In Quercus, groups are typically used for collaborative assignments and discussions. Although it's best to finalize group membership before any group assignments are submitted, sometimes changes are necessary after work has already begun.
This guide is designed to help instructors adjust group memberships in Quercus while minimizing disruption to grading and student work. It explains two options for making changes and outline some recommendations to avoid issues with past and future assignment submissions and grades.
When and why you might need to change group membership in Quercus?
Common reasons for changing group memberships include:
- A student moving between sections
- A student dropping the course
- Group conflicts requiring reassignment
- Instructor-led team reorganizations
Since group changes can impact grades, submissions and comments, it's important to understand the best method for modifying group membership.
If you need to change group memberships before any group discussions or assignments have taken place, you can refer to the Instructure guide: How do I move a student into a different group?
Jump to
When you navigate to People and select the tab for the group set you need to adjust, you'll be prompted with two options for modifying group memberships:
- Create New Group Set: This option duplicates the existing group set, and applies the new group memberships only to future assignments. If most of your group assignments are already completed and you only have one or two assignments left to be submitted, we recommend choosing this option. You can create a name to make it obvious that this group set is the new one with new group memberships. Afterward, you'll need to update each future group Assignments/Discussions to apply to this new group set.
- Change Existing Group: This option modifies current group memberships without creating a new group set. If you have many group assignments are still upcoming (e.g., in the early stage of the semester), this option might be a better choice. It saves you from having to update the group set for each future assignment/discussion.
Recommendation: If you're unsure about which option to choose, in most cases we would recommend Creating a New Group Set since this option preserves past submission and grades while applying only to future work.
Important: We do NOT recommend changing group membership mid-assignment, as it can cause issues with submissions and grading.
Detailed steps for these two options can be found in the following sections.
2.1. Create new group set (recommended in most cases)
The Create New Group Set option will clone the selected group set and create a new one.
2.1.1. Steps to create a new group set
- Navigate to People and find the tab for the Group Set you need to adjust.
- Move group members as needed.
- When prompted, select Create New Group Set.
- Name the new group set clearly (e.g., "Updated Group Set - Week 1").
- Select Submit to finalize the changes.
2.1.2. Once the new group set is created
- Navigate to each remaining Group Assignments/Discussions.
- In the Assignments/Discussions setting, change the Group Set to the newly created one.
- Select Save.
2.1.3. Impact of this change
Once the change above is made, here are the related impacts in Quercus:
| Future Assignment | Will use the new group set and group membership for grades and comments. |
|
Past/completed assignments |
Will retain old group configurations and grades. |
|
Group set history |
The original group set remains unchanged. |
2.2. Change existing group (use carefully)
The Change Existing Group option will modify the membership of an existing group set without creating a new one.
Important: Before selecting "Change Existing Group", make sure to grade any completed group assignments and assign grade to each student individually, so the past grades remain unchanged.
2.2.1. Consideration before you make any changes
Review the steps to ensure any previous assignments won't be impacted after making group changes. Before marking any changes to group membership:
- Grade any completed group assignments.
- In Assignment Settings, check Assign Grades to Each Student Individually to prevent grading issues.
2.2.2. Steps to change an existing group
- Navigate to People and find the tab for the Group Set you need to adjust.
- Move group members as needed.
- When prompted, select Change Existing Group.
- Select Submit to apply the changes.
2.2.3. Impact of this change
Once this change is made, here are the related impacts in Quercus:
| Future assignments | Use the updated group memberships. |
|
Past/completed assignments |
Will retain original grades and comments. |
|
Group set history |
Won’t change, and future assignments and discussions will use the same group set as past one, but the group memberships will be updated. |
Potential issues: If grading is not handled correctly, past submissions may be reassigned incorrectly.
If you run into any grading or submission errors after modifying group memberships, refer to the troubleshooting guide below:
3.1. I forgot to grade assignments before changing groups
If you decide to change the existing group but forgot to grade previous assignments and assign grades to individual students before modifying group memberships, and the submissions were mixed up between the old and new groups, follow these steps to resolve the issue:
- Move the student from the new group back to their original group. This will remove the submitted file that the student brought to the new group. After this, the original submitted files will reappear in the new group.
- Grade any previous assignments.
- In Assignment settings, select Assign Grades to Each Student Individually.
- Reassign the student to the new group. The grades and files from any previous assignments will be retained.
3.2. I forgot to change the assignment setting to assign grades to each student individually and students still see their old grades
If a student worked with their new group on previous assignments and needs grades and comments based on their submission with the new group, follow these steps:
- After entering all students' grades and feedback, select Assign Grades to Each Student Individually for any previous assignments.
- Find the specific student, re-enter their new grades, comments, and rubric individually, and delete the old ones. This will allow the student to see the updated grades, comments and rubrics.
3.3. A student changed groups in a self sign-up group mid assignment
For a self sign-up group set, students may switch groups mid-assignment before it's graded. This can cause issues, such as overwriting the original submission (if the new group has already submitted) or creating a new submission with the old team's file (if the new group hasn’t submitted yet). To reslove this, follow the steps similar to Issue 1:
- Move the student back to the original group to remove the submitted file they brought to the new group. After this, the original files will reappear in the new group.
- Grade any previous assignments.
- In the assignment settings, select Assign Grades to Each Student Individually.
- Add the student back to the new group. Their previous grades and files will be retained.
We recommend closing any self sign-up groups after students have selected their groups (and before they submit any assignments) to prevent students from switching groups between assignments, which could affect grades and submissions. You can find instructions on how to close the groups in this guide: How do I prevent students from switching groups in self-sign-up groups?