Currently on the grade settings page (/admin/settings.php?section=gradessettings) a number of default values can be specified for grade items (e.g. gradepointmax, gradepointmin) but there is no mechanism to specify the default grade item visibility.

In a scenario where an institution runs an "embargoed" grades process and uses the grade item's visibility, the configuration of the grade item to be hidden at the outset is disconnected from the creation of the activity.

Allowing a server admin to set the default for grade item visibility would eliminate this sequence of steps, that can be often forgotten until students contact staff saying they can see their grades unexpectedly.

This setting could also be utilised in the course reset process to allow grade items' visibility to be reset back to the "default" visibility, meaning that staff do not have to go through each activity one-by-one to re-configure.