Assignments: those things that prevent you from having a life. They have random due dates and often should be handed in to dropboxes on obscure parts of campus. No one likes them, but everyone has to deal with them. Sometimes, it is hard to finish and hand them in on time. Most of us have missed one at some time or other. When we miss one, or anticipate missing one, the natural reaction is to ask for an extension. Some professors allow it, others do not.
One argument that those against extensions give is that assignments are all marked at the same time, and thus it would cause problems to have some come in later than others. This is, however, obviously nonsense. Everyone is aware that assignments are never returned until a long time after submission, and it is unlikely that some being a few days later would complicate anything for the marker. If it was the student’s responsibility to hand it in directly to the marker when given an extension, there is no added onus on the marker. Moreover, many assignments are now submitted online, and thus it should make little difference when it is handed in, as the marker is not required to physically remove anything from a dropbox.
A more sensible argument is that solutions to assignments are often provided after the due date, and thus someone handing in an assignment late would have access to the solutions. However, most assignments for chemistry, physics, or other areas where problems have analytical solutions have questions taken from textbooks with solution manuals. Even if this is not the case, most question types have solutions available readily online, though actual numbers may be different. In any case, it is not necessary to provide solutions immediately after the assignment’s due date. For example, in some courses there is a “grace period” of a few days after the due date where an assignment can still be handed in, with a late penalty.
Some people have also said that students should be responsible enough to finish their assignments on time, and thus, if a student misses one, they deserve the resulting grade of zero. However, this is not necessarily fair. In some cases, students have heavier-than-average course loads and have assignments due in clusters, leaving little time for each individual one. Other times, there are unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or family emergencies. In these cases, asking for an extension is the responsible course of action. In such a situation, an actually irresponsible individual would simply miss the assignment. By asking for an extension, students show that they are actually willing to do the necessary work, despite having other priorities. Even if the student was simply lazy or wasting time until the last minute, a late penalty should suffice. After all, assignments are usually not important.
Again, there is an argument that students should not be given extensions because they will grow used to them, and will not have the life skill of meeting hard deadlines. However, this is completely absurd. In the first place, there are many hard deadlines throughout the academic year- midterms, exams, large projects, etc. Not every deadline in life is completely rigid, so why should every academic deadline be? Furthermore, even in the real world, and with a rigid deadline, it is usually better to finish something late than not to finish it at all. Being late is not a good habit to cultivate, but surely it is even worse to cultivate the mentality that if something is behind schedule, one should simply give up on it.
In general, assignments are worth very little of the overall mark for a course. Indeed, their main purpose is for students to show that they are learning the material, and to provide a study guide for exams while showing what kind of problems will be asked. None of these are affected by a due date. If a student hands it in late, they have still done the required work, and derived the intended benefit; if it is still within a reasonable period of time, it should not cause any extra inconvenience for the instructor or TA.
Ideally, an assignment should be finished by the due date. However, there are numerous valid reasons for a student to submit one late, and it is better to finish it late than not to finish it at all. Furthermore, the main purpose of assignments is not to receive marks, but to study, learn material, and demonstrate that one has learned it. If a student has not done this on time, they can easily be penalized, but there should be a distinction between students who are delayed but are willing to work, and students who are unwilling to do it at all. If an assignment is submitted within a reasonable period of time, a student should get at least some credit for it. If a student asks for an extension in advance, that is a sign of responsibility, not irresponsibility. There is no good reason not to allow extensions on assignments.
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