Overview
The Roll Call Attendance tool is enabled by default in all bCourses sites and can be accessed by clicking the Attendance link in Course Navigation.
After the first time you take attendance, Canvas automatically creates an assignment named Roll Call Attendance and adds a column to the Gradebook. By default, attendance is worth 100 points.
To avoid Attendance calculation errors, never delete, rename, unpublish, or modify the point value of the Attendance assignment.
If you wish for the attendance grade to make up a specific portion of the total grade (or not count toward the final grade), you should use weighted assignment groups.
Important: If you are taking attendance for students in multiple sections, the grade displayed in the gradebook is not cumulative. That is, the attendance grade in the gradebook will only show the grade for the section that was most recently marked. Therefore, please do not use this tool when taking attendance for multiple sections.
How are grades calculated?
Grades are calculated as a percentage of the number of days a student was present over the total amount of days - present or absent - that attendance was taken for that student (see example scenario below to see calculations).
If you leave a student unmarked, then that day doesn't get calculated into their grade. See scenario below:
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
Given this scenario, here are the total attendance grades for each student:
- STUDENT TEST-300931: 100% (Present 3 days out of 3)
- STUDENT TEST-300932: 33% (Present 1 day out of 3)
- STUDENT TEST-300933: 100% (Present 1 day out of 1)
- STUDENT TEST-300934: 33% (Present 1 day out of 3)
- STUDENT TEST-300936: 100% (Present 2 days out of 2)
- STUDENT TEST-300937: -- (No attendance taken)
- STUDENT TEST-300938: 80% (Late 1 day out of 1)*
*By default, Canvas marks a lateness as worth 80% of a presence. To adjust the lateness value, see this Canvas Guide: Edit Roll Call Settings
FAQs
Why did a student who missed one or more days have 100% attendance grade?
This happens because instead of being marked Absent, the student was left Excused (Unmarked) for the day(s) they did not attend class. You must mark someone as Absent - as opposed to leaving them Excused (Unmarked) - in order for them to be marked down. If you leave them Unmarked on a day that they are absent, you are Excusing that absence.
How can I make the attendance grade only a percentage of the overall grade?
You will need to create Assignment Groups and put the Roll Call assignment into its own group. Once you have the Assignment Groups set up, you can weight them. See these Canvas Guides:
- How do I add an assignment group in a course?
- How do I move or reorder an assignment?
- How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
Can attendance be taken for LEC and DIS sections?
Unfortunately, no. This is a limitation of the tool. If attendance is taken for a student during lecture, and then again for discussion later in the day or the week, the latter will override the former.
Can I drop or excuse an absence?
Yes; simply leave the student unmarked for that day.
How can I see all of the attendance marks/grades for my course?
The Attendance Report will show you all of the attendance information for the entire class. See this Canvas Guide: How do I run Roll Call Attendance reports in a course?
Can I Use The Attendance Tool To Grant A Certain Number Of Excused Absences?
Yes, you can use the badge feature to grant students a certain number of excused absences. See this slide deck for instructions:
Resources
Canvas Instructor Guide: Attendance (Roll Call)