Grading Missing Assignments in Canvas

Tags canvas

Issue or Question

How do I keep my Canvas gradebook accurate when students have missing assignments?

The Canvas gradebook requires a score for each assignment to calculate grades accurately. When assignments are missing a score, the gradebook may not reflect a student's true grade. STELAR (the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research center) recommends one of two approaches to handle missing assignments automatically or on demand.

Environment

This information applies to: Canvas Learning Management System (LMS)

  • All supported browsers
  • Faculty and instructors

Resolution

Before You Begin

Important: You must have instructor-level access to the Canvas course to manage gradebook settings. There are three options for handling missing assignments. STELAR recommends Option 1 or Option 2. Select a section below to view details for each option.

Select a Section

Select a section below to show or hide its information.

The Missing Submission Policy applies a zero automatically across all assignments as soon as the due date and time passes. No manual action is required after the policy is configured.

Pros
  • Students see the effect of the missing assignment in their grades right away. The zero score is applied immediately after the due date and time passes.
  • The missing assignment stays in the Student To-Do List, appears in Recent Feedback, and retains a Missing status for faculty and students.
  • Faculty do not have to manually update their gradebook for missing submissions.
Cons
  • The policy applies to all assignments. Individual assignments cannot be exempted from the policy.
  • The score is applied as soon as the due date and time has passed. If more control over timing is needed, consider Option 2: Set a Default Grade.

Setting a Default Grade of zero allows faculty to apply a score to all unscored assignments in an entire gradebook column at a time of their choosing.

Pros
  • Faculty have control over when the zero score is applied for missing assignments.
  • The missing assignment stays in the Student To-Do List, appears in Recent Feedback, and retains a Missing status for faculty and students.
Cons
  • Faculty must remember to manually apply the Default Grade for each assignment column. To have scores applied automatically, use Option 1: Missing Submission Policy.

This method requires faculty to enter a zero score individually for each student with a missing assignment. STELAR does not recommend this approach because it removes the Missing status from the assignment. Without a Missing status, neither students nor faculty retain a record of why the zero was applied.

Pros
  • Faculty have control over when the zero score is applied for missing assignments.
  • Faculty have control over which individual students receive a zero score.
Cons
  • Faculty must enter each score individually.
  • The Missing status is removed from Grades for faculty and students. (The assignment remains in the Student To-Do List and Recent Feedback.)

Caution: Manually entering a zero removes the Missing status from the assignment for both faculty and students. This means there is no record indicating the assignment was not submitted, which may cause confusion when reviewing student progress.

Troubleshooting

If the recommended steps do not resolve the issue:

  • Confirm you have instructor-level access to the Canvas course and gradebook.
  • Verify that assignments have a due date set — the Missing Submission Policy (Option 1) only applies scores after a due date and time has passed.
  • Check that the Missing Submission Policy is enabled in Gradebook Settings if zeros are not being applied automatically.
  • Try clearing your browser cache or using a different supported browser if gradebook settings do not save.
  • Record the complete wording of any error messages before contacting support.

Additional Resources

Related Information

Use the following resources for related instructions or additional assistance:

Was this article helpful? Use the feedback options on this page to help us improve University of St. Thomas technology documentation.

Print Article

Related Articles (1)

Getting Started with Canvas for Faculty
Information and instructions for getting started with Canvas at University of St. Thomas.

Related Services / Offerings (1)

Instructional Design Consulting
Learn how technology can help you develop courses that achieve student learning outcomes.