Use Excel to create or modify outcomes in Canvas

On this page:


Overview

Creating a large set of outcomes in the Canvas Outcomes tool for a department, school, campus, or program can be a very labor intensive process. If you are comfortable working in Microsoft Excel, you can speed things up by creating or updating the outcomes data in Excel and importing the file into Canvas. This article explains how to create a skeletal outcomes structure in Canvas, export it to Excel, modify the data, and import it into the Outcomes tool. It's also possible to create an entire outcomes set from scratch in Excel, but since minor errors can prevent the data from importing properly, this option is only recommended for advanced users. For more, see How do I import outcomes for an account? and Outcomes Import Format Documentation.

Note:
  • Completing the actions in this document requires administrative privileges in Canvas. For information on how to request administrative access, see Administrative access to Canvas at IU.
  • The instructions for adding and editing outcomes in this document will result in all outcomes in the set sharing the same rating scale and calculation method, which is a common assessment practice. If your outcomes do not follow this practice, you will enter this data manually rather than copying and pasting as instructed below.

Create the outcomes framework in Canvas

To create the skeletal framework in Canvas:

  1. In the Canvas subaccount for your school or department, open the Outcomes tool.
  2. Locate or create the parent outcome group and subgroups for the set of outcomes with which you want to work.
  3. Create one outcome in the appropriate group or subgroup to serve as a model for the other outcomes in the set. An explanation of each field in the user interface is provided below:
    Note:
    The "Description" field is formatted as rich text and cannot be easily edited in Excel. Add the outcome description manually after the Excel data is imported.
    • Name: A brief descriptive name for the outcome.
    • Friendly Name (optional): A brief descriptive name for the outcome in language that can be easily understood by students. If populated, the "Friendly Name" will display instead of the "Name" in the student view of the Learning Mastery Gradebook.
    • Friendly description (optional): A longer explanation of the outcome (or a rubric for scoring the outcome) in language that can be easily understood by students. If populated, the "Friendly Description" will display instead of the "Description" in the student view of Canvas Rubrics.
    • Proficiency Ratings: The score and descriptive label for each value in the rating scale for the outcome.
    • Mastery at X points: The lowest value in the rating scale that indicates mastery of the outcome; the scale may include higher values for work that exceeds mastery.
    • Calculation Method: The method for determining the score in the Learning Mastery Gradebook if the student has two or more ratings for the outcome. For an explanation of each calculation method, see Select Calculation Method in How do I manage outcome mastery calculations in an account?. Ignore the content at the beginning of the guide, as Account and Course Level Outcome Mastery Scales are not enabled at IU.
  4. If the number of outcomes in the set is relatively small, you can create the remaining outcomes in the Outcomes tool. Enter text for "Name" and "Friendly Name (optional)", but do not change the defaults for the ratings scale, mastery level, or calculation method for these outcomes. That will be done later when you edit existing outcomes in Excel.

    Alternatively, you can create all of the remaining outcomes directly when you add new outcomes in Microsoft Excel. The outcomes that you add to the CSV file will be created when you import the file into Canvas.

Export the outcomes

Once the outcomes framework is complete, export it to a CSV file:

  1. Log into Canvas and navigate to the administrative account containing your outcomes set.
  2. In the account navigation menu, select Settings.
  3. In the Settings tool, select Reports to view the reports available in the account.
  4. Locate the report named "Outcome Export", and select Run Report.
  5. Refresh the Reports page to look for the report (it may take a few minutes for the report to generate). When the report is available, you will see today's date and a download link for the file similar to the screenshot below:
    Download link next to current date
  6. Select the download icon to save the CSV file to a local drive or cloud storage service.

Edit the CSV file in Excel

Note:

When editing an exported CSV file or creating an import file from scratch, note the following requirements:

  • Parent outcome groups must precede child groups.
  • Outcome groups must precede outcomes.
  • The value in the "vendor_guid" column must be unique across Canvas; keep that in mind when you add new outcomes to the CSV.
  • In the "vendor_guid" column, only values created in Canvas via the user interface should begin with the prefix canvas_outcome: or canvas_outcome_group:. If you want to add a new outcome or group to the CSV file, the value of the "vendor_guid" column should not use the prefix.

