Submitting Grades and AVRs using GradesPlus (OPM subjects only)

GradesPlus allows you to submit your final grades for a subject or submit an AVR (Authority to Vary Results). An AVR is required in some cases where final grades cannot be finalised or when grades need to be updated after the grade submission end date. GradesPlus has been developed to speed up the process of grade ratification and systematise the previously manual, form-based process.  

Important!

This process is only relevant to OPM subjects; for support, check in with your contact from the PGLD team. For grades submission instructions for all other subjects, see the Grades Submission Process resource.

Access GradesPlus

GradesPlus can be found in the left-hand side Canvas toolbar for your subject. You will need Subject Coordinator or Grade Faculty Admin access for the Subject to be able to use GradesPlus. 

Understand the GradesPlus Screen

The GradesPlus screen shows the grade submission details for students in the subject. Along with the student ID and name details, you can also view: 

• Final Mark – final assessment mark taken from the Gradebook (from the ‘Total’ column, or from ‘Override’ if used) 
• Exception Grade – any exception grade classification relevant to that student (see below) 
• Submitted Mark – the mark that has currently been submitted (shown as ‘-’ if not yet submitted)
• Student Status – by default shows a student as ‘enrolled’, or may indicate a number of cases that can prevent a grade submission. Select the question mark icon alongside the ‘Student Status’ column header for further information or refer to ‘Cases Preventing Submission’ below
• Submission Status – select the question mark icon for further information about different status indicators. 

Change grades in GradesPlus

You can change student grades via the Grades Plus screen. 

1. Select the student that the mark should be created for. (Can be a single record or a bulk submission.)
2. Select the mark in the ‘Final Mark’ column.

3. Once a mark is entered (e.g. 85) it is shown as the corresponding Grade from the grade scheme (e.g. H for high distinction). A notification is displayed to confirm that the change has been updated successfully in Gradebook and a red asterisk also appears next to the updated grade.

Important!

While a grade letter can be entered into this field (e.g. C as a Credit) the mark recorded will be at the lowest bounds of the grading scheme (e.g. in the case of a Credit the mark assigned is 65).

Submit grades

If all your students are shown as ‘Ready to Submit’ select all students using the column checkbox in the top left-hand corner, then click the ‘Review and Submit Grades’ button (bottom right). 

When results are submitted successfully a notification appears at the top of the screen. 

Troubleshoot cases preventing submission

There are some cases where student marks are not shown as ‘Ready to Submit’ or are greyed out and cannot be submitted without further adjustment: 

• Not Enrolled – a student with this status is not enrolled in the subject. You can’t submit student grades until this issue is rectified. 
  
  Resolution: Email a memo with faculty approval to progressions@uts.edu.au to resolve this issue. 

• Misconduct Sanction – a student with this status has a misconduct outcome pending. Grades can’t be submitted for this student until the outcome is finalised.  
  
  Resolution: Misconduct & Appeals will advise faculty when the outcome is finalised and the result can be submitted. 

• No Final Mark – a student with this status has missing component marks in Gradebook. Student marks/ grades cannot be submitted until the final grade is updated or an exception grade has been assigned.  
  
  Resolution: Enter a final mark or apply an exception grade to their record (see below) 

• Result Due Date has passed – after the grades submission end date has passed, any changes to results need to be submitted as an AVR. This scenario is indicated by a notification at the top of the GradesPlus window suggesting that the result due date has passed. 
  
  Resolution: You will need to submit any changes to student grades as an AVR.  

• Overlapping enrolment – a student with this status is enrolled in more than one CASS subject that is part of this Canvas course, so grades and marks cannot be submitted through GradesPlus.  
  
  Resolution: Submit any changes to student grades as an AVR. 

Add exception grades

Currently only one exception grade is available, the ‘W’ exception grade:

• W = Withheld – used when the Responsible Academic Officer (RAO) or subject coordinator determine that supplementary assessments are required, or that alternative examiners and/or alternative assessments are required because of misadventure. 

To add exception grades: 

1. Select students using their associated checkboxes. You can reorder according to the student status by clicking the ‘status’ header. You can also use the search bar to find individual students.
2. Use ‘Change Exception Grade’ (dropdown) at the bottom left of the window to select the ‘W’ exception grade for the selected students.
3. Select the ‘Review and Submit Grades’ button to save the changes.

Important!

After making changes to exception grades, don’t forget to submit grades again.

Useful tip

The ‘Change Exception Grade’ dropdown can also be used to remove an exception grade from selected students if you need to.

Submit as an AVR

In the case that the grades submission end date has passed, the ‘Submit’ button in Grades Plus will change into a ‘Create AVR’ button. Follow these steps to submit the revised grade as an AVR.

1. Select and change the student grades
2. If a ‘W’ exception grade exists, remove it using the ‘Change Exception Grade’ dropdown.
3. Select the ‘Create AVR’ button.
4. A new ‘AVR Request’ window will open with 3 options. The first option is to select the AVR reason (it can’t be submitted without a reason). The AVR reasons are pulled directly from CASS, and are the standard AVR reasons that are current in the AVR PDF Form.

3. Select the RAO or delegate for the AVR approval under ‘RAO User’. 

4. Add any comments you would like to attach to the AVR request. Select ‘Review and Submit AVR’ to finalise the process. 
5. The final screen will show you a preview of the AVR before submission. Select ‘Proceed’ to submit the AVR for approval.

6. If successful, a notification will appear at the top of the screen and the student status will change to ‘AVR pending’. You will also receive an email indicating the details of your submitted AVR.

AVR Processing 

Once the AVR is submitted the appropriate approver will be notified so that they can process it. When completed you will receive an email indicating the result of your request. You can also view the status in the GradesPlus ‘Status’ column. 

• AVR request accepted? The process is finalised and no further action is required 
• AVR request denied? Review the email to see comments from the approver and identify what needs to be adjusted before resubmission. If no comments are present you may need to contact the approver to discuss what needs to be changed. 

Submitting an overlapping AVR 

If a student has an existing AVR pending it is not possible to submit another AVR for that same student. If you need to do this, contact the approver to deny the existing AVR request. Once this has been done you can submit a new AVR for that student. 

For Grade Faculty Admins and Responsible Academic Officers

Follow this introductory guide (pdf) to managing Authority to Vary Results requests in Salesforce for Grade Faculty Administrators and Responsible Academic Officers.

Please note that the LX.lab does not support Salesforce and that any issues should be escalated to the Salesforce team or ITU via ServiceConnect.

If you are an RAO (Responsible Academic Officer) who needs to approve AVRs and your name does not currently appear in the list of RAOs on GradesPlus – please raise a ServiceConnect ticket to add your name to your respective faculty group.

Salesforce video guide

Step-by-step video guide on how to approve or reject AVRs in Salesforce.