Set a Course Grading Policy

In the Canvas Gradebook, you can apply a selected grade posting policy for all course assignments. Posting policies can be set to automatic or manual.

Step 1.

• Click "Grades" on the course navigation menu.
  • Find the settings icon on the right of the menu bar

Step 2.

• Click on Grade Posting Policy tab.
  • Select a policy option:
    • Automatically: grades and comments are posted automatically and students are notified and can view grades as soon as they are entered.
    • Manually: (default) grades will be hidden by default and will remain hidden and students will not receive notifications until you have posted grades for each assignment.

Step 3.

• Click "Update"
  • A pop-up will confirm the update.

Step 4.

• Gradebook View of Posting Policy
  • When a manual posting policy has been applied, all the assignment headings will display an Invisibility icon and the word "Manual". 
  • The word "Manual" indicates that the posting policy is in place and future grades are hidden from student view. 
  • Once grades have been entered, you must post grades before the students can view them. To post entered grades, see the next step. 
  • When an automatically posting policy has been applied, no icon will show and the word "Manual" will not be displayed in the assignment heading.

Step 5.

• Navigate to the assignment for which you want to release the grades.
  • Hover over the assignment column header and click the Options icon.
  • Click on "Post Grades"

Step 6.

• Select a posting option
  • Everyone: post grades to all students, including students with ungraded submissions
  • Graded: (best practice) post grades to only students with graded submissions. Canvas indicates which grades are hidden with the orange dot next to the score. 
  • You can also elect to post grades by sections via selecting on the "Specific Sections" slider and then selecting the sections to which you want to release grades to.
    • For more about sections, visit our guide on Managing Sections.