How do I change a student's final grade in Canvas?

Quick Links: | Complete these first | Enable the Override column | Override the grade in Canvas | Override the grade in Excel 

Canvas' Final Grade Override allows you to enter a final grade for students that is different from the grade automatically calculated by Canvas in the Gradebook. Students will then be able view the overridden grade in their Grades page. Students will not know the score has been overridden as they will only see the overridden grade and not their calculated grade. Depending on your class size, overriding grades might be feasible directly in Canvas. In very large classes, instructors often prefer to leverage Excel for both accuracy and efficiency. This guide offers instructions and recommendations to effectively use the Override column in the Canvas Gradebook.

This guide was adapted from Texas A&M University's Overriding Grades in Canvas (6 minutes) video guide.

Prior to this process, you should have:

• Enabled a grading scheme for your course
• Reviewed your Gradebook to ensure grades have been entered properly. This includes confirming assignment weights and group rules are correct
• Reviewed late and missing submission and entering zeros if necessary
• Confirmed that all grades are posted and visible to students
• Reviewed the total column in the Canvas Gradebook to ensure that you want to use the Override column

Enable the Override column in the Canvas Gradebook

You can use the override column if you would like to manually curve or modify the existing calculated grade in the Total column. 

1. Click on Grades in the course navigation menu.
2. Select the gear icon in the top right corner.
   
    
3. Go into the Advanced tab.
4. Check the box to Allow final grade override. 
5. Click Apply Settings in the bottom right corner.
   

You should now see the Override column as the far right column of your Gradebook. 

Override the grade

Option 1: Override the grade directly in Canvas

Simply locate the student you would like to change the letter for and enter the letter grade in the corresponding box. 

You can enter a letter grade or a percentage, though we recommend a percentage. When entering a letter grade, Canvas uses the existing grading scheme. If a grading scheme is not enabled, you will get a warning that there is no valid grading scheme. A letter grade results in the lower bound of the grading scheme. A percentage is retained as the override score. For example, if a grade of B is entered and has the range of 83-86%, Canvas will store 83% as the score. Entering a percentage allows for the greates flexibility in the event that you need to adjust how any score ranges correspond to their letter grades.

Option 2: Import from a CSV file

Export your Gradebook to a CSV file

1. Select Export from the top right corner.
2. Choose Export Entire Gradebook.
3. Open the file once the export has completed. (If prompted about data conversions in Excel, select Don’t Convert.)

Enter the Override grades in Excel

1. Locate the Override Score column. You will likely need to scroll all the way to the right. You may need to expand column titles to ensure you’re looking at the correct title. 

   • ⚠️ Caution! Do not enter any values into the Override Status column. If any values are entered into the Override Status column, the import step will not work.

   • Recommendation: You may also notice a column to Override Grade for letter grades, but we recommend using scores instead for the reasons described in Option 1.

2. Enter the new grades in a numerical format. If you would like, you can also have Excel calculate a manual curve for you utilizing its formulas. For example, you might have Excel locate the unposted final score column with its numerical value, add 2 to the grade, and then apply that formula for all students. Canvas will convert this number in the override score column once it is imported back to Canvas. 
   

3. Save the CSV file to your computer once all grades have been entered.
   

Import your Excel file

1. Go back to your Canvas Gradebook.
2. Select Import in the top right corner.
   
    
3. Select Choose File and select the file you saved previously, then
4. Select Upload Data.
   
    
5. Verify that the grades are accurate in the window that pops up, then Save Changes. 
   

Congratulations! You will then be redirected back to the Canvas Gradebook where the Override column will be updated. 

As always, if you have trouble with any of the steps or would prefer someone walk you through the process, please drop in to our TLP Zoom Lab or email us at tlp@csuchico.edu.