This semester, professors will have a new option for submitting final grades.

Professors will now be able to post final grades to WebCT and submit final grades to the Banner System at the same time.

“Basically, it just allows faculty another way to submit grades to the Banner System, instead of going to the Banner System separately to submit grades,” said Julie Lockett, instructional technology specialist.

Professors can go within WebCT and post midterm or final grades to the Banner System, which is where the official grades need to be posted.

“This is something the faculty has requested but we didn’t have the capabilities, until now, to be able to link the two, WebCT and Banner,” Lockett said. “The newest version of WebCT that we are currently using now allows that exchange, there was some server work that had to be done by ITS, but the technology has changed so we can now link the two.”

A pilot test was done for the midterm grades of this semester.

Training was completed in February and the midterm grade submissions were done.

Eighteen faculty members participated in the pilot test and the grades for 33 courses were submitted.

“All grades were submitted without any problems; there were a few minor error messages, but those were normal,” Lockett said.

The training will be provided for any faculty member who wants to use WebCT to submit grades, but the training is not required.

“We have a manual I have created, and if the faculty member does not attend training, then they would need to use the manual because they will have to know where to look to submit the grades,” Lockett said.

Andrew Robinson, a communication studies instructor, participated in the pilot test for midterm grades.

“I had no problem whatsoever with the program,” Robinson said.

Robinson has used WebCT since 2005 to post his students’ grades and has received positive feedback from his students.

“Students appreciate the routine of feedback, but not just for midterm and final grades, but for every grade posted,” Robinson said.

Lockett said this system could save professors time by only having to enter grades once.

“They already enter their grades in WebCT so it will be a timesaver for them; hopefully there will also be less chance for error because they don’t have to transfer the grades to the other system,” Lockett said. “I encourage all professors to use WebCT.”

However, Lockett said this is not a switch that will affect professors who do not use WebCT.

“This is just an option and is not required for faculty members to participate in the grade exchange; the Banner System will not be changed,” Lockett said.

Professors may find this system beneficial, but students will not notice any significant changes.

“This is not going to make that much difference as far as the students are concerned, except for the fact that it may encourage more professors to utilize WebCT, and then the student would have easier access to their grades,” Lockett said.

Since the pilot test went well, the linked system will be available from this point forward, starting with final grades for the Spring 2010 semester.

Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7942 or kzyskowski@eiu.edu.