A faculty member recently reached out to Drs. Bonni Stachowiak and David Rhoads with a question about extra credit policies. They were wondering whether Vanguard University has a maximum extra credit policy and, if not, what guidance might be available for faculty considering extra credit in their courses. Bonni and David shared their insights, offering perspectives from their own teaching experiences and broader pedagogical considerations.
A Case-by-Case Decision
Dr. Bonni Stachowiak, Dean of Teaching and Learning, acknowledges that there is no university-wide policy on extra credit, though some departments may have established norms or department-specific rules. She emphasizes that whether to offer extra credit is a highly contextual decision:
“You’re probably used to this with me, but my answer is ‘it depends.’”
From her perspective, she has never provided extra credit opportunities in her 20+ years of teaching but has found alternative ways to help students extend their learning and to foster student choice:
“What I have done is said that, for example, if a student attends an event that aligns with our class in some way, they can share about that experience in place of one of our assignments geared toward that same learning outcome.”
Rather than framing learning as transactional, she prefers to design courses with flexibility and choice built into the structure. She offers an example of a “choose-your-own-adventure” approach, where students can select from a variety of activities, such as attending a lecture, watching a video, or reading an article, to engage with the material in different ways.
For faculty considering extra credit due to student performance on exams, Dr. Stachowiak suggests methods that encourage deeper learning rather than merely boosting grades:
“Sometimes, I know faculty want to offer extra credit because students may not have done well on exams. In that case, I like the method of allowing students to reflect on what they got wrong and revisit the learning in some way from the exam rather than give them extra credit on something that might not be as closely aligned with the learning outcomes.”
She also points to two-stage exams as an evidence-based, inclusive teaching approach that allows students to engage more deeply with their assessments:
Ultimately, she advises faculty to reflect on their goals for extra credit and to consider whether alternative approaches might better align with their intended outcomes.
Other Considerations
Dr. David Rhoads, Director of Hybrid and Emerging Pedagogy, states that he, too, has not seen much of a need for extra credit in his teaching. In his experience, extra credit tends to benefit those who least need it, while those who could truly use the opportunity often do not take advantage of it:
“When I have used extra credit in a limited way, my experience in most cases has been that those who don’t really need it take advantage of it, while those who could truly use it don’t.”
Rather than creating separate extra credit assignments, he believes that well-designed courses with a variety of assessments already provide opportunities for students to improve their grades through revision and completion of missing work:
“If courses have a variety of assessments/assignments that meet the learning outcomes of the course, revision of previous assignments or the making up of missing assignments can provide good grade improvement opportunities without the need for separate extra credit assignments.”
However, he acknowledges the subjective nature of grading and shares that, when a student is close to a higher grade, he may adjust the final score accordingly:
“I usually review the gradebook of my students, and if they are extremely close to an A from a B (and so on), I have bumped them up a bit due to the subjective nature of grading in many instances.”
On Episode 557 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Kent Kauffman, author of Navigating Choppy Waters: Key Legal Issues Faculty Need to Know, advises leaving specific details out of our syllabi regarding the rounding of grades, to leave room for the way David describes his past approach of addressing the challenge of subjectivity in grading, while still minimizing one’s own legal risk.
Takeaways for Faculty
Both Bonni and David highlight that extra credit is not inherently bad, but it is worth considering whether it aligns with the learning goals of a course and a professor’s pedagogical approaches. Faculty may benefit from asking:
- What am I trying to achieve with extra credit?
- Are there alternative ways to provide students with opportunities to improve without separate extra credit assignments?
- How does extra credit fit within the broader structure of my course design?
- Could approaches like revision, alternative assignments, or two-stage exams better support student learning?
By thinking critically about these questions, faculty can make informed choices that align with their pedagogical values and student success goals. Whether or not extra credit is the right fit, ensuring that grading practices support meaningful learning remains the key priority.
