Grade Import Widget (Instructor Tools+)

General Usage

The Grade Import Widget allows you to import grades from various sources into Brightspace gradebook items. The widget supports Osiris, Remindo, TestVision, Brightspace export, and simple CSV files. With built-in safety checks and enrollment verification, the widget ensures reliable and secure grade imports.

Go to your Course Homepage. At the bottom, you’ll find the Instructor Tools+ widget. Select the Grade Import option and follow the rest of the instructions.

Important: Grade Import Risks

Backup first: Always make a backup of your gradebook before importing.
Test first: Test with a small file (5-10 students) before importing all grades.
Check data: Carefully review the preview table – this prevents incorrect grades and corrective action.
Grade Scheme choice: When importing numeric grades, only use Grade 0-10. With Grade 1-10, Brightspace recalculates the import grades and the grades become slightly higher.

Import Modes

Mode 1: Simple/Single Grade Item

For: All file formats – import one grade column into one grade item

Select Simple Mode
Upload your file (Osiris, Remindo, Brightspace export, or CSV)
If your file has multiple grade columns: Choose which column to import from the dropdown
Select one Brightspace grade item (existing) or create a new one with the “➕” button next to the dropdown
Review preview with enrollment status
Check the approval checkbox
Click Import

Tip: Files with multiple columns

If you upload a file with multiple grade columns (for example, a Brightspace export), a dropdown menu will automatically appear where you can choose which column to import. The first column is selected by default.

Mode 2: Multiple Grade Items

For: Any file with multiple grade columns (Brightspace, TestVision, manual Excel/CSV)

Select Multiple Mode
Upload your file – the widget automatically displays the detected format in a badge
Widget automatically detects all grade columns
Map each column to an existing grade item or create new items with the “+” button
Review the mapping and preview
Check the approval checkbox
Click Import All Mapped Columns

Supported File Formats

Automatic Format Detection

The widget automatically recognizes your file format and displays this in a badge under the file upload. You don’t need to manually select which format you’re using – the widget detects if it’s a Brightspace, Remindo, Osiris, TestVision export, or a generic CSV/Excel file.

Brightspace Export

✓ BOTH MODES

Excel (.xlsx), CSV (.csv), or Tab-delimited (.txt)
“Username” column required
Automatic format detection
Simple: Select one grade column
Multiple: Map all grade columns

Remindo Export

✓ SIMPLE MODE

Excel (.xlsx) or Tab-delimited (.txt, .csv)
“Studentnummers” column
“Behaalde score” column
Automatic format detection
Extra columns are ignored

Osiris Export

✓ SIMPLE MODE

Excel (.xlsx) or Text (.txt)
Student ID in specific cell
Grade in specific columns
Automatic format detection

TestVision Export

✓ SIMPLE MODE

Excel (.xlsx) or CSV (.csv)
“Studentnummer” column
“Cijfer” column
Automatic format detection

Generic CSV/Excel

✓ BOTH MODES

Excel (.xlsx), CSV (.csv), or Tab-delimited (.txt)
Student ID column + one or multiple grade columns
Automatic format detection
Simple: Select one grade column
Multiple: Map all grade columns
Examples: F123456,7.5 or F123456;7,5

Which Mode to Use?

Simple Mode: Import one grade column into one grade item
- Works with all file formats
- For multi-column files: select which column to import
- Easiest choice for one assignment/test
Multiple Mode: Import multiple grade columns at once into multiple grade items
- For any file with multiple grade columns (Brightspace, TestVision, manual Excel/CSV)
- Map each column to a different grade item
- Saves time when bulk importing multiple assignments at once

Tip: Always start with Simple Mode – it works with all files. Use Multiple Mode only if you want to import multiple grade columns at once.

File Preparation

Brightspace Export File

Go to Grades in Brightspace
Click Export
Select Points Grade under Grade Value
Choose Username or Org Defined ID – both work
Choose Export to Excel or Export to CSV
Download the file

Username Grade1 Grade2 Grade3 beta_test1 7.5 8.8 9.0 beta_test2 6.5 7.2 8.5

Osiris File

Export your grade list directly from Osiris to Excel. The Grade Import Widget automatically recognizes the specific Osiris format and finds the correct data, regardless of where it appears in the Excel file:

Student numbers – automatically found in fixed cell positions
Grades – recognizes the correct column with results
Extra information – such as student names and course codes are ignored

Handy tip: The Osiris file has a unique format with grades in specific cell positions. You don’t need to change anything – upload the file directly as it comes from Osiris!

Generic CSV/Excel File

Create a file with Student ID column + one or multiple grade columns. Headers are optional but recommended for clarity. The widget works with both 2-column files and multi-column files.

IMPORTANT: Separator and Decimal

You CANNOT use the same character for both separator and decimal!

Allowed combinations:

Comma-separator + Dot-decimal: F123456,7.5
Semicolon-separator + Comma-decimal: F123456;7,5
Tab-separator + Dot-decimal: F123456 7.5
Tab-separator + Comma-decimal: F123456 7,5

ERROR – These do NOT work:

Mixed decimal characters in one file:
F123456;7.5
F234567;8,5
→ File uses both dot (7.5) and comma (8,5)!
Wrong delimiter for grade with comma: F123456,7,5 → read as 3 columns!

