Note: These instructions are for a new tool available for Summer 2021 and all future terms. It replaces the Import from Blackboard functionality previously in PatriotWeb.

The PatriotWeb - Send Grades tool allows the instructor of record to send a Blackboard Grade Center column to PatriotWeb as the MidTerm Evaluations or Final grade.

Part I: Set a Grade Center column as External Grade

1. In your Blackboard course, access the Full Grade Center page. Control Panel > Grade Center > Full Grade Center 
2. Locate the existing column that has the midterm/final grades you wish to send to PatriotWeb. This is often the Total or Weighted Total column. You must have the grades display in letter format and confirm they match the grade mode for your course. Please note: if you attempt to send a numeric score or percentage grade, the tool will attempt to calculate the letter grade and display it to you before sending. However, this is not recommended.
3. Set the “External Grade” indicator (green checkmark) to your midterm/final grade column. To change from the default "Total" to another column:
   1. Click the down arrow next to a column name and choose “Set as External Grade.”
   2. This column can have any name. It can be available or hidden from students.

Part II: Submit Grades in Blackboard

1. In the course, go to Control Panel > Course Tools > PatriotWeb - Send Grades (see image below).
2. At the top of the page, choose Midterm/Final depending on whether you are submitting Midterm Evaluations or Final Grades.
3. Student grades will automatically populate from the chosen External Grade column. If the grades were not yet in letter format they will be converted to letters using a simple Points / Total Points Possible calculation - this is not recommended.
4. Edit grades as needed. For example, you may need to enter a special grade. https://registrar.gmu.edu/topics/special-grades/
   1. If you enter an SA (Stopped Attending), you must also enter the Last Attended Date in the format of MM/DD/YYYY
   2. If you enter IN (Incomplete), you also must enter an Extension Date in the format of MM/DD/YYYY.
5. Submit. Your grades are now submitted to the Registrar.
6. Log into PatriotWeb to confirm grades were submitted. This step is optional yet recommended. 

You can change a student’s final grade either by sending it again from Blackboard or directly in PatriotWeb. Once grades roll each night (approximately at midnight) you can no longer change grades and you must submit a form for any changes. 

Note: The External Grade (green checkmark) column is also used on the main “Grades” page in Blackboard and in the Blackboard app to display to students as their current course grade. It is also used in reports available in Blackboard courses under Control Panel > Evaluation > Course Analytics. For these reasons, it is best practice to set the running final grade column as External Grade at the beginning of the semester.

Tips and FAQs

Only the instructor(s) of record in Patriot Web can use this tool.

The tool will not work for sections that have been manually combined in Blackboard (which have the word "master" in the Course ID). It does work for courses that are cross-listed in Banner/Patriot Web and are therefore combined in Blackboard automatically.

Up to 100 students are displayed on a page. If you have more than 100 students, you must click the Submit button on each page to submit all grades.

If using a cross-listed Blackboard course (multiple sections in one Bb course) and you receive an error message indicating “Section ID [ ] cannot be found” this indicates you have a student that was manually added to your Blackboard course (not automatically added when they registered). You can check this by going to the Full Grade Center page in the course and looking at the “Child Course ID” column. A student with nothing in this column is what is causing the issue. If the person is not an actual student that needs grading, you should either remove them from the course or change their role to anything other than student. If the person is a student, please contact us to help with the issue.