As the semester draws to a close, there are some final tasks you can take care of in Blackboard, to make your courses end successfully and prepare yourself for the next semester.
Staff of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning are available to assist you if you have any questions about calculating final grades or finishing your semester. You can book an individual consultation to meet with one of our team individually, either virtually or over the phone. You can also submit your question via our Ask a Question form for a response via email, or call or text us at 815-753-0595.
If you have been recording grades in the Blackboard Gradebook, you can use it to calculate the final grades for your students. Remember to check that zeros are entered for any missing assignments or tests, so that the calculations are accurate. We recommend using the Overall Grade calculation so that grades can also be submitted from Blackboard to MyNIU. If you are using a weighted calculation, make sure that your categories are assigned correctly - you can do so by clicking the gear icon in the Gradebook and then Item Management (you can also easily modify the category for one or more grade items from here) or by using the Filter and Search features.
We will be holding online Office Hours for anyone who needs help Calculating and Submitting Final Grades on Thursday, December 11, 2025 from 11:00 - 1:00 pm. Our staff will be on hand to assist you with the process any time during the office hours. Pop-ins are welcome, or you can register in advance.
The Blackboard Gradebook You can edit the grade schema by clicking the gear icon in the Gradebook and then the Manage Grade Schemas link. To display the Overall Grade using letters instead of points or percent, edit the Overall Grade and select Letter (or the name of your custom schema) for how the grade is displayed.
The Grade Submission tool can automatically transfer your grades from Blackboard to MyNIU, so that you don’t need to enter grades in MyNIU using the drop down menus (although you will still need to use MyNIU to enter last attendance dates, approve the grades, and post them). This is particularly useful for large classes or when you have combined multiple Blackboard course sections.
The Grade Submission tool will only send the value in the Overall Grade calculation, and it must first be set to display letters (see the item above for details). Once you have checked the overall grade calculation for accuracy, you will submit grades by clicking Books & Tools in the Details and Actions panel and selecting Grade Submission.
The Grade Submission tool is available until an hour before grades are due; after that you may only enter grades manually in MyNIU. Review our page on the Grade Submission tool for more information.
While Blackboard is backed up regularly, it is a good idea to download your Grade Center as an Excel file for you to keep on your office computer. To download grades, click the download icon (downward pointing arrow) at the top right of the Gradebook; choose Full Gradebook and click the Select All Items checkbox to include all gradable items.
Get a head start on developing your upcoming Blackboard courses now! You can request courses up to 100 days prior to the start of the course. You can review how to do it in this: Request a Course. Tip: Check the course availability date carefully when requesting your courses, as this is the date that the course will open to your students. You can select a different date or turn off the auto-availability feature, if you wish.
Once you have requested your course, consider scheduling a consultation if you would like one-on-one assistance as you get started. Get a head start on setting up your new course by using our course template.
Check out the latest updates to Blackboard or catch up with Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning blog for the latest news on teaching, workshops and other events, or new tools that become available. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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