Finalize Ultra gradebooks with new drop grades function

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 10:12:51 -0400
blackboard, ultra-experience, ultra-update

An easier way to drop multiple grades from a category in the final grade calculation has been a frequent request from Ultra faculty for the Ultra course gradebook. With the May release, just in time for SP2021 final grades, instructors will be able to decide if they want to add additional rules to how their overall grade is calculated when using calculation by categories.

The new drop grades function allows Ultra faculty to drop as many grades as they want as long as there are more items inside the category than dropped items, or to choose just the lowest or highest grade to be considered for that category.

When rules are in place, students can gain access to their overall grade calculation details and see if some additional rules have been set by their instructors, which gives them clarity on how their grades are calculated and why their calculations might defer from the ones displayed in their gradebook.

Get a sneak peek at the new drop grades feature! Join our Ultra gradebook office hours on May 5 for an interactive session. Drop-in to ask questions regarding your Ultra gradebook settings, and Instructional Technology staff will be available to assist.

Also coming to the Blackboard dashboard navigation panel: A new message indicator to let you know when you receive messages from courses and organizations. Blackboard also announced its new proctoring framework to increase exam security, which is currently the only one to be fully certified using the very latest IMS Global Learning Consortium LTI Proctoring standard.

The next update to our test environment will take place on May 15, 2021. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options: