Set Up Your Gradebook in Brightspace

Set Up Your Gradebook in Brightspace

Use the Setup Wizard to configure your Brightspace gradebook, including the grading system, final grade settings, grade scheme and learner display options.

This tutorial follows the video overview and introduces TLI’s recommendation to use a weighted grading system aligned with your course syllabus.

Watch the Video

Watch the overview, then use the steps below to work through the Setup Wizard in your course.

Open the Setup Wizard

  1. Go to Okanagan College Brightspace and select OC Login.
  2. Open your course.
  3. From the course navigation bar, select Assessments > Grades.
  4. Select the Setup Wizard tab.
  5. Review the summary of your current settings, then scroll down and select Start.

Before you begin: Have your course syllabus available so you can match the gradebook to your assessment plan. Select Continue after each wizard step to move to the next screen.

Step 1: Choose Your Grading System

  1. Review the available grading systems: Weighted, Points and Formula.
  2. Select the grading system that matches how final marks are calculated in your course.

TLI recommendation in the video: Select Weighted and align your grade categories with the percentage weightings in your course syllabus.

Step 2: Choose the Final Grade to Release

Choose which final grade you intend to release to learners:

  1. Select Calculated Final Grade to use the result calculated from the gradebook.
  2. Alternatively, select Adjusted Final Grade if you need the option to manually adjust the final result before releasing it.

Choose one option: Use the final grade type that fits your course’s grading process. This step sets the final grade type; review your release settings before making grades visible to learners.

Step 3: Configure Grade Calculations

  1. Choose how ungraded items should be handled: Drop ungraded items or Treat ungraded items as 0.
  2. Enable the option to Automatically keep final grades updated so calculated results reflect changes to the gradebook.

Understand the difference: Dropping ungraded items excludes items without a grade from the current calculation. Treating ungraded items as zero includes them as zero scores. Choose the option that matches how you want learners’ progress represented.

Step 4: Select the Default Grade Scheme

  1. Review the available grade schemes.
  2. Choose the scheme appropriate to your course. The video references the standard Banner grade system.

A grade scheme determines how numeric grades are represented as letters or other grade symbols.

Step 5: Set Instructor Display Options

  1. Choose the number of decimal places to display in the instructor gradebook view.
  2. Use a consistent setting that makes grades easy to read and review.

Step 6: Set Learner Display Options

  1. Choose the grade details learners should see, such as points or weighted grades.
  2. Set the number of decimal places shown in the learner view.
  3. Review the display choices to ensure they clearly communicate grades to learners.

Step 7: Review and Finish

  1. Review all your choices on the final summary page.
  2. If a setting needs changing, return to the relevant wizard step and update it.
  3. Select Finish to save your gradebook configuration.

Next Steps

Your initial gradebook configuration is complete. You can now create grade categories and items, or import existing grades, to build your course assessment structure.

For more guidance, visit the Brightspace Knowledge Base.

Need Help?

For support with the Setup Wizard or configuring your Brightspace gradebook, contact the Educational Technology team.

edtech@okanagancollege.ca

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