canvas make assignment extra credit

University Center for Teaching and Learning

How to assign extra credit in canvas, extra credit overview, create a new assignment, add extra points to an existing assignment, fudge points, adding extra credit to the rubric.

Assigning extra credit may take some getting use to because there is no place within the assignments settings that you check to make the assignment worth extra credit. Yet, because of this, Canvas gives a lot of flexibility in how extra credit can be given to students.

Ways to Add Extra Credit

• Create A New Assignment Using Assignment with No Submission
• Using a Rubric

For specific information on how to add extra credit using the above methods, see the following Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I give my students extra credit?

*Note – You can add extra credit manually by downloading/exporting your Gradebook to Excel. This will be down in the Grade Override Column and to be completed at the end of the course, when entering final grades.

Keeping that in mind, the biggest determinant of how you set up your extra credit in Canvas is whether you are using a points-based gradebook or a weighted gradebook. A Points-Based Gradebook allows for the most flexibility in offering extra credit. The tabs above include ways to add extra credit for Point-Based Gradebooks.

Note: Adding extra credit to a Percentage-Based Gradebook does not work that well in Canvas. In general the best way to add extra credit to a percentage based gradebook is to NOT ADD EXTRA CREDIT UNTIL AFTER ALL OTHER COURSE GRADES ARE ENTERED INTO THE GRADEBOOK (including the final exam). Extra credit WILL NOT calculate correctly until ALL OTHER COURSE GRADES ARE ENTERED. This is because by adding the extra credit the gradebook is going over the normal 100%. You can add extra credit by adding an Assignment Group (category) for “extra credit” and make it worth the percent you would like the overall course grade to be raised if students get the full amount of extra credit.

Navigate to your course Assignments Page, and add a new assignment worth zero points. Make sure that the submission type is either “no submission” or “paper submission,” and click Save & Publish to create a column for this extra credit “assignment” in your Gradebook. If you are using a point structure and do not have weighted assignment groups, follow these steps.

• Click Assignments in the course navigation
• Click +Assignment
• Type the Assignment Name (for example, Extra Credit)
• Type 0 for Points
• Choose No Submission for the Submission Type
• Click Update Assignment
• Click Publish

After students complete the work, manually add points in the Gradebook.

• Click Grades in the course navigation
• Navigate to the new assignment (Extra Credit)
• Type the points for those students receiving extra credit

Adding extra points to an Assignment you’ve already created you will need to manually enter the extra points in the Gradebook.

In this example, the assignment is worth 40 points. Adding 5 extra points will bring the assignment total for this student to 45 points. The added points will increase total points calculated in the Gradebook’s final grade.

You can use Fudge Points to add extra points to a quiz. Fudge points allow you to manually add or remove points from a student’s overall quiz score.

• Click Quizzes in Course Navigation
• Click on the quiz you want to add extra points to
• Click SpeedGrader
• In the Student drop-down menu, select the name of the student that you want to give extra points to
• Enter the number of points you want to add to the overall quiz score in the Fudge Points field at the bottom. The Final Score shows the final score this student will receive.
• Click Update Scores to save the change to the student’s quiz score.

*Note – Fudge Points can only be added to Quizzes.

If you use a rubric to grade an assignment, you could make an additional criterion to the rubric for extra credit. Make sure the rubric is worth more points than the assignment so when you give students extra points it doesn’t affect the actual assignment points. For additional information on creating a rubric, please check out the Canvas Guides

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Assigning Extra Credit in Canvas

There may be times when you’d like to offer extra credit to your students. While there is no explicit “extra credit” option available in Canvas, this How-To outlines a few options for giving extra credit points.

The three options here will serve a majority of need cases. If you have a more complex extra credit need (for example in classes with both undergraduate and graduate students or on quizzes) please contact Canvas Support as outlined below.

Option 1: Adding Points to an Existing Assignment

When giving points to students on graded assignments in the Gradebook, you can add the extra credit points directly to their score.

Locate the assignment in the Gradebook, click on the score area for the student you want to give extra credit to and update the score points.

In the example at right, the student has been awarded 2 extra credit points for a final score of 7 out of 5.

NOTE: this option will not work for assigning extra credit on Quizzes. Please contact Canvas Support for assistance with extra credit on quizzes.

