FAQs, errors & support

This page provides the answers to common queries about marks transfer, gives explanations of error labels which may appear should a marks transfer fail and provides details on where to go for further support.

FAQs

Should you have an issue with marks transfer, in the first instance, please consult the list of frequently asked questions below.

1. Why are incorrect assessment component(s) showing in the Marks Transfer Wizard?

In the first instance, please check Portico. Older assessment components might not have been removed or new assessment components may have not been set up correctly. If necessary, please raise a query with the Student Lifecycle team via your faculty’s Query Management Log. 

2. When should I map the assessment components to my Moodle source activities?

You do not have to wait for the assessments to have been marked to set this up as you can configure marks transfer at any stage before you transfer the marks. 

3. Do I have to wait for all students' work to have been marked before I transfer the grades? 

It is possible to transfer marks that have been added to a Moodle assessment activity so far and transfer the remaining marks later as more marks are added as it is just the empty records which will be updated. Go to the status page to see which marks have been transferred so far and to transfer further marks that have been added.

4. Where does the marks transfer tool take the marks from?

It will transfer the marks that are in the Moodle course’s Grade Book for the relevant assessment activity. For Turnitin assignments, please ensure the marks are in the Grade Book. If there are no marks in the Grade Book for the Turnitin assignment yet, check you have reached the post date (when marks are released to students). If necessary, you can click "Refresh all Grades from Turnitin" in the assignment settings to make sure the Moodle Grade Book is updated before you transfer the marks. Please be aware that if you change the marks in the Grade Book for a particular assessment activity before Marks Transfer, that is what will be transferred to Portico.

5. Can you transfer marks before they are released to students?

As mentioned before, marks are transferred for the appropriate assessment activities from the Grade Book. Marks have to have been released to students before you can transfer them.

6. How will I know when marks transfer has been completed?

While transferring the marks, you will see a progress bar and on completion, you will receive an email notification with a link to the transfer records.

7. How will the marks display in Portico after they have been transferred?

Marks you have transferred from Moodle will appear in Portico in the same way as if you had uploaded marks into Portico through a csv file or entered them manually. Please see Portico guidance for advice on this system.

8. Can I overwrite marks that have already been transferred?

No, you cannot recall or overwrite any marks that have been transferred from the Moodle interface. Any changes need to be made directly in Portico.

9. Will a spreadsheet import for more than one assessment in Portico overwrite marks that have been transferred? 

If the mark is at the Actual stage then it will be overwritten by an import, but once it is calculated/processed, so at the Agreed stage, it can't be overwritten.

10. Can you change the source after you have transferred marks?

No. If you realise you have transferred the wrong marks, you will need to make the changes directly in Portico.

11. I have just transferred marks from a quiz and now they are all showing as failed. What should I do?

You need to ensure the mark is out of 100 in the quiz settings (see Building Quiz - MoodleDocs ). Otherwise, Portico won’t recognise the marks. If you need to make a change, please do so in Portico.

12. I just transferred the marks for one part of a Turnitin assignment but why is it showing different marks in Portico?

Please remember: a multi-part Turnitin assignment is not a Moodle activity-type that is eligible for marks transfer at the moment. If you try to transfer the marks for one part of a multi-part Turnitin assignment, it will take the mark average for all the assignment's parts from the Grade Book.

13. Does a module delivery have to be mapped to a Moodle course to transfer marks as we create programme/exam sites on Moodle for our assessments?

Yes, a module delivery has to have been mapped to a Moodle course in order to see assessment components from Portico in the assessment wizard. 

14. Why can’t I see a particular assessment type in the marks transfer wizard? 

Please check whether the assessment type is eligible for marks transfer yet. If it is, please ensure the Grade Item or Category meets the following criteria:

• The mark is numeric (letter grades are not eligible) - please ensure the Grade type is set to “value”.

• The mark is out of 100.

• The Grade display type is set to “Real” (other display types would not be recognised by Portico so the Item or Category would not show up as a Source activity in the Marks Transfer Wizard)

15. Can you push grades from a scale e.g. A-F?

No, we decided not to support this mark type as this grading method is being phased out at UCL.

16. Why am I seeing some students as invalid in the marks transfer status page?

Check that your student enrolment on Moodle or Portico is up to date. Some students may have dropped out. The marks transfer tool specifically looks up who is enrolled on the module delivery in Portico and only picks those users to transfer marks to. 

