The Mulligan 🎯

A second chance at missed points.

What Is “The Mulligan”?

The Mulligan is a grading policy built into this course that rewards consistent effort, supports growth, and helps students recover from setbacks — while still protecting academic standards.

  • Rewards consistent effort throughout the semester
  • Allows growth and recovery through a strong final project
  • Supplments missing points by reflecting content mastery
The Mulligan is designed to give all students a fair second chance.

How The Mulligan Works

The final project can help you recover points you missed earlier in the semester. Your recovery points are based on your final project performance and your semester participation. These points are capped for fairness.

You may recover up to 75% of the points you missed from the non-final portion of the course.
  • There is a cap on these points to ensure fairness
Recovery is designed to benefit students who completed more coursework during the semester more than students who skipped work.

The Big Picture

Semester Work

  • Quizzes
  • Labs
  • Assignments
  • Capstone Projects/Exams

Final Project

The final project is a comprehensive project that demonstrates cumulative understanding — and it may also unlock a recovery bonus.

Why It Rewards Doing the Work

More completion = more benefit

Two students can have the same average, but the student who completed more coursework will receive more benefit from the Mulligan.

Skipping work limits recovery

Skipped or missing coursework reduces how much recovery can apply, even with a strong final project.

Examples

Example 1

Consistent Student

  • Non-final average: 85%
  • Final project: 90%

Only a small amount is missing, so the recovery bonus is small — final grade stays in the A range.

Example 2

Rough Start, Strong Finish

  • Non-final average: 60%
  • Final project: 100%

The student missed 40 points; up to 75% of that is 30 points, which is below the 40-point cap — strong final unlocks most of the recovery. Final grade typically lands in the B range.

Example 3

Significant Gaps

  • Non-final average: 40%
  • Final project: 100%

The student missed 60 points; 75% would be 45 points, but recovery is capped at 40 points. Helpful — but it does not erase a weak semester.

The “YOLO Final” Rule

If a student completes less than 50% of the non-final coursework (by points available), the final course grade is capped at 70% (C), regardless of final project performance.
The Mulligan is a second chance for engaged students — not a replacement for semester-long participation.

What The Mulligan Is (and Isn’t)

The Mulligan IS

  • A second chance
  • A reward for persistence
  • A way to recognize growth

The Mulligan IS NOT

  • A shortcut
  • A replacement for coursework
  • A guarantee

The Takeaway

  • Do the work (consistency matters)
  • Learn from mistakes (growth is expected)
  • Finish strong (the final project can help)
The Mulligan rewards students who stay engaged throughout the semester.