Late Assignments
As a new instructor, having this element within your syllabus is key. I say this for a few reason. As a new instructor, if I did not provide this element early, students would walk all over me and use this to their advantage. For example, if they submit something late, they could come back to me and say, "it is was never outlined in the syllabus."
I will have little room to talk and my report with students will be tarnished. This will reflect on my abilities as a teacher for semesters to come.
And second, if this is noticed by students, some may take full advantage of this. They will not submit things on time because there are zero repurcussions.
The course syllabus and outlines are pre-made at my campus. We can't modify them but I do inform the students that points will be deducted each day for late work.
Hi Brandi,
We need to do everything we can to encourage our students to turn their work in on time. In the real world deadlines are meant to be adhered to, not broken.
Patricia Scales
I think that I will modify my syllabus to include percentage reductions for every day that an assignment is late if in fact it is allowed by my supervisor. This way, my students will not feel that late work is acceptable, which in turn enhances their sense of real-world responsibility.
Hi Joyce,
Wow, this stringent policy will certainly grab their attention.
Patricia Scales
Hi Cody,
If you establish guidelines that are consistent, yet fair, your students will rise to the standards. First of all, as instructors we cannot do things that is easiest for us, we must do what is best for the students.
Patricia Scales
I never thought of a letter grade per day. I usually deduct points but I like that better. Thanks.
But what if you only meet once a week? Would you do 20% per week. My concern is to keep things simple for me, fair to the students who get their work done on time and flexible for students who are less prompt. I have a lot of assignments and the last thing I want to do is spend extra time calculating the number of days and then applying the deduction. When I taught at the University I never accepted late work. If a student missed an exam they had to notify me before hand. I tried this my first quarter at MJ and their was so much late work that I was afraid that the entire class would flunk. Anyway, any thoughts?
I use the letter grade a day also. I explain to them that if they are late turning in a "project' in the real world they may not gt paid for it and even worse, they may not work for that company any more. It makes them think.
I let my students know that if work is not turned in at the beginning of class, then 5 points will be deducted after the first hour. If the assignment is not turned in by the end of the day then 10% will be deducted off their grade for everyday that it is not handed in. At the end of 3 days it is no longer an option to turn it in and 0 pts for that assignment will be entered.
I always deducted 5 points per day that the assignemnt was late, so depending on how late the assignment was and how many points it was worth to start off with, it may not be worth them even turing it in. I had some students that owed me points due to the assignment being so late.
The due date of all homework assignments are highlighted on the course outline that is overviewed on the first day of class. I often have students later attempt to turn in classwork as a homework assignment because they do not refer to the outline which indicates when homework is due. When this occurs I pull out the syllabus or have them retrieve their copy and review with the student the highlighted dates. I enter a grade of zero for the assignment on the due date and this grade remains until the assignment is completed by the student. I have very little problem with students prolonging the time to complete missed assignments. I believe it is because the course usually only meets 2 or 3 times each week for five weeks and the students know there is very little time.
I really like your idea of a letter grade a day. In a work environment they don't get many days or hours to complete their work. It is a great way to encourage them to do their work in a timely manner. Great idea.
It usually just takes once for the students to realize how much it effects their grade when they turn in a late assignment. I use the method of one letter grade per day late.
The syllabus's for my courses are all pre made and I can't really add much to them, but I do inform them that points will be deducted for late work.
