VIU Campus

Grade Schemes

A grade scheme is a way of organizing a user's achievement into different levels in the VIULearn Grades tool. Grade schemes can be displayed in Grades alongside or instead of the points or weighted grade for an item or category. You can also use Grade Schemes to create Select Box Grade Items. You can connect Select Box grades to Assignments or use them for grade items which are not directly connected to an activity in VIULearn.

The VIU letter grade system is an example of a grade scheme

Grade

Percentage (%)

Grade Value

Point Description

A+
A
A-

90-100
85-89
80-84

4.33
4.00
3.67

Excellent (First Class Standing)

B+
B
B-

76-79
72-75
68-71

3.33
3.00
2.67

Good

C+
C
C-

64-67
60-63
55-59

2.33
2.00
1.67

Satisfactory

D

50-54

1.00

Poor

F

0-49

0.00

Failing work
Unsatisfactory performance or failure to meet course requirements.

Both the Grade (letter) and Grade Value (4 point system) can be created as custom grade schemes in VIULearn. If desired, you could use the Point Description or a simple "Complete / Incomplete" description as a custom scheme as well. VIULearn has the default percentage grade scheme already loaded into the system for you.

Creating a Custom Grade Scheme

Creating a custom grade scheme in VIULearn allows you to customize how grade information is communicated to your students.

  1. Choose Assessment and Grades.

  2. Click on the Schemes tab.

  3. You will see all of the schemes available in your course. Click on the blue New Scheme button.

  4. Give your scheme a name.

  5. Fill in the symbol column of the ranges, starting with the lowest achievement indicator:
    • In the case of the letter grade scheme, you would start with "F".

    • If you need to add additional grade ranges to your new scheme, enter the number of ranges you'd like to to add and then click Add Ranges.

    • If you need to delete a range, use the trash can icon to the far right of the range.
  6. Enter the minimum percentage where that symbol can be applied in Start % column.
    • In the case of the letter grade scheme, "F" would start with 0, "D" would start at 50, and "C-" would start at 55.

  7. Assign a color to that grade range if desired.

  8. Add an Assigned Value to the range if you are planning to use the scheme with advanced grade item types, such as Select Box.

  9. Once you are satisfied with your custom grade scheme, click on the blue Save and Close button.

Applying Your Custom Grade Scheme

You can apply your custom grade scheme to all your grades items by making it the default grade scheme for your gradebook in the course, or you can choose a custom scheme for an individual item in your gradebook.

  1. Choose Assessment and Grades from the course navigation bar.

  2. Click on the Schemes tab.

  3. You will see all of the schemes available in your course.

  4. Click on the grey check mark to the right of the scheme you want to make the default.

  5. You will be asked to confirm your selection. Choose Yes.

  6. It is important to check the display options for your Gradebook under Settings to make sure your scheme will display as you intended.

  1. Choose Assessment and Grades from the course navigation bar.

  2. Find the items you wish to apply your scheme to and select them using the check boxes in the left most column.

  3. Click on the Bulk Edit button at the top of the page.

  4. Use the drop-down menu under the Grade Scheme column to select the desired grade scheme.

  5. When you are satisfied with the changes, click the blue Save button.

Viewing your Custom Schemes:

You can see your students' grades with the custom scheme two ways:

  1. From Manage Grades use the arrow to the right of the Grade Item and choose Enter Grades. There will be a column titled Scheme and you will be able to scroll down the class list to view the scheme.

  2. From Enter Grades make sure you are on Standard View. Depending on your settings, you will be able to see the Points Grade, Grade Scheme Symbol and/or Grade Scheme Color.