Internal moderation: The instructor notes area

It is important that moderation notes are recorded in a place which is easy to access for all staff who have a need to track grades. As such, emails are not considered a suitable record: Agreements on grades could be difficult to track if a person is on leave, or no longer works at the University. The best place to record notes is within the NILE grade centre, next to the students' grades. This guide shows you how to enter comments in the grade centre where only other instructors on the NILE course can see them and students cannot.

In the NILE course, navigate to Course Management, Control Panel, Grade Centre, Full Grade Centre.

Next to the grade in question, use the contextual menu to select the Attempt option.

On the following page, locate the instructor notes section.

Select the link to show/hide the grading panel.

Select the link titled 'Add Notes'.

The Grading Notes section is now displayed. Details entered in this area are only available to users with instructor-level access to the NILE course.

Enter your notes in the text box as per the recommendations in the next section of this guide, 'Recommendations for internal moderation notes'.

It is also possible to attach documents with the button represented by a paper clip icon. This may be a useful feature if there is lots of documentation surrounding the moderation of this particular student's grade.

Use the Submit button to save your comments.

Recommendations for internal moderation notes

Moderation notes may be used when:

• The first marker would like to flag an attempt for moderation where the moderator is guided towards a sample. Please see the last section of this guide, 'Downloading and emailing a grade centre column', for steps on how to view all instructor notes within a single grade centre column.
• The moderator needs to make comments about a grade, agree a grade, or challenge a grade.

When making moderation notes, remember to:

• Record your name, or at least your initials next to each note you add. 
• Record the date next to each note you add.
• Do not delete any previous notes.
• Add new notes to the top of the text field and enter blank lines to move older notes down a line or two.
• Attach a file for lengthy notes or accompanying paperwork during complex moderation conversations.