Blackboard Learn Grade Extract Rules and Completion Flags

Genius has made significant improvements to the integration rules for downloading grades from the Blackboard REST API grade center, aiming to reduce the burden on instructors. For the integration to function smoothly, the grade center for both Blackboard Learn Ultra and Original courses must be configured correctly to ensure that running total grades and completion flags are automatically transmitted back to Genius. Previously, we relied on the “Completed” column to indicate successful course completions. While this method remains effective, we now recommend utilizing the new “Completion Formula” approach to assess successful course completions.

The newly introduced method simplifies the process for instructors, as they no longer need to perform any special actions in their grade center to facilitate the automatic transfer of data back to Genius+. To determine a learner’s status in a course section, we extract three critical pieces of information from Blackboard: the running total grade, confirmation that all required graded work has been completed, and verification that the running total grade exceeds a predetermined passing threshold.

Running Total Grade

In Blackboard Learn Ultra courses, the “Overall grade” or “Overall result” serves as the default running total grade for a specific course section. Conversely, in Blackboard Learn Original courses, the “Total” column is typically assigned as the external grade, indicated by a green check mark. This column represents the running total grade for the course section. Each time a learner logs into their Genius Learner Dashboard, we retrieve the running total grade from Blackboard Learn for every course in which the learner is enrolled.

Additionally, a background job runs on a scheduled basis to collect grades for every learner enrolled in all course sections managed by Genius in Blackboard. This process ensures that even learners who do not frequently log into Genius+ have their grades updated regularly.

• You can find this job under Administration > Edit Jobs, labeled as BlackboardRest.DownloadGradebook.
• Ideally, the running total grade should be displayed as a percentage to reflect the student’s performance accurately.

Completion Flag

To indicate that the running total represents the learner’s final grade, two methodologies are available. If there is no column labeled “Completed,” we will count the number of categorized gradebook columns in the Blackboard Learn course grade center. When all categorized grade center columns contain values other than null, we will consider all work complete and the running total grade as final (for instance, when all 10 assignments have been graded).

If you have established a column named “Completed,” it serves to indicate whether a learner has successfully finished the entire course.

• This designation can be set either manually or through complete automation. In scenarios where there are numerous grade columns and the passing threshold is low enough, the Blackboard Learn grade center may prematurely mark the learner as complete, even if they have not finished all categorized grade center columns.
• To mitigate this risk, instructors should manually flag completions in such cases, ensuring that learners are not marked as completed until they have finished every categorized grade center column.

How to Flag Completions Manually?

1. Begin by clicking on "Create Column." Genius will search for a column called "Completed." The term "Complete" or the check mark that signifies "Complete" using the complete/incomplete grading schema will inform Genius that the learner has completed the course.
2. Every few hours, learners designated in this manner will be transitioned from ACTIVE status to COMPLETED status in Genius. They will become unavailable in the Blackboard Learn course they have just finished.
3. They will receive an automated email from Genius notifying them of their successful course completion. Additionally, the course will be added to their completed course list and transcript.

How to Flag Completions Automatically?

1. Start by clicking on "Create Calculated Column," then add a "Total Column." Genius will look for a column named "Completed." The primary display should be set to a Letter grade. The column mustn't be calculated as a running total, meaning that incomplete assignments will be counted as zero.
2. All column options should be set to "No," ensuring that the column is excluded from the total score, learners do not see it in the grade center, and no statistics are displayed for this column.

Next, you will need to manage the Grading Schemas and edit the Letter grading schema. Delete all rows in the Letter grading schema except for two. Instead of using traditional letter grades like "A" or "B," change the display to indicate "Complete" or "Incomplete," based on whether the percentage meets or exceeds a passing threshold.

In the provided example, only learners who achieve a grade of 80% or higher after completing all assignments will be automatically flagged as Complete.

Grade Above a Passing Threshold 

Suppose your Blackboard Learn grade center lacks a “Completed” column, and you are determining course-section completion based on every categorized grade center column having a value other than null (for example, when all 10 assignments are submitted). In that case, we have introduced a global parameter known as “ENROLLMENT_IS_COMPLETED_FORMULA.”

• This global parameter has been added to enhance flexibility and adaptability.

If a “Completed” column is present, we will check for the value of “Complete” to ascertain successful course completion. In the absence of this column, we will verify whether every gradebook column contains a grade and whether the running total grade exceeds 70. While this rule can be adjusted within the global parameter, it will have implications for all courses.

Moreover, you have the option to set the successful course completion rule at the section level. Each course section includes a “Completion Formula” field that can override the global parameter if it exists.

The completion options are based on several criteria: the value “Complete” in the “Completed” column; all gradebook columns with a posted value; a percentage of gradebook columns with a posted value; all gradebook columns with a posted value and an average grade greater than or equal to a specified value; all gradebook columns with a posted value and a total grade greater than or equal to a specified value; and the value “PASS” in the Overall grade column.