Sensitivity Analysis of Extra Credit Assignments

Abstract

In post-secondary management education, students receive course grades that often include points for extra credit assignments (ECAs). Although ECAs abound on college campuses we found that the literature lacks specific guidelines for faculty on how to use ECAs effectively to facilitate students' learning. To address this gap, the study examines the relationship between students' effort needed to complete an assignment and the number of extra credit and points student expect to get in return. Based on data collected from a sample of 102 college students, we calculated acceptable point ranges for faculty to use for four commonly found ECA types in management education. We employed a technique used in research pricing referred to as Van Westendorp's price sensitivity analysis and modified it to the extra credit setting. Further, our results indicate that there is a non-linear relationship between effort and expected credit points, and this effect is varied by difficulty of course. We conclude with key observations and suggestions for management education and future research.

Performance, behaviour and perceptions of an open educational resource-derived interactive educational resource by online and campus university students

“…These findings align with research that suggests that higher-performing students are more likely to complete extra credit activities (Harrison, Meister, and Lefevre 2011;Silva and Gross 2004). We believe that the extra credit points offered were appropriate and did not contribute to grade inflation, considering that it accounted for approximately 1% of all possible course points similar to extra credit offered previously (Haber and Sarkar 2017;Silva and Gross 2004).…”