I think there is a difference between the concept of "extra credit" and the
concept of "make-up" credit.
For example, our courses all have a lab component. We always have occasions
when a student misses a lab for a legitimate reason. To remedy this we have
make-up labs. These are no easier and no harder than regular labs. Often
these are regular labs that have been "retired" for a year or two.
Once we started offering make-up labs for students who missed a lab for
legitimate reasons, we started having students ask if they could do the
make-up lab in place of a lab they botched. We struggled with this for a
while. We certainly didn't want lots of enrollment in make-up labs
consisting primarily of students with B+ averages trying to get an A.
Although the department was not in full agreement, we finally decided that
in addition to making up legitimate missed labs, a student could do one
make-up lab to replace any lab for which the student recieved a grade less
than C-. We don't always know the reason a student fails a lab. It can be
fairly legitimate (illness that occured after the lab was performed but
during lab-report writing), or it can be pretty dumb (went to an all-night
party the night before the lab report was due.) Most often students making
use of this have failed a lab very early in the semester by not
understanding the expectations of the lab report, etc.
One way make-up credit differs from extra credit is the type of performance
the credit is supposed to fix. Students seeking extra-credit are usually
trying to remedy dismal performance all semester long. Students seeking
make-up credit are usually trying to remedy a single incident.
One of the things I have struggled with personally is trying to decide what
to do about students who are basically sound, but had something bad happen.
The bad thing could be a specific incident, or could be the broad problem of
getting a bad start in college. Of course, the first thing I have to decide
is whether the student is truthful and sincere. Did "the dog ate my
homework" really happen or not? Once I determine it really happened then I
have to decide the best way to deal with it. Is it simply a pat on the back
with the comment, "Gee, that's sad, I'm sorry for you." Or do I say, "Okay,
let's see what we can do to get you out of this hole."
I have a reputation of being a strict professor who grades hard. But I also
have a reputation for sitting down with students in trouble and providing
good advice for survival. Sometimes the message is not what they want to
hear (e.g. I think you need to take this course over again). Other times we
can work out a plan for make-up work that allows her to acheive the course
objectives. As I go through the options both in my mind and with the
student, I struggle with what this student wants, what this student needs,
what I am willing to do, what is fair... It's not easy. In the end, the
gift I offer is not a grade, not extra-credit assignments, but a plan. A
plan to help get the student back on his feet, or into a different major, or
to start over again with respect and not too much cost. Aside from facing a
stack of lab reports to grade, advising is the most difficult thing I do.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817