Option 2: Create an Extra Credit Assignment

This option works well if you are using a point structure and not using  weighted grades.

• Create an assignment called “Extra Credit” [1]
• Assign a point value of Zero [2]
• Make the submission type No submission [3]
• You do not need to set a Due or Until date

At the end of the term, manually assign points to students for this "assignment" in the Gradebook.

Option 3: Weighted Assignment Group

This option works best in courses that are using a weighted Gradebook. Create an Assignment Group named "Extra Credit."

Assign the weight for this group making sure that the overall grade percentage goes over 100%.

For further assistance, UO Online & Canvas Support are available.

• In-Person: Room 68 PLC
• By phone: (541) 346-1942
• By email:  [email protected]
• Submit a  Service Portal Ticket  ( opens in a new tab) . This form can also be accessed in Canvas from the  Help  button at the bottom of the  Global Navigation Menu . 

Weighting Grades, Giving Extra Credit, and Other Tips on Managing Assignments and Grades in Canvas

by Cecilia Lo | Aug 20, 2018 | Canvas , Canvas Features/Functions , How-tos

Canvas provides a fully functional gradebook that can help both instructors and students to keep track of their progress in a course. Once you figure out its few quirks, you will be able to manage grades with ease.

I. Some Terminology: Assignment Groups vs. Assignments, & How They Relate to Gradebook Columns II. Weighting Grades III. Muting Grade Notifications IV. Grade History – Who Changed The Grade When? V. Using Grading Schemes VI. Curving Grades VII. Giving Extra Credit VIII. Tools and Course Setup for Multiple TAs IX. Excluding an Assignment from the Course’s Final Grades X. Filtering by Modules, Automatic Late Policies, & Other New, Helpful Functions in the New Gradebook XI. Resources

I. Some Terminology: Assignment Groups vs. Assignments, & How They Relate to Gradebook Columns

There are two common sources of confusion in understanding and using Canvas assignments and gradebooks. One is the distinction between Assignment Groups and Assignments. Assignment Groups are categories of assignments, such as problem sets, papers, quizzes, exams, presentations, and participation. They are important for organizational purposes and particularly important if you want to weight grades. Assignments are individual assessment items that receive grades, as, for example, first paper, second paper, or final paper. Assignment Groups and assignments are created separately. You can move assignments into different Assignment Groups by dragging them on the Assignment Index page or editing the Assignment.

Assignment groups vs Assignments

A second common source of confusion is how to create gradebook columns. In Canvas, assignments are tightly integrated with the Gradebook and the only way to create a gradebook column is to create and publish an assignment . This may seem unintuitive at first glance, as not all assignments require online submissions (e.g. attendance and participation or assignments done on paper). However, instructors can choose different submission types when they create an assignment— No Submission, Online, or On Paper . The one-to-one correspondence between the number of assignment items and the number of gradebook columns ensures that grading policy is transparent to the students and that both instructors and students always see the same number of assessment items.

II. Weighting Grades

You can have Canvas automatically calculate weighted grades in just a few clicks: on the Assignment Index page, click Options , select Assignment Group Weight , then enter the percentages for each Assignment Group. For example, in a course where the grades are determined as follows:

The process for weighting grades is:

To weight grades, go the the Assignments page, click on the Options button, select Assignment Groups Weight , select the Weight final grades based on assignment groups check box, enter the weights, and click Save .

How Canvas Calculates Weighted Grades for an Assignment Group

Canvas determines weighted grades by calculating:

• the grade (in percentage) of individual Assignment Groups (sum of points scored divided by total possible points);
• the total grade (sum of Assignment Group grades multiplied by their respective weights).

In the example for “Paper Assignments” Group above, there are 4 assignments, each worth 20 points; together they add up to 80 points. The Assignment group counts 30% towards the total grade. If a student scores 18, 16, 10, and 15 respectively, then

The subtotal grade for “Paper Assignment” is: (18 + 16 + 10 + 15)/80*100% = 73.75% The contribution of “Paper Assignment” to the Total grade is: 73.75% * 0.3 = 22.13%

Weighted Grades within an Assignment Group

In the above example, because each assignment has the same maximum points (20 points), each assignment contributes equally within the Assignment Group. If you wish a particular assignment to weigh more, just make sure it has a higher number of total points, or assign it to a separate Assignment Group.

