Jason, Policies and practices vary, and each institution and instructor has to decvide what workss best for them. Personally, I feel up to a half a letter grade of looser, possibly not really extremly beneficial learning is more than I am will will to concede. For me, it's all about learning. And although I encourage extra assignments beyond what is called for, I rarely award more than a few points, certainly not enough to affect a grade. Worst case: the "C" student who is walking around with an "I got an "A" in that class" attitude. What about the students who truely earned all the legitimate points and received an A. That's not fair to those who work hard for their grades. That's my opinion, and not a teaching point for this forum. Barry Westling