Exemptions and exclusions

The need for grade exemptions can arise from illness, weather, personal issues, accommodations, etc. Brightspace makes it easy for instructors to manually exempt or exclude students from individual Grade Items, which provides the flexibility needed to accommodate any circumstance.

Once exempted, a Grade Item will be removed from any larger calculations (within a Category or the overall Final Calculated Grade, more on how exemptions affect calculations). Exempted Grade Items will be clearly labeled in both the instructor and student views, and aforementioned recalculations will take place immediately. All exemptions can be easily undone.

Manual exemptions can be added on the Grades page by clicking Enter Grades in the dropdown menu for the relevant grade column. Exemptions can also be added on a per student basis (in bulk, if necessary) and within assessment tools like Quizzes, Assignments, and Discussions.

In addition to adding grade exemptions, consider how to set up accommodations in Brightspace or how to help students submit a medical self-declaration form.

Set an exemption for a student in Grades

1. Go to the main Grades page.

2. Click the drop-down arrow next to the relevant Grade Item.

3. Select Enter Grades from the menu.

4. Select the student to be exempted by clicking the checkbox next to their name.

5. Click Exempt, located just above the student list.

6. Click Save and Close.

Open

Select a student and click Exempt.

Removing an exemption for a student

1. Go to the main Grades page.

2. Click the drop-down arrow next to the relevant Grade Item.

3. Select Enter Grades from the menu.

4. Select the already exempted student by clicking the checkbox next to their name.

5. Click Unexempt, located just above the student list.

6. Click Save and Close.

Example instructor view

In this example, the Lab Participation Category is set to Distribute weight evenly across all items. When a single lab is dropped from that calculation the new weighting for that student is redistributed across the other items within the category. This is also reflected in the subtotal.

Open

An example of an exempted Grade Item within a Category where recalculations have occurred.

Example student view

The student view of an exempted Grade Item is self-explanatory and the word Exempt will take the place of an achieved grade. Information in the Points and Weight Achieved columns will show the adjusted calculations (if part of a Category involving an exemption), although said calculations may require separate explanation.

Setting multiple Grade Item exemptions for a student

Add or remove multiple Grade Item exemptions for a student through the Edit Grade Exemptions menu. This is labeled as Bulk edit exemptions and is available through drop-down arrow by a student’s name in the following places:

• On the main Enter Grades page.

• On the student-specific grade page (found by clicking their name).

• On a specific Item’s Grade Item page (after clicking Enter Grades).

• On a Category’s Grade Category page, where grades could be entered for multiple items.

To set multiple exemptions for a student

1. Navigate to the Edit Grade Exemptions page in one of the locations listed above.

2. Select the boxes of the grade items that you want to exempt the student from.

3. Click Save and Close.

Setting exemptions within assessment tools

Quizzes

There are two methods to access exemptions for quizzes:

• On the Manage Quizzes page, from the drop-down arrow beside a quiz.

• On the Grade Quiz page, from a button at the top of the page.

From any of those places:

1. Click Manage Exemptions.

2. Search for and select the student to be exempted.

3. Click Exempt.

4. Click X to exit the Manage Exemptions page.

Assignments

There are two methods to access exemptions for assignments:

• On the Assignments page, from the drop-down arrow beside an assignment.

• Within an Assignment, from a button at the top of the page.

From any of those places:

1. Click Manage Exemptions.

2. Search for and select the student to be exempted.

3. Click Exempt.

4. Click X to exit the Manage Exemptions page.

Discussions

There are three methods to access exemptions for discussions:

• On the Discussions List page, from the drop-down arrow beside a topic.

• On the View Topic page, from the drop-down arrow beside the topic name.

• On the Assess Topic page, from a button at the top of the page.

From any of those places:

1. Click Manage Exemptions.

2. Search for and select the student to be exempted.

3. Click Exempt.

4. Click X to exit the Manage Exemptions page.