Tips : If you have many assignments (about 10 or more) in one Assignment Group, and the total points for each assignment vary by one or two points, then by arithmetic the assignments contribute essentially equally to the Assignment Group grades, as the difference between each assignment after multiplying by the weighted percentage would be relatively small. (e.g. 1 point in an Assignment Group with a total of 100 points and which counts as 30% of the total grade is 0.3 points of the total grade.)

How Weighted Grades Appear in the Gradebook

In the Canvas Gradebook, each gradebook column (with linked heading) shows the raw points for an assignment (unless you have applied grade curving to it); the Assignment Group column (with black heading) shows the percentage a student scored for that Assignment Group; and the Total column shows the final, weighted grade.

In the example above, the Assignment Group column for “Paper Assignment (30.00% of grade)” is 73.75%.

NB : If a student didn’t submit a particular assignment, be sure to give it zero points. If you leave the score blank ( – ), Canvas will treat it as excused and ignore it in its calculation of the Assignment Group subtotal and Total scores.

For more about weighting grades, see: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10059-415267002

III. Muting Grade Notifications

When instructors enter grades into Canvas’ gradebook, a notification is sent to the student automatically . Some students are prone to panic if they find that their peers have received their grades but they have not. You can release grades to all students simultaneously if you select Mute Assignment and stop notifications from going out until you “unmute” the assignment. Muting assignments allows you time to review and make grade adjustments without sending students multiple notifications.

To mute an assignment, go to Grades, click on the options dropdown for the assignment, and select Mute Assignment:

Mute Assignment link in Canvas Gradebook

NB : Canvas does not include muted assignments in the Assignment Group and Total grade calculations—if it did, students would be able to calculate backwards and figure out what their grades are. Be sure to unmute assignments when you have finished grading them so that the gradebook calculations are correct.

For more about muting assignments, see: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-12961-4152724339

IV. Grade History – Who Changed The Grade When?

From time to time you may wish to track how a student’s grade for a particular assignment changes over time, especially when there are multiple instructors or TAs giving grades in a course. Canvas’ Grade History tool can be helpful in such cases.

To access Grade History, click on the Options (gear) icon in Grades and select View Gradebook History . (In the New Gradebook, select the Gradebook dropdown, then “Gradebook History…”.)

To view grade history in the old Gradebook, select View Gradebook History from the gear icon on the Grades page, enter filter parameters and click the Filter button.

How to read Gradebook History

• The Before column shows the grade before the change at a particular date and time (row).
• The After column shows the grade after the change at a particular date and time (row).
• The Current column always shows the latest grade; it is the grade a student has now.

Example of Grade History

In the example above, on Jun 27, 2018 at 4:25pm, the Before column is empty because it is the first time a grade (0/20) is entered. On Aug 16, 2018, this grade is changed from 0/20 to 20/20. The Current grade for all rows is 16/20 because on Aug 17, 2018, the last time this grade was edited, the grade has been changed from 20/20 to 16/20.

NB : The dropdown selection can take a few seconds to display, especially if there are many students in a course. Be sure to click the maroon Filter button at the end to filter the results. You can filter for more than one category; for example, you can filter for student name and assignment name simultaneously.

V. Using Grading Schemes

You can apply a specific grading scheme to your assignment and/or overall course grade so that each letter or performance grade corresponds to a specific numeric grade range (e.g. A/Excellent = 91% to 100%; A-/Good = 88%-90%; etc). Once you have created a grading scheme, it can be reused in other courses you teach with just a few clicks.

Select Grading Scheme for an Assignment

To display letter grade for an assignment, edit the assignment, choose Letter Grade under the Display Grade as dropdown menu.

• Choose the appropriate grading scheme (see “Choose/Create New Grading Schemes” below).

Choose/Create New Grading Schemes

Click on the View Grading Scheme link under Display Grade as to choose the appropriate grading scheme.

Click on the Select Another Scheme link at the top right to select another grading scheme.

• To create a new grading scheme, click manage grading schemes link at the bottom right, then click the Add grading scheme button on the right.

