Rate participants with a Likert template

Pick a Likert scale template in the course settings, rate participants from the Rating column on the Users tab, and check, change or delete ratings.

Rating a participant means filling in your institution's Likert rating template for one student in a course. You do it in the course under Users: click Rate in the Rating column and pick one level for every criterion.

Why it matters

Grades tell you how well a student did on graded content blocks. A Likert rating adds a structured, qualitative view, for example on participation or teamwork, using the same criteria for every student. Each student has one rating per course, and you can update it at any time during the course.

Before you start

Requirement	Detail
User Ratings turned on	An admin turns on User Ratings and creates at least one rating template in Settings → Management → Courses. See Set course defaults, self-enrollment and ratings.
Template on the course	In the course, Course Settings → Ratings → Likert Scale Template must show a template, not None. See Pick the template for a course below.
Permission to view ratings	View student Likert scale ratings in courses (`read:likert-scale-user-rating`) for this course. Without it, the Rating column is hidden.
Permission to rate	Rate students using Likert scale criteria in courses (`write:likert-scale-user-rating`) for this course. Without it, you can open a rating but saving fails.
Access to the Users tab	You need access to the course's Users tab. If you only have grade access, the course opens Grades instead.

Pick the template for a course

Open the course and click Course Settings in the course navigation.

Go to the Ratings section. The Likert Scale Template row is only there when User Ratings are turned on for your institution.

Open the Likert Scale Template list and choose a template. Each entry shows its number of levels and criteria.

Click Save in the Unsaved changes bar. The Rating column now appears on the course's Users tab.

Change or remove the template later

No student rated yet: choose another template and click Save in the Unsaved changes bar.
Students already rated: choosing another template opens Change rating template?. Existing ratings may no longer line up with the new criteria and levels. Type CHANGE TEMPLATE and click Continue. The change is saved at once.
Remove the template: choose None. Remove rating template from this course? opens. Type REMOVE TEMPLATE and click Continue. The change is saved at once. Existing ratings are kept, but the Rating column disappears from the course.

Rate a participant

Open the course and click Users in the course navigation. The Users tab opens.

Find the student. In the Rating column, click Rate.

The Rate name dialog opens. Below the name you see the template name and the number of criteria. Each row is a criterion; each column is a level, highest value first, with its value in brackets.

Pick one level for every criterion. Save stays disabled until every criterion has a level.

Click Save. You see Rating saved successfully. and the cell now shows Rated in green.

Check, change or delete a rating

See who rated: hover over Rated. The tooltip shows Rated by, Rated on and, after a change, Last updated.
Change a rating: click Rated. The dialog opens with the saved levels and shows (Editing existing rating). Change the levels and click Save. You see Rating updated successfully.
Delete a rating: click Rated, then Delete at the bottom left. Confirm Delete this rating? with Delete. This cannot be undone. The cell shows Rate again.

Ratings on a user's page

Staff who open a user in User Management can also rate from the user's Course Progress tab. When User Ratings are on, the table has a Rating column with the same Rate / Rated button for each course. For a course without a template, Rate is greyed out and the tooltip says User rating is disabled for this course. See View a user.

Best practices

Agree on the template first. Pick the course template before anyone starts rating, so you don't have to switch with ratings already saved.
Rate at a fixed point. For example, rate everyone in the last week of the course, so ratings are comparable.
Check the Courses column before deleting a template. Deleting a template in Settings → Management → Courses deletes every rating recorded with it.

Common pitfalls

Pitfall	What happens	What to do
No Rating column on Users	User Ratings are off, the course has no template, or you lack the view permission	Ask an admin to turn on User Ratings, pick a template under Course Settings → Ratings, or check your role
Save stays grey	At least one criterion has no level	Pick a level in every row
Could not save the rating.	You can view ratings but not rate, or the template was removed meanwhile	Ask an admin for the rate permission, then reload the page
Template switched after rating	Old ratings may not match the new criteria and levels	Switch only before you start rating
Template deleted in Settings	All ratings recorded with it are deleted	Check the template's Courses column before deleting

FAQ

Can two instructors rate the same student?

Each student has one rating per course. If a colleague opens it, they edit the same rating; the tooltip shows who rated and when it was last updated.

Does a rating change the student's grades?

No. Likert ratings are stored apart from content block grades on the Grades tab. See View and publish course grades.

What happens to ratings if I remove the template from the course?

They are kept, but the template no longer applies to the course and the Rating column disappears.

Can I rate several students at once?

No. You rate one student at a time from the Rating column.

Set course defaults, self-enrollment and ratings

Turn on User Ratings and create Likert rating templates.

Configure course features

The course's own settings, including the Ratings section.

Manage enrollments

Who is on the course's Users tab and how they got there.

View and publish course grades

Grades for content blocks on the Grades tab.