Final grades to submitted through ConnectCarolina

Last semester, students experienced ConnectCarolina for the first time during registration.

This semester, students, faculty and staff will have another first-time experience with the system when professors submit grades electronically.

Before ConnectCarolina, instructors submitted grades in paper form to the registrar, who would then input grades into Student Central for students to access online.

Now Student Central is out of the picture and the process is more direct, although not entirely paperless. Professors still have to submit paper forms if a grade needs to be changed, or if a student receives a grade of incomplete.

“Paper submission was pretty easy; this new system looks like it’ll be pretty simple as well,” said one teaching assistant at a demonstration hosted Monday by the registrar’s office. The demonstration was lead by Chris Derickson, assistant provost and University registrar.

“I know this is a big change,” he told more than 100 professors, teaching assistants and administrators gathered in Greenlaw Hall.

“But grading is still grading.”

Faculty will still have 72 hours after their classes’ final exams finish to officially submit grades. They will see students’ final grades on the faculty center of ConnectCarolina and can use drop-down menus next to students’ names to select a grade.

The new system might not be without hiccups, though. Professors teaching classes with multiple sections will need to add grades to the roster for each individual section, as will those entering grades for courses that are cross-listed in multiple departments.

Max Beckman-Harned, co-chairman of the technology and web services committee of student government, which tested the new system, said that while the move won’t bring drastic changes for students, it’s an important step for the University.

“It’s a web page for your grades, not too shocking,” he said. “But I’m just excited that grading is finally going electronic.”

Before ConnectCarolina, Derickson said, his office had to enter grades twice to confirm accuracy, and professors had to rely on University mail or couriers to send grades to the registrar.

Other members of the testing committee said the new system is easy for even the technologically-challenged to use.

“It’s a lot more straightforward than I expected,” said Andy Andrea, a committee member.

Members of the committee also praised the system for letting teaching assistants submit grades, even though professors still have to approve all grades.

“It’s good that communication between TAs and professors has been made easier,” said Ben Hawks, committee co-chairman.

The registrar’s office will wait until Dec. 14 to post the first round of grades on ConnectCarolina, but eventually grades will be posted as quickly as 15 minutes after the registrar approves them.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.