Capping Report Guidance

What is the Capping Report?

The Capping Report takes assessment data from Blackboard and SITS and shows which students have: 

  • submitted assessment tasks on time (including on-time within an approved extension) and so must receive an actual mark
  • submitted late within 24 hours and so must receive a mark capped at the module pass mark
  • submitted late after 24 hours and so must receive a mark of zero.

The link to the Capping Report can be found in Blackboard module sites under the Staff Reports Channel. Please note that Capping Report will only work on the university network, or off-campus using the remote desktop or SHU VPN

The data in the report updates overnight. This means that any submissions made on the due date will not appear on the report until after 9am the following morning.

If the report is run immediately following the task due date it should be run again prior to submitting marks to Student Administration to identify any late extensions or students that have extenuating circumstances approved on a 'late submission'.

Please watch the video on using the Capping Report (4:13) (please note that you may be required to login using your normal SHU username and password) or follow the steps below for using and understanding the Capping Report.

How to run the Report

Step 1. Select the module. It is recommended that Module Leaders first select their name from the Module Leader filter followed by the required module and task. Students on modules that have merged Blackboard sites will appear on the report for the module that is the main Blackboard site.

Step 2. Apply the 'Mark Guidance' filter. This determines which students will appear on the report.

  • All - displays all students who are expected to submit for the task
  • Actual mark - displays only those students who should have their actual mark applied to their submission
  • Cap at pass mark - displays only those students who should have their submission capped at the pass mark
  • Not yet submitted - displays students who have not yet submitted

Step 3. Change the 'Submitted by Due Date' filter if required. This is set to No by default. This means that the data displayed will only show students who have not submitted by the original due date or have not submitted at all. This filter can be amended to:

  • All - displays all students who are expected to submit for the task
  • Yes - displays only those that submitted on time

Step 4. Click 'View Report' to see the results. If you make any changes to the filters after the report is run you will need to click  'View Report' again to apply the changes.

Content in the Report

When the report is run, the following fields will be displayed:

Field Description
Grp Identifies if the submission was a group submission or not
Student Number Student number of the student submitting
Student Name Name of the student submitting
Assessment Date The original due date for the task, held at an individual student level
Extension Date The agreed extension date by which the student is expected to submit, where applicable
Date Submitted The date and time the student's submission was receipted in Blackboard
Mark Guidance Advice on the marking criteria to apply to the student, taking into account their due date, submission date and any agreed extensions

Search results can be sorted by 'Student Name', 'Date Submitted' or 'Mark Guidance' by the chevron in these field headings.

Results can be exported using the 'Export' option. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I access the report off-campus?

Yes, the report can be accessed via the remote desktop or SHU VPN.

Why isn't the report displaying any submission information?

Where the assessment task name, due date and due time do not match in SITS and Blackboard the report cannot retrieve any data, and will display the message 'SITS data not available' in the 'Assessment Date' column. 

Will the report include submissions made via PebblePad?

Data directly from PebblePad will not appear in the report. 

Will the report work for modules with merged Blackboard sites?

Yes, one report can be run for the main Blackboard site, which will also include submission data for students from the linked sites. A report cannot be run for the linked module(s).

What marks should I record in Grade Centre?

The appropriate marks (as identified on the Capping Report) must be recorded in Grade Centre prior to the submission of the final marks to Student Administration.  For assessments receiving a capped mark, the actual mark that the work would have received had it not been capped should be entered in the text summary, e.g. on the feedback rubric or in the 'feedback to user' text box, as a record for you and your student. This actual mark does not need to be submitted to Student Administration. 

Further help

If you have any queries please contact your Departmental Academic Administrator or email the Assessment Information Team

Explore the following topics for related information: