Oftentimes at the end of a semester, faculty like to show the letter grade that a student has earned so they know what to expect when their final grade is submitted. Although Blackboard Ultra does not have a secondary display option like Original did, there are a few options for adding a Letter Grade display.

The recommended option is to add a Letter Grade item and manually add the letter grades. You can watch a quick video on how to do this with the link below, or you can continue reading for text instructions along with a couple of other options: 

https://catawba.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10988538-9e17-45bc-ae35-aff501422b6b

You could choose to simply change the display of the Overall Grade to the Letter option. It will allow students to see what letter grade they will receive, although some students may not understand why they see the letter grade they do because they will no longer see the point or percentage value. But if you would like to change the display, click to go into your gradebook and click on the Overall Grade item. Next, click on Calculation Details in the upper right corner of the page. On the right of this page, you can change how the overall grade is displayed using the drop-down menu on the right. Change this to "Letter" and then click Save. 

Alternatively, you can create a new column right underneath the Overall Column and this can display the converted Letter grade. You can create this as a simple item where you would then manually enter a grade for each student, or you could create a calculated item where the calculation matches your overall grade item. If you are using a point-based total, then this is much easier. If you are using a weighted total, then you will need to manually build out the calculation. I would recommend that you create a simple item and then manually enter the letter grade for each student. 

To do this, click on the purple plus sign underneath your Overall Grade and select "Add item." Title this new item "Letter Grade" and select to make the item visible. Choose a due date that is well into the future. Select Letter for the "Grade Using" option and make sure the maximum points are set to 100. For Grade Category, set it to something that you are not using, such as Test or Exam. Go back to your Overall Grade calculation details and make sure that this Letter Grade item is not being calculated into the final score. 

When you go to enter the letter grade, you must enter a numerical value. Blackboard will not accept a letter input. Enter the same value that matches the Overall Grade and hit enter. For example, if you enter an 85, Blackboard will convert the value and display a "B."