Exemptions & Bonus Points

Instructors may need to excuse a student from one or more assignments. Exempting a student from a grade item will allow both the student and instructor to be able to tell at a glance that the item will not count against the student’s grade. Additionally, when final grades are calculated, the exempted grade item will not be used in the calculation.

1. To begin the process of exempting a student from a particular grade item, select Enter Grades from the Grades navbar.
   
2. Click the dropdown menu of the grade item from which you would like to exempt a student. Select Grade All.
   
3.  Select the checkbox next to the student that you would like to exempt. Click Exempt.
   
4. Exempt should now be displayed in the Weight category of the grade item you selected for the student’s exemption.
   

A bonus item is a separate grade item which students can elect to complete. Points earned on a bonus item can only improve a student’s grade and are added to the final calculated grade.

In this tutorial, an extra credit item that is worth 5% of the final grade will be created.

Please note that in the video above, Points are used in the Wizard set-up. However, in the steps shown below, setting up bonus items using Weighted grades is explained.

1. To create a bonus item, click New, then select Item.
   
2. Choose Numeric for the Grade Item type.
   
3.  Create an Extra Credit grade item with the following settings:
   • Name: Extra Credit
   • Category: None
   • Max Points: 100
   • Weight: 5 (and check the Bonus setting)
   • Grade Scheme: Default Scheme – Percentage
4. Click Save and Close.
   
5. The Extra Credit item now appears in the Grades list, noted with a star.