Module Grade Entry

MODULE GRADE ENTRY

ON-LINE GRADING SUBMISSION SYSTEM

Table of Contents

Section Title / Page
1. / Introduction / 3
2. / How to Access the Student Records Portal to Submit Grades / 4
3. / Enter Grades – How to Grade your Module on the Web / 6
4. / Review Module Grades – How to Review and Submit grades entered / 14
5. / Potential Errors encountered when Entering Grades / 19
6. / Frequently Asked Questions / 20
Appendix A: Module Grade Entry Additional Students Form / 21
Appendix B: PC Setup and Display / 22

1. Introduction

The Module Grade Entry process is now the University’s only grade submission process following a pilot in 2008/9 and full roll out in Autumn 2010/1.

The objective of this version of the system is to replace the paper process (green grading sheet). This system allows the module leader to submit grades directly to the Student Records System using an on-line application. It reduces the risk of error and increases the time available to academicsfor the submission of grades. Academics are not required to have the grading sheet signed by the Head of Department prior to submission as he/she will be notified by email that you have submittedthe final grades for the module(s) and will receive a distribution of the grades submitted for each module.

Along with this instruction manual, SAA have hosted workshops in Autumn 2010/1 and continue to provide training in advance of each grading cycleto assist all users. Any queries can be directed to a dedicated email account

The software being used is part of Tribal Technologies who developed the Student Records System that UL operates. The Module Grade Entry facility is widely used by their UK customers and therefore the display is not custom built for UL. We have incorporated some development work based on feedback from the Pilot and from subsequent grading periods since the roll out in Autumn 2010/1 but recognise that there will be further development work required in the future. SAA would be happy to gather any feedback academics would like to give following the process. Please email your feedback to

Since the roll out, the request for using Excel to import grades is being considered and is not currently available. Spring 2010/1 version hadthe “Viewed your Stored Grades” option available before submission which also shows Average QPV. From Spring 2010/1 the Average QPV is also detailed on the email notification to the Head of Department.

We appreciate your participation in advance and hope that you find the process to be beneficial and easy to use.

Yours sincerely,

______

Nuala Cullimore

Student Administration Officer

  1. How to Access the Student Records Portal to Submit Grades
  1. Open your web browser and access the following web address:
  1. You will then be presented with the logon to the Student records portal

  1. Enter your ID/Username e.g. BLOJOE1 and pin/password. The username structure is normally the first three letters of your surname followed by the first three letters of your first forename followed by the number 1.
  2. Please note: This is not your UL network id and password for this version of Module Grade Entry.
  3. Please note: If you wish your pin/password to be reset or changed please email to request this.
  4. Click on the Log In button.

A general note when using the Student Records portal page is not to use the browser back button when navigating through screens as you may lose your work.Use the navigation buttons in the application.


  1. Click on “Student Records” on the left hand side of the screen

  1. Scroll to the section called “Academic Staff Actions”.
  2. Click on “Enter grades for your modules”.A list of the modules that are assigned to you for grading will appear. Only academics who are assigned as module leaders to modules on SI for the relevant year and semester will have modules listed.

Saved grades count is the number of grades that have been saved for the module.

Submitted grades count is the number of grades that have been submitted to the Student records system.

  1. Enter Grades – How to Grade your Module on the Web

NOTE: Prior to commencing grading you are asked to familiarise yourself with the Handbook of Academic Regulations and Procedures both for grading related regulations and programme specific regulations to ensure you comply with these at all times when entering grades. It is very important you do not enter a grade that is against regulations as the MGE system may not be able to identify this to prevent it, (e.g. As per regulations a Masters Degree Dissertation should not be graded with a D1 or D2 but because D1 and D2 are valid grades in general the system is unable to prevent you from entering these grades)

  1. Click on the > button under column labelled ‘Select’ to the right of the screento select the module which you are going to grade.

b. The following page will appear:

Under “Select Options” section, the ‘Sort records by’ option is pre-set to ‘Student Name’ but the sort option can be changed to sort by ’Student ID’. The Student Name sort option is sorted using Surname and initials of forenames. Due to the introduction of Blind Marking it is recommended that you change to sort by ‘Student ID’. The “Display” option is pre-set to “Unmarked Students”- which means only students without a grade will be displayed in the next screen (this is a useful facility should you decide to grade some students and come back at a later stage and enter the remaining students grades).The Display can be changed to view ‘All students’ whether they have been graded previously or not. NOTE: If you are grading students who had been M graded in a previous grading cycle you must change the display option to “All Students”.