Use Grading Scheme for the Total Grade in Your Course

You can display the Total grade of your course as a letter/performance grade by going to Settings > Course Details > Select the check box for Enable course grading scheme > Choose the appropriate grading scheme > Click the Update Course Details button at the bottom of the page.

To enable grading scheme for the course total grade, go to course Settings , check the Enable course grading scheme box, click the Select grading scheme link, then select the appropriate grading scheme, click Done , then click the maroon Update Course Details button.

For more information, see:

• [Overview] How do I use grading schemes in a course? https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-13067-4152206341
• How do I add a grading scheme to an assignment? https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10216-415282270
• How do I enable a grading scheme for a course? https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-12906-415257089
• How do I add a grading scheme in a course? https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10313-415257090

VI. Curving Grades

You can use the Canvas Gradebook to curve grades for individual assignments. When you enter a desired average grade, Canvas will automatically adjust the scores as a bell curve 66% around the average curve.

Grade curving is available for assignments only ; if you wish to curve the total grade of a course, you will need to do so manually. Grade curving cannot be undone (although you can use Gradebook History to view pre-curved grades) and is advisable in courses where only a certain number of students can pass, or when you require a fixed distribution of grades distributed throughout the class.

Step-by-step instructions on curving grades are available at: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-12832-415255003

VII. Giving Extra Credit

Do you want to give extra credit to students but are unsure how get Canvas Gradebook to recognize it? There are a few ways to do this:

Method 1: Add Extra Points to an Existing Assignment/Quiz

You can give extra credit to a particular assignment by adding the extra points to the total points a student scored, even if the student received a perfect score. Canvas allows you to give points greater than the highest possible points.

For example, If an assignment is worth a total of 100 points, a student earned a perfect score of 100, and you want to reward them with 5 extra credit points, you can enter 105 as the grade for the assignment.

If you use Canvas’ SpeedGrader for grading, you can enter the extra points in SpeedGrader. If you use rubrics in conjunction with SpeedGrader, you can add the extra points either to an existing rubric criterion or to an “Extra Credit” criterion. If you decide to add an “Extra Credit” criterion, make sure that the assignment point total excludes the total maximum extra credit points (i.e. the rubric is worth more points than the assignment) so that the actual assignment points are not affected by whether a student receives extra credit or not.

For example, if your rubric has four criteria with 4 maximum points each, and an “extra credit” criterion with 2 points each, then the maximum point total for your rubric is 4×4 + 2 = 18 points. But your assignment point total should be 16 points.

You can give extra credit in Quizzes as well. To adjust the point value for an entire quiz, use fudge points .

Method 2: Grant Extra Points in a Stand-alone “Extra Credit” Assignment and Gradebook Column

If you want to keep track of extra credit for the course as a whole, you can create a stand-alone extra credit assignment and gradebook column and adjust a student’s points as needed.

If you don’t weight your grades , you can create a separate assignment with 0 points. Any extra points given in this gradebook column will be added to the total points for the course.

If you weight your grades with assignment groups, you will need to create an extra credit assignment group with a weight greater than 0% and an assignment with greater than 0 points in order for Canvas Gradebook to calculate the total score correctly. All the assignment groups in your course plus the extra credit assignment group should weigh more than 100% in total.

One example of a correct setup for assignment groups with a maximum of 10% (or 10 points) extra credit for the course is:

Notice that the first 4 assignment groups, containing assignments that all students are assessed on, total to 100%. This ensures that any assignment placed within the Extra Credit assignment group will have either a positive or neutral effect on your students’ overall grade.

• If you are weighting your assignment groups, please pay attention to how weighted groups can affect the Gradebook if assignments are worth zero points.
• If you have drop rules set in an assignment group, adding extra points may affect your students’ scores.

For a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to give extra credit within Canvas, see: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9940-415278195

VIII. Tools and Course Setup for Multiple TAs

If you have multiple TAs working from the same Canvas course site and they are each assigned to a specific group of students, Academic Technology Solutions can help you set up your course site so that they only see the grades of the students they are responsible for. To get started, email the URL of your course site and a brief description of your needs to [email protected] .

