What it does

Grade import runs through the shared Data Exchange wizard (the same paste-or-upload, map, review, commit flow used by other imports), pre-set to the Grades data type. From the learner grades table, Import opens that wizard already scoped to the program and academic period you were viewing. Grade views also export to Excel and PDF for reporting outside the platform.

Who it's for

Program administrators and coordinators with grade-editing permission; people without that permission do not see Import on the learner grades table.

How it works

From Gradebook → Learners, Import opens /admin/data-exchange/import with the Grades data type pre-selected. For a typical single-sheet file the wizard walks through Upload file, Map columns, Review data, and Confirm, ending on Complete; a Sheet plan step is inserted only for a multi-sheet Excel file. You upload a .csv, .xlsx, or .xls file up to 10MB. A downloadable template shows the expected columns. You then map your file's columns to gradebook fields: Learner Email (required), Learner ID (optional, and it takes precedence over email when both are given), Score Type (required, matched by name), Score Type Code, Numeric Score, Letter Grade, Percentile, Date (required), Notes, and optionally Rotation, Course, or Block.

Each row is resolved before anything is written. The learner must match an existing program member, by learner UUID or email. The score type must match a program grade category by name or code, and it must be a leaf score type, not a parent group. Rows that cannot be resolved get a specific reason instead of a silent skip, so you can fix the file and retry.

Exporting. Grade lists export to Excel with learner, email, score date, rotation or course, numeric score, letter grade, finalized state, status label, notes, and who finalized. PDF export is available for formatted output.

Before you start

You need program-level grade-editing permission and an active program (and academic period) selected on Gradebook → Learners to see Import.
Your file must be .csv, .xlsx, or .xls, under 10MB, with column headers in the first row.
Every learner in the file must already be a member of the program you have selected, and score types must already exist — the import doesn't create people, memberships, or grade categories.

Do this

Open Gradebook → Learners (/grades/learners) → you should see the learner grades table and an Import button.
Select Import → you should see the Data Exchange wizard (/admin/data-exchange/import) already set to Grades, on Upload file.
Upload your .csv, .xlsx, or .xls file (a downloadable template shows the expected columns) → the wizard advances to Map columns once the file parses (a Sheet plan step appears first only for a multi-sheet Excel file).
On Map columns, match each of your file's columns to a gradebook field → confirm Learner Email, Score Type, and Date are all mapped.
Continue to Review data → the wizard shows valid and invalid row counts with error details for any row that failed to resolve.
Select Confirm to commit → the wizard reports how many rows succeeded and how many failed, then reaches Complete.

You're done when

The wizard reports imported and failed row counts on Complete, with error details for any failed rows.
New unpublished grades appear on /grades/learners for the selected program and period, ready for the normal finalize-and-publish workflow.

Boundaries and limits

Import needs program-level grade-editing permission and an active program selection; there is no cross-program or institution-wide import.
There is no separate gradebook-only import page — grade import always runs through the shared Data Exchange wizard, reached via Import on Gradebook → Learners.
Supported file formats are .csv, .xlsx, and .xls only, up to 10MB.
A row's learner must already be a member of the selected program. Import does not create people or memberships.
Score types are matched against the program's existing grade categories; import does not create new categories on the fly.
Imported grades enter the normal lifecycle as unpublished entries — import never publishes to learners.
Rows that fail resolution are surfaced with errors; the wizard never guesses a partial match.

Common questions

Q: What happens to rows with a typo in the learner email? A: The row fails with an explicit error ("learner not found" or "not a member of this program") and is not imported. Fix the file and re-upload; successfully resolved rows are unaffected.

Q: Do imported grades go straight to learners? A: No. Imported grades arrive unpublished. They follow the same finalize-and-publish steps as manually entered grades.

Q: Can I import grades for multiple programs in one file? A: No. The wizard operates on the program you currently have selected. Run one import per program.

Importing Grades from Spreadsheets and Exporting Grade Data