Edit existing outcomes in Excel

If you created all of your outcomes in the Outcomes tool, to update the rating scale and calculation method for those outcomes, see the following instructions:

  1. Open the CSV file in Microsoft Excel.
    • The first row contains the column headings. Never change the values in this row. Descriptions of the purpose and requirements for each column are available in Outcomes Import Format Documentation.
    • The value in column B indicates whether the row contains data for an outcome or an outcome group. You will be primarily concerned with the rows containing outcomes, not outcome groups.
  2. Locate the row in the file for the model outcome you created - that is, the one with the correct rating scale, mastery level, and calculation method. If you did not change the defaults for method ("decaying average") and weight ("65"), skip to step 4. If you changed one or both default values, select the data in columns G ("calculation_method") and H ("calculation_int") and copy the data to the clipboard.
    CSV file with Columns g and h highlighted for the first outcome row
  3. The remaining outcomes should have the default values in columns G and H; select all the cells in column G and paste the clipboard contents into these rows. Be sure not to paste into rows that represent groups and/or rows for outcomes that belong to other sets. All the outcomes in your set should now have the same values for "calculation_method" and "calculation_int".
  4. Return to the row for the first outcome you created. Select the data in columns K ("mastery_points"), L ("ratings"), and all columns to the right of L containing rating scores and rating labels, and then copy this range to the clipboard.
    CSV file with columns k through s highlighted for the first outcome row
  5. The remaining outcomes in the set should have the default values for the "master_points" and "ratings" columns. Select all the cells in column K for the rows of the remaining outcomes and paste the clipboard contents into these rows. If the pasted rating scale has fewer values than the original scale for those rows, delete the extra values and their labels. (They will appear to the right of the label for the smallest value in the pasted scale.)

    All of the outcomes in the new outcomes set(s) should now have identical values for columns G, H, K, and columns to the right of K with the rating scale values and labels.

  6. Save the CSV file.

Add new outcomes in Excel

If your outcome set is large, and you would prefer to create all but the model outcome directly in the CSV, see the following instructions:

  1. Open the CSV file in Microsoft Excel.
    • The first row contains the column headings; never change the values in this row. For descriptions of the purpose and requirements for each column, see the Outcomes Import Format Documentation.
    • The value in column B indicates whether the row contains data for an outcome or an outcome group. You will need to primarily focus on the rows that contain outcomes, not outcome groups.
  2. Locate the row in the file for the model outcome you created (the one with the correct rating scale, mastery level, and calculation method).
  3. Beneath the model row, insert new rows for the outcomes you want to add.
  4. Copy the entire model row to the clipboard. Select the new rows and paste the content in the clipboard into the rows.
  5. For each new outcome, replace the data in the following columns with the appropriate data for the outcome:
    • vendor_guid: A unique alphanumeric identifier for the outcome. It must be unique across IU's entire Canvas instance.
      Note:
      One way to create a "vendor_guid" is to designate a descriptive prefix followed by a number (for example, undergrad_bio:1, undergrad_bio:2, etc.).
    • title: A brief descriptive name for the outcome. This column corresponds with "Name" in the user interface.
    • display_name (optional): A brief descriptive name for the outcome in language that can be easily understood by students. This column corresponds with "Friendly Name" in the user interface.
    • description: If the model outcome contained a description, delete it from the new outcome. After the outcomes are imported, use the Rich Content Editor to add the descriptions.
    • parent_guids: If the new outcome is in a different outcome group than the model outcome, locate the "vendor_guid" for the desired group (all outcome group "vendor_guids" are at the top of the CSV), copy it to the clipboard, and paste it into the "parent_guids" column for the outcome.
  6. Save the CSV file.

Import the CSV file into Canvas

  1. Return to Canvas and navigate to the Outcomes tool in your unit's account.
  2. Select Import. Then use drag and drop or browse to upload the CSV file into the Outcomes tool. When the import has completed, you'll be notified both on screen and via email. If any errors were encountered, the email notification will provide details.
  3. Review the imported outcomes, and if you want to, add a rich text description in the "Description" field for each of the new outcomes.

This is document awbc in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2024-02-13 12:00:46.