Watch an overview of exemptions

Information on exemptions

Using exemptions, an instructor can provide an implicit reason why a learner does not have a score for a grade item or an activity. A blank grade or a zero (0) grade can mean that the learner hasn't submitted the item, that the item has not been graded, or that the learner has failed the item. Having an exemption setting supports the differentiation for a legitimate exemption.
Instructors can exempt content items, numeric, selection box, pass/fail, calculated, formula, and text item grade item types; however, instructors cannot exempt a learner from a final calculated grade or final adjusted grade.
When an instructor exempts a learner from an activity from within the grade book or the Content tool, the following pages are affected:

Table of Contents page - the exempted topic title appears with an exempted flag, the due date is not shown, the completion method indicator is removed, and the count of required topics and module completion percentage excludes exempted topics.
Topic details page - When a learner clicks on a topic they are exempt from, a message displays stating that the learner is exempt from the topic and that the activity can be viewed but does not need to be completed. The updated count of required topics in the Table of Contents now excludes the exempted grade items. The completion method, being essentially not required, is removed from the Details page.
Unit Schedule - Exempted activities are not due, therefore not overdue, and do not appear on the Overdue items list. The Full Schedule and Upcoming sections of Unit Schedule do not show exempted items.
Calendar - the Calendar web pages and Calendar widgets do not show exempted items.
Updates Widget - Exempted quizzes are not required to be submitted, and are excluded from the count of unattempted quizzes that appear in the Updates widget.
In the Grade book, instructor view pages: Enter Grades, Grade User, Grade Category, Grade Items, Import Review
Learner view pages: My Grades
User Progress pages: Summary and Grades tabs; however, exempted grade items do not appear in the bar graph of received grades. The Summary and Content tabs display exempted activities.

The process that exports and imports grade data includes exemptions. Post-processing during the import of grade data can differentiate between a learner with a grade, without a grade, and with an exemption. If you change the value that identifies an exemption to the import process after instructors have set export file values to depend on a particular value, such as the word Exempt, there may be unexpected results in the imported grade exemptions.
You can launch the Manage Exemptions page from the following tools:
The Content tool:

From the Table of Contents, when editing properties in place
As a button within the Activity Details section of a topic's page

The Assignments tool:

On the Assignments page, in the context menu of an assignment
On the Assignments page as a button at the top of the page

The Discussions tool:

On the Discussions List page, in the context menu of a topic
On the View Topic page, in the context menu beside the topic name
On the Assess Topic page as a button at the top of the page

The Quizzes tool:

On the Manage Quizzes page, in the context menu of a quiz
On the Grade Quiz page as a button at the top of the page

About exemptions

Information on exemptions