Register your course.
The first task is to register your class to use Grade Upload using the Registration Form (see below). This is necessary for each semester you want to use the process (we don’t like to make assumptions). If you do not already have a SPARK site for your class, you can request one using the SPARK Course Request Form.

• Registration Form
• Cancellation Form

Check your Class Roster. Add your students' NetIDs (OIT Account user names), if necessary.
The second task is to check your roster and make sure you have the information you need for the upload. Your SPARK course contains a roster that is updated every day with data from SPIRE (so if you are grading in SPARK, this step is done).

If you are using Excel (or other software), the roster data in SPARK can easily be downloaded and used as the starting point for a grading spreadsheet, or merged with an existing spreadsheet. The data includes your students' names, NetIDs, SPIRE IDs, email addresses, and much more. The key information to include in your spreadsheet is the OIT NetID because this is what SPARK uses for matching when the data is uploaded back into SPARK.

• Valid Grade Options for Different Grade Bases [PDF, 18k]

If you are using Excel (or similar software) to import grades:

• Downloading Roster Data from SPARK
  [PDF, 44k]
• Merging SPARK Roster Data in Excel
  [PDF, 63k]

• I submitted the registration form.
• I checked my class roster: all my students are included in the roster with their NetID (OIT Account user name).

If you are uploading grades from Excel, you will simply calculate the final grade in Excel and upload this grade to SPARK's Final Grade column. If you are recording and calculating grades within SPARK, you will use the Grade Book tool to calculate final grades into the Final Grade column.

Proceed to Step Two: Enter your Grades into SPARK's 'Final Grade' Column for more information.

Contact the Instructional Media Lab (instruct@oit.umass.edu, or 545-2823) with questions or to make an appointment. The Media Lab is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.