How Do I Give Extra Credit in a Course?

Canvas doesn’t have a dedicated “extra credit” button — how you set it up depends on whether your course uses straight point totals or weighted assignment groups. This guide covers both methods, along with a few smaller ways to add bonus points.

Before You Start: Preparation Checklist

Before you navigate to your Gradebook, decide on the following:

• Whether your course uses weighted assignment groups or a straight point total — the method you use depends on this.
• How much extra credit you’re offering, and how you’ll explain it in your syllabus so students know exactly how it affects their grade.
• If you use weighted groups, that it’s best to wait until the end of the term to finalize the extra credit weighting, after the rest of your grading is settled.
• That a zero-point assignment only affects a grade if another assignment in the same group carries positive points.

Give Extra Credit With Point-Based Grading

Use this method if your course grade is calculated from a simple point total rather than weighted groups.

1. Create a new assignment as you normally would.
2. Set Points to 0.
3. Choose a submission type, or No Submission if there’s nothing for students to turn in.
4. Save the assignment.
5. Once the work is complete, open the Gradebook and enter the extra points a student earned directly in that assignment’s cell — points above a zero-point value still count toward the total grade calculation.

Give Extra Credit With Weighted Assignment Groups

Use this method if your course grade is calculated from weighted assignment groups.

1. In Assignments, create a dedicated assignment group for extra credit.
2. In your assignment group weights, set this group’s percentage so the total across all groups exceeds 100% — for example, 105% — which is what lets the credit add points rather than just redistribute existing weight.
3. Add your extra credit assignment to this group, keeping it at 0 points through most of the term.
4. Once the term is ending and the rest of your grading is finalized, update the assignment’s point value and enter grades.
5. If you’re offering more than one extra credit assignment, consider a separate group for each rather than combining them, so one doesn’t skew the calculation for another.

Other Ways to Add Extra Credit

• Change an Assignment’s value to “0”: For an automatically-graded assignment (e.g., a quiz), you can change the assignment to be zero points after it closes, so any points garnered are applied to the student’s total score (if you are not using weighted assignment groups). 
• Direct Gradebook adjustment: Manually add extra points to an existing assignment’s grade in the Gradebook, rather than creating a new assignment.
• Quiz Fudge Points: Use Fudge Points on a quiz to add or subtract points from a student’s overall score.
• Rubric-based credit: Add an extra credit criterion to a rubric so its total exceeds the assignment’s point value.

Best Practices

• Always explain in your syllabus how extra credit is calculated, how it affects the final grade, and what conditions earn it.
• If you use weighted groups, hold off on finalizing the extra credit group’s weight until the end of the term, after all other grading is settled.
• Keep extra credit in its own assignment group when possible, so it’s easy to track and doesn’t interact unpredictably with drop rules on other assignments.
• Set a clear deadline for extra credit, just as you would for any other assignment.

Troubleshooting

Issue: You entered points on a zero-point assignment, but the total grade didn’t change.

Solution: Check whether another assignment in the same group has a positive point value. A zero-point assignment needs company in its group to factor into the calculation at all.

Issue: Extra credit didn’t add points — it just shifted other percentages around.

Solution: If you’re using weighted groups, confirm the extra credit group’s percentage was set to exceed 100% (like 105%) rather than being folded into the standard 100% total, so credit adds on top instead of redistributing existing weight.

Issue: A “drop lowest score” rule dropped an unexpected assignment after you added extra credit.

Solution: Extra credit sitting in the same group as regular graded work can interact with drop rules in unexpected ways. Keep extra credit in its own dedicated group so it doesn’t compete with regular assignments for a drop.

Self-Check Questions

• Does my course use weighted assignment groups or a straight point total — and does my method match?
• Have I explained in my syllabus exactly how extra credit affects the final grade?
• If I’m using a zero-point assignment, is there another assignment in the same group with positive points?
• If I’m using weighted groups, am I waiting until the end of the term to finalize the extra credit weight?
• Could my extra credit assignment interact unexpectedly with a “drop lowest” rule elsewhere in the course?

Additional Resources

• Instructure Community: How Do I Give Extra Credit in a Course?
• University of Tennessee OIT: Assigning Extra Credit in Canvas
• Utah State University Teach Center: Create an Extra Credit Assignment

Need Extra Support?

If you’d rather walk through your extra credit setup with someone, please reach out to the TLC!