Integration with D2L Brightspace

This article explains the two ways RCampus / iRubric integrates with D2L Brightspace using LTI 1.3, the grade item limitation of the generic integration, and how Deep Linking resolves it. It is intended for instructors and faculty.

Applies to

D2L Brightspace (all versions supporting LTI Advantage 1.3)

Audience

Instructors / Faculty

Related

Brightspace, LTI, IRubric for LMS

Overview

RCampus / iRubric integrates with D2L Brightspace using LTI 1.3 (LTI Advantage). There are two ways this integration can be configured by your institution's administrator:

• Generic LTI 1.3 integration — the standard external tool connection
• Deep Linking integration — the recommended approach for courses with multiple assignments

Understanding the difference helps explain how assignments, grade items, and grading work in your courses.

Feature	Generic LTI 1.3	Deep Linking
How assignments are created	Manually in D2L, linked to RCampus	Created in RCampus, placed into D2L content
Grade items in D2L gradebook	Single shared grade item for all RCampus assignments	One grade item per assignment, automatically
Grade passback	Overwrites — all assignments write to the same grade item	Each assignment posts to its own grade item
Setup complexity for instructors	Requires manual workaround for multiple assignments	Simple — no manual workaround needed
Recommended for	Single-assignment courses only	All courses

Generic LTI 1.3 Integration

In the generic LTI 1.3 setup, your institution registers RCampus as an external tool in Brightspace. Instructors create assignments in D2L and link them to RCampus. Grades are automatically passed back to the D2L gradebook when scoring is complete in iRubric.

The Grade Item Limitation

The generic LTI 1.3 integration has an important limitation: D2L only allows a single grade item to be associated with any given external tool link. This means that if you have multiple RCampus assignments in a course, all of their grades post back to the same single grade item in D2L — and each new grade overwrites the previous one.

Example: You have 5 RCampus assignments in a course. All 5 share one grade item in D2L. When Assignment 2 is graded, it overwrites the grade from Assignment 1. By the end of the course, only the last graded assignment's score appears in the gradebook.

The workaround under the generic integration is for administrators to manually create separate LTI links for each assignment, each tied to a unique grade item. This requires significant manual configuration per course and is error-prone, particularly for instructors unfamiliar with LTI setup.

Note: This is not a limitation of RCampus — it is a behavior of the D2L Brightspace generic LTI 1.3 implementation. Deep Linking was introduced specifically to solve this problem.

Deep Linking Integration

Deep Linking is an LTI 1.3 extension that changes how assignments are created and placed in D2L. Instead of creating an assignment in D2L and linking it to RCampus, instructors build the assignment directly in RCampus and then place it into the D2L course content. Each placed assignment carries its own unique identifier, which D2L uses to create a separate, dedicated grade item automatically.

How It Works

1. Your administrator sets up the Deep Linking connection between D2L and RCampus (one-time setup).
2. In your D2L course, navigate to a content module and select Existing Activities → External Learning Tools.
3. Select the RCampus or iRubric link. This launches the RCampus assignment picker.
4. Build or select a rubric-based assignment in RCampus and confirm your selection.
5. The assignment is placed back into your D2L content module with its own unique link.
6. D2L automatically creates a dedicated grade item in the gradebook for that assignment.
7. When you score student work in iRubric, the grade posts back to that specific grade item only.

Benefits

Grade management:

• Each assignment has its own grade item in the D2L gradebook
• No overwriting — all assignment grades are preserved independently
• Automatic grade passback per assignment
• Works seamlessly alongside other items in the D2L gradebook

Instructor workflow:

• No manual LTI link setup required per assignment
• Assignments created directly in iRubric with access to the full rubric gallery
• Detailed rubric-based feedback delivered to students
• Rubrics can be shared and reused across courses and instructors

Student experience:

• Single sign-on from D2L — no separate RCampus login required
• Grades and feedback visible directly in D2L
• Rubric criteria visible to students before submission

Institutional benefits:

• Course and program-level learning outcomes reports
• Rubric sharing across the institution
• Assessment data persists beyond course archival in D2L

What to Know

Because RCampus / iRubric operates as an external tool in D2L, some features that are part of the native D2L Assignments Dropbox are handled differently or are not part of this workflow. The following is provided so instructors can plan accordingly.

What's Available

• Grades automatically post to the D2L gradebook, one grade item per assignment
• Students and instructors access RCampus via single sign-on from D2L — no separate login required
• Students can view the rubric criteria before submitting their work
• Instructors can provide detailed, criterion-by-criterion rubric feedback
• Course, program, and institution-level outcomes analytics are available in RCampus
• Rubrics can be shared and reused across courses and instructors within the institution

Considerations

• Student files are submitted inside RCampus, not into the D2L Assignments Dropbox. The native D2L submission inbox is not used for RCampus assignments.
• Native D2L plagiarism detection tools (such as Turnitin or Copyleaks) do not apply to submissions made through RCampus, as those tools are tied to the D2L Dropbox submission workflow. Institutions that require plagiarism checking should configure a separate native D2L Dropbox assignment for that purpose.
• D2L's built-in inline grading and annotation tools (Consistent Evaluation) are not used — grading and feedback take place inside iRubric.
• D2L's native rubric builder is not used — rubrics are created and managed in iRubric.
• When copying a course in D2L, RCampus deep-linked assignments may require re-linking in the new course. Confirm with your D2L Administrator before copying a course that contains RCampus assignments.

Tip: If your institution requires both plagiarism detection and rubric-based assessment for the same assignment, the recommended approach is to create two separate items in D2L: a native D2L Dropbox assignment (for plagiarism detection) and a RCampus deep-linked assignment (for rubric scoring and grade passback).

Getting Started

Deep Linking must be enabled by a D2L Administrator before instructors can use it. If you do not see the RCampus / iRubric option when selecting Existing Activities → External Learning Tools in your course content, contact your institution's D2L Administrator and ask them to enable the RCampus Deep Linking integration.

See Also

• LTI — LTI integration information
• IRubric for LMS — iRubric for LMS overview
• Deep Linking Extension with LTI 1.3 (D2L Community)
• Tool Registration, Deployment, and Links (D2L Community)