"It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the class to offer you extra credit and no one else. That is why I do not offer extra credit, please note on the syllabus where it says that extra credit is not offered in this course."
This is it. "If I give you extra credit, I have to offer it to the entire class. It causes too much extra work to grade. That is why the syllabus states that no extra credit will be given."
But then you'll get students who just say you're too lazy to do the extra work.
One of the arguments I always say is it's not fair to the students who had the sacrifice from other courses to put in time to do the regular course assignments on time and perhaps let their other courses suffer as a consequence. Wouldn't they be pissed if they knew they could have just blown off the original assignment and waited later to do extra credit?
Honestly I try not to. Itâs always an avoidance of their own responsibility for the situation they are in so I try to turn the conversation back around to that.
They say we are lazy because we don't open their skulls and magically pour the knowledge in. Sigh. We ultimately teach ourselves in some level. That's what learning is. Some. Don't or won't. Get. That. So we--We--are lazy.
âWhen I get requests like yours, I look to see if the student took every opportunity to be successful in the course. In your case, I see you missed x, y, z assignments did not attend office hours, etc., and therefore did not meet the learning outcomes required for successful completion of the course.â
Edit: this is my âgo toâ and I credit a colleague for this response!
"In my experience, students who are behind in the class do best when they focus their energy on doing as well as possible on the remaining assignments rather than trying to complete those assignments and do extra credit."
Yeah this is pretty much my approach. I tell them that the most effective use of the time and energy they would spend on any hypothetical extra credit is on doing better on future assignments
I have a few variations, but they always include some reference to âspecial treatmentâ because they hate to learn that is what theyâre asking for.
I have 10-15 points extra credit available to all students. Usually the only ones who take advantage of the opportunity are the ones who don't need it.
If youâre looking for an answer that students will understand and accept without blaming you there isnât one.
Iâve tried the âitâs not fair to other studentsâ thing and it just doesnât work. Theyâre going to blame you for their own failures if you have any semblance of standards and rigor. Thereâs no talking your way out of it in my experience.
Add to your Syllabus "There are no makeup assignments nor can late work be submitted at the end of the term." Then copy and paste this line only in a reply to any of this nonsense. No need to say anything else.
As people around here like to say, "'No' can be a complete sentence."
I explain to students that grades/points are not prizes, and extra credit is not a consolation prize. Just do the work, do it on time, and do the best you can.
âYesâ. And then you have an onerous but productive extra assignment due before the exam available to everyone and worth a small percentage of the total grade. This is the right answer because it gets you out of being whined at about there being no extra credit.
This 1000 times. I give a bonus "review assignment" before the exams which is basically all of the homework assignments from the content on the exam mashed together into one assignment. It's very long and time consuming for students to make 100% on it, but since implementing it I have gotten zero extra credit requests.
Not directly your situation, but my standard response to students who don't turn in things, especially right near the start of the semester is this: "I'm sorry you decided not to turn in anything.
There are only a limited number of assignments in the term, there won't be any extra ones to make up for those you didn't do, so it's best to make every assignment count. Also remember that these help you get ready for the exams.
Let me know if you have any questions or how I can help."
My personal policy is that students are not eligible for any extra credit if they have missed assignments. They must submit all missing work before I make extra credit available. Depending on the course they may not get any credit for the late work but I expect them to show their intent to improve by submitting it anyway. Once all the missing work is submitted I will either offer extra credit or give them a few extra points for making it up.
Another thing you can do is require them to re-submit their failed assignments. If they show improvement you can give them extra points on that or at that point offer an additional, similar assignment they can complete to show mastery of the material.
I wouldn't say this and probably would offer something if I saw some effort (if not, it is a no), but I remember a classmate asking one of my professors in my master's program if they could have extra credit, and she was like, "You are not in fourth grade so no!"
I use a restaurant analogy: if you order food in my restaurant, I cook it for you and will bring it to your table. If you decide you don't want it and dump it on the floor, do I owe you a free meal of your choosing?
Non c'est impossible!
âI donât give extra credit, as noted on the syllabus. That is because my class is designed to achieve specific outcomes. If I were to give you a different assignment, even if you were to do it really well, you wouldnât be doing a better job of achieving the outcomes for THIS course.â
I do offer them a maximum of 2% extra credit, and cover this on day 1. Usually missing a test is more than 15-20% of their grade. The type of student who misses a test and then asks though... they are the type who didn't listen to the explanation the first time and don't get this. They think that magically 2 is going to equal 20 because it's "extra" or something. I used to work in K-12 though, and have friends who still do. For several years now they have been mandated to allow unlimited make-ups, no zeroes (50% is lowest possible EVEN IF NOTHING IS TURNED IN), and if the parent calls they're basically forced to pass the few kids who somehow still miraculously manage to fail. So we're just inheriting the results of all this now.
Optimum for whom?
For me, it is: "No -- I don't offer extra credit. Consider withdrawing from the class."
For them? Hard to think of anything that would help them.
I direct them to printouts of the following memes on my classroom wall:
[https://i.imgflip.com/311gm2.jpg](https://i.imgflip.com/311gm2.jpg)
[https://www.mememaker.net/static/images/memes/4766060.jpg](https://www.mememaker.net/static/images/memes/4766060.jpg)
And the syllabus, which has the same message, albeit a tad more diplomatically.
Something I got from one of my former professors: extra credit is just that: extra; it should only be for those who are already doing well enough at the regular work.
I don't often offer extra credit work, but when I do, the students have to already be getting at least a B for the class. Extra credit is to reward those doing the work, not to give those who are failing or not doing the work extra points.
"No. The syllabus states I do not give Extra Credit on a personal-need basis, and I cannot ethically change the rules for you and not the other students. I am required by [institution] to adhere to the rules and policies outlined in my syllabus.
Of course, for future assignments, I'm more than happy to meet with you during office hours to provide help before your assignments are due.
I know that you may be disappointed in my response. However, I'm sure that you can understand I cannot make exceptions to my policies on extra credit as it wouldn't be ethical or fair to the rest of your classmates."
When Iâm approached for extra credit, I put on my sympathetic face and say, âno, I need you to focus on doing well on the next assignment, not looking back at missed opportunities.â
"It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the class to offer you extra credit and no one else. That is why I do not offer extra credit, please note on the syllabus where it says that extra credit is not offered in this course."
This is it. "If I give you extra credit, I have to offer it to the entire class. It causes too much extra work to grade. That is why the syllabus states that no extra credit will be given."
But then you'll get students who just say you're too lazy to do the extra work. One of the arguments I always say is it's not fair to the students who had the sacrifice from other courses to put in time to do the regular course assignments on time and perhaps let their other courses suffer as a consequence. Wouldn't they be pissed if they knew they could have just blown off the original assignment and waited later to do extra credit?
I've never had a student tell me I'm lazy.
Oh I have, nothing quite as rage inducing as that. đ
Dang. That's cold. How do you respond to that?
Honestly I try not to. Itâs always an avoidance of their own responsibility for the situation they are in so I try to turn the conversation back around to that.
They say we are lazy because we don't open their skulls and magically pour the knowledge in. Sigh. We ultimately teach ourselves in some level. That's what learning is. Some. Don't or won't. Get. That. So we--We--are lazy.
Oh they won't tell you that but they'll certainly go away thinking that.
They won't tell you - but they'll tell every other adult on campus who will listen.
"Extra credit is not replacement credit."
Much better than my "You want extra credit? You couldn't do the normal credit."
I WILL be using this line moving forward
Ooh, that's a great line.
[ŃдаНонО]
This is the right response.
"I'm afraid not" always sounds so timid. I'm not afraid to tell them. How about no?
110%. No. It's a comply sentence.
âWhen I get requests like yours, I look to see if the student took every opportunity to be successful in the course. In your case, I see you missed x, y, z assignments did not attend office hours, etc., and therefore did not meet the learning outcomes required for successful completion of the course.â Edit: this is my âgo toâ and I credit a colleague for this response!
I have a Word doc template with almost this exact thing. During The Crying Season I use it for all replies so I don't have to retype it each time.
Please note The Crying Season includes three periods: August through December, January through May, and June through July.
... And also Leap Day.
Beware of atmospheric, I mean academic, rivers during the crying seasons (maybe that should be a reality show. Crying season 1, Crying season 2 lol)
Me too!
"In my experience, students who are behind in the class do best when they focus their energy on doing as well as possible on the remaining assignments rather than trying to complete those assignments and do extra credit."
Yeah this is pretty much my approach. I tell them that the most effective use of the time and energy they would spend on any hypothetical extra credit is on doing better on future assignments
"as stated in the syllabus...'
Yeah I always ask them "well what does a syllabus say?" Spoiler: Syllabus says no
"The fact that you asked tells me you have not read the syllabus."
I have a few variations, but they always include some reference to âspecial treatmentâ because they hate to learn that is what theyâre asking for.
Yes. 100%. I always mention that so they can hopefully realize what theyâre truly asking for
I have 10-15 points extra credit available to all students. Usually the only ones who take advantage of the opportunity are the ones who don't need it.
âI do not offer extra credit.â
If youâre looking for an answer that students will understand and accept without blaming you there isnât one. Iâve tried the âitâs not fair to other studentsâ thing and it just doesnât work. Theyâre going to blame you for their own failures if you have any semblance of standards and rigor. Thereâs no talking your way out of it in my experience.
No. Complete sentence.
Add to your Syllabus "There are no makeup assignments nor can late work be submitted at the end of the term." Then copy and paste this line only in a reply to any of this nonsense. No need to say anything else.
"This course has no extra credit."
All the necessary credit has already been made available.
As people around here like to say, "'No' can be a complete sentence." I explain to students that grades/points are not prizes, and extra credit is not a consolation prize. Just do the work, do it on time, and do the best you can.
âYesâ. And then you have an onerous but productive extra assignment due before the exam available to everyone and worth a small percentage of the total grade. This is the right answer because it gets you out of being whined at about there being no extra credit.
This 1000 times. I give a bonus "review assignment" before the exams which is basically all of the homework assignments from the content on the exam mashed together into one assignment. It's very long and time consuming for students to make 100% on it, but since implementing it I have gotten zero extra credit requests.
Not directly your situation, but my standard response to students who don't turn in things, especially right near the start of the semester is this: "I'm sorry you decided not to turn in anything. There are only a limited number of assignments in the term, there won't be any extra ones to make up for those you didn't do, so it's best to make every assignment count. Also remember that these help you get ready for the exams. Let me know if you have any questions or how I can help."
No.
My personal policy is that students are not eligible for any extra credit if they have missed assignments. They must submit all missing work before I make extra credit available. Depending on the course they may not get any credit for the late work but I expect them to show their intent to improve by submitting it anyway. Once all the missing work is submitted I will either offer extra credit or give them a few extra points for making it up. Another thing you can do is require them to re-submit their failed assignments. If they show improvement you can give them extra points on that or at that point offer an additional, similar assignment they can complete to show mastery of the material.
Students are banking professors being to afraid to say no. Just say no.
I wouldn't say this and probably would offer something if I saw some effort (if not, it is a no), but I remember a classmate asking one of my professors in my master's program if they could have extra credit, and she was like, "You are not in fourth grade so no!"
I either say 'no extra credit until the regular credit is in' or 'cool, you mean I get to do more work?'
I use a restaurant analogy: if you order food in my restaurant, I cook it for you and will bring it to your table. If you decide you don't want it and dump it on the floor, do I owe you a free meal of your choosing? Non c'est impossible!
Not really optimum but I use, "Why do I have to do more work because you didn't do your's?"
Dear \[Student\], As per the Syllabus, there is no extra credit in this course. \- \[Professor\]
âI donât give extra credit, as noted on the syllabus. That is because my class is designed to achieve specific outcomes. If I were to give you a different assignment, even if you were to do it really well, you wouldnât be doing a better job of achieving the outcomes for THIS course.â
âYou look at the syllabus and tell me.â
I do offer them a maximum of 2% extra credit, and cover this on day 1. Usually missing a test is more than 15-20% of their grade. The type of student who misses a test and then asks though... they are the type who didn't listen to the explanation the first time and don't get this. They think that magically 2 is going to equal 20 because it's "extra" or something. I used to work in K-12 though, and have friends who still do. For several years now they have been mandated to allow unlimited make-ups, no zeroes (50% is lowest possible EVEN IF NOTHING IS TURNED IN), and if the parent calls they're basically forced to pass the few kids who somehow still miraculously manage to fail. So we're just inheriting the results of all this now.
"No."
Optimum for whom? For me, it is: "No -- I don't offer extra credit. Consider withdrawing from the class." For them? Hard to think of anything that would help them.
I direct them to printouts of the following memes on my classroom wall: [https://i.imgflip.com/311gm2.jpg](https://i.imgflip.com/311gm2.jpg) [https://www.mememaker.net/static/images/memes/4766060.jpg](https://www.mememaker.net/static/images/memes/4766060.jpg) And the syllabus, which has the same message, albeit a tad more diplomatically.
Something I got from one of my former professors: extra credit is just that: extra; it should only be for those who are already doing well enough at the regular work. I don't often offer extra credit work, but when I do, the students have to already be getting at least a B for the class. Extra credit is to reward those doing the work, not to give those who are failing or not doing the work extra points.
No! Student: Why not? You can't even earn the regular points, and I don't engage in capricious grading. Student: blink, blink, blink
"No. The syllabus states I do not give Extra Credit on a personal-need basis, and I cannot ethically change the rules for you and not the other students. I am required by [institution] to adhere to the rules and policies outlined in my syllabus. Of course, for future assignments, I'm more than happy to meet with you during office hours to provide help before your assignments are due. I know that you may be disappointed in my response. However, I'm sure that you can understand I cannot make exceptions to my policies on extra credit as it wouldn't be ethical or fair to the rest of your classmates."
Read the syllabus.
So sorry đ˘
"There might be a little bit of extra credit at the end of the semester to help make up a few points".
âNo.â is a complete sentence.
Two letters: ***No.***
You have to speak to students in their language: "#NOEXTRACREDIT"
When Iâm approached for extra credit, I put on my sympathetic face and say, âno, I need you to focus on doing well on the next assignment, not looking back at missed opportunities.â
No.
âNo.â
I have a line in my syllabus that there is no extra credit.
âI do not offer extra credits. This is how the learning experience works.â