To create a Grade Book inside a template, select Grade Book under Designer Tools on the Build tab.
After you click the Grade Book link, you will see the following screens.
These six columns are automatically created by Vista. The first four columns are alphanumeric columns and include First Name and Last Name columns for the students' names, the User ID column for the students' UIN, and the Role column for how the member is enrolled within the course (e.g., designer, instructor, TA, student, and/or auditor).
The Midterm and Final columns are calculated columns created to deliver grades to the Registrar’s Office. This action is not yet available, but it will be within a semester or two.
There are three procedures you can perform in a template Grade Book: create columns, change column settings, and set column features.
Creating Columns
To create a column, choose the type of column you want from the drop-down menu next to Create Column above the column settings area and click the green arrow to Go.
The types of column you can add include:
- • Alphanumeric: Able to add numbers and letters to this column, but cannot be used in a calculated column.
- • Calculated: Can create a formula by using any numeric and calculated column and mathematical operations.
- • Letter Grade: Can create a percentage range to convert a numeric or calculated column to a letter grade.
- • Numeric: Able to add numbers to this column, which then can be used in a calculated for a letter grade column.
- • Selection List: Can create a drop-down menu to give feedback to students.
- • Text: Able to enter numbers and letters to provide students feedback or to relay information to them.
Each column has particular settings that you may decide to use or not.
The different settings that you may encounter include:
- • Label: This is what you want to name the column. Make sure the name is not too long. The column will only show the first 20 or so characters, so make sure the first 20 characters show the differences between all of your columns.
- • Type: This is the type of column you are going to create, as previously described.
- • Alignment: This refers to how the information will be placed within the column.
- • Released to Student: Students will be able to view grades once there are grades entered.
- • Grade Column: This grade will show up in the Grades tab and can be exported.
- • Decimals: You have the option of 0, 1, 2, or 3 decimals.
- • Maximum Value: This refers to the highest grade students can earn on the entry.
- • Source: This tells the created column which column to reference.
- • Release Statistics: You can now release the column statistics to students.
Some columns are added automatically in a Grade Book, which includes columns for quizzes, surveys, assignments, and graded discussions. This depends on how you set the criteria within that tool.
Assignments and graded discussions can be either numeric or alphanumeric. Surveys are always alphanumeric and quizzes are always numeric.
Changing Column Settings
If you change your mind regarding these settings, you will be able to change them by selecting the link to what you specifically want to change. For example, if you do not want to release the Midterm column to students, click Yes in the row for Released to Students and it will automatically be changed to No. However, if you want to change a setting such as "Decimals," you will click the number that is already there and the following screen will appear.
When you click Save, the decimal value will be changed to 0. The following screenshot shows you the Midterm column after the changes.
If you want to change more than one column at a time, select the checkbox above the columns you want to change and use the information below the settings to change that particular option. Your options are Delete, Release/Don't Release, Alignment, Decimals, and Grade Related.
Set Column Features
There are three columns that contain special features you can set in the template. This includes the formula 
for the calculated column, the scheme 
for the letter grade column, and the list 
for the selection list column. For the column that you want to set, click the icon that corresponds to that feature.
To set a formula for calculated columns:
Click the Edit Column Formula icon . You will have a box that displays the formula along with numbers, symbols, a box listing all numeric and calculated columns in the Grade Book, and quick functions to create the final formula.
The first thing you should always do before you start working in this formula box is write out your formula. Make sure you have enough parentheses so the calculation follows the order of operations correctly. For example, if you want to drop the lowest test grade, you will use the following formula:
( Exam 1 + Exam 2 + Exam 3 - MIN [ Exam 1, Exam 2, Exam 3 ] ) / 2
Note: Spaces have been added for clarity.
To do this in the formula area, click the following:
- 1. An open parenthesis
- 2. Exam 1 from the Column Selection box
- 3. Plus sign
- 4. Exam 2 from the Column Selection box
- 5. Plus sign
- 6. Exam 3 from the Column Selection box
- 7. Minus sign
- 8. MIN
- 9. Exam 1 from the Column Selection box
- 10. Enter another value
- 11. Exam 2 from the Column Selection box
- 12. Enter another value
- 13. Exam 3 from the Column Selection box
- 14. End Function
- 15. A closed parenthesis
- 16. Division sign
- 17. 2
If you make a mistake, you can select Undo and Vista will erase the last operation. If you need to erase the entire formula, click Clear All.
Once you are finished, click Save. The final formula for the directions above will be displayed in the formula box as shown in the following figure:
To set a scheme for a letter grade column:
Click the Edit Letter Grade Scheme icon .
If you need to delete a column, for example the row "E" in the previous figure, click the Delete icon 
in that row under Actions. For the rest of the rows, you need to determine what you want the lowest range for each letter grade to be. If you want the grades to round up, make sure you include that in your ranges, as shown in the following figure:
If you want to use these settings all the time, click Save and Set as Default. However, if you want to use these settings this time only, click Save. If you accidentally base this letter grade on the wrong column, you can change it to a different column. If you delete a grade and need to add it back or you have another grade, like an "I," you can click Add Grade.
You do not need to use this type of column just for letter grades like A, B, C, D, and F’s. If you would like to show grades as Pass/Fail, you can make two rows and set the cutoff as the lower range for the passing grade. In addition, students will see anything that you put in the Grade column.
To set the selection list:
Click the Edit Column Select List icon .
To add another selection, click Add Item and type in the words for the selection. If you decide you do not want the selection, click the Delete icon under Actions. Once you create the selections you need, click Save.
The template will put the columns in alphabetical order after you create them. You will have to reorder your columns in the section once you have assigned this template.