The Blackboard Learn Grade Export feature allows an instant and automatic extraction of grades hosted in the LMS to an SFTP server in a CSV or similar flat-file format, providing a means to retrieve your grade information from Blackboard Learn.
You can use these files for various things, such as uploading them into your Student Information System (SIS), a Business Intelligence (BI) tool, or a similar tool for data analysis.
With Grade Export, grade columns can optionally be provisioned in the grade center by processing flat files, graders can post the gradebook to a flat-file format, and another system can retrieve submitted grades. Administrators can configure how graders and instructors use Grade Export.
The main differences between Grade Export v1 and v2 are backend changes that are not visible to administrators and end users, although there are some minor differences in the UI of the approval workflow. The instructions in this section are applicable to both v1 and v2.
In the future, all clients will need to migrate to Grade Export v2; more information about that requirement will be shared as that time approaches.
The most common workflow for Grade Export is for instructors/grade approvers to approve grades and those grades to be posted as an external file on a configured schedule. Instructors/grade approvers can also approve grades for their courses individually. As an exception workflow, an administrator can approve the grades.
Using Grade Export
In an Original Course, select Grades Approval and Transfer under Course Tools. In an Ultra Course, select View course & institution tools under Books & Tools, then select Grades Approval and Transfer.
Approve grades for transfer - Grade approval required
- To approve all grades for transfer, select the checkbox to select the course and select the Approve Grades button. Confirm in the window that appears. The status is updated to approved. Note that it is more common to approve a specific column or specific grades as detailed below.
- To approve only certain grade columns or grades, select the checkbox to select the course and select the Grade Column Approval and Transfer button.
- You will see all columns eligible for transfer. To approve all grades for a given column or columns, select the checkbox for the desired columns and select the Approve Grades button. Confirm in the window that appears. The status is updated to approved.
- To approve only certain grades, select the checkbox for the desired columns and select the Grade Approval and Transfer button. Select the checkbox for the desired grades and select the Approve Grades button. Confirm in the window that appears. The status is updated to approved.
- If you want to revert an approval, navigate to the appropriate item and select it. Enter an unapproved message if required (or desired), then select the Unapprove Grades button. Confirm in the window that appears. The status is updated to unapproved.
Note that if only a portion of the grades are approved in a grade column, the Approval Status column will show as Partially Approved. That status transfers back through each parent to the course level, even if only one grade column is partially approved. That status of a course will show as Partially Approved if not all the grades of a column are approved or if not all grade columns of a course are approved.
Extract Grades
Grade Export can be configured so that graders/instructors can extract the grades and generate a CSV file for just their course. If the Extract workflow has been enabled, graders/instructors can perform an extraction by substituting the Extract Grades button for the Approve Grades button in the workflow above.
