How do I assign a large number of students to Groups in Quercus?

Updated on May 27, 2024

Unless you are using random assignment, creating and assigning students to project or assignment groups in Quercus can be time-consuming, especially in large classes.

UT Advanced Group Tool (UTAGT) and Quercus Import Groups feature are the two solutions you can use to make this the process of creating a large number of groups and assigning students to specific groups faster and easier.

This step-by-step guide shows you how to use the UT Advanced Group Tool (UTAGT) and the Quercus Import Groups function, highlighting scenarios where one tool might be more suitable than the other.

Before you begin

Student rosters generated in the UT Advanced Group Tool and using the Quercus Import Group feature contain slightly different information. Your choice of one tool over the other might depend on the information available in the roster generated by each tool. Keep in mind that:

Student roster generated using the UT Advanced Group Tool:
- Contains Student Email Addresses and Student Numbers.
- Does not contain Student Sections.
Student roster generated using the Quercus Import Group Feature:
- Contains Student Sections.
- Does not contain Student Email Addresses and Student Numbers.

Name your Group Set (e.g., Projects Group Set).
Select the I'll create groups later option.
1. OPTIONAL: Within the Group Set, you can also create the number of groups you would like and name them - this step can also be performed later using the UT Advanced Group Tool.
Save your Group Set.

When naming your groups, use easily identifiable names that include your course code (e.g.,CourseCode_ProjectGroup01).

3. Prepare group roster

3.1. Export existing group roster using UT Advanced Group Tool

3.1.1. Export Group Roster

Select UT Advanced Groups from the course navigation menu. If it’s not already in your course navigation menu, you will need to enable the tool first.
Select Export Group Roster.
Select Generate course roster report to download a class roster for the entire class. If you already have an existing up-to-date roster, you can use that one, but make sure it is a csv or Excel file format.

3.1.2. Download exported roster

Once ready, your report will be available for downloading in your Quercus Inbox.

Open Quercus Inbox.
Select the link to download the roster (.csv format).

3.2. Edit group roster to assign group membership

In the roster, create a column for groups and assign a group to each student. When naming your groups, use easily identifiable names that includes your course code (e.g.,CourseCode_ProjectGroup01).
Once you’ve assigned all the groups, remove all columns except UTORID and Group Name, then remove all headers.
Save the file in .csv or .xlsx format.

4. Import updated group roster to the UT Advanced Group Tool

Go back to UT Advanced Group Tool.
Select Import Group Roster button.
Select the group set you created from Begin by selecting a Group Set drop down-menu.
Select Batch Import Roster for Multiple New Groups.
Select the file you prepared in Step 3: Prepare group roster.
Select Import button.

5. Confirm groups were created and students assigned

Navigate to People section.
Select the required Group Set.
Confirm all groups were created and students assigned to them.

Assign students to groups in an Existing Group Set

1. Prepare Group roster

1.1. Export existing group roster using UT Advanced Group Tool

1.1.1. Export Group Roster

Select UT Advanced Groups from the course navigation menu. If it’s not already in your course navigation menu, you will need to enable the tool first.
Select Export Group Roster.
Select Generate course roster report to download a class roster for the entire class. If you already have an existing up-to-date roster, you can use that one, but make sure it is a csv or Excel file format.

1.1.2. Download exported roster

Once ready, your report will be available for downloading in your Quercus Inbox.

Open Quercus Inbox.
Select the link to download the roster (.csv format).

1.2. Edit group roster to assign group membership

1.2.1. Note down Group IDs

Navigate to People section.
Select your Group Set (Projects Group Set in this example).
Select More icon next to a group.
Select Visit Group Homepage.
Copy Group ID from the page URL.
Repeat this for each Group in the Group Set.

1.2.2. Assign Group IDs to students in group roster

In the roster, create a column for Group IDs and assign a Group ID to each student.
Once you’ve assigned all the Group IDs, remove all columns except UTORID and Group ID, then remove all headers.
Save the file in .csv or .xlsx format.

2. Import updated group roster to the UT Advanced Group Tool

Navigate to UT Advanced Group Tool.
Select Import Group Roster button.
Select the group set you created from Begin by selecting a Group Set drop down-menu.
Select Batch Import Roster for Multiple Existing Groups.
Select the file you prepared in Step 1: Prepare Group roster.
Select Import button.

3. Confirm groups were created

Navigate to People section.
Select the required Group Set.
Confirm all groups were created and students assigned to them.

Update group membership

Group membership needs to be updated manually. To move people from one group to another or to add new people to groups, you can:

On the People page, move students from one group to another or to add unassigned students to a group (these changes will update the group membership in the UTGAT as well), or
You can repeat the steps in UT Advanced Group Tool: Assign students to groups in Existing Group Set.

You can move students from one group to another within a group set. However, changes should be made before assigning a group to an assignment.

When students are added to a group after a group assignment has already been submitted, their grades and submissions may be affected. To learn more, please see the following Canvas guide: How do I move a student into a different group?

Keep a record of your group roster

To keep a current record of group membership, download the roster for your group set.

Select UT Advanced Groups from the course navigation menu.
Select Export Group Roster.
From the Specify a Group Set roster to export drop down-menu, select the desired group set.
Select the group(s) you want to include in the export.
Select Generate group roster report to download the roster.

You can also check the People tool to make sure students are in the correct groups and that you have no unassigned students.

Quercus Import Group Feature

Assign students to groups in a New Group Set

1. Create a Group Set

Navigate to your Quercus course.
Select People from the course navigation menu.
Select +Group Set button.

2. Set up the Group Set

Name your Group Set (e.g., Project Groups Winter 2024).
Select the I'll create groups later option.
1. OPTIONAL: Within the Group Set, you can also create the number of groups you would like and name them - this step can also be performed later using the UT Advanced Group Tool.
Save your Group Set.

When naming your groups, use easily identifiable names that include your course code (e.g.,CourseCode_ProjectGroup01)