Attaching a Rubric to an Assignment or Discussion

Relevant to: Line Faculty

This article contains information considered accurate at the time of publishing. Technology updates, changes in University security practices, and/or policies and procedures may affect the information in this article - updates to articles are scheduled on a periodic basis and will address any required changes.

Introduction

In Brightspace, it is possible to attach a rubric to an assignment or discussion to be used for grading. This article will walk you through the attachment process. Please note it is assumed that you already have a rubric created in your course, as well as the assignment or discussion you wish to attach the rubric to. The article also explains the safe ways to edit a rubric after it has been attached. This article is relevant to Line Faculty. 

Attaching a Rubric to an Assignment or Discussion

Here is how to attach a rubric to an Assignment:

1. Select the Course Menu link in the navbar. From the drop-down menu that appears, select Assignments​​​​​​.
2. Select the down chevron next to the assignment you wish to attach the rubric to.
3. Select Edit Assignment.
4. Select the triangle next to Evaluation & Feedback.
5. Select the down chevron next to Add Rubric.
6. Select Add Existing.
7. Select the box next to the rubric you with to attach.
8. Choose Add Selected.
9. Select Save and Close.

Here is how to attach a rubric to a Discussion:

1. Select the Course Menu link in the navbar. From the drop-down menu that appears, select Discussions.
2. Navigate to the discussion topic you wish to attach the rubric to. Please note rubrics can only be attached to discussion topics, and not to discussion forums!
3. Select the down chevron next to the discussion topic you wish to attach the rubric to.
4. Select Edit Topic.
5. Select the triangle next to Evaluation & Feedback.
6. Select the down chevron next to Add Rubric.
7. Select Add Existing.
8. Select the box next to the rubric you with to attach.
9. Choose Add Selected.
10. Select Save and Close.

Editing Attached Rubrics

Rubrics should be edited before grading student submissions. Rubrics are locked once they has been used to grade at least one student submission. Once locked, you cannot edit the structure (criteria, levels, or point values) to preserve academic integrity, but you can edit text labels (typos, clarifications) via the "Edit Text" option. To make structural changes, you must copy the locked rubric, edit the new copy, and associate the revised version with your assessments.

Important: If you detach or delete the original rubric from an activity that has already been graded, all rubric scores and grade data for that activity are permanently deleted (the overall grade in the gradebook may survive, but the per-criterion rubric assessments are lost and cannot be restored.

The safe work flow is:

1. Copy the locked rubric → edit the new copy freely.
2. Associate the new copy with new assignments/activities.
3. Leave the original locked rubric attached to the already-graded activities — don't remove or delete it.