Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Step 1: Creating the Attendance register

1. Click the Course Admin link within the navigation bar menu.
2. Click the Attendance link found under the Learner Management section.
3. Click the New Register button and enter a name for the attendance register. (Example: Weekly Class Meetings.)
4. Select an Attendance Scheme from the drop-down menu. Leave it on System Scheme when creating an Attendance register for the first time. A custom attendance scheme can be created using the directions on the Step 2 tab.
5. (Optional) Enter a numeric value in the Cause for Concern (%) field to set an alert status when a student drops below a certain threshold. (Example: Enter 80% to set an alert status if a student misses 2 class days.)
6. Leave the Visibility and Users options set with the default choices.
7. Enter a Session name and description (optional). It is best to enter a generic Session name and avoid adding dates. (Example: Week 1 – Class 1, Week 1 – Class 2, etc.)
   You can add more sessions after customizing the first three sessions on the page. Enter a numeric value next to the Add Sessions field to create the remaining sessions after the first three.
   • (E.g., for a 10-week class with once-a-week tracking, you can add 7 more sessions.)
8. Click the Save button to create the attendance register. Click the Close button to return to the main Attendance page.

Editing the Attendance register

• Click the action menu icon next to the attendance register name and select Edit Register from the list.
• Click the Save button to update the attendance register. Click the Close button to return to the main Attendance page.

Tutorial:

• Watch the video on how to create an attendance register.

Step 2: Creating a custom Attendance scheme

1. Click the Attendance Schemes tab found on the main Attendance page.
2. Click the New Attendance button and enter a name for the attendance scheme. (For example, Custom Attendance Scheme)
3. Enter a Symbol, Status Full Name, and an Assigned % in the fields provided. For example:
   • Symbol: P, Status Full Name: Present, Assigned %: 100%
   • Symbol: A, Status Full Name: Absent, Assigned %: 0%
   • Symbol: L, Status Full Name: Late, Assigned %: 50%
4. You can add more statuses after customizing the first three statuses on the page. Enter a numeric value next to the Add Statuses field to create the remaining statuses after the first three.
5. Click the Save button to create the attendance scheme. Click the Close button to return to the main Attendance page.
6. Optional: To add a custom attendance scheme to an existing attendance register, edit the attendance register and find the Attendance Scheme option. Click the dropdown menu and select your custom attendance scheme from the list. Save and Close the attendance register after making this change.

Editing the Attendance Scheme

1. Click the Attendance Schemes tab found on the main Attendance page.
2. Click the action menu icon next to the attendance scheme name and select Edit Scheme from the list.
3. Click the Save button to update the custom attendance scheme. Click the Close button to return to the Attendance Schemes page.

Tutorial:

Watch the video on how to create a custom attendance scheme.

Step 3: Using the Attendance register

1. Click on the attendance register name from the main Attendance page to open it.
2. Click on the enter attendance icon next to the session’s name.
3. Select an Attendance Status from the drop-down menu next to each student to set their attendance for the session. This can be done one at a time or in bulk by clicking the Set Status for All Users button on the page.
4. Click the Save button to confirm the attendance status for all the students. Click the Close button to return to the Attendance Data page.
5. Repeat these steps to set the students¡¯ attendance status for other sessions.

Tutorial:

Watch the video on how to use the attendance register.

Step 4: Adding Attendance as a Link in the navbar (Optional)

Turning on the Attendance Tool in D2L Brightspace

By default, the Attendance tool is turned off in D2L Brightspace courses. Follow these steps to enable it and add it to the navigation bar:

1. Access Course Admin
   • In the navigation bar, click Instructor Tools and select Course Admin.
2. Enable Attendance
   • Under the Administration category, click Tools.
   • Locate Attendance in the list and toggle its Status to “On” (a blue checkmark will appear).
3. Refresh Your Course View
   • Refresh the page. The Attendance option will now appear as the second item in the Course Info dropdown menu.

Note: Once the attendance tool is turned on, students will see the Attendance link in the Course Info dropdown menu, even if the option to allow users to view the attendance register is turned off.