17. If I make a change to a mark in Moodle after I have transferred it, will it update Portico?

No, if you need to change or update the marks after marks transfer, you will have to do it in Portico.

18. What is the mark penalty process for late submissions?

• Manually enter the actual mark the student achieved in Portico.

• Process the mark and amend the component to the penalised mark.

• Add a module minute explaining the change.

It is recommended that Moodle should contain the raw/actual mark and you then adjust the agreed mark in Portico at the processing stage (adding a module minutes to show the reason for the deduction).  This allows for transparency in Portico, and also has the benefit that the marks in Portico can easily be amended should a late EC be approved and the record of the original raw mark is not lost.

19. What is the mark penalty process for academic misconduct?

• Manually enter the actual Mark the student achieved in Portico.

• Process the Mark and amend the component to the IR mark for ongoing investigation or the penalised mark if the outcome known.

• Add a module minute explaining the change.

20. What should you do if you need to make a mark adjustment for a cohort?

• Post board, use the undo button to amend the mark in Portico.

• Add a module minute explaining the change.

For more details on Mark Penalties and Adjustments, see Student Records' Mark Entry Guidance.

21. Does the Portico Mapping have to be activated to use the tool?

You need to have used the Portico enrolment block to create a mapping with a module delivery but this does not need to be active for the marks transfer integration to work.

22. Can you transfer marks with decimal places?

Yes you can. Typically, this is up to 2 decimal places but this depends on the SITS decimal places allowed by the SITS marking scheme.

23. Will the transfer work if the assessment link is still anonymised?

Marks will not be visible for marks transfer until feedback has been released and students have been deanonymised. Accessing the status page will not reveal student marks before this time.

24. Can you transfer marks for a student with an agreed extension for a Moodle assessment?

Yes, if you have set up a standard, short-term extension on a Moodle quiz or Moodle assignment and it is not a deferral for a Late Summer Assessment. Simply complete the marks transfer using the same method you would use for standard submissions once marks are available for the student’s later submission. For guidance on setting extensions on Moodle, see the miniguide on Extensions.

25. My Moodle course has 1 standard submission link and 1 EC-SORA submission link (for students with extensions). Can I transfer both to the same Portico assessment component?

For now, you can only transfer marks for one submission link. Moodle Assignments & Quizzes allow for personalised deadlines for EC/SORA purposes so you could have one submission link for these activity types (see q.24 above). We're aware that's not an option with Turnitin so this is on the roadmap for development.

26. If there is no mark, does it skip the student?

It is now possible to record non-submissions as 0 AB when transferring marks. You are advised to check your EC and DAPs reports and take into account any SoRA extended deadlines before you do this.

27. My marks in Turnitin are not in my Gradebook and the Marks Transfer will not work.

If your Turnitin marks are not appearing in Moodle Gradebook this will be a synchonisation issue that can be resolved by these instructions.

28. I am unable to set up marks transfer as the Wizard says it is not allowed.

If you see the following message at the top of the Marks Transfer Wizard: “It looks like this course is from a previous academic year, marks transfer is not allowed”, please ensure the Moodle course was configured correctly during Course Rollover by contacting digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk. They will be able to investigate if the right Course Alignment Type and Academic Year have been set for the Moodle course.

My marks did not transfer, what should I check?

Please ensure the following:

• The student is enrolled on Portico.

• The record exists in Portico.

• The Mark is valid.

• The Marks are not already in Portico (you can't overwrite Marks in Portico from Moodle).

• The assessment component in Portico is compatible with SITS Marking Schemes and SITS Assessment Types

• The exam room code is EXAMMDLE in Portico for exam assessments.

If that is not the case, the Marks Transfer Status page will return an error message notifying you of the issue.

Error labels for Mark Transfer

If Marks Transfer fails for an individual student record or records, you may see one of the following errors appear:

Further support

If you are still unable to resolve your issue, you can request support as follows:

• For any issues with using the marks transfer tool, please contact Digital Education via MyServices. ​

• For any issues with Portico data, contact examboards@ucl.ac.uk or for issues with incorrect assessment set up, contact lifecycle@ucl.ac.uk.

• For general questions, feedback or suggestions for future developments, contact your Faculty Champion.