Moving Grades into WebCT

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Moving Grades into WebCT

Once you have downloaded WebCT student records into a spreadsheet program (such as Excel), it's very easy to add grades to the spreadsheet and then move them ("upload" them) into WebCT. Then you'll also need to release the grades in order for your students to access them. Through WebCT, you can deliver grades for all your class assignments and tests, even if the assignments or tests were done on paper. Students can check on their grades from home or over the weekend, and having all grades stored in WebCT simplifies record keeping for both student and instructor.

There are a few simple steps to upload grades from a spreadsheet to a WebCT course at UCSF:

Make sure your spreadsheet has only the columns and rows that WebCT requires

The first column in your spreadsheet file must contain a list of the GALEN login names of the students enrolled in the class. The GALEN login name is called the "User ID" in course databases. The column heading must be called User ID. Each additional column must be a column that you wish to add to WebCT. No other columns should be in the file that you upload to WebCT.

The first row in your spreadsheet file must contain the column headings, with the column heading containing the User IDs labelled User ID. All other rows should represent students, each row containing a single User ID (i.e., GALEN login name) and new data for that student.

Note: If you started by downloading the WebCT Grades, you will have all the gradebook columns, including columns for Last Name and First Name. If you want to keep this downloaded spreadsheet file as is, then you should make a duplicate of the file, and then modify the duplicate for uploading. In your duplicate file, delete all the columns that already exist in the WebCT gradebook (in Excel select the unwanted columns, go to the Edit menu, and choose Delete). Leave just the column of User IDs and the new columns that you want to upload.

Save your spreadsheet as a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file

In Microsoft Excel, go to the File menu and select Save As. Then in the window that comes up, change the format to Comma Separated Values (CSV).

Navigate to the Manage Students page

Log into WebCT and enter the course that you want to reset. In the Control Panel click on the Manage Course link.

WebCT Control Panel

On the left hand side of the Manage Course page, click the Manage Students link in the tab.

Reset Course

Upload the grade records

In the first drop down menu (under Options: Records), select Add/Import Students and click on the adjacent Go button.

Import Student Data

In the window that comes up, look at the section at the bottom titled Import From File. Leave the Separator drop down menu to it's default (Comma) and click the Browse button to search for your .csv file.

Browse for the file

In the window that comes up, if you have not already uploaded your .csv file from your local computer to the WebCT server, you will need to do so. Click the Browse button to select your .csv file on your local computer (and then click the Upload button to move the file to the WebCT server). Once you have navigated to your .csv file and uploaded it, make sure the file is selected in the list under My-Files and click on the Add selected button at the bottom of the window.

Browse for the file

You will be returned to the Add Students page, at the bottom of which is the Import From File section. Click the Import button and follow any instructions for importing the file into WebCT (this will vary depending on the contents of the file and of your current Student database).

Verify data in your Student database and make corrections

Return to the Manage Students page and verify that the data in your .csv file has now been added to your course database. Make any corrections that might be necessary.

Note: At this point, you may be interested in releasing the grades so that each of your students can access his or her individual grades.