  1. Click on “Step 1: Enter Grades” button.
  1. The following page will be displayed. The screen is pre-set to display 20 records per page (you can adjust the number of records to display by scrolling to the bottom of the screen and clicking on the drop down list of “Number of Students per Page” and then click on “Set”).

Registration types & associated Grades

The column next to the grading box is the registration type (RTS) associated with the module, types of RTS codes are:

RTS Code (Registration type) / Definition
N / Normal grading
S / Capped grading (i.e. at annual repeats)
S2 / Uncapped link-in repeat
I / Certified Illness (uncapped)
Q / Capped voluntary repeat at annual repeats
P / Pass-fail module
G / Audit grade module (verifies attendance only)

Valid grades for each RTS type are:

RTS Code (Registration type) / Valid Grades for this registration type
N, S, S2, I, Q / A1, A2,B1,B2,B3,C1,C2,C3,D1,D2,F,NG, M
P / P = pass, N = fail
G / G = attendance, N = non-attendance

Note: Module with multiple registration types: A small number of students could be taking your module on a pass/fail (P) or audit basis (G) while the majority of students are taking it on a (N) normal basis. Module Grade Entry is driven by the Marking scheme of the overall module and not the registration type of the module for each student. Please insert the following:

Students with P or G Registration Type on a module which is set up to be graded on a Normal basis, if they are passing the module, please enter C3 as the passing grade or enter F as the failing grade. SAA will convert these grades to the proper P and N and G grades at the end of the process and before QCA’s are calculated for students. This working around will continue for the moment as the numbers are quite small. Please email if you are experiencing any problems. NOTE[1]: If you enter D2 to A1 grades here SAA will still convert these to P and so if you wish the student to fail the module you must enter an F.

Note: Please ensure you review the Handbook of Academic Regulations and Procedures to ensure you comply with all grading related regulations along with programme specific regulations, where applicable.

Note: I-grades are not entered by academic as they are recommended by the I-grade Committee. Please enter the actual grade for the student and SAA will process all I-grade recommendations at the end of the grading cycle.

Note:Exemption grades (EX) are not entered by academic as these are processed by Student Status Committee in advance of any grading cycle.

  1. Enter the Grade for the student in the Column called “Grade” a list of the valid grades is above.

If a student did not complete assessments, please enter NG grade, do not leave the grade blank.

  1. If you have a grade for a student who is not listed for the module, you should complete a Module Grade Entry Additional Students form see page21. This student is not registered for the module and SAA need to amend the student’s record to register for the module. Email the completed form to mediately.

Please note: To enter the next grade use the “Tab” button:-do not use the “Enter”/“Return” button as this will bring you to the next stage without saving/storing.

  1. Click on ‘Store Page’ to save the grades entered and/or ‘Store and Next Page’ to save the grades and continue grading any remaining students on the Grading list.
  1. Should you enter the grades in lower case format, when you click the ‘Store Page’ button, it will reformat the grades to upper case.

A message will appear at the top of each page saying “Store Successful”

  1. Continue entering grades until you have completed all pages of the grading sheet that is displayed on screen.
  1. In the event that you get the above error message, you are required to rectify the grade and enter a valid grade.Once you have amended the grade, click “Store and Next Page” or “Store Page”. Once you have completed grading and stored the resultssuccessfully, click ‘Home’ to return to the options menu.
  1. If you have entered and stored some grades but are not completed, you may use the ‘Home’ button to exit the system. When you resume grading, please note that you will only see the ‘Unmarked’ students (i.e. students not yet graded). Should you wish to see all students for the module, change the Display type from ‘Unmarked students’ to ‘All students’.
  1. If you have stored grades on Module Grade Entry but not submitted the grades to the student records system yet, a report is available called ‘View your Stored Grades’ which displays the grades entered for each student on the module as well as the Average QPV and grade distribution of the module. This report can be accessed by doing the following:
  2. Click on “Student Records” on the left hand side of the screen
  3. Scroll to the section called “ Academic Staff Actions”
  4. Click on “View your Stored Grades”.
  5. Enter the year, semester and module you wish to view, click on the ‘Run Report’ button:

The following report is displayed


  1. ..Review Module Grades – How to Review and Submit grades entered

Select the module you wish to review the grades as described previously in Enter Grades section.

