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[bluesocks]

I am curious about other's late policies (for assignments).  How do you handle late assignments? 

I have found that my syllabus is slightly vague this semester--it won't be next semester. 

{And, yes, I am sure this has been covered, but it is the beginning of a new semester and maybe there are new insights.}

blue

[bellaswan]

For small homework assignments, I don't take them late--it's due at the start of class, and if you're late, oh well.  I will still comment on the work, but it receives no credit.

For papers, I subtract 5 points per day late, up to a week.  Again, these are due at the start of class; if they come in after I have collected the assignment, it's 5 points off the top.

[sugaree]

I have a stated policy that students must complete ALL formal assignments in order to pass the class (no matter their total value numerically). This means that I also have to accept late assignments whenever they come in and I do - with 2 points/day deductions that add up quickly.

[dr_evil]

Like Bellaswan, I don't take small assignments late.  For others, I deduct 20% per day late, 10% if it's late but in on the same day.

[carebearstare]

I do not accept small assignments (response papers, Blackboard postings) as late. If you don't do them on time, you get a zero.

For papers, I accept them as late with a 10% deduction for every day they are overdue, and they are overdue if they aren't submitted by 15 minutes into class. I count the late time as class start time, meaning if class starts at 4PM on Monday, a paper turned at 5PM on Tuesday is two days late, not one.

[svenc]

I don't accept any late assignments, but am also very liberal about granting extensions if they are requested in advance (and I explain this in my syllabus).   

I've been pleasantly surprised at how few complaints I've gotten about this over the years.  At the same time, I get fairly few extension requests, as the students who are organized enough to ask for them in advance are the same ones who know how to organize their time to get things done in advance anyway.

[sinenomine]

I'm with sven on this one; my syllabus says that late papers are not accepted without appropriate documentation from someone above me in the food chain.  Even if students are bs-ing, it forces them to jump through hoops in order to get credit for a late assignment.  If they contact me in advance of the deadline, I'm happy to work out an agreement.

I don't accept any late assignments, but am also very liberal about granting extensions if they are requested in advance (and I explain this in my syllabus).   

I've been pleasantly surprised at how few complaints I've gotten about this over the years.  At the same time, I get fairly few extension requests, as the students who are organized enough to ask for them in advance are the same ones who know how to organize their time to get things done in advance anyway.

[bluesocks]

So, what about meeting certain standards / objectives in the class.  I have an expectation that if a student passes my class, they have met all of the standards / objectives.  And, likewise, if they have passed a prereq for my course, I expect them to come in knowing those standards / objectives.

So, if I design a specific assignment and they do not turn it in, they have not met all of the standards / objectives for my class.

Maybe I answered my own question--no passing the course without turning in all major assignments.  Can I have this policy along with a NO late assignments policy (but generous on offering extensions)?  Or, do I have to be more liberal with accepting late papers?
 
What about having the assignment drop a full letter grade if late (unless arrangements have been made with me prior to the due date)? And, I only accept it late up to a week.  After that, students are out of luck... What do you think about that as a policy?

blue

[offthemarket]

The moment it's late, 50% off.
After one week, 100% off.

[tee_bee]

One letter grade off for very day it's late, until it's a zero. And a zero on a major assignment equals F in the course.

Nothing like a deadline with a sanction to focus the mind.

[larryc]

1/3rd of a letter grade per day penalty.

Some people are going to tell you to have a policy of no late assignments will be accepted. This is both capricious and unwise. It encourages students to argue, devise fantastic excuses, go to your chair and complain. A sliding penalty encourages them to STFU and finish the assignment. Win-win.

[kaysixteen]

If the assignment is anything other than busy work, its objective is to teach the skills and knowledge covered therein.   Thus, not accepting anything late and/or only doing so with a draconian late grade penalty encourages not doing the assignment if it cannot be completed exactly on time, and skills are not learned.  The pedagogical merit for this would be exactly what?

[the_myth]

If the assignment is anything other than busy work, its objective is to teach the skills and knowledge covered therein.   Thus, not accepting anything late and/or only doing so with a draconian late grade penalty encourages not doing the assignment if it cannot be completed exactly on time, and skills are not learned.  The pedagogical merit for this would be exactly what?

The pedagogical value is time management.

I often gave medium-stakes paper assignments worth 30-50 points due within 2 weeks of the lesson it was designed to assess.  I gave them a firm deadline [no later than XX date] and encouraged early submissions.  I also told them to e-mail me a draft if they need feedback in their early stages of writing.

There is no reason any student needs more than 2 weeks to write a 3 page paper.  NONE. 

If a chronic illness intercedes, that is an extenuating circumstance for which they will be missing tons of classwork anyway, so will require a doctor's note.

[carebearstare]

If the assignment is anything other than busy work, its objective is to teach the skills and knowledge covered therein.   Thus, not accepting anything late and/or only doing so with a draconian late grade penalty encourages not doing the assignment if it cannot be completed exactly on time, and skills are not learned.  The pedagogical merit for this would be exactly what?

The pedagogical value is time management.

I often gave medium-stakes paper assignments worth 30-50 points due within 2 weeks of the lesson it was designed to assess.  I gave them a firm deadline [no later than XX date] and encouraged early submissions.  I also told them to e-mail me a draft if they need feedback in their early stages of writing.

There is no reason any student needs more than 2 weeks to write a 3 page paper.  NONE. 

If a chronic illness intercedes, that is an extenuating circumstance for which they will be missing tons of classwork anyway, so will require a doctor's note.

I agree. I think it's beneficial for students to understand that doing work on time is a good thing. There will be other circumstances in life where doing something late could have more drastic repercussions than simply 10 points off.

Also, quite simply, having a late policy is a time management policy for the instructor. I find it much easier to grade assignments in one fell swoop than to have them trickling in. It's fairer to the students as well.

[imawakenow]

I don't accept any late assignments, but am also very liberal about granting extensions if they are requested in advance (and I explain this in my syllabus).   

Same here. Both