Canvas Tip: Automatically Enter Zeroes in the Gradebook for Missing Submissions People illustrations by Storyset At this point in the term, students frequently check their Canvas gradebook for their expected final grade. As instructors, we aim to communicate…

People illustrations by Storyset

At this point in the term, students frequently check their Canvas gradebook for their expected final grade. As instructors, we aim to communicate grade information accurately. However, Canvas ignores blank gradebook entries by default when it calculates total grades. 

Let’s fix this. You can set your Canvas courses to automatically enter zeroes for missing submissions once the due date has passed. This will give students a clear picture of their current grade. This short video walks through how to set this up.

Video: Tip of the Week: Auto Fill Missing Grades with Zero in Canvas (1:46) | Transcript available on YouTube

Potential Future Impact

You'll want to be aware of one future impact to avoid problems next term. If you know you'll import your current course content in a future part-of-term, make sure you adjust due dates during the import. If you have due dates in the past, and your course is set to enter zeroes for no submission, you'll end up with a grade book full of zeroes. Changing the due date after they are entered won't fix it. Instead, you must manually remove the zeroes, or reset your course and import it again.  So if you use this tip, plan to adjust the due dates during your course import.

Canvas Instructor Guides

For more extensive information, consult these Canvas Instructor Guides:

• How do I apply a Missing Submission policy in the Gradebook?
• How do I change the status of a submission in the Gradebook?
• How do I adjust events and due dates in a course import?