James, One technique I use with projects is to give a due date, but also earlier partial due dates, in an effort to "force" students to be accountable. For instance, I'll give a date for each of the following for a paper with PPT project: topic due by xxx; references used due by xxx; outline due by xxx; rough draft due by xxx; etc. I also allow the student to submit their project beforehand if they want me to comment beforehand. I also rely on a grading rubric that both the student and instructor are accountable for. Together, these measures tend to produce better results than just leaving it up to the student to decide. Barry Westling