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As an instructor, you may want to manually create a column in the Grade Center for items that cannot be submitted via Blackboard. These “items” might include activities that took place outside of class, such as a science fair or a juried art show. Or, you may assign credit for participation or attendance at an event.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. In the Grade Center, click Create Column.

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2. On the Create Grade Column page, type a brief name and an optional description. The name becomes the column name in the Grade Center and on students' My Grades page. If the name is too long to display clearly in the Grade Center, add a shorter name in the Grade Center Name box.

3. Make a selection in the Primary Display drop-down menu. The selection that you choose will be the grade format shown in the Grade Center and to students on their My Grades page. If you created custom grading schemas, they appear in the list in addition to the five default options available. There are five default options to choose from:

• Score: A numeric grade is the default setting. If you don't make a selection, the score appears in the gradebook.

• Letter: A letter grade appears. The default grading schema is used to assign letter grades. For example, a score of 21/30 equals 70% and appears as a C.

• Text: Text appears in the column when you create and associate a text grading schema. Examples of text values include: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor OR  Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory. If no text grading schema exists, and you select the Text option, you can type text in the column's cells. Limit your text to 32 characters. If you choose to share the column results with students in My Grades, they see the text values for their grades.

• Percentage: A percentage appears. For example, a score of 21/30 appears as 70%.

• Complete/Incomplete: When a student submits an item, a Completed icon appears in the column regardless of the score achieved.

4. Optionally, make a selection from the Secondary Display drop-down menu. The default setting is None. When you choose a secondary display, the secondary value appears in parentheses in the Grade Center column. The secondary value doesn't appear to students.

5. Optionally, you can associate the column with a Category. The default setting is No Category. Use categories to filter Grade Center data, create smart views, and create calculated columns.

6. In the Points Possible box, type the total points. Entries must be numeric.

If you assign 0 as the points possible, any grading schema that uses a percentage, such as Percentage or Letter, is represented in the Full Grade Center as a score. These grading schemas are based on the percentage of the score compared to the points possible. When the points possible are 0, a percentage can't be calculated.

7. Optionally, set a Due Date by checking the box and entering your desired date and time. You can use due dates with the Retention Center to generate an alert if a test or assignment isn't submitted on time. When you enable an item’s Due Date, the date will also appear on the course calendar.

8. Select the Options:

• Include this Column in Grade Center Calculations: Select Yes to make the column available for potential inclusion when creating calculated columns.

• Show this Column to Students: Select Yes to display the column to students in My Grades.

• Show Statistics (average and median) for this Column to Students in My Grades: Select Yes to include statistical information with the grade value when shown to students.

9. Click Submit.