an incomplete. At the instructor's discretion, a student may be allowed to complete the work and be assigned a revised grade through the normal change of grade process.

The Registrar's Office is responsible for processing all grade changes. In order for a student to receive a grade change, a "Grade Correction" form must be completed and signed by the faculty member who taught the course. The form must then be signed by the head of the academic department. The form is then submitted to the Registrar's Office for processing. If an academic department has made an error in completing the form, it will be returned to the department by the Registrar's Office for correction and re-submission.

Grade changes are processed once a week during the term with the exception of the week during which final grades are assigned. Academic standing is reviewed after each grade change and any necessary changes are made.

Students who receive a grade of "I" (Incomplete) should consult the Student Rules & Regulations VII regarding the length of time allowed to make up the Incomplete.

A grade of "NR" (Not Reported by the faculty member) is to be removed as soon as the faculty member can submit final grades and is only assigned in the case of an extreme emergency.

With the exception of grades changed via the grade substitution policy, only the final grade earned in a course for a given term is shown on an official transcript; no intermediate changes are displayed. Grade changes made in the computer system are immediately reflected on the Georgia Tech WEB Student Access System.

Catalog: Grades/Average

Catalog: Deficiencies

Incomplete Grade Information

Using the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

All midterm and final grades should be submitted through the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) module.

Selecting a Course to Grade in the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

3. Select the Midterm Grades or Final Grades tab.
4. Select a Course from the list of gradable courses.
5. Review information in the Course Details tab on the right.

Entering Midterm or Final Grades in the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

6. Select a student from the Enter Grades section of the page.
7. Review the information in the Student Details tab on the right side of the page.
8. Enter a grade for the selected student. Fill in the "Last Day of Participation" in the "Last Attend Date" for final grades of "F" and "I."
9. Repeat Steps 4 through 6 to continue selecting students and entering grades.
10. Save the changes.

Understanding How to Import Grades into the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

Grades for class rosters can be exported from the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) module using the options in the Tools menu.

The module includes a wizard for guiding users through the process of importing, including the mapping of columns.

Selecting a Course for which to Import Grades into the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

1. Select the Midterm Grades or Final Grades tab.
2. Select a Course from the list of gradable courses.
3. Select the Import option from the Tools menu.

Selecting a File to Be Imported into the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

1. Browse for a file to import by clicking "Browse."
2. Then, click "Upload."

Be sure the spreadsheet has a column for the "Last Day of Participation" for any student receiving a final grade of "F" or "I."

3. Select "Continue."

There are multiple worksheets in the spreadsheet file, choose one to import.

4. Preview the file by selecting the appropriate worksheet of the spreadsheet to import.

The "My spreadsheet has headers" indicator is checked by default. If there are no headeres, un-select the indicator.
Columns are sortable. To sort, click on the sorting arrows in the column headers.
Use the "Go Back" button to choose a different file or use the "Cancel" button to stop the process.

5. Click "Continue."

6. Use the dropdown selectors to map the spreadsheet columns to the module's columns.

The Student ID and either the Final Grade or Midterm Grade must be mapped for the "Continue" button to be active. Last Attend Date should be mapped to the column containing "Last Day of Participation" data. After reviewing the mapped columns, the user must click "Continue" to import the data. A green check mark appears atop the wizard for each column that has been mapped. Columns the user does not intend to import must be set to "Ignore." Use the "Go Back" button to choose a different file. Use the "Cancel" button to stop the process.

7. Select "Continue."
8. Review the data summary to see the data that will be imported, then click the "Import" button.

The summary lists the number of records that will be imported and the number of errors for records that will not be imported. Use the "Go Back" button to re-map the columns or view the import summary. Use the "Download the validation report" link to view an Excel spreadsheet with the error details by record. The default title for the validate report uses the term code, subject, course number, section number, and "_Validation_Report" in the file name. For example, 2018_02_Biomedical_Engineering_2201_Validation_Report.xls. You can save the validation report and download it to your desktop. You can correct any errors, save the document, and start the import process again, if needed.

9. The Notification Center displays the number of records imported successfully and saved as well as the number of unchanged records that were not imported. Click "Finished."

After grades are imported, the information in the Course Details area is updated, and it gives the number of grades (Midterm or Final) still yet to be entered. The bar under Grading Status will be completely green if all grades have been entered.

Understanding How to Export Grades from the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

Grades for class rosters can be exported from the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) module using the options in the Tools menu.

The module includes a wizard for guiding users through the process of exporting. The files exported from the module are spreadsheet files in Microsoft Excel's ".xls" or ".xlsx" format. These files are designated as "Read Only" at first, but they can be saved using the "Save As" command and then renamed, allowing editing.

Selecting a Course for which to Export Grades from the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

1. Select the Midterm Grades or Final Grades tab.
2. Select a Course from the list of gradable courses.
3. Select the Export Template option from the Tools menu.

4. To increase the number of records shown, adjust the "Per Page" selector.

Exporting Grades from the Banner Faculty Grade Entry (FGE) Module

1. Select the export file type as Excel (.xls or .xlsx). Then click "Export."
2. Open the file in the default application: Microsoft Excel.

The default file name uses the term code, subject, course number, section number, and "_Template."
For example: 201802_Biomedical Engineering_2210_Template.xls

3. Review the exported date in the spreadsheet file.

The file is "read only." You can use the "Save As" command and rename the file in order to edit it. Do not change the student ID.