IX. Excluding an Assignment from the Course’s Final Grades

If you wish to provide feedback for assignments without the assignment counting toward Gradebook calculations, you can exclude the assignment in the final grade calculation. (Note: this excludes the grade for all students. If you want to assign an assignment to a specific group of students, you should specifically assign course sections , assign individual students , or assign course groups to the assignment.)

For step-by-step instructions, see: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10120-4152618765

Alternatively, you can have Canvas automatically drop the lowest (or highest) grade in an assignment group. See https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9880-4152232976 for step-by-step instructions.

X. Filtering by Modules, Automatic Late Policies, & Other New, Helpful Functions in the New Gradebook

In January 2018, Canvas released the New Gradebook, which offers a number of enhanced features, such as filtering by modules, automatic late policies, and customizable coloring. The current gradebook is expected to be deprecated and replaced by the New Gradebook sometime in the second half of 2018. For more information on how to opt-in and use the new features, see ATS’ “ Introducing the New Gradebook ” blog post.

XI. Resources

You can see the complete Instructor Guides for the topics discussed above at:

• Assignments
• Discussion Forums
• Online Quizzes
• Speedgrader

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Instructional Technology Blog

ITG supports faculty use of technology for teaching and learning at Emerson College

• by Isobel Rounovski
• December 12, 2023 August 17, 2023

Setting Up Extra Credit in Canvas

One of the most common questions we get each semester is about how to set up extra credit in Canvas. There are multiple ways to do so, but we’ll go over the two most common methods in this blog post.

Create an extra credit assignment using weighted assignment groups

The first method for setting up an extra credit assignment is to add an extra credit weighted assignment group containing only the extra credit assignment. For example, let’s say you add an Extra Credit assignment group worth 3%. Your grading breakdown may look something like the following:

Since all the assignment groups total to 100% before the extra credit group is added, the addition of the extra credit group means that each student now has an opportunity to earn up to an additional 3% on top of their final grade. It also means that no student will be penalized for not completing the extra credit assignment, since everyone still has an opportunity to earn a full 100% over the course of the semester by completing all the other assignments.

You can only use this method if you already use weighted assignment groups.

Create an extra credit assignment with zero point value

The other method is to add an extra credit assignment worth 0 points, but then grade it out of a predetermined, non-zero point value (and let students know ahead of time how you’ll be grading the assignment). You can use this method regardless of if your assignment groups are weighted or unweighted. 

The weight of the extra credit assignment depends on whether you use weighted assignment groups or not, and how many points your other assignments are worth. We’ll go over a couple examples that show how you can calculate the weight of the extra credit assignment.

Example 1: weighted assignment groups

For this example, let’s say that you want to add an extra credit discussion, and your Discussions assignment group is weighted at 20%. You have 10 discussions in the group already, worth 10 points each. Remember, the extra credit assignment you add as the 11th discussion to the group will be worth 0 points, but graded out of a non-zero point value. In this example we’ll say that the discussion will be worth 0 points but graded out of 10 points.

The discussion group still is worth a total of 100 points, but students can now earn a maximum of 110 points. This means that the total maximum credit a student can earn for the discussions group weighted at 20% is (110/100)*20% = 22% contributed towards their final grade. Since the pre-extra credit maximum percentage possible for discussions was 20%, and now students can earn up to 22%, in effect the extra credit assignment is worth 2% of final grades (in other words, each student now has an opportunity to earn up to an additional 2% on top of their final grade by completing the extra credit discussion).

Example 2: unweighted assignment groups

This example involves a grading set up that uses a lump sum of point values to calculate final grades, rather than using weighted assignment groups. Let’s say the point value for all assignments in the course is 200 points, which means student’s final grades are calculated by taking the total points earned for all assignments divided by 200 points possible. You add an extra credit assignment worth 0 points, but it will be graded out of 10 points, meaning a student can now earn a maximum of 210 points out of 200. A student earning the maximum number of points would have a final grade of 210/200 = 105%, which means that by completing the extra credit assignment, a student can earn up to an additional 5% on top of their final grade.

Grading students who do not complete the extra credit

Regardless of which of the two methods you may use, when grading the  extra credit assignment it’s best to excuse students who do not complete the assignment rather than give a zero. 

