e-Grading process to replace paper grade lists

Electronic roster will improve service to students

Beginning in December, faculty and instructional staff will use the My UW–Madison Web portal to submit student grades as part of a new e-Grading initiative.

A joint project of the Office of the Registrar and the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), the method will replace the paper grade-list process. Instructors already using Learn@UW may report final grades in December using the grade-book tool.

The electronic grade roster is the Web service tool used to submit final grades and is distinct from the electronic class roster faculty use to monitor enrollment in courses. Both types of rosters are accessed through My UW–Madison at http://my.wisc.edu/.

Registrar Joanne Berg says the new method will benefit faculty, students and department administrative staff. It will bring UW–Madison in line with peer institutions that are already handling grades in this way.

“Electronic submission of final grades is fast, efficient, secure and convenient,” she says, noting that the practice will eliminate missing paper lists and the need to drop off or pick up rosters. “Grades may be entered and submitted from anywhere the instructor has Web access.

“In addition to saving both time and money, electronic submission of final grades provides an enormous improvement in service to students,” she adds.

For department administrative staff, e-Grading will improve efficiencies campuswide in the collection and recording of final grades. The system will save the university the cost of printing reams of paper grade lists each term.

An oversight committee with faculty and staff from across the campus helped with the development of e-Grading. The system was tested by a pilot group of faculty this past summer. The participation of both groups provided the development team with invaluable feedback and information on how to improve the e-Grading process.

Pioneers in e-Grading include faculty in the School of Nursing, Farm and Industry Short Course, faculty using WebCT and, most recently, a group of faculty from the Schools of Business and the Spanish and zoology departments.

“The consensus from our pioneers is that they would never want to return to paper,” Berg says. “Our favorite comment from a faculty member who used our e-Grading process this summer is ‘It’s the best change I’ve seen at UW.’ That’s high praise, and we hope the campus community will agree.”

The Office of the Registrar staff will offer training via a variety of methods: self-directed learning by means of an online tutorial and basic tips sheet, presentations to faculty and staff meetings, two open campus presentations scheduled in November, one-on-one coaching, and drop-in work sessions during final grading time.

For information, visit http://www.registrar.wisc.edu and click e-Grading under Registrar News. You may e-mail Berg at joanne.berg@mail.rgstr.wisc.edu or Ruzicka at terry.ruzicka@mail.rgstr.wisc.edu.