This article is for Faculty who would like to record daily attendance in Canvas.
Article Overview
Attendance report CSV files from Roll Call Attendance do not include excused absences.
The Canvas Roll Call Attendance feature will create an attendance column in the course gradebook after attendance has been taken for the first time. This column will update each time attendance is recorded. This tool should only be added to a course one time.
1. Adding Roll Call Attendance to Your Canvas Course
Navigate to Settings for your course. This is the last link in the Course Navigation Menu.
Select the Navigation tab.
Scroll to down and find Attendance. It will be in the lower list if it is not already enabled.
(1) Select the three-dot kebab menu and (2) choose Enable.
Scroll down and select Save.
The Attendance link will now appear to faculty in the Course Navigation Menu. It will not appear to students, but they will see an attendance grade on their Grades page after you take attendance for the first time.
2. Taking Attendance and Accessing the Attendance Report
2.1. Using the Roll Call Attendance Tool
To access the attendance tool, select the Attendance link from the Course Navigation Menu.
(1) Make sure you are in List view. The date is displayed below the gray title menu bar; by default, the current date is displayed. (2) Use the calendar to take attendance for a different day.
For small classes, select the gray and white circles to mark a student present, absent, or late.
In a large class with good attendance, use the Mark All Present button.
Then mark any absent students by selecting the circle by their names until a red x appears.
To mark a student late, select the circle by his or her name multiple times until an orange clock appears.
By default, the Roll Call Attendance tool counts a late as 80% of one day present. To adjust the credit students get for being marked late, (1) select the settings gear and (2) choose Roll Call Settings.
Drag the slider to make the percentage higher or lower.
If you select the checkbox for Do not count attendance toward final grade, students will still see their attendance score, but they will see a note that it will not be part of their final grade.
For an excused absence, leave the circle next to a student's name gray or, if using the Mark All Present button, select the circle until it turns gray again. This will be recorded in Roll Call Attendance as "unmarked."
The attendance score for a student who has an excused absence will be out of a fewer number or course meetings. Excused course meetings will not count against him or her, and the days that are counted will have a greater effect on his or her attendance grade.
Roll Call Attendance allows faculty to create "badges" and it is possible to create an "excused absence" badge; steps are available in the Instructure Community article: "How do I use Roll Call Attendance badges in a course." This badge will not appear to students or in CSV attendance reports.
2.2. Viewing a Student's Overall Attendance
To view a student's overall attendance, select More. This will display his or her overall attendance in a list and today's attendance to the right.
A summary of the student's present, late, and absent days will be displayed, along with the current day's attendance status and attendance percentage.
In the image below, Ronny has been present six days. In contrast, Priscilla has been present three days, late one day, and absent one day. Her excused day does not count against her.
The image below shows the attendance score for a student who has been late one day and has not been marked absent for any days. The attendance score is 80%.
Now that attendance has been marked for one day, the Roll Call Attendance assignment will appear in the Canvas gradebook (shown below); it will also appear on the Assignments page.
2.3. Accessing the Attendance Report
To view a spreadsheet with attendance data, (1) select the settings gear icon and (2) choose Attendance Report.
To get a report for the entire class, enter your email address and, if necessary, enter the dates that you would like the report to include. Select the Run Report button.
If you need attendance data for a specific student, enter his or her SIS Student ID (NetID). Then select Run Report.
Go to your email inbox and find the email titled Roll Call Attendance Report.
This email will include a temporary link to a downloadable spreadsheet.
Select the downloaded CSV file from your browser or your computer's downloads folder.
Columns A through J show basic course information. Columns K through M will show attendance data.
These later columns will display student names, attendance status, and the timestamp from when attendance was recorded.
If a student is initially marked absent and then switched to excused, he or she will no longer have an entry for that date in the attendance report.
Attendance data is organized by when attendance was taken (Column O: Timestamp). In the example below, data for the August 1st class date appears below the data for the August 2nd class date because it was recorded later.
3. Viewing Attendance Grades
3.1. Finding Roll Call Attendance in the Gradebook
To view attendance grades in Canvas, select Grades from the Course Navigation Menu.
Find the column for Roll Call Attendance or search for it in the Assignment Names field.
A column for Roll Call Attendance will only appear after attendance has been taken at least once. Do not rename this assignment.
By default, attendance grades are displayed as a percentage out of 100. Each student's percentage will be updated after attendance is taken each course meeting.
The following image shows the same course later in the term. Kacy and Kendall's grades are lower due to subsequent absences. One of Priscilla's absences was changed to "unmarked" because it was an excused absence, increasing her attendance grade.
To adjust assignment settings, select the assignment's name: Roll Call Attendance.
The Roll Call Attendance page will display the option to Edit Assignment Settings on the right.
Do not delete, unpublish, or rename the Roll Call Attendance assignment or it will not function correctly.
Do not change the assignment name. It is possible to add information about how attendance will be graded below in the Rich Content Editor.
Learn how to weight an attendance grade in this Instructure article: "How do I edit the Roll Call Attendance assignment?"
By default, Roll Call Attendance is out of 100 points and students see their attendance grades as a percentage. Additionally, attendance is counted toward the final grade. It is possible to change (1) the points, (2) assignment group, (3) display method, and (4) impact on the final grade.
Editing the points and display options may cause calculation errors, especially if these are changed multiple times.
If you notice attendance grade errors, re-synchronize the attendance tool to the gradebook: (1) Select a day when students do not have class from the calendar, (2) select Mark all present, and then (3) select Unmark all. (4) Verify attendance scores are correct by going to the gradebook.
Please make an appointment with one of our course designers (elearning specialists) if you plan to adjust how many points the attendance assignment is worth or if the gradebook is displaying incorrect values in the Roll Call Attendance column and you would like the settings to be reset. Do not delete or unpublish the Roll Call Attendance assignment.
3.2. Finding Roll Call Attendance in Student View
After attendance has been taken, students will be able to view their attendance percentage. They will go to Grades in the Course Navigation Menu.
On the Grades page, they should find the row for Roll Call Attendance. (1) This will show their percentage. (2) To view details, they will select the link Roll Call Attendance.
Students will have access to a summary of their attendance; this includes the number of days they were present, absent, and late.
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