Online Final Grade Entry
All final grades are submitted via ESTHER. Online grade entry is available to Course Instructors and Department Coordinators.
If you are attempting to change an INC or OT grade, you will need to submit a Grade Change Request.
- Online Grade Entry Support
- Accessing Online Grade Entry
- Entering Grades
- Important Grading Information
- Submitting and Reviewing Grades
- Designating Other Staff for Grade Entry
Online Grade Entry Support
If you have questions, requests, or problems with the online grade entry, please contact the Office of the Registrar by email at registrar@rice.edu or contact the Online Grade Entry Hotline at 713-348-8044 or the main office line at 713-348-4999.
Accessing Online Grade Entry
It is strongly recommended that you use Chrome or Firefox when entering grades.
- Login to ESTHER.
- From the Faculty tab, click Grade Entry.
- Select a term and a roster. (Note: Degree Candidates and Non-Degree Candidates are on one roster--you do not need to select them separately.)
- Enter the course CRN, which can be found on the email you received from the Office of the Registrar near the end of the semester.
- Enter the Grade Entry PIN, which can also be found on the email you received from the Office of the Registrar near the end of the semester.
Note: The Grade Entry PIN is case-sensitive. Additionally, all characters in the PIN are letters--no numbers are used.
Entering Grades
- Select a grade for each student from the drop-down box.
- There is a 30-minute timeout for this screen, so it is a good idea to periodically save your work. To save your work, click Save Your Work. Otherwise, you may save your work and finish later, to save and finish entering grades later, click Save and Finish Later.
Please note the following grade entry limitations:
- Grades can only be entered for enrolled students.
- Only students still needing a grade entered will appear on the roster. If a student is not listed on a grade entry roster, that student is not registered for the course or a grade has already been entered for the student. (If a student is missing, you should "View All Submitted Grades in PDF" to see if you have already submitted a grade for the student. If the student is not on the grade roster and not on the PDF, then the student was is not officially registered for the course.)
- There can only be one grade mode per course. Therefore, you cannot enter grades of mixed modes such as standard letter grades and satisfactory/unsatisfactory grades for the same course.
- You do not need to have all grades entered before submitting the grades to the Office of the Registrar. You can enter the grades that you know, and come back to the remaining ones later.
- You will have to provide grades of Audit (AUD) or No Credit (NC) for students who are auditing your course.
Important Grading Information
Graduating Student Grades
- You must report a letter grade for all degree candidates identified on your Degree Candidate Grade Roster, there are no grades of “Incomplete” (INC) or “Other” (OT). If the work of a graduating student is not complete, please assign a grade based on what information you have on the student.
- Students on your roster who have not attended for some time, but have not dropped, should be given the grade they earned. If the student believes they have been unfairly graded, and/or if there were administrative errors, they can appeal to the Committee on Examinations and Standing (EX&S).
Non-Graduating Student Grades
- In some very specific situations, students that have failed to complete the work of a course can potentially receive an “Incomplete” (INC) or “Other” (OT). Details on when the grade of INC or OT is appropriate is available in the General Announcements. For situations in which a grade of INC or OT is appropriate, the Academic Calendar details when this outstanding work must be completed.
- Students on your roster who have not attended for some time, but have not dropped, should be given the grade they earned. If the student believes they have been unfairly graded, and/or if there were administrative errors, they can appeal to the Committee on Examinations and Standing (EX&S).
Submitting and Reviewing Grades
When you are ready to submit the grades, click SUBMIT GRADES. You will then be able to review the grades before confirming the submission to Banner.
Once you have submitted grades online, you can request to change them via the Grade Change Request application if no other grade changes have occurred for that student for the course. If you are unable to submit the request using the Grade Change Request application, you will need to complete a Grade Change Form available by request in the Office of the Registrar.
Designating Other Staff for Grade Entry
Online grade entry is available to instructors and Department Coordinators as their designates. If you want to designate another staff member in your department to access online grade entry, send an email to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@rice.edu. In your message, please include the following information:
- Your name
- Your title
- Your department name
- Designate’s name
- Designate’s employee ID
- Designate’s title
- Designate’s email address
A request to designate someone to enter your grades must occur once each term and is only valid for a single term. If you want to continue to designate someone for grade entry, you must submit a new request each term. A staff member may have access to the online course rosters, but not have access to online grade entry.