Grades disappearing from Canvas can be a nerve-wracking situation. This article explains some common reasons why grades may have disappeared and how to restore them if they can be restored.
The Assign To field was adjusted improperly
The most common reason for grades to disappear is that the assign to field for the assignment, quiz, or graded discussion was improperly adjusted (usually this is inadvertent). For example, a TA goes to the assignment to adjust the due dates for three students, and in the process, accidentally un-assigns the assignment from everyone else in the class. There is an easy fix to this problem, which is to add a new Assign To field and assign it to "everyone else." Once your changes are saved, the missing grades should reappear in the gradebook and SpeedGrader.
A student switched sections or dropped a course
If a student switches sections (or drops altogether), their grades will no longer appear in Canvas. If these grades need to be recovered, please contact UM Academic Technology for assistance in recovering those grades. A student's quiz attempts or assignment submissions cannot be transferred to the new course if the student has switched sections, but our team can provide you with grades to enter into the new section's gradebook.
Courses were combined too late in the semester
It is not recommended to combine courses once there are student submissions in both courses, as the student work in the child course will disappear when the courses are combined. If a course combo happens after there is student work in both courses, please contact UM Academic Technology as soon as you notice the problem, and we will attempt to locate the grades if possible. Please note that if it has been too long, grades and student work may not be recoverable.
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