PLEASE READ: Integrated Excel Best Practices

  • Do not cut/paste or drag and drop cells, as this can cause grading issues. 
  • Empty fields for normal graded cells will default to 0, drop-down fields will be empty. 
  • Questions autosave when any update is made in Excel. 
  • Excel tutorial videos are available for you in your instructor’s course. To access them, go to Course Content and select Excel Basics and Time Value of Money in Excel.


Graded Cell Types


There are two types of graded cells: Normal Graded Cells and Drop-down Graded Cells.

  • Normal Graded Cells require you to enter a formula (#3 in image below).
  • Drop-down Graded Cells require you to select an answer from a drop-down list (#4 in image below).

A screenshot of a computer Description automatically generated

How to Enter Answers 


See below for instructions on how to successfully enter or select answers.

Numeric/formulas: 

  • You must enter an acceptable formula to get credit. 
  • If a number needed for your formula is provided in a cell, you must reference that cell in your formula. Do not enter just numbers (Example: =G53+G52, not =60000+5000). 
    • Even if the answer is a single number, the answer entered in the cell must be a cell reference (Example: =G53, not 65000 or =65000 or =65000+5000). 
  • There may be an occasion where you need to use a number in your formula (Example: divide by 2 for average, divide by 365 to convert to "days", an interest rate). If the number is not provided in a cell that can be referenced within the question, use the actual number in your formula (Examples: =G52+G53/2, =G54/365, etc.).

Drop-down answers:

  • Click the arrow and select the correct answer from the drop-down menu (#4 in image above).

Other important notes about entering answers:

  • Do not use cut and paste or "drag and drop" to move or remove answers. Instead, delete answer in the incorrect cell and re-enter it in the correct cell. Using copy and paste to duplicate formulas is ok.
  • If the question has multiple worksheet tabs, your formula answers must reference cells within the same worksheet (tab). If you reference a cell from another worksheet to arrive at the correct answer, your answer will be marked wrong.
  • Using “+” instead of an “=” at the beginning of a formula will work.

Show Formulas 


If you would like to see the formulas that you have entered, follow the steps below. 

  1. Select the Formulas tab.
  2. Select Show Formulas.