Video: Exemptions Overview
Use exemptions to excuse a learner from completing a grade item or activity. An exemption indicates why the learner does not have a score and ensures their grade is not unfairly affected by work they are not required to complete.
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Note: To access and use exemptions, you must have the required permissions applied to your role. These permissions are managed by your organization administrator. |
What is an exemption?
An exemption removes a grade item or activity from a learner's grade calculation. An exemption is different from a score of zero. A zero counts against the learner's grade, while an exemption removes the item from the calculation for that learner.
Instructors can exempt Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) links, Assignments, Quizzes, Discussion topics, and grade items that are numeric, selection box, pass/fail, calculated, formula, or text. Instructors cannot exempt a learner from a final calculated grade or final adjusted grade.
To learn how exemptions affect category scores, final grades, and grade calculations, refer to Understand how exemptions affect calculations.
When should I use an exemption?
Use an exemption when a learner is excused from a requirement that the rest of the class must complete. Common scenarios include:
- Medical accommodation: A learner is excused from a quiz or activity because of a documented health issue.
- Alternate assessment: A learner completes a different project, oral exam, or replacement assessment instead of the standard activity.
- Course transfer: A learner joins the course after one or more activities were already due.
- Excused absence: A learner is not required to complete an activity because of an approved absence.
Choose the right option for missing or excluded work
The following table describes options for missing or excluded work.
Options for missing or excluded work
| If you want to... |
Use this option |
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| Excuse a learner from an activity |
Exemption |
| Penalize missing work |
Automatic zero or manual zero |
| Ignore a learner's lowest score in a category |
Drop the lowest grade |
| Remove a grade item from final grade calculations for all learners |
Exclude the grade item from final grade calculation |
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Tip: Use exemptions only when a learner is excused from completing work. If the learner simply did not submit the work, consider assigning a zero or using automatic zero grading instead. |
What learners see when you exempt an activity
When you exempt a learner from an activity, Brightspace updates several areas visible to the learner:
- Content and Table of Contents: The exempted topic title appears with an Exempted flag. The due date is hidden, and the completion method indicator is removed. The count of required topics and module completion percentage excludes exempted topics.
- Topic Details: A message displays stating the learner is exempted and that the activity can be viewed but does not need to be completed.
- Schedule and Calendar: Exempted activities do not appear in the Overdue list, Full Schedule, Upcoming sections, or Calendar widgets.
- Updates and Work To Do: Exempted items are removed from the Work To Do widget and the Updates widget unattempted quiz count.
- Progress and Tool Lists: User Progress displays an Exempted flag in the Summary, Grades, Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes tabs. Exempted items do not appear in the received grades bar graph. On the My Grades page, exempted grade items display an Exempted flag.
- Instructor Grade Views: Exemptions are displayed throughout instructor grading workflows, including Enter Grades, Grade User, Grade Category, Grade Item, and Import Review, making it easy to identify exempted activities during grading and grade import.
Where exemptions do not appear
Exemptions remove activities from many learner-facing views, but they do not automatically change every area of Brightspace.
- Release conditions: Exemptions do not satisfy release conditions. If content requires a grade or completed activity to unlock, an exempted learner may still be unable to access that content.
- Final grades: You cannot exempt a learner from the Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade items.
- Grade calculations: Exemptions do not assign a score. Instead, they remove the activity from grade calculations. For more information, refer to Understand how exemptions affect calculations.
- Submitted work: Exempting an activity does not delete or hide submissions that were already made. Existing submissions remain available to instructors unless they are removed separately.
Before you begin
Ensure that your role has permission to manage exemptions.
Exempt a learner from Content
Classic Content
- In Classic Content, on the context menu of the activity, select Edit Properties In-Place.
- Select Add dates and restrictions....
- Under Exemptions, select Manage Exemptions.
- Search for and select the learners you want to exempt.
- Select Exempt.
- Select X to exit, and then select Update to save.
New Content Experience (Lessons)
- Navigate to the activity within the module.
- Select More Actions (three dots).
- Select Manage Exemptions.
- Search for and select the learners you want to exempt.
- Select Exempt.
- Select Save.
Exempt a learner from Assignments, Discussions, or Quizzes
You can launch the Manage Exemptions page from:
- Assignments: From the context menu of an assignment, the button at the top of the Assignments page, or within the New Evaluation Experience by selecting the learner's name in the evaluation pane.
- Discussions: From the context menu of a topic, the View Topic context menu, or the Assess Topic page.
- Quizzes: From the Manage Quizzes context menu or the Grade Quiz page.
Exempt a learner from the Classlist
- From the Classlist, select the context menu beside the learner's name.
- Select Manage Exemptions.
- Select the check boxes for all activities you want to exempt.
- Select Save.
Video: Create Grade Exemptions
Exempt a learner from the grade book
- From the Enter Grades page, locate the grade item and select Enter Grades from its context menu.
- Select the checkbox beside the learner's name.
- Select Exempt.
Set multiple grade item exemptions for a learner
Launch the Bulk edit exemptions page from the context menu of a learner on the Enter Grades page, the learner-specific grade page, or the Grade Item/Category pages.
- Select the check boxes of the grade items you want to exempt.
- Select Save and Close.
Remove an exemption
If a learner is no longer exempt from an activity, you can remove the exemption at any time.
- Open the activity or grade item where the exemption was applied.
- Open Manage Exemptions or the learner's grade page.
- Select the check box beside the learner's name.
- Select Unexempt.
- Select Save or Save and Close.
Remove multiple exemptions for a learner
Use the Bulk edit exemptions page to remove multiple exemptions for a single learner.
- Open the Bulk edit exemptions page from the learner's context menu.
- Clear the check boxes for the grade items that should no longer be exempt.
- Select Save and Close.
Additional considerations
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Important:
- Release Conditions: Exempting an activity does not automatically satisfy release conditions. If an activity is a "gatekeeper" for subsequent content, the learner may be blocked unless you manually remove the condition or use OR logic.
- Import/Export: Grade data exports include exemptions.
- SIS Integrations: For certain integrations, such as Skyward SMS 2.0, exempting a student without a score in Brightspace may result in a zero in the SIS.
- Removing exemptions: When an instructor removes an exemption (unexempts) for a learner, any grade that was previously entered for that item prior to the exemption is automatically restored and will once again be included in the learner's grade calculations.
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