Matt Reed, writing in Inside Higher Ed, recognizes that the end of the semester is a time when students approach faculty members to do extra credit to improve their grades. He then rightly argues that “If you must offer extra credit, do it in writing, to the entire class. Otherwise, don’t do it at all.” I do not need to repeat his cogent arguments against end-of-semester extra credit here because his “Annual Extra-Credit Warning” is both short and easily acceptable. However, I do want to build on his advice as faculty prepare syllabi for next semester.

My main concern about extra credit is that it is too often not realistically offered to “the entire class;” especially when it can only be completed during a limited time period or costs money to earn. For example, colleagues often encourage us to give extra credit to students who attend a particular campus event. Even if I offer all students the opportunity to attend an event for extra credit, it is not realistic for a student who has a class scheduled during the time of the event to attend. Nor is it realistic to expect students to miss work to earn extra credit. It is technically true to argue that all students were given the opportunity. But professors who ignore the reality of class and work schedules are being disingenuous if they claim all their students have the opportunity.

Given the financial realities of many of our students, to require that students pay for extra credit is problematic.  While we would never actually set up a quid pro quo system where we charge students for extra credit, we do set up a de facto system of pay for points if students must pay a fee to attend the events for which they can earn extra credit.  Again, the offer may technically be made to the entire class, but not all students have the wealth to attend the events.

I know that sometimes professors rightly want students to have certain out of class experiences for which they can earn extra credit. Reed would advise that such extra credit be written into the syllabus. I would suggest that such opportunities be as broad as possible both in terms of the time they can be completed as well as the number of opportunities available. Price points for events should also be considered. Attending a Broadway show at Detroit’s Fisher Theatrer where the cheap seats can run $75 might be a viable extra credit option if another option is going to a free program at the Detroit Institute of Arts or a free concert held on our campus.

I sometimes follow Reed’s advice to have extra credit “built into the syllabus from the outset” but do not think that this is always necessary.  In my online courses, there are times when I want students to go above the regular expectations for an assignment.  In such cases, I write extra credit opportunities into the syllabus from the beginning of the class.  However, there are times when an extra credit opportunity presents itself after the semester begins.

Last semester, I had scheduled a class period to work in the library on the same day that the library was having a Graphic Novel Readathon. I explained to students that supporting this event would be a good way for us to show our appreciation to the librarians whom had been assisting us all semester. I then told students that I would give extra credit if they participated in the Readathon. Although it was not in the syllabus, the opportunity was available to all students because it was done during class time. Not all students participated in the Readathon. And those who did still needed to complete the class work on their own time.

Another way that I use a form of extra credit is to allow students to revise work for a higher grade even when the option is not available in the syllabus. Sometimes when a student asks if I will permit them to do this, I give them my permission. I then announce to the class—in writing—that I have given one of their colleagues this opportunity and that I am therefore giving the opportunity to everyone. It is not in the syllabus, but I think that Reed would approve.

Reed’s end of semester advice is that “When the professor sticks to their own rules, and enforces them evenhandedly, there’s never an issue upholding the grade.” But, as professors, we also need to make sure that our rules concerning extra credit are really available to the entire class.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

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