Skip to main content

Setting up your Gradescope Course - Staff Guide

Adding Gradescope to your module

All interactions with Gradescope should be done via Minerva. This will automatically load in details of the module you are coming from and allow you to sync your students automatically. Going directly to gradescope.com is not recommended and will require extra administration to take place.

Gradescope can be accessed within your Minerva module by selecting the plus icon where you’d like it to be placed, then Content Market. Find the Gradescope Dashboard, then select the small plus icon towards the bottom right.

Plus icon options - content marketGradescope Dashboard icon

You will now be returned to your module content area.

Click the link that has appeared in your module, which will launch the tool in a new tab. When you enter Gradescope for the first time, you will need to create the Gradescope course that your Minerva module will link to (each Minerva module has an equivalent Gradescope course).

Note: You must have an Instructor  or Teaching Assistant role on the module in order to create the course.

The following options will appear:

 

Select Gradescope Link to Minerva Course

Select A new Gradescope Course and click Link Course. Change no other settings on the next page, and click Update Course at the bottom. This will add the course to your Gradescope Dashboard. Students are automatically added to the Gradescope roster once they select a Gradescope assignment link in Minerva. It is recommended that you resync the roster shortly before assessments are due to prevent any access issues.

Important: Use the Minerva Integration

Gradescope is integrated with Minerva, so there is no need to do anything directly on gradescope.com. Going directly to gradescope.com will require a manual load of students and support staff will not be able to assist with queries. Always access Gradescope through a Minerva module.

To ensure you don’t experience issues when accessing Gradescope we recommend that you use Chrome, Firefox, Edge  or Safari (on a Mac) and stay up to date with the latest versions. You may also need to allow third party cookies on your device.

Sync Roster from Minerva

Syncing the roster will mean that the users (both staff and students) on your Minerva module are added to Gradescope. The Roster can be accessed via the left hand menu from the Gradescope dashboard.

Gradescope Roster option

On the bottom toolbar, there will be an option to Sync Minerva Roster.

Sync Minerva Roster Gradescope

Sync with Minerva Roster - Email notification

A dialogue box will appear to confirm what is about to take place and from what course the data will be synced from.

This dialogue box also contains a check box to ‘Let new users know that they were added to the course’. This MUST be unchecked. Checking this box will inform students that they need to create an account at gradescope.com, when this is not the case. They should access Gradescope via Minerva.

The Gradescope roster can also sync to Minerva Module Groups, which gives you options for marking by groups or setting assignments for groups. If you are using groups in your module, the dialogue box will display an option to 'Sync group set to sections'.   Check this box  and choose the group set from the drop-down menu, to sync your module groups.

 

Gradescope sync groups sets

Sync Group set in Gradescope

The bottom toolbar  also has an option to ‘Send Enrollment Notification’. This does the same as the Email Notification check box and MUST not be used.

Send enrolment notification option Gradescope

You can now close the additional tab where the Gradescope dashboard is open.

How do I start adding assignments?

After the initial set up has taken place, it is recommended that you add an assignment from Minerva by clicking the plus icon, then Content Market, then selecting Gradescope Assignment. Using this method will mean that there is a direct link to the specific assignment in Gradescope, which also automatically creates a Gradebook column.

The tool link created in the steps above can be used to access the main Gradescope dashboard in a new tab, where you can see an overview of all assessments, resync the roster and make changes to the course settings. It's recommended that you hide this within Minerva, so that students only see direct assignment links.

Gradescope Dashboard icon

Can I create a direct link in Minerva to assignments I've already set up from the Gradescope dashboard?

It is possible to create a direct link in the module to an assignment that's already been set up. To do this, go to the plus icon where you’d like place the link, then Content Market, then select Gradescope Assignment.

Gradescope Assignment icon

Gradescope will open in a new tab. You will be presented with an option to link to an assignment. Select an existing Gradescope Assignment, then choose the assignment from the drop down list. Click Link Assignment.

 

Link Gradescope to Minerva Assignment

You will then see the following message appear.

 

Gradescope Successfully Added Assignment

Close the tab, and return to Minerva where you should refresh the page. You should then see the assignment link has been added in your module.

Gradescope Assignment icon