Create a grade category and items in a D2L “points” gradebook

Create a Category:

1. From your D2L Course Home page, click on [Grades] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on [Manage Grades] under “Grades Area”
3. Click on [New Category]
4. Type a name for the category (e.g., Quizzes, Short Papers, Homework)
5. Under “Display Options,” uncheck “Display class average to users” and “Display grade distribution to users”
• OPTIONAL: If all grade items in the category have the same number of points, check “Distribute points across all items” and enter the points per item
6. Click [Save]

Create an Item:

1. From your D2L Course Home page, click on [Grades] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on [Manage Grades] under “Grades Area”
3. Click on [New Item]
4. Click on [Numeric]
5. Type a name for the grade item (e.g., Quiz 1)
• OPTIONAL: Type a “short name” only the instructor will see in the gradebook view (e.g., Q1)2
6. Click in the box or on the down arrow next to “Category”
• OPTIONAL: if no categories exist, click [New Category]
7. Select a category for the new grade item 
8. Under “Grading,” assign maximum points based on your scoring rubric for the assessment
• OPTIONAL: If the assessment is for extra credit, check “Bonus”
• OPTIONAL:  Check “Exclude from Final Grade Calculation” if the assessment is e.g., a practice quiz, that should not be counted toward the Final Grade
9. Click on [Save] to finish, or click on [Save and New] to create another grade item.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – October 2011

D2L Grades: initial setup

Choosing the right grades setup will facilitate ease of use

1. From the Course Home page, click on [Grades]

2. Under “Grades Area,” click [Grades Settings]

3. Click on [Calculation Options]

4. Under “Grading System” choose “weighted” (if grade categories and items count as a percentage of the Final Grade) or choose “points” (where total points, not percentages, equal the Final Grade)

5. Skip down to “Grade Calculations” and choose “drop ungraded items”

6. Click on [Save]

Important Note: DO NOT select “Automatically keep final grades updated.” It has an adverse effect upon overall D2L response time. Instructors may update final grades at any time without using this option.

OPTIONAL: At the end of the semester, it is useful to change the “Grade Calculations” setting. Just click [Grades Settings > Calculation Options] and select “Treat ungraded items as 0.”

For help creating categories and grade items in your D2L Gradebook, please see the “Points Gradebook” or the “Weighted Gradebook” tutorial.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011