eGrades Attendance Options

For Instructors

An attendance option must be selected when an instructor assigns a student a grade of an ‘F', 'NP’, or leaves a grade blank in an eGrades course gradebook. This policy applies to all courses, regardless of their size. The option does not default and the instructor must select an option listed from the drop-down menu. Attendance options are generally selected by the Instructor In-Charge of the course, but the Department Chair and Vice Chair can also serve as a backup.

Attendance drop-down options

No attendance recorded after week 6, and no work submitted after week 6

• This indicates that there's no record of attendance or work submitted. Either the student never attended, or that they stopped participating in the course before the end of the 6^th week of classes. If attendance was not recorded in lecture, attendance in section also counts, as does any indication that the student was participating in the course, such as work submitted, tests taken, participation in GauchoSpace discussions, etc.

No attendance recorded after week 6, but student submitted work after week 6 (term paper, final exam, etc.)

• This indicates that the instructor is unsure of the student’s actual attendance, but that they have other evidence (work submitted, tests taken, participation in GauchoSpace discussions, etc.) that the student was still participating in the course by the end of the 6^th week of classes or beyond.

Student attended class through at least week 6

• This indicates that the instructor knows that the student attended class up until the end of the 6^th week of classes or beyond. What matters most is whether the student participated in the course after week 6.

Retroactively editing attendance options

If the instructor has already submitted grades and needs to edit the attendance option for a student, they may do so by treating it like a grade change by clicking the 'Change Grade' button to the right of the student's name in the course grade book. A pop-up window will display and the instructor can resubmit the same grade earned. It will then prompt the instructor to provide a reason for the change. If the instructor selects 'Clerical Error' then the next screen will provide a drop-down menu to select an alternate attendance option.

No-Pass grade attendance options

If the grade assigned is an NP (i.e. the course is a P/NP only course), then the instructor will have to select an attendance option. If it's an optionally graded course and the instructor assigns a letter grade of a ‘D' but the system later converts it, the instructor won’t need to select an attendance option. Leaving the grade blank would also require an attendance option to be selected.

Missing grade attendance options

For students with missing grades, instructors will be required to select an option from the "failing grade drop-down" as they do for any students to whom they assign an F, NP, or U grade. This helps Financial Aid in ensuring that the student retains their aid for the term wrapping up, even if no grade or units were awarded. 

Non-participating student attendance options

The grade needs to be determined based on the work (or lack of). It is always ideal if the instructor assigns a grade. The grade could be left blank if the student is going to have some recourse for making up the work, but if nothing is going to earn them a grade in the course, leaving it blank just delays the conversion of an NP grade. If the student is unhappy with the final grade, they will need to petition the College for a retroactive drop. 

Failing grade attendance options (Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters)

This drop-down appears when instructors assign a failing grade to a student, and is intended to help the Office of Financial Aid to determine whether the student “earned” the failing grade, or whether they simply weren’t attending classes. This is a Department of Education requirement for all institutions at which students receive federal student aid, as students must complete at least 60% of the course (defined, for our campus, as participating through at least the 6th week of classes, prorated for terms that last less than 10 weeks) in order to be eligible to keep their full aid. Per federal guidelines, we have removed the “unsure” option, so the instructor will be required to make a determination.

Failing grade attendance options (Summer quarter)

Since almost all summer sessions are less than 10 weeks, the '6 week' language should be viewed as whether or not the student participated in the course beyond the first 60 percent of the course.

Questions and Technical Support

Please email egrades@sa.ucsb.edu