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Set exceptions and accommodations in Gradebook - Staff Guide

There are two options available when setting individual student exceptions/accommodations:

  • You can give a student an accommodation which will apply to all Blackboard assessments: Blackboard Test, Blackboard Assignment and assessed Journals and Discussions. These are applied at the module level so cannot be applied to individual assessments.
  • Alternatively, you can add individual exceptions per Blackboard Test and Assignment. This is also possible for anonymous assessments. An updated in December 2023 also made this possible for Blackboard Group assessments.

If you need to give students an additional attempt or exception in an integrated tool (e.g. Turnitin, Gradescope, PebblePad, Top Hat), please see the relevant assessment guide for further information, however you should note is not possible to do this in all of our integrated tools.

In this guide


Set an Accommodation (these are applied at module level for a student)

Accommodations can be applied via the Gradebook or via Enrolments (which can be accessed via a module's Details & Actions menu). The guidance below describes how to apply them via the Gradebook:

1. Open the Gradebook from within your module.

2. Click the List View icon to see the Gradebook in list view.

3. Go to the Students tab and find the student you want to apply the accommodation for, click the three dots icon (…) on their row. From the drop-down menu that appears, select Accommodations.

The accommodation options are:

  • Due date – A student’s work is never marked as late in the Gradebook. For group assessments, if the student is a member of the group, the group's work will not be marked as late.
  • Time limit – For time limited assessments you can grant students extra or unlimited time to complete the assessment.

Read - Set Accommodations

For more information and step-by-step written guidance, see Accommodations on Blackboard's website.


Set an Exception (applied at a Blackboard Test or Assignment level for a student)

You can give an individual or group an additional attempt(s) on a Blackboard Test or Assignment or a different due date. You can also extend their access to an item e.g. if it is hidden from other students, you can allow an individual student/group to have access.

You cannot give a student additional time for an individual Blackboard Test or Assignment. This typically affects Tests where students need to complete it in a limited time after starting the Test e.g. complete within 60 minutes. This scenario would need to be achieved via Accommodations.

To set an exception for assessments which are not anonymous:

1. Open the Gradebook from within your module.

2. Click the List View icon to see the Gradebook in list view.

3. Select the Gradable Items tab.

4. Select the relevant gradable item you want to edit. This will open the pane with a list of the students on the module, or groups for a group assessment. For the student/group, you wish to add an exception, click the three dots icon (...) on their row and select Add or edit exceptions.

5. The Student Performance pane will be displayed on screen. This is where you will be able to enter the exception rules for the student/group, which include the date and time the assessment will be visible to them, the due date, and the number of attempts allowed. Click Save once you have created the rules you want to apply.

If the assessment is anonymous (this method will also work for assessments which are not anonymous):

1. Go to the student overview page in Gradebook (accessed by clicking the name of a student in Grid View of List View, Students Tab.)

2. You should now see an overview of the student with their status on all assessments. Find the relevant assessment, select the three dots icon (...) on the relevant assessment row and Add or edit exceptions.

3. The Student Performance pane will be displayed on screen. This is where you will be able to enter the exception rules for the student, which include the date and time the assessment will be visible to them, the due date, and the number of attempts allowed. Click Save once you have created the rules you want to apply.


Watch: How to set Accommodations and Exceptions 

Watch a demonstration of how to set accommodations and exceptions for students in Minerva modules and how these can be used to give students a different deadline, extra time or extra attempt on Blackboard assessments (e.g. Test or Assignment). 1 minute, 5 seconds.


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