Tip for Dutch Excel: Use ; as separator and , as decimal. This is the standard Dutch Excel export: F123456;7,5

Option 1: Comma-separator with dot-decimal (recommended)

F123456,7.5 F123457,8.0 F123458,6.5

Option 2: Semicolon-separator with comma-decimal (Dutch Excel)

F123456;7,5 F123457;8,0 F123458;6,5

Option 3: Tab-separator with dot-decimal

F123456 7.5 F123457 8.0 F123458 6.5

Remindo Export

Export your test results directly from Remindo to an Excel file. The Grade Import Widget automatically recognizes the Remindo format and searches for the correct columns:

Student numbers column – automatically detected
Achieved score column – all grades are correctly read
Extra columns – such as names and email addresses are ignored

Handy tip: You don’t need to edit the Remindo file or remove columns. Upload it directly as it comes from Remindo, and the widget does the rest!

TestVision Export

Export your test results from TestVision to CSV or Excel. The Grade Import Widget automatically recognizes the TestVision format:

Student number column – automatically detected
Grade column – all grades are correctly read
Extra columns – such as names are ignored

Handy tip: Upload the TestVision export file directly as it comes from the system. The widget recognizes the format automatically and finds the correct columns!

Processing Steps

1. Upload & Validation

Widget automatically detects file format
Format indicator badge displays the detected file type (Brightspace, Remindo, Osiris, TestVision, etc.)
Processes student IDs and grades
Validates grades based on the selected grade item (max points, letter grades, etc.)
Checks enrollment status per student
Fetches all existing grades for comparison (optimized for large classes)

2. Preview & Mapping

In Simple Mode you select one grade item, in Multiple Mode you map columns to grade items. View the preview table with:

Student ID: The student identifier from your file
Current: Existing grade in Brightspace (only shown when comparison is enabled)
New Grade: Grade from your file
Status: Change indicator (only shown when comparison is enabled)
- New – Student has no grade yet
- Update – Grade will be changed
- Unchanged – Grade stays the same

3. Approval & Import

Read the warnings about non-enrolled students
Check the approval checkbox
Click Import (only enrolled students are imported)
Receive confirmation with number of imported grades

Troubleshooting

No grades imported? Check if students are enrolled in the course.

Wrong grades? Check the file format and column mappings.

Error messages? Check if the file is not corrupted and contains the correct columns.

Handy Tips

Backup: Export your gradebook before importing
Test: Start with a small file (5-10 students)
Check: Carefully review the preview table
Format: Use the correct file formats for better results

Creating New Grade Items

The widget can automatically create new grade items in Brightspace, in both Simple and Multiple Mode. This is useful when you want to import grades to an assignment that doesn’t exist yet in Brightspace.

When to Use?

New assignment: Importing grades for a new test/assignment
Quick workflow: Import grades without first manually creating a grade item

Simple Mode

Click the “➕” button next to the grade item dropdown
Fill in the Grade Item Name (e.g. “Assignment 1”, “Midterm Exam”)
Choose Maximum Points (default: 10.0 for Dutch system)
Optional: Click “Advanced Options” for more settings
Click “Create & Select”
The new grade item is created and automatically selected

Multiple Mode

For each column you see a “+” button
Click the button for the column where you want to create a new grade item
Fill in the grade item details and click “Create & Select”
The new item is immediately created and automatically linked to that column
The item appears immediately as selected in the dropdown
Repeat for other columns if needed

Advanced Options

Click “Advanced Options” to configure additional settings:

Short Name: Abbreviated name (auto-filled from Name)
Exclude from final grade: Recommended – prevents unintended impact on final grade
Description: Optional description for the grade item

Safe Default Settings

Newly created grade items are excluded from final grade calculation by default. This prevents grades from directly impacting the final grade. Instructors can adjust this later manually in Brightspace after checking.

Common Problems

“All rows are invalid”

Possible causes:

File has wrong format (check separators and decimals)
Student IDs are not valid
Grades don’t match the grade item (e.g. 11.0 with max 10.0 without exceed)
Letter grades in numeric grade item (or vice versa)

Solution: Check if the selected grade item has the correct type (numeric/letter) and if “Can exceed maximum” is correctly configured in Brightspace.

Is the correct grade item selected?
Are students enrolled in the course?
Is the approval checkbox checked?
Do the grades match the grade item? (max points, letter grades, etc.)
Note: Calculated grades (Final Grade, etc.) are not available for import

Tips & Best Practices

Pro Tips

Test first with a small file (5-10 students)
Always check the preview table before importing
Pay attention to the change indicators: New, Update, Unchanged
Use Simple Mode for Osiris/Remindo files
Use Multiple Mode for Brightspace exports
Keep original files as backup and delete them after the import has been verified
Check that the grade item is correctly configured (max points, letter grades, exceed, no grade scheme 1-10)

Grade Import Widget v0.9.31 | Utrecht University