PE Attendance, Canvas, and Grading

The Roll Call Attendance tool can be found under Attendance in the left-hand course menu. If you do not currently see the Attendance button in the course menu, you need to enable Roll Call.

The fastest way to create a canvas assignment for attendance is to:

1. Click on Attendance in the left hand course menu and cycle through the attendance options for one student. 
2. Be sure that you return that student to the default setting, which is unmarked. 
3. This will automatically create a new Canvas assignment called Roll Call Attendance.
4. The next set of instructions is IMPORTANT. Due to the way attendance may impact a student’s final grade in a PE course, the Roll Call Attendance assignment must not count towards the final grade.

Use weighted assignment groups:

1. Click on Assignments in the left-hand course menu. 
2. By default, you should have an assignment group called Assignments. Add an additional assignment group by clicking the +Group button. Label this new Group attendance.
3. Move the Roll Call Attendance assignment from the default group to the new Attendance group. 
4. Enable Weighted Assignment Groups and then set the default Assignment group to 100% and the Attendance group to 0%. Save this change. 
5. The Roll Call Attendance assignment will no longer count towards the final grade as it is in a group weighted at 0%. 
6. The next set of instructions will set the point value of the Roll Call Attendance Assignment to equal one point for each class meeting. This will help you reconcile the final grade at the end of the term.

By default, attendance is worth 100 points. We recommend changing the default value from 100 to the number of class meetings. For example, for a course that meets 28 times throughout the semester, the point value should be set to 28.

1. Click on the Roll Call Attendance assignment. 
2. Click the Edit Assignment Settings button.
3. Enter the number of class sessions in the Points field.
4. Enter the last class meeting as the due date.
5. Save

Once you set up Roll Call in your course, you can start taking attendance for your course:

1. To access Roll Call, click the Attendance link in the left-hand Course Navigation, OR click on the Roll Call Attendance Assignment you created. This will open Roll Call in list view, showing a list of all enrolled students on a day-to-day basis.
2. Navigate to the day you want to take attendance for, using the calendar icon on the top right. Note that by default, Roll Call shows the current date.
3. To mark students as present/absent, use the corresponding icon next to the student’s name. Use a green checkmark to indicate that a student was present; a red checkmark for an unexcused absence; and leave the student unmarked (grey symbol) for an excused absence. You can also use the “Mark all present” button if all students were present or the “Unmark all” button if you need to start over.

In the Canvas gradebook points are only deducted from the Roll Call Attendance assignment when unexcused absences have been marked using the Roll Call tool. Be sure that all unexcused absences are marked before moving to the next step. Note that excused absences are counted in Roll Call in the same way as when a student is marked present.

To determine if attendance should impact the final grade:

1. Go to the Canvas gradebook
2. At a glance you should be able to tell when a student has enough absences to impact a grade when your course has:
   • 28 class meetings and the Roll Call Attendance is 86% or lower.
   • 14 class meetings and the Roll Call Attendance is 79% or lower.
   • 7 class meetings and the Roll Call Attendance is 58% or lower.
3. If no student grades are impacted you may skip the remaining instructions below and the override instructions. Proceed with final grade entry. 
4. For each student who has the Roll Call Attendance percentage above, calculate the number of absences:
   • Subtract the percentage in the Roll Call Attendance column from 100% to give you the percentage of absences. For example, if the amount in the Roll Call Attendance column is 71%. The percentage of absences would be 29%. 
   • Multiply the percentage of absences by the total points possible and round to the nearest whole number. For example, if there are 14 points possible and 29% absences, the result would be 4.06. Rounded to 4. This is the total number of absences for that student.  
   • Make a note, outside of Canvas, of the number of absences for each student.
5. Compare the number of absences for each student against the attendance chart in your syllabus. Make a note, outside of Canvas, of those students who have absences that will lower their final grade. 

Absence Chart: 14-week, 50-minute Twice a Week

Absence Chart: 14-week, 100-minute Once a Week

Absence Chart: 7-week, 100-minute Twice a Week

Absence Chart 7-Week 200-Minutes Once a Week Example

1. Enable the final grade override in the Canvas gradebook. 
2. Compare the number of absences for each student impacted against the chart in your syllabus
3. For students with a final grade without attendance that is up to 99% deduct 10 percentage points for each reduced letter grade according to the chart in the syllabus (see below). For students with 100% without attendance subtract an additional 1 percentage point. 
4. Once all final grade overrides are entered you are ready for final grade entry.
5. Example (course has either 7 or 14 class meetings)
   • Using the appropriate absence chart below. For a student with 100% without attendance with 4 absences, subtract 21 percentage points. Enter 79 into the Override column in Canvas.
   • Using the appropriate absence chart below. For a student with 87% without attendance with 3 absences, subtract 10 percentage points. Enter 77 into the Override column in Canvas.

You may use either manual grade entry or the Send or Export Grades to PeopleSoft option in Canvas (follow the links to full instructions). Note that you may need to add the Send or Export Grades to PeopleSoft option to your course navigation.