{"id":928,"date":"2025-02-05T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/teaching-innovation\/?p=928"},"modified":"2025-02-04T09:46:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T14:46:06","slug":"three-ways-to-monitor-attendance-on-canvas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/teaching-innovation\/2025\/02\/05\/three-ways-to-monitor-attendance-on-canvas\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Ways to Monitor Attendance on Canvas\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Attendance policies are standard practice at Ball State. Whether individually created or departmentally assigned, most instructors keep track of their students\u2019 absences. One way to monitor attendance is through Canvas\u2019 Roll Call feature. Roll Call allows instructors to record attendance, while providing a grade based on the number of absences entered, but the tool does not allow instructors to set unique rules to reflect their attendance policies. To better reflect instructors\u2019 attendance systems,\u00a0this article offers three solutions to monitor attendance without leaving the Canvas learning management system.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utilizing Roll Call\u2019s Features\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When taking attendance using the Roll Call feature, an assignment automatically populates to score students\u2019 attendance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While this feature is helpful if instructors wish to score students simply on their presence in the class, there is no way to create special rules (e.g., excuse the first three absences) for the tool to follow.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, instructors can leave students unmarked in Roll Call to excuse absences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A student left unmarked in Canvas\u2019 Roll Call Feature. Unmarked is the default option but if you entered their attendance previously, click the status button until the grey \u201dcancel\u201d symbol appears.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To keep track of these excused, unmarked absences, instructors can also use Roll Call\u2019s badges feature. A badge can be added by selecting the \u201cMore\u201d tab to the right of the student\u2019s name.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After selecting \u201dMore,\u201d select the \u201d+Add Badge\u201d button. This will allow instructors to create a badge that is available to everyone in the Canvas course, conveying that the absence is excused.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your badge will look like this in the Roll Call tool.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If a student runs out of excused absences, instructors may continue to take attendance as usual, marking the student as absent when necessary.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that even if instructors decide to incorporate unmarked, excused absences or excused absences badges, the course\u2019s Roll Call Attendance grades will still be accurate. Excused (unmarked) absences do not count against students but any unexcused absences (when the student is marked absent) will automatically detract from students\u2019 attendance grades.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating an Excused Absence Column in the Gradebook\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another option for scoring attendance is creating an Excused Absence column in the gradebook. Similar to what Eva Grouling-Snider suggests in her blog on incorporating late passes in Canvas<\/a>, instructors may set a few excused absences at the beginning of the semester and incrementally lower them with students\u2019 use.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if an instructor were to offer three free absences to students, they would create an assignment with the full amount and then manually decrease the point-value as students use their absences.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the Roll Call attendance feature, instructors would then mark students as present during their free absence period, later resuming normal attendance procedures after students use their free absences.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracking Attendance through Gradebook\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For instructors looking to maximize transparency while tracking attendance, creating multiple Attendance assignments may be the most efficient\u2014especially if there is a deduction for missing a certain number of classes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An example of multiple attendance assignments from my COMM 210 course.<\/em>\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Depending on how often instructors want to notify students\u2014I recommend every four weeks to allow students accurately track their progress\u2014they will need to create corresponding assignments for each update.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, if an instructor were to update their students four times a semester, they would create four assignments. Each assignment should be worth zero points, as absence total will vary by student, and the \u201cDisplay Grade\u201d selection should be \u201cPoints.\u201d Remember to select \u201cDo not count this assignment towards the final grade,\u201d as instructors should set their own deductions at the end of the semester.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To update each \u2018absence total\u2019 assignment, instructors should select the \u201cMore\u201d option in Roll Call.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After selecting \u201cMore,\u201d instructors should note the number of absences for each student and reflect this number in the corresponding \u2018absence total\u2019 assignment in gradebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When implementing a deduction, instructors will first need to decide how many absences constitute the deduction. In COMM 210, we decided if students missed more than 1\/3 of the class, usually around 15 absences, they would receive half a letter grade\u2019s deduction at the end of the semester (e.g., from a B+ to a B). Of course, there are multiple ways to implement a deduction, such as lowering the Roll Call attendance score or creating a separate assignment altogether, so instructors should consider which option works best for their class.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Monitoring attendance in a way that is streamlined and transparent can be a complicated task on Canvas, especially for those with rule-based attendance policies. While there is no \u201cbest\u201d solution to tracking attendance, implementing practices such as unmarking and badging in Roll Call, creating an Excused Absence column in the gradebook, or utilizing multiple attendance assignments are effective ways to organize attendance in Canvas.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a creative solution to tracking attendance or have tried the methods listed in this article, please comment below! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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