  1. Click on “Step 2: Review Grades”.
  1. Review all the grades entered on screen. Ensure that there are no Grades listed in the Final Column called “Grade” marked with a “?”. This means that you have not completed grading for this module. You are advised to complete the grading for each student on the module before submittingthe module’s grades.
  1. If any are incorrect gradesor missing grades then click on the “Edit Grades” button at the end of the screen to complete grading.

This will bring you back to the enter grades section. Please note: if you have graded all students, then the Enter grades screen will not display any students as the Display options has been pre-set to display ‘Unmarked Students’. You need to click on ‘Home’ on this screen to change the display to ‘All students’.

  1. Once grading has been completed and you are satisfied the grades are correct, click on ‘Step 2: Review Grades’ button again. You will be presented with each of the students’ record with the grade column complete. The ‘Submitted Grade’ and ‘Result’ columns will be displayed as ‘?’ as they have not yet been submitted. If you are satisfied with the grades you have entered, click on the ‘Submit Final Grades’ button to begin the process of submitting the grades to the SI records system.

The next screen displayed shows the module to be submitted.If this is correct, click on ‘Submit Final Grades’ button.

Please note: that you will also get the same screen if you click on ‘Step 3: Submit Final Grades’ on the Select options page.

…

The following screen will appear which displays the following information to you with regards to the module you have just submitted the final grades for:

  1. If you receive any error messages that you do not understand, please forward to to ensure the process worked and the grades were submitted correctly.
  1. Please note that, once you “Submit Final Grades”, the option to ‘Enter Grades’is no longer available to you as the grades are fully submitted to the system. Please complete a Grade Alteration Form to rectify any incorrect grades. (Available from your Department Coordinator).
  1. Click on the “Home” button and this will bring you back to the main screen for the module.
  1. To keep a copy of the module grades that you have submitted to the system, click on “Step 2: Review Grades”. This screen displays the grade distribution of the module as well as the actual grades submitted to the Student records system. Select the menu option ‘File’ and select “Print” (alternatively you may wish to keep an electronic copy, in this case select “Save As….”)
  1. After the grades for a modules have been submitted, an email confirmation will be sent to the Module leader, the Head of the Department and the Department Co-ordinator detailing the grade distribution and average QPV for the module:
  1. To go to the next module click on the “Home” button which will return you to the main screen for the module you have just worked on, click on the “Go Back to Module Selection” button that appears on this screen.
  2. This will bring you back to the main screen which lists all the modules to which you have been assigned for grading and you can proceed to the next module (where applicable) for grading.
  1. Potential Errors encountered when Entering Grades

a. Error / Action required
Wrong grade entered (e.g. You enter, “AA” or “A” instead of A1). The error message below will appear / Please put in a valid grade – see above for instructions on how to enter grades.
Wrong grade entered (e.g. You enter A1 or A2, which is a valid grade; however the student is registered on Pass/Fail or Audit. The error message below will appear. / Please refer to the grading sheet which identifies the registration type for the student.(See section above for types of registrations and valid grades).
b. Error / Action required
You have forgotten/entered an incorrect username and/or password on the login screen. The error message below will appear. / Please follow the instructions below, and contact SAA at and provide your username, surname and date of birth.
  1. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What happens if students are not listed and I get an “error-no assessment records found”?

A: Please .

Q: What if I don’t have a script/grade for a student listed on the screen?

A: Enter an “NG” grade. Do not leave a blank.

Q: What if I have a grade for a student not listed on screen?

A: This student may not be registered or may owe fees. You should complete a Module Grade Entry Additional Students form and submit to SAA by emailing the completed form to mediately so that it can be investigated.

Q: Is it possible to change a grade online after I have already submitted grades?

A:No. Any changes to grades must be done via the grade alteration processpaper form signed by Head of Department usually located at departmental office for auditing purposes.

Q: How can I get a report of the grades that I have entered?

A: To keep a copy of the module grades that you have submitted to the system, click on “Step 2: Review Grades”. This screen displays the grade distribution of the module as well as the actual grades submitted to the Student records system. Select the menu option ‘File’ and select “Print” (you may wish to keep an electronic copy, in this case select “Save As….”). Alternatively, you can run the “View your Stored Grades” report and print/save as needed. The “View your Stored Grades” report is in the “Student Records” section under the heading “Academic Staff Actions”. Also, the grade reports will be issued by SAA in the normal way following the grading deadline, as part of the progression reports.