Late policy
Assignments are due at the date and time specified on the syllabus or discussed in class (Not attending class is not an excuse for failing to keep up to date on due dates). Unless I specifically note otherwise, however, you can almost always take a few extra hours without asking permission.
If you need a long extension than this, you should ask. As long as I haven’t started marking the exercise, I am usually fine with granting extensions. I am less able to accommodate extensions after I have begun marking the assignment.
If you are sick, have a family emergency, or face some other crisis, I am almost always willing to grant an extension. While I prefer to know in advance, I can accept retroactive requests when the nature of the emergency requires it. I do not normally need a doctor’s note or other evidence, though I reserve the right to ask.
If I do not grant an extension, late penalties may apply. These can be as high as 1/3 for a letter grade per day (i.e. a “B” essay that is one day late would receive a grade of “B-”; if it is two days late, its grade would be lowered to a “C+”). Penalties are applied after an essay is graded (so you will know both the original and the final grade after penalties have been applied).
There are three times I am inflexible about extensions; these are exceptions to my usual policies and can have more significant consequences):
- When the nature of the assignment requires work to be submitted at a specific time for some pedagogical reason (i.e. in class presentations, peer review, etc.). In such cases it is usually not possible to grant any extensions except medical/emergency ones.
- Exams: I normally give students a window in which to write exams. Because I need to coordinate this with the testing centre, it is difficult to grant extensions to this window. Except in extremely unusual cases, you must write exams during the window specified. Emergencies and “unusual cases” do not include vacations, weddings, and the like. The schedule (and syllabus) is available before the beginning of term. Do not take the class if you have an unavoidable social obligation that will prevent you from writing a text or exam.
- Final Exams: If there is a final exam in my class, it is usually on Moodle and runs from the first to the last day of the exam period. I am not allowed by university regulations to grant extensions or other exceptions to this date. If you must miss the exam period for some emergency reason, you need to contact the registrar’s office or student advising to see what, if any, options are available for you.
