Last year, University teachers had to be on campus to submit their final grades. This year, they can submit them from anywhere in the world because the University has switched to grade submission via DuckWeb starting this term.
Teachers formerly submitted grades on “bubble sheets,” similar to the ones students use for multiple-choice tests. The sheets took up massive amounts of paper, and the “impact printers” that produce the sheets are becoming obsolete and difficult to maintain, according to associate registrar Sue Eveland. The bubble sheets will no longer be used, according to Eveland.
“Impact printing is a thing of the past,” she said. “We needed to come up with a new system.”
Under the new system, teachers submit their grades by logging onto DuckWeb and clicking on a link to the grade submission screen. They then select a class, the class roster comes up and the teacher enters each student’s grade.
After teachers have finished entering grades for a class, they can submit them as early as Nov. 29. Starting Dec. 3, final grades that have been submitted will be posted on DuckWeb, and every evening from Dec. 3 to Dec. 11 (the end of finals) the grades will be updated.
“I think this will be convenient for students and help them get their grades sooner,” Eveland said, “but I think it’ll also help teachers, because this way there’s no reason for students to bug teachers to tell them their grades early.”
The Registrar’s Office is holding seminars for faculty about using the new grading technology. Schedules of the seminars can be obtained by contacting the Registrar’s Office.