Giving those students a zero will not penalize them since the opportunity for each student to earn a full 100% for the course is still there, but note that if a zero for the extra credit is applied before all other assignments are graded, the zero will artificially deflate grades (giving the appearance that students are being penalized for not completing the extra credit). This happens because any yet-to-be-graded assignments are ignored by Canvas in final grade calculation. Therefore, the best way to avoid this is to mark students as “Excused” rather than giving a zero. Any student who is marked as “Excused” for an assignment will have that assignment excluded from their final grade calculation.

Need more help with setting up extra credit?

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] or 617-824-8090 for further assistance.

Featured image by Memed_Nurrohmad  from  Pixabay

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• How do I give extra credit in a course?

You will learn how to award your students extra credit (additional points) in your course in Canvas. There are several different ways to award extra credit within Canvas.

Choose the method below that you are interested in learning about:

Follow the steps in this video to learn how to create an extra credit Assignment. This way of giving extra credit is good for when you have a gradebook that does not use weights; it is straight points. If your gradebook uses weights, then see the section on creating extra credit using weights .

The key to this method is that you make the Assignment worth zero points , but then you grade it based on how many extra credit points you want to award.

1. Make sure that your extra credit Assignment is zero points.

2. Award points in the SpeedGrader.

All points awarded are extra credit.

3. Or, award points in the gradebook.

Follow these steps to award extra points to an Assignment.

Decide whether you want to award points in the SpeedGrader or the gradebook.

Follow these steps to add extra points to an Assignment.

1. Click on the Assignment link.

2. Click on SpeedGrader.

3. Type the desired total score.

Note how in the screenshot below, the submission has been graded 11 out of 10, meaning 1 point of extra credit.

4. The grade now displays in the gradebook.

Follow these steps award extra points directly in the gradebook. This may well be the easiest way to award a student extra points for a given assignment.

1. Enter the gradebook and click on the cell.

In this sample, the student has been awarded 10 points out of 10.

2. Type the desired score.

3. Hit Enter or click somewhere else.

The new grade now displays in the gradebook.

Follow these steps to award extra points for a student by using the Override column in the gradebook.

1. Click on the gear icon in the gradebook.

2. Click on the Advanced tab.

3. Tick the box to Allow final grade override.

4. Click on Update.

5. There is now an Override column in the gradebook.

6. Click on the cell.

7. Type the desired score which will be displayed as a percentage.

In this example, the grade is being raised from 89.47% to 90% allowing the student to receive an A- instead of a B+.

8. The Override grade now displays.

Note that the grade of 90 displays as 90%.

9. The student view of the gradebook shows only the override, not the original grade.

Are you using a Classic Quiz or a New Quizzes quiz?

Follow these steps to add "Fudge points" or extra credit to a student's quiz. This process must be done one student at a time.

1. Click on the quiz.

2. Click on Build.

3. Click on Moderate.

4. Click on Attempt.

5. Decide whether to adjust points at the question level or the quiz level.

5.1. Type the number of points to award for a specific question.

5.2. Click on Update.

5.3. The new grade now displays in the gradebook.

5.1. Type a score in the box.

5.3. The new grade now appears in the gradebook.

Follow these steps for a Classic Quiz. You can add "fudge points" to the whole quiz or adjust the grade for an individual question.

1. Click on the quiz link.

Decide whether you want to add points to a specific question or two the quiz as a whole (fudge points).

2.1. Type the desired point value for a specific question.

2.2. Click on Update Scores.

2.3. The gradebook now has the updated score.

2.1. Type the desired value in the Fudge Points.

2.3. The gradebook now shows the updated score.

Follow these steps to learn how to create a Rubric which has built in the possibility to add extra credit.

1. Click on Assignment link.

2. Note that the Assignment is 20 points but the rubric is for 21 points.

You can make your Rubric to have a different point value than your Assignment. Any extra points will essentially be counted as extra credit.

3. Click on SpeedGrader.

4. Click on View Rubric.

5. Award the desired points.

6. Click on Save.

7. Since the student received full marks on the Rubric, they have 21 out of 20 points.

So, the student has essentially 1 point of extra credit.

Follow these steps to award extra credit/extra points to an Assignment Rubric.

3. Click on View Rubric.

4. Click on the appropriate cells for the rubric.

5. Click on the points and type in the number you want to award.

Note that the rubric now has a score of 22 out of 20 points. Those two extra points are extra credit.

7. In the gradebook, the student now has 22 out of 20 points.

The students has two extra credit points for this Assignment.

1. Click on the cell and type the desired points.

In this sample, the student has been awarded 19 points out of 18, so that extra point is essentially extra credit.

2. Hit Enter or click somewhere else.

Follow the steps in this video to learn how to create an extra credit Assignment using a weighted gradebook (not straight points).

Related guides from other sources

• Managing Extra Credit in Canvas

Article Summary

You have now learned several ways to award your students extra credit in your course.

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Extra Credit Assignments

Canvas Teaching Tips are distributed by the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences Online and Academic Technology Services office and offer SHORT helpful tips about Canvas, online learning, and academic technology.

Click here for more Canvas Teaching Tips

Can I add an Extra Credit Assignment in Canvas?

The answer is YES! There are several methods for adding extra credit in Canvas.

To learn more about extra credit in Canvas and the best ways to add it to your course, see the guide below.

Click here for a guide to Extra Credit Assignments in Canvas

Click here to view an example of an extra credit assignment in Canvas

Canvas help is easy to find and always available. Click the Help button in the Canvas global navigation for 24 hour support and great help guides.

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Extra Credit in Canvas

Date posted: July 19, 2017

Three Ways to do extra credit

There are several approaches instructors can adopt to can give students extra credit in Canvas using Assignments:

• awarding extra points for an existing Assignment– or for a Discussion or a Quiz
• creating an Assignment worth zero points
• providing extra credit using weighted assignment groups

Award extra points to graded items

First, you can always add extra points to graded items such as Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes in the Canvas grade book. You can do this by typing new values directly into the cells while you are looking at the overview of the grade book. For Quizzes only, you can use the Fudge Points  feature in the SpeedGrader as an alternative. Be sure to click the button to update grades when issuing fudge points for a Quiz.

Assignments worth zero points

Instructors can create new assignments with zero points possible. After students complete the extra credit work, these Assignments should be graded and points should be awarded– even though the Assignment itself should stay set at 0 points.

The Assignment has to be set to zero points so that students who opt out of doing extra credit aren’t penalized. The grade book automatically totals the points from all graded, published items in the course – so if the Assignment did have points, all students’ overall grades as calculated by Canvas would be impacted.

Weighted Assignment Groups

Assignment Groups provide a means for organizing and working with multiple Assignments. Not only can instructors use Assignment Groups to weight the final grade , but since the total percentage of all assignment groups can be set above 100%, it’s possible to create an Assignment Group that houses extra credit Assignments.

The Canvas Guides explain the ins and outs of using this approach here

*Thanks to Gabrielle Orsi (Gabrielle.Orsi at lwtech.edu) for her help on this document.

Last Updated July 18, 2017

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Weighing Extra Credit in Canvas

Hi there professors,

I think one of my professors may have made a mistake when setting up the way different categories in canvas are weighted, but I wanted to check with you guys here first and make sure I'm right before I schedule office hours to discuss it.

Currently, our class is broken down into different weighted categories that make sense for the most part (Attendance is 10%, midterm is 25%, etc.). The entirety of the course does indeed add up to 100%.

When extra credit was added however, it was added as a new category with a 5% weight and 100% was given to students that completed it. So now it appears that the entire course is weighted out of 105%, and I have a 100% in that extra 5% category.

Am I correct in assuming that no real extra credit was applied? My thought is that now Canvas is factoring in that extra category in its calculations and scaling the calculation back down to 100% for grades to be displayed. I'm pretty sure this means that nobody actually got extra credit (and even penalizes the students that chose not to complete it), but perhaps Canvas is smart enough to know to apply anything over 100% as extra credit?

Would really appreciate some insight from your side as to how it works. Thanks!

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Kona Jones is a Professor of Psychology and Statistics at Galen College of Nursing. Her passion is student success and, more specifically, assessing how different initiatives can improve online student retention. Kona was technical editor of the 2022 Canvas for Dummies book and is a Canvas Advocate, contributing extensively in the online Canvas Community and beyond. She has a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology Leadership, M.S. degrees in Quantitative and Cognitive Psychology, and Undergraduate B.S. degrees in Biology, Psychology, & History.

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