This browser does not support basic Web standards, preventing the display of our site's intended design. May we suggest that you upgrade your browser?

Microsoft Excel XP/X

Gradebook: Phase 1: Capturing Student Names

The first step in creating a gradebook with Microsoft Excel is to capture the students' names efficiently and place that information in a worksheet. Once you receive the gradebook information, it can be used in a variety of applications and formats, including worksheets. The following steps provide guidance for moving the information into a worksheet. The same principles apply to moving the information into a word processing application.

return to topOptions for Obtaining Names

The Gradebook feature is available to faculty and staff members at UW-Eau Claire through Outlook email. Gradebook allows a faculty/staff member to receive a list of the students in a particular class in the form of an email message. Gradebook information includes the username, full name, university ID number, and classification for each student in the class. Getlist information includes the username, last and first name, and middle initial for each student in the class. This information can be put into a worksheet or word processing document to establish a gradebook or an attendance record.

NOTE: Some email formats, especially HTML, are not easily viewed on Macintosh computers. To ensure readability for your recipients, Microsoft Outlook Rich Text should be used. For instructions on how to accomplish this, refer to Setting a Default Message Format.

The campus email system provides two options for obtaining a list of student names without having to type them:

Gradebook
returns last name, first name, middle initial, email name, university ID, and classification for each student

Getlist
returns email name, last name, first name, and middle initial for each student

return to topObtaining the Names

Obtaining the names of your students through Gradebook or Getlist is more efficient than keying the names in one by one.

NOTE: This option is only available to faculty and staff.

  1. Create a new message (refer to Basic Email Activities)

  2. In the To... text box, type gradebook or getlist, depending on the amount of information that you need to receive

  3. In the Subject text box, type the semester term, class department, class number, and class section in the following format:
    9901.math.110.001

  4. To send the message, click SEND
    The results will be sent to you via email.

return to topTransferring Information from Email to the Excel Worksheet

Once you receive the Gradebook or Getlist information, it can be used in a variety of applications and formats, including worksheets. The following instructions provide guidance for moving the information into an Excel worksheet.

If you are using a commercial gradebook program and it allows for direct copy and paste for entering the names, copy and paste the information directly from Outlook email to your program. Otherwise, use the following instructions.

  1. Open Outlook email

  2. Locate the message obtained from your getlist or gradebook request

  3. Select all of the body of the message

  4. From the Edit menu, select Copy
    This puts a copy of the text into the computer's internal memory area known as the Clipboard.

  5. Open Excel (Refer to Getting Started with Excel)

  6. Create a new worksheet (Refer to Getting Started with Excel)
    OR
    If you have already started entering information into your worksheet, go to a new sheet
    NOTE: If you receive an Out Of Memory error when trying to open Excel, complete steps 1-4 first, then exit Outlook email.

  7. In a new sheet, click in the A2 cell

  8. From the Edit menu, select Paste
    All of your data should appear on the worksheet. The first row is left blank to add titles for the columns, if necessary.

return to topGradebook and Worksheets

If the information is copied and pasted into a worksheet, each student will appear on a separate row and the information will be divided by columns (for example, column A will contain the full name, column B will contain the username, and so on).If the message is saved as text and opened in Excel or Lotus, the text will need to be converted into the worksheet format. The file is saved in a tab-delimited format.

Once the information is in the worksheet, you may need to adjust column widths and delete unneeded information. For more information refer to Excel Gradebook Phase 2: Cleaning up the Data for Use.

return to topAdditional Details

To learn more about the Gradebook feature, see Descriptions of Student Distribution Lists.

Excellence. Our Measure. Our Motto. Our Goal.