IT Support

Incomplete Processing for Instructors

Blackboard Transition

As Regent transitions from Blackboard to Canvas, the processing of Incompletes needs to be addressed. For Incompletes that will be issued for courses in Blackboard that will subsequently continue into Fall 2023, they will have to be concluded outside of the LMS. At the end of August, Blackboard will be turned off and the courses will no longer be available to faculty. Therefore, Incompletes cannot be continued in the previous course shells. Interactions and exchange of information with students will have to be conducted outside of the LMS though email or other methods, and files need to be stored in a central repository. The university has designated Teams to serve as storage for the course-related documents (see Appendix A for instructions on how to access Teams).

As part of the protocol for Incompletes during the Blackboard transition, instructors must follow the steps outlined below. In summary, the instructor must perform the following:

• Approve/disapprove Incomplete form submitted by student; if approved:
• Download Blackboard Grade Center
• Download and save the individual grade report for the student
• Download the course syllabus (and assignment details)
• Store Grade Center, individual grade report, syllabus (and assignment details), submitted student assignments, and graded student assignments on Teams
• Calculate and submit final grades

Step 1: Student submits the Incomplete form and the Instructor approves/disapproves

For the Bb transition, the form has been modified to include a checkbox indicating that the Incomplete is from a Blackboard course that will not be transitioning to Canvas. The instructor should indicate “Yes” on this item. [Note: This will communicate to the school administration that a folder will need to be created for the student in the university’s Teams “Incomplete” channel; if the folder is not available, contact your school/college Teams administrator.]

Step 2: In Blackboard download the Grade Center

The Grade Center (including the student requesting the Incomplete) must be downloaded after all student assignments and grades (up until the Incomplete) have been submitted and recorded in the Grade Center. To download the Grade Center, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Grade Center ~ Full Grade Center
2. In the upper right corner, click on Work Offline
3. Click on Download
4. In the list of choices, select the following:
   • Full Grade Center
   • Delimiter Type: Tab
   • Include Hidden Information: No
   • Download Location: My Computer
   • Click Submit, then Download

1. Double-click on file; click Yes to open file (in Excel); review file for accuracy.
2. After reviewing the file, navigate to the “Downloads” directory on your computer, locate the Grade Center file, and copy it to the appropriate Teams folder (In School Name~Incomplete~[Student Name]).

Step 3: Run and save individual student grade report

Bb offers a user-friendly report of individual student grades. This report will help the instructor calculate the final grade. To produce the report, follow these instructions:

1. Under Header Information, do the following:
   1. Report Name: enter “[Student Name] – Incomplete”
   2. Check Date and check Course Information
2. Under Users, navigate to Select Users and select the student
3. Under User Information, check all the boxes
4. Under Columns, check All Columns
5. Under Column Information, check Description and Due Date
6. Click Submit
7. Use your browser print function and select Save to PDF.

Step 4: Copy the syllabus from Bb into the Teams folder

Locate the syllabus in the course, download it, and copy it to the appropriate Teams folder. This step is important to preserve assignment grade weighting and assignment details and requirements.

Please note: If assignment details and requirements are not outlined in the syllabus, locate them in the Blackboard course and download or copy them into a document and store them in the appropriate Teams folder. This includes written assignments, discussion prompts and tests (see instructions to capture tests to PDF). Preserve any other content that the student and/or instructor will need to complete the course.

Step 5: Use email or other methods to communicate with students and exchange information.

Step 6: Store student submitted assignments in the appropriate folder in Teams.

Step 7: Store student graded assignments in the appropriate Teams folder.

To chronicle the submission of the assignment and the graded assignment, use a unique name for the graded file; for example:

• Original submitted assignment: Joe Smith The American Constitution.docx
• Graded assignment: Joe Smith The American Constitution Graded. Docx

Step 8: Calculate the final grade based on weighed total formula (see Appendix B).

Step 9. Submit a grade change form.
 

Appendix A

Accessing Teams

TLTS has created a generic help document on how to locate files in Teams.

Each school has a “Team” in Teams and then an Incomplete “channel.” Your school administrator will have to create folders in the Incomplete channel corresponding to the name of students in incomplete status. Your administrator will provide access to these folders to the instructors.

To navigate to the Incomplete channel for your school follow these steps:

Step 1: On the bottom right of your screen, there should be a Teams icon…click on that:

 

Step 2: In Teams, click on the Teams menu item and then you should see your college/school’s Team (e.g., College of Arts & Sciences):

Step 3: Select your college/school and then select the Incomplete channel:

 

Step 4: You should then see a folder for your student. You can add files to this folder.

 

 

Appendix B

Calculating the final grade

 

Without access to the Bb Grade Center, some instructors may need assistance in calculating the final grade. Below are some guidelines to assist with this task.

Percentage Calculation

For courses that use percentage grades (versus points), follow these guidelines:

Step 1: Note the grade weights in the syllabus for the assignments; for example:

              Exams (3): 30%

              Discussions (6): 40%

              Labs (3): 30%

Note: In courses where a percentage is allocated across multiple assignments (e.g., 40% for six discussions), you will need to determine the weight of each assignment in order to complete Step 4 below. To determine the weight of each assignment, divide the percentage by the number of assignments (e.g., .40 [40%] divided by 6 = .067).

Step 2: Navigate to this website and click on the Grade Calculator tab and select Grade Type ~ Percentage.

Step 3: Refer to the individual student report from Bb to locate the grade on each assignment.

Step 4: Enter each assignment – adding in the final assignments to fulfill the Incomplete - with the accompanying grade and assignment weight; for example:

Step 5: Calculate the final grade: ignore the first box; select “2” decimal places; click “Calculate” and note the “Average grade”:

 

 

Points Calculation

For courses that use points for grades, follow these guidelines:

Step 1: Note the points assigned in the syllabus for the assignments; for example:

              Exam 1: 200 points

              Exam 2: 200 points

              Discussion 1: 100 points

              Discussion 2: 100 points

              Essay 1: 200 points

              Final Exam: 200 points

Step 2: Navigate to this website and click on the Grade Calculator tab and select Grade Type ~ Points.

Step 3: Refer to the individual student report from Bb to locate the grade on each assignment.

Step 4: Enter each assignment – adding in the final assignments to fulfill the incomplete - with the accompanying grade, maximum possible grade, and the max grade total (e.g., 1000); for example:

Step 5: Calculate the final grade: select “2” decimal places; click “Calculate” and note the “Total grade”: