Instructor: Add Extra Credit Options

Add Extra Credit (Bonus) to the Gradebook in two ways:

  • Create Extra Credit Grade Item/s.
  • Or, add Extra Credit points to individual activities.

Note: Managing Extra Credit varies according to the type of Grading System used in the course site, as well as how Extra Credit is organized in the Gradebook. Locate specific recommendations in the instructions below. 

Note: If using the Drop ungraded items Grade Calculation setting or a Category that drops the lowest grade/s, all grades must be entered for accurate extra credit calculation. 

1. Create: Extra Credit Grade Item/s - Points Grading System

Add extra credit to a Points Gradebook.

Extra credit can be organized as a Standalone Grade Item/s, grouped in an Extra Credit-Only Category, or grouped in a Mixed Category (extra credit and non-extra credit). Find specific instructions for these scenarios in the steps below.

Note: D2L Consulting recommends not putting Extra Credit Grade Items into a Category. Grade calculations are more transparent when extra credit is organized as a Standalone Grade Item/s.

Standalone Grade Item/s:

No additional steps necessary. Proceed to Step 1.

Item/s Within a Category:

Create the Category. On the Properties panel of the Category creation workflow, scroll to the Grading area. Select the Can Exceed option. Do this for an Extra Credit-Only Category or for a Mixed Category. Proceed to Step 1. 

Option to allow Extra Credit Category to exceed Category weight
  1. Select Grades.
  2. Select New and choose Item. New button selected, Item circled in red.
  3. Select Numeric.image of list of grade item types, numeric circled
  4. Enter the name of Extra Credit Grade Item in the Name field. Edit Grade item screen with Name field visible.
  5. If the Extra Credit Item does not belong to a Category, make no changes to the default Category setting (None). If the Extra Credit belongs to a Category, select the Category.  Category dropdown selection menu
  6. Enter the Maximum Points value. 
  7. Scroll down and select the Bonus checkbox. Bonus checkbox
  8. Save and Close.
  9. Return to Manage Grades. The Extra Credit Grade Item displays the Bonus icon (yellow, star) indicating D2L will treat it as a Bonus item. Extra Credit icon
  10. (Optional) If you would like the Final Calculated Grade to display as greater than 100%, change settings in the Final Calculated Grade Item to Can Exceed.
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2. Create: Extra Credit Grade Item/s - Weighted Grading System

Add extra credit items to a Weighted Gradebook.

Extra credit can be organized as a Standalone Grade Item/s, grouped in an Extra Credit-Only Category, or grouped in a Mixed Category (extra credit and non-extra credit). Find specific instructions for these scenarios in the steps below.

Note: D2L Consulting recommends not putting Extra Credit Grade Items into a Category. Grade calculations are more transparent when extra credit is organized as a Standalone Grade Item/s.

Standalone Grade Item/s:

  • Decide what weight you will assign to the Grade Item. To determine an appropriate weight, think in terms of letter grades on a 100-point scale. 
 Weight  Fraction of a Letter Grade Points on 100-Point Scale
10% whole 10
5% 1/2 5
2.5% 1/4 2.5
2% 1/5 2
1.75% 1/8 1.25
1% 1/10 1
  • Proceed to Step 1.

Item/s Within an Extra Credit-Only Category:

  • Create the Category.
  • On the Properties panel of the Category creation workflow, scroll to the Grading area.
  • Enter the Weight of the Category. To select an appropriate weight, think in terms of letter grades on a 100-point scale, see table above. 
  • Select the option, Allow category grade to exceed category weight. 
  • Scroll to the Distribution area and select, Distribute weight evenly across all items. Category Settings: weight, can exceed option, and distribution settings
  • Proceed to Step 1. 

Note: Adding weight to an Extra Credit Category will cause the Gradebook to total more than 100%. It is safe to ignore the warning message that displays in the Manage Grades view. 

Item/s Within a Mixed Category (Extra Credit and Non-Extra Credit):

  • Go to the Category and open the Properties tab (down caret > Edit).
  • Scroll to the Grading area.
  • Select the option, Allow category grade to exceed category weight. Checkbox allowing Category grade to exceed Category weight
  • Proceed to Step 1. 

Note: There may be cases when the Category should not be set to Allow category to exceed category weight, e.g., nesting extra credit items in a Mixed Category in order to boost (but not go beyond) the designated Category weight.

  1. Select Grades.
  2. Select New and choose Item. New button selected, Item circled in red.
  3. Select Numeric.image of list of grade item types, numeric circled
  4. Enter the name of Extra Credit Grade Item in the Name field. Edit Grade item screen with Name field visible.
  5. Determine contingent action:
    • If the Extra Credit Item does not belong to a Category, make no changes to the default Category setting (None).
    • If the Extra Credit Item belongs to a Category, select the Category.
  6. Enter the Maximum Points of the Extra Credit Grade Item.
  7. Scroll to the Bonus item checkbox and select Bonus. Bonus checkbox
  8. Determine contingent action:
    • If the Extra Credit Item does not belong to a Category, scroll up and enter the Weight of the Extra Credit Grade Item. Category weight of 1%
    • If the Extra Credit Item belongs to a Mixed Category (extra credit and non-extra credit), scroll up and enter the Weight of the Extra Credit Grade Item.
    • If the Extra Credit Item belongs to an Extra Credit-Only Category, scroll up and change the Weight of the Extra Credit Item to 100%. Category weight of 100%
  9. Select Save and Close.
  10. Return to Manage Grades. The Extra Credit Grade Item displays the Bonus icon (yellow, star) indicating D2L will treat it as a Bonus item. Extra Credit icon
  11. (Optional) If you would like the Final Calculated Grade to display as greater than 100%, change settings in the Final Calculated Grade Item to Can Exceed.
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3. Combine: Add Extra Credit Points to Individual Activities 

For either Grading System, add extra credit points to individual activities. 

When the Can Exceed option is selected for a Grade Item, students can earn more than the maximum points assigned to the activity. This allows the additional Extra Credit points to contribute towards the Final Calculated Grade. 

  1. Select Grades.image of grade settings with calculation options circled
  2. Select New and choose Item.New button selected, Item circled in red.
  3. Select Numeric.image of list of grade item types, numeric circled

     

  4. Enter the name of the Grade Item in the Name field.Edit Grade item screen with Name field visible.
  5. If the item belongs to a Category, and the Category has been created, select it from the dropdown menu. image of grade item properties page with category dropdown menu visible that reads Quizzes 20%
  6. Select the Can Exceed checkbox. This allows an instructor to manually give more points than the maximum number of points allocated to the Grade Item, e.g., 11/10 gives 1 point of Extra Credit.image of grade item properties page Can Exceen checkbox checked and circled
  7. Save and Close.

    Note: If the Extra Credit Grade Item belongs to a Category, and you would like the Category Subtotal to display as greater than 100%, you must edit the Category and select the option to Allow category grade to exceed category weight. 

  8. (Optional) If you would like the Final Calculated Grade to display as greater than 100%, change settings in the Final Calculated Grade Item to Can Exceed.
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