Are you ready for the end of the semester? I am hoping this will be helpful as you finalize your Canvas course and help the end of semester go smoothly.

Course End Date

When your course is created the end date is automatically set to match the date set by the Course Finder Schedule. This means that students will not be able to submit any assignments after this date! Please pay close attention to your course dates in MyCuesta or on Class Finder.

Additionally unless you change one setting, students will not be able view the course, course content, or their grades. If you want students to be able to access your course to see their final grades you need to edit this in settings:

Click Settings in the navigation bar, then under the course details tab uncheck the box that says "Restrict students from viewing the course after the end date"

Note: Changing the course end date and/or changing the participation option will not allow students to submit work after the official semester end date. These dates are set by the section in Banner, if you need to extend the dates, please see Student Incomplete topic or contact defaculty_support@cuesta.edu

Ensure Zeros are entered in the gradebook

At the end of the semester it is important that you check your gradebook and make sure that you have zeros entered in for missing assignments (where students didn't turn in / submit an assignment). If you don't enter in a zero for these missing assignments then students will have an inflated grade that does not accurately represent their grade in your course.

Important Note: The option for "Treat ungraded assignments as zero " option in the gradebook did not actually give the students a zero for missing work, and has been removed in the New Gradebook (which we are using) so you will not see that option.

It only showed up on the Instructor's side, but did not actually change the grade on the student side. Make sure you enter in zeros for all missing work!

TIP: You can quickly update all those dashes quickly by using the assign default grade.

Open Grades from the course navigation
Open the drop down menu for the desired activity/assignment
Select the option to Set Default Grade
Type the default grade value you wish to assign (don’t check the overwrite already-entered grades)
Click Set Default Grade

If you have a lot of dashes "-" in your gradebook, you might want to let students know you are finalizing the gradebook and their grade will change to reflect any missing assignments (now recorded with a zero).

If you are excusing the student from the assignment and don't want the assignment to count against the student then enter in EX for excused in the gradebook (or Speedgrader) for that student's grade - How do I excuse an assignment for a student in the Gradebook? This will help keep your gradebook cleaned up and remind you (and the student) that they are not responsible for turning in that specific assignment.

Saving and Printing Gradebook

The easiest way to save and print your gradebook is using the Export feature. This will provide a CSV file that can can be opened in Excel, saved, and printed.

Saving and Printing Attendance

The easiest way to save and print Attendance is using the Attendance Report. This will provide a CSV file that can can be opened, saved, printed, and used in Excel.

For more information on how to do this see the following guide - How do I run Roll Call Attendance reports in a course?

Student Incomplete or Request for an Extension

If you have a student(s) with emergencies or excused circumstances taking an incomplete or need an extension of time in your course, then you will need to work with Instructional Technology Staff to extend your course for the student(s).

Send an email to defaculty_support@cuesta.edu (include a copy of the incomplete contract if appropriate) and the following information:

Course information (name and CRN)
Student information (email and Student ID)
The date that the course needs extended out to

If the extension is only for a day or two you do not need an incomplete contract but if you will be extending for longer you will want to complete the proper incomplete form.

Copy your Course

If you will be using canvas next semester, you can copy your course to your new course shell (no need to rebuild everything from scratch). After you copy it over you can make any necessary adjustments / changes. View the Copy your Course page for more information.