In This Article:

• Overview
• How the Gradebook Works
  • Grade Sources
  • Grade Display
  • Final Grades
• Viewing the Gradebook
• Understanding Grade Sync
  • How Grades Flow Between Systems
  • Sync Frequency and Timing
  • Manually Syncing Grades
• Common Grade Sync Issues
• How Each LMS Determines the Final Grade
  • Blackboard
  • Canvas
  • Brightspace (D2L)
  • Moodle
  • Ed2Go
• Exporting Grade Data
• Verifying Grade Data
• Troubleshooting Completion Formulas
• Troubleshooting Specific LMS Platforms
• Best Practices

Overview

The Genius gradebook tracks learner progress and grades across courses and sections. When integrated with an external LMS like Canvas, Brightspace, Blackboard, or Moodle, grades can sync automatically between systems, ensuring consistent grade recording and learner transcripts.

How the Gradebook Works

Grade Sources

The gradebook can record grades from multiple sources:

1. Manual entry - An instructor or administrator directly enters grades in Genius.
2. LMS sync - Grades automatically sync from an integrated learning management system.
3. Completion formulas - Determine whether a learner passes or fails based on configured criteria. Completion formulas do not calculate grades; they evaluate whether conditions are met to mark an enrollment as COMPLETED or INCOMPLETE.

Grade Display

The gradebook displays learner progress through:

1. Grade bars - Visual progress indicator on current enrollments showing completion percentage.
2. Individual activity grades - Granular grades for each assignment or assessment.
3. Final grade - The overall grade for the enrollment, based on the grade source (manual entry or LMS sync).

Final Grades

How the final grade is determined depends on the grade source:

1. For LMS-integrated courses: Genius respects the final grade provided by the external LMS. Genius does not recalculate it. The grade flows from the LMS to Genius as-is during sync.
2. For manually graded courses: The final grade is entered directly by an instructor or administrator in Genius.

Note: Each LMS uses different logic to determine which grade is treated as the final grade. See "How Each LMS Determines the Final Grade" below for details.

Viewing the Gradebook

Navigation: Learners → select learner → Enrollments → select enrollment → Gradebook tab

The gradebook displays all grades and activities for the selected enrollment, allowing you to review progress, view individual assignment grades, and verify grade sync from connected systems.

Note: In the legacy admin interface, the gradebook can also be accessed from the enrollment detail page under Administration (legacy).

Understanding Grade Sync

How Grades Flow Between Systems

When an LMS integration is configured, grades flow from the external system to Genius through this process:

1. Grade item created in LMS - the instructor sets up an assignment or assessment in the external system.
2. Mapped to Genius activity - the LMS grade item is matched to a Genius course activity through integration configuration.
3. Grade recorded - when a learner receives a grade in the LMS, it is synced to the corresponding Genius activity.
4. Final grade synced - the LMS final grade is retrieved according to the LMS-specific logic and recorded in Genius.

Sync Frequency and Timing

Grade sync frequency depends on your integration configuration. Some systems sync on a scheduled interval (for example, daily or hourly). Check your integration settings to understand sync timing for your environment.

Manually Syncing Grades

If you need grades to update immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled sync, you can manually trigger a grade sync from two locations:

1. Section Profile - Navigate to the section and use the sync action to pull the latest grades from the LMS for all learners in that section.
2. Learner Portal - Grades can also be synced for an individual learner through the learner portal.

Note: Manual sync is useful when troubleshooting grade discrepancies or when a learner needs their grades updated before the next scheduled sync cycle.

Common Grade Sync Issues

Use the following table to troubleshoot common grade sync problems:

How Each LMS Determines the Final Grade

Each integrated LMS uses different logic to identify and send the final grade to Genius. Understanding this logic helps troubleshoot grade mismatches.

Blackboard

Genius retrieves the final grade from Blackboard using the following priority:

1. Check for a column or assignment marked as "ExternalGrade."
2. If no ExternalGrade is found, check for a column or assignment with the name "total."
3. If no "total" is found, check for "overall result."
4. If no "overall result" is found, check for "overall grade."

Note: Blackboard requires that a specific assignment or column is marked as "ExternalGrade" for the most reliable grade sync. If no matching column is found using the fallback sequence, the final grade will not sync.

Canvas

Genius retrieves the final grade directly from Canvas via an API call. No additional column or assignment configuration is required on the Canvas side.

Brightspace (D2L)

Genius receives a list of grades from D2L and uses the following priority to determine the final grade:

1. Look for a grade with GradeObjectType = "FinalAdjusted."
2. If no FinalAdjusted grade exists, look for a grade with GradeObjectType = "FinalCalculated."

Note: If an instructor has manually adjusted a final grade in Brightspace, the FinalAdjusted grade takes priority. Otherwise, the system-calculated FinalCalculated grade is used.

Moodle

Genius retrieves grades from Moodle using the following process:

1. Get all grades for the learner's enrollment in Moodle.
2. Look for a grade item with ItemType = "Course."
3. Calculate the grade as a percentage: Raw Grade (learner grade) divided by the Max grade for the course.

Note: The final grade from Moodle is always converted to a percentage. If the course-level grade item is missing in Moodle, the grade will not sync.

Ed2Go

Genius retrieves the final grade directly from Ed2Go via an API call, similar to Canvas. No additional configuration is required.

Exporting Grade Data

Genius does not have a direct "Download Grades" button on the Course profile. To export grade and enrollment data for external analysis, verification, or end-of-term processing, use custom reports.

Navigation: Reports

Custom reports allow you to build queries that include learner enrollment data, grades, completion status, and other fields. You can export report results to CSV for use in spreadsheets or other systems.

Verifying Grade Data

Before finalizing grades or sending transcripts:

1. Run a custom report for the course or section that includes grade fields.
2. Verify that all active learners are included in the report results.
3. Check that grades match what you see in the Genius gradebook.
4. Look for any unexpected 0 or blank grades that may indicate sync issues.

This verification step helps catch grade sync problems before they affect learner records or transcripts.

Troubleshooting Completion Formulas

How Completion Formulas Work

Completion formulas evaluate whether a learner meets the criteria to be marked as COMPLETED. They do not calculate grades - they determine pass or fail status based on configured conditions such as:

1. Minimum grade required to pass
2. Required activities that must be completed
3. Percentage of course content to complete
4. Attendance or participation thresholds

When a learner meets all configured conditions, the enrollment status changes to COMPLETED. If conditions are not met, the status remains INCOMPLETE.

Common Formula Issues

Formula not evaluating correctly:

1. Check formula syntax for errors or typos.
2. Verify all referenced activities exist in the course.
3. Confirm that activity grades are being recorded (either manually or via LMS sync).
4. Review the formula in the course settings to ensure it matches your completion requirements.

Enrollment stuck at INCOMPLETE:

1. Verify all required activities have grades recorded.
2. Check if the learner meets the minimum grade requirement.
3. Confirm the course start and end dates are correct.
4. If the enrollment status does not update after all conditions are met, contact Genius Support for assistance.

After resolving formula issues, you may need to manually update the enrollment status through the enrollment detail page.

Troubleshooting Specific LMS Platforms

Canvas

For Canvas integrations:

1. Check API token expiration - Canvas API tokens expire and must be renewed periodically. An expired token will stop all grade syncing.
2. Verify course mapping - Ensure Canvas courses are correctly mapped to Genius sections.
3. Review grade item mapping - Confirm that Canvas assignments are mapped to Genius activities.

Brightspace (D2L)

For Brightspace integrations:

1. Check grade item mapping - D2L uses a different grade item structure than Canvas. Verify that grade objects are mapped correctly.
2. Note exemption behavior - Exemptions in the Brightspace gradebook may not transfer to Genius, potentially creating grade discrepancies.
3. Verify learner enrollment - Ensure learners are enrolled in the correct D2L course offering that maps to the Genius section.

Blackboard

For Blackboard integrations:

1. Verify ExternalGrade assignment - Blackboard requires that a specific column or assignment is marked as "ExternalGrade" for reliable final grade sync. Without this, Genius falls back to matching by name ("total," "overall result," "overall grade").
2. Check assignment name matching - If no ExternalGrade column is set, ensure your final grade column uses one of the expected names.
3. Refer to Blackboard Integration article - See the Blackboard Integration article in the Knowledge Base for detailed setup guidance.

Moodle

For Moodle integrations:

1. Verify course-level grade item - Moodle must have a grade item with ItemType "Course" for the final grade to sync. If this item is missing, no final grade is sent to Genius.
2. Check grade calculation - Genius calculates the Moodle grade as a percentage (raw grade / max grade). Verify that the max grade is set correctly in Moodle.

⚠ Warning: Manually editing grades in Genius may be overwritten by the next LMS sync cycle if grade sync is active for that course. If you need to manually adjust a grade, verify that syncing is disabled for that activity or temporarily pause syncing while making adjustments.

Best Practices

1. Establish a single source of truth for grades - Decide whether grades are entered in the LMS or Genius to avoid confusion and conflicts.
2. Monitor grade sync logs after each sync cycle - Check for errors or missed grades that did not sync properly.
3. Communicate grade reporting timelines to instructors - Let them know when grades will be synced and when they will appear in learner transcripts.
4. Use custom reports to verify grade data before end-of-term processing - Catch discrepancies early before grades are finalized.
5. Document your grade item mappings for each integrated course - Maintain clear records of which LMS assignments map to which Genius activities, including the ExternalGrade column for Blackboard.
6. Schedule regular audits of grade accuracy - Especially for courses with multiple grade sources or complex LMS configurations.
7. Test integrations with sample learner data before going live - Verify that grade sync works as expected before learners rely on accurate grades.