Importing/Exporting Grades

Owned by Noah James (Unlicensed), created
Last updated: Oct 16, 2023 by Gareth Seymour
7 min read

You can enter grades in another application (Excel) and import them into Brightspace using a CSV, TSV or TXT file. New items can be created by adding columns to the import template. Grades can also be exported to other applications as a CSV or XLSX.

Importing Grades

D2L and CPI strongly recommend instructors enter and manage grades within the Grades tool for the best experience. Only grades that have changed should be imported into the Gradebook. Grade items that have not been changed in the CSV files should have these columns deleted prior to upload. While new items can be added via the CSV upload, it is strongly recommended to only create new grade items within the Grades tool. This page covers how to prepare your file for upload and upload your grades.

Warnings

Below are various warnings that could lead to errors or other issues when making use of the import/export tools in Grades.

  • Column order matters, as does header text and formatting. The order should be: OrgDefinedID, Username, grade items, End-of-Line Indicator.

    • Importing grades does require that the Username and OrgDefineId columns be present, even if they are blank.

  • When importing grades into an already existing grade item, the column with the grades in them must be titled “<Grade item name> Points Grade”. This lets Brightspace know that there are grades being added.

  • Our experience is that certain characters cannot be part of column names. Illegal characters include : % & # * ? < > | \ " '

  • It’s easy to introduce phantom characters into the headers, such as start-of-sentence-width-spaces. Brightspace’s import template even includes these, they need to be removed before importing or errors will occur.

Preparing your file for upload

The file to be uploaded must be a CSV, TXT, or TSV file type. It is recommended to use CSV files.

While Brightspace offers an example document to use as a structure for import, CPI instead recommends exporting from Grades to retrieve all of the student information (names, org defined ID, etc.) instead of having to enter it manually.

There are two different options for importing grades. The first option, which is strongly recommended by CPI, begins by creating the grade items in Grades before beginning the import process. The second option involves creating the grade items using the Brightspace import template provided, but comes with more potential for errors.

 

Option 1 - Creating Grade Items in Advance

  1. Complete the Setup Wizard in the Grades area (learn more from Settings and Setup Wizard).

  2. Create the grade items that will be displayed to the students (learn more from Manage Grades).

  3. From the Enter Grades tab in the Grades area, select the Export button.

  4. Under Key Field, select Both. This will export both username and Org Defined ID (which are required sections for the import process). Keep all other options the default setting.

  5. Under the Choose Grades to Export area, select all grade items that apply to the ensuing import.
    Please note: Some grade items will have a ? icon next to them (i.e. subtotals for categories, grade items with a Calculated grade type). This means that they cannot be imported. Deselect them from the export to avoid issues.

  6. Select Export to CSV at the bottom. Brightspace will create the file, then click Download once the file is ready. The file will look something like the example below when opened in Microsoft Excel:

    Default view of exported gradebook with grade items
    Example of a CSV file exported from Brightspace Grades.

     

  7. Enter grades in the grade item columns for the students. Keep other columns such as the End-of-Line Indicator intact, they will be needed for the import.

    1. The “#” before the OrgDefinedIDs and Usernames can be removed or can stay, they will not affect the import.

  8. Save the file as a CSV after adding the grades.

    1. Windows (Microsoft Excel) go to: Save As > File type: CSV

    2. MacOS (Numbers) go to: Export To > CSV

Uploading your file

  1. Click Import.

  2. Click Choose file.

  3. Select the .csv file you want to import, then click Open.

  4. Click Continue. You will see a Processing… message while your file is loading.

  5. You will see a page displaying any errors and warnings that were found. Click Continue.

A screenshot of the Import Grades screen with no errors or warnings found.
Example of the Errors and Warnings page during the import process.

  1. There will be a preview of the new grades for each student. Review here for accuracy before continuing.

  2. Click Import. You will see an Imported Successfully message and your imported grades will appear under the Enter Grades tab of the gradebook.

Option 2 - Creating Grade Items from the CSV file

  1. Complete the Setup Wizard in the Grades area (learn more from Settings and Setup Wizard). This is mainly to make sure the gradebook has a grading scheme of Points-based or weighted. Learn more about the difference between the main grade schemes from Settings and Setup Wizard | Grading System

  2. From the Enter Grades tab in the Grades area, select the Export button.

  3. Under Key Field, select Both. This will export both username and Org Defined ID (which are required sections for the import process). Keep all other options the default setting.

  4. Under the Choose Grades to Export area, select all grade items that apply to the ensuing import.
    Please note: Some grade items will have a ? icon next to them (i.e. subtotals for categories, Final Grade Calculation). This means that they cannot be imported. Deselect them from the export to avoid issues.

  5. Select Export to CSV at the bottom. Brightspace will create the file, then click Download once the file is ready. The file will look something like the example below when opened in Microsoft Excel:

     

  6. Create grade items by adding columns between the Username and the End-of-Line Indicator columns. Title the grade items in row 1, making sure that they follow the convention <Grade item name> Points Grade

    1. The “#” before the OrgDefinedIDs and Usernames can be removed or can stay, they will not affect the import.

  7. Enter grades in the grade item columns for the students. Keep other columns such as the End-of-Line Indicator intact, they will be needed for the import.

  8. Save the file as a CSV after adding the grades.

    1. Windows (Microsoft Excel) go to: Save As > File type: CSV

    2. MacOS (Numbers) go to: Export To > CSV

Uploading the file

  1. Click Import.

  2. Click Choose file.

    1. Select the Item Creation box labelled “Create new grade item when an unrecognized item is referenced”.

  1. Select the .csv file you want to import, then click Open.

  2. Click Continue. You will see a Processing… message while your file is loading.

  3. If new grade items are recognized they will be listed in Step 2: Create New Grade Items.

    1. Review the new items and select the grade type (Numeric or Pass/Fail)

  4. After clicking Continue, Step 3: New Grade Item Properties is where you will set properties for the grade item: category, max points, can exceed, bonus.

  5. Click Continue. Next you will see a page displaying any errors and warnings that were found.

  1. You will see a preview of the new grades for each student. Review here for accuracy before continuing.

  2. Click Import. You will see an Imported Successfully message and your imported grades will appear under the Enter Grades tab of your gradebook.

Exporting Grades

Grades can be exported to CSV or XLSX file formats. These file types are compatible with Microsoft Excel and MacOS Numbers. D2L strongly encourages creating grade items and entering grades directly in Brightspace for the most compatible and reliable experience. Grades can be exported for all users in a course, or by groups. Follow the instructions outlined below:

  1. Go to Grades tool homepage.

  2. Select Export.

  3. Specify the desired export details and formatting, including what users to export grades for - this can be All users or by Groups.

    1. The Key Field is the left most column and how users will be sorted by.

    2. The Sort by tab specifies how user information is organized in columns from left to right.

  1. Select the grade items to be exported at the bottom of the page (note: all items are selected by default).

  1. Choose Export to CSV or Export to Excel.

  1. Once the file is prepared click Download.

  2. The file can now be opened with programs that support the CSV file type or Excel.

For further assistance please contact edtech@brocku.ca.

FAQ

Q

A

Q

A

Can I import grades after making changes to a grades export file?

Yes - if saved and uploaded as a CSV

Can I import excel (XLSX) files?

No - unless saved as a CSV

Can I add new students with an import?

No

 

 

Please contact CPI at edtech@brocku.ca with any questions or comments about the contents of this site.