Grade entry in the new Student Information System

What comes after the Herculean task of marking papers and exams? Grade entry. This term is the first time faculty will enter grades using the new Student Information System (SIS).

With an enterprise-level system change like the SIS, there is bound to be a learning curve for faculty and staff.

“It looks quite different from the old system, so part of the adaptation is getting used to the new look,” says Catherine Bolton, Concordia’s vice-provost of Teaching and Learning. “I remember moving from the paper-based system with carbon to the first online system. We’ve done it before and I’m convinced we can do it again.”

Easing the transition

To help faculty learn more about the SIS, there were 12 one-hour targeted training sessions held across campus last week. While grade entry was one of the featured topics, six other topics were also reviewed, including “How can I view my teaching schedule?” and “How can I view my class roster?” formerly called a class list. For anyone who missed those sessions or wants to re-visit the training, there are training videos and PDFs available in Moodle. If you do not have these modules in your myConcordia portal, please contact sisproject@concordia.ca.

“The training video for entering grades is under a minute long, taking you through the three-step process,” says Reham Mahdi, SIS training manager and IITS training coordinator. “It’s easy to follow, with yellow highlighted areas to focus your attention. It doesn’t take very long to complete the seven top functions for faculty.”

“It’s not very complicated,” says Ted Stathopoulos, professor of Engineering, and president of the Concordia University Faculty Association. Stathopoulos took the training last week. “The grade entry is different, but different isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We all understand the importance of renewing our technology to remain competitive and we should all be patient with the transition.”

Future functionality

During this first phase of implementation, it isn’t possible to upload mass grades from Excel into the SIS. Additionally, lecturers cannot see the grade distribution across their courses, but grade approvers have access to that information once the grades have been submitted for approval.

“Moving forward, we plan to add functionality that would allow mass grade entry,” says Bolton. “We made the decision to first implement the core grade entry module before adding bells and whistles. We realize it can be laborious for professors with large class sizes to enter grades individually, but we needed a solid foundation first. Now we have it and can think about adding features and finding a way for lecturers see their grade distributions.”

To help facilitate mass grade entry, there is a valuable tip.

“You can enter all the students who got Bs or As at once,” says Mahdi, at the training location. “You simply tick off the box to select their names, then add the grade with one click.”

Frank Crooks, senior lecturer at the JMSB, finds tips like this very helpful. “If they view the step-by-step guides, the professors will be fine,” says Crooks. “Technology will always change and we must embrace it.”

Better paper trail

Even though it isn’t possible to upload mass grades from Excel at this time, it is possible to download grades into an Excel file after grade entry. Additionally, it tracks the teaching professors and lecturers more accurately.

“Before, it could be difficult to find out who taught what course — especially if a professor was assigned to the course late in the game and there’s no record of an assigned professor,” says Bolton. “But in the new SIS, there’s a much better paper trail.”

Moreover, Bolton is pleased to report that the SIS contains all the necessary checks and balances to ensure accurate reporting of grades — one of her primary concerns.

“It’s supremely important for us and for our students to know that their grades have been properly vetted and approved by an academic office,” says Bolton. “The SIS has the appropriate level of functionality to ensure our standards.”

To learn specifics about the SIS support structure and more, consult the SIS Project Renewal Hub.