I use a "No Late Work"policy that has been quite effective over the years. My stiudents know I don't play the "I could not get it done" game. They know the rule and the consequence if it broken. Of course there are guidelines for extreme situations, such as illness.
Last semester, I did not use the policy because I felt that the students needed a time out from the past practices of the B. Now, I don't know if she used a similar policy, but I do know she was not sympathic. Well, being leinient did not work for me at all. I had to chase students for their assignments. I was getting work the day before grades were due! Something I would normally avoid.
I think being so leinent is a bad idea and sets a bad example for what they will see when hey go out into the real world as paralegal Deadlines are important and can make or break a case. But, I don't want to go from zero to 360, and end up losing them at the same time.
Husband suggested doing a grade lowering consequence. For every day the assignment is late, I drop the grade one letter.
What do you think? Discuss.
Btw, typing this post on my phone is a pain. Sorry for any typos!
About Me
- Seeking Solace
- I am a college professor who is fumbling through the chaos of academia, rheumatoid arthritis, working on my PhD and just being a 40 something woman. I used to be a lawyer, which made me a snarky little person. I have a wonderful Husband and a German Shepherd named Junior. They help keep me sane.
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5 comments:
I'm with H. That way they can still earn some points, but there are consequences. And in the next term, go back to your old policy--it's a lot easier to enforce and be fair to everyone.Remember that you're training them for the working world, too...
I say since they clearly took advantage of your leniency, it's time to go full force and go back to your original policy. My boss wouldn't lower my salary if I miss deadlines, he would just boot me out of the company! It's a lesson they should learn now.
A letter grad is hard if it's per day....I had a prof who allowed one assignment, and only one assignment that you could turn in whenever (she assigned work daily, it was a major writing course). We could pick which one it was.
I would say something like after the first day - day 4 they can earn 80%. They lose the ability to get 100% after the first day. Then the next four days the max they can get is 60%, etc.
But then again, I have the same policy as you, but my students also know that if they come to me with a legit issue, I'll give them an extension. If they miss that extension, too bad.
I give them a set number of "late" days for the semester. Usually 3-4. They can use them on any assignment. They could be late 1 day on 3 assignments or late 3 days on one assignment. After that I either don't accept or go down a letter grade for each day late. I've found this to work and rarely get late assignments. When someone is going to be late they tell me and I remind them of the number of days they have.
In terms of the real world, I'm not sure if it emulates it or not. In my real world there are deadlines I can't be late for and others where I can ask for a short extension.
Here's what I started doing last semester: On the day an assignment (for me, a paper) is due, they have class time to work on it. It's due by a certain time that day regardless of what time their class is (usually the time my last class ends and I'm ready to get the hell out of Dodge). They are free to continue tweaking the paper in the lab, mad dashing around or whatever as long a they get it to me on time. I'll also provide open review during this time.
This has turned out to be *hugely* successful for one reason: they figure out that if they get it done early, they don't have to come to class. There is no class b/c I just sit in my office waiting for submissions. They like feeling like they have a freebie, so they get it done early and turn it in. It's a huge incentive for them.
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