Prepare for the end of an academic term

Instructors can prepare for the end of an academic term by working through this checklist of technology-related tasks. This includes configuring course access and releasing final grades in Brightspace, entering official final grades in Minnesota State eServices, communicating with students, and organizing course materials and activities for potential reuse. Not all tasks apply to all courses.

Retention of student assessment data

Evaluating student work and assigning grades are the exclusive responsibilities of the instructor. There are no contractual, system, or university policies governing an instructor's retention of graded student work (e.g., papers, essays, discussion posts, quizzes, exams, art work) at the end of an academic term. However, there are two situations in which this information might be helpful: grade appeals and grade changes. Retaining student assessment data for at least six months and up to four to six years can help instructors address these contingencies if necessary. Instructors are encouraged to include their data retention policy in their syllabus.

Grade appeals

Students have the right to appeal their final grade in a course. This process is described in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog and can take up to six months after a course ends to complete.

Grade changes

Instructors have up to the time of degree conferral to change the final grade of any student in any of their courses. Submit a request using the Change of Grade form in WarriorSpace.

Student rights

All assessment data is private information and protected by FERPA. If instructors choose to retain graded student work beyond the end of the term, note Board Policy 3.26 – Intellectual Property and Board Policy 3.1 Student Rights and Responsibilities, Part 10 – Property Rights. Any work created by a student to meet a course requirement is that student's property and protected by federal copyright law. Students must be able to retrieve their work from the instructor if desired when it’s no longer needed for evaluation. Written permission is required before an instructor can use a student’s property for purposes other than academic performance evaluation.

Brightspace student data

D2L Brightspace course shells are considered secure storage and all student work and assessment data contained within a Brightspace course will remain accessible to instructors following the end of the term. After six years of course inactivity (e.g., logins, course copies), the course will be switched to Inactive (i.e., the instructor will be unable to access it) and it will be purged from the server two years after that. Find more information about the system office's Brightspace data retention and purge schedule here. Instructors can also export their Brightspace grade book as a CSV or Excel file. As this file includes private grade information, it should be stored in a private (i.e., unshared) folder on the instructor's OneDrive. Note that a Brightspace course export package does not include any student data. Instructors have to export their grade books separately.

Checklist

D2L Brightspace

If you used D2L Brightspace to support your courses this term, here are some tasks you may want to complete:

Check your course end dates. If you want a course to remain open beyond the end of the term (e.g., so students can check their grades), adjust your course end date accordingly. If a course does not have an end date, it remains open indefinitely.
Release your final grades. If you want your students to see their final grades in Brightspace, you must release them. Remember, these are not official grades and you will still need to submit those using the Minnesota State eServices website.
Prepare final grades for Minnesota State import. If you want to import your final course grades from Brightspace to the Minnesota State eServices website, rather than entering them manually, you must first convert them into an approved letter format.
Save a copy of your grade book. If you used the Grades Tool, you may want to export a copy of your grade book as a CSV or Excel file. Store it in a private (i.e., unshared) OneDrive folder.
Post a closing message. Post an announcement and/or send an email message letting students know how to check their final grades, how long they will be able to access your Brightspace course, and how to get in touch with you if they have questions.
Back up your courses. Now is a great time to create a backup copy of this term's courses. Remember, this process will not save any student data.
Request course removal. With the Spring 2022 change to how Brightspace courses are created, instructors can no longer deactivate their Brightspace courses. If you want to prevent your students from accessing your course, you can set an End Date or request that the course be removed from the My Courses list completely. Note that this process would also remove it from your My Courses list. Request course removal here and find more detailed instructions here. You can request that a removed course be restored if you make a mistake or change your mind.

Official final grades

Don't forget to submit your official final course grades before the deadline. Final grades in Brightspace are not official grades.

Submit official final grades. Official final grades are due by the deadline specified in the academic calendar. Use the Minnesota State eServices website to post your official final grades.
Change an official final grade. To change an official final grade already submitted to Minnesota State eServices, sign in to WarriorSpace, select the Forms I Can Submit tab, and complete the Change of Grade form.

Zoom

If you used Zoom for web conferencing in your courses this term, here is a list of tasks you may want to complete:

Change passcodes. If you plan to reuse any recurring Zoom sessions next term and you have protected them with passcodes, you may want to change those passcodes.
Remove alternative hosts. If you made any students alternative hosts in recurring Zoom sessions you plan to reuse, you may want to remove them.
Remove predefined breakout groups. If you uploaded a list of pre-defined student breakout groups, remove them.

Microsoft 365

If you used Microsoft 365 applications this term to share files and support collaboration, here is a list of tasks you may want to complete:

Unshare OneDrive folders. If you shared a folder with your students from your personal OneDrive, you may want to revoke those sharing permissions.
Remove students from Teams sites. If you assigned students as members of a Teams site that you plan to reuse, you may want to remove them from the site. You can also delete the Teams site if you don't plan to reuse it. Note that this will delete all of the information in the site.
Delete group chats in Teams. If you created a group chat in Teams to text message your class, you may want to delete it. Note that this will delete all of the posts in that chat.

Qualtrics

If you used Qualtrics to support research projects in your courses this term, here is a list of tasks you may want to complete:

Remove students as collaborators. If you gave students Collaborator permission on any of your Qualtrics projects, you may want to remove them.
Remove yourself as a collaborator. If your students gave you Collaborator permission on any of their Qualtrics projects, you may want to remove yourself.

Extending course access

Occasionally a student will need more time to complete a course. If you do decide to close the course at the end of the term but a student needs access to complete missing work, notify TLT (tlt@winona.edu) and request that the student's role in the course be changed to allow access to the materials even though the course is closed. TLT will assign the student the role of Student-Incomplete. Once the student completes any missing work, let TLT know and the role change can be reversed to remove access to the course. If you have students with the Student-Incomplete role in your course, do not request that the course be deactivated. This would result in you and the students losing access to the course.

Many of the checklist items in this article continue the age-old tradition in higher education of managing learning as a limited-time opportunity. Consider removing your Brightspace course end dates to encourage students to return to refresh their memories, find that pearl of wisdom, and make stronger connections across their courses as they progress toward their degrees. If you are interested in taking this one step further and creating an open online version of your course or an open textbook that is always available to all WSU students, or even the whole world, contact TLT (tlt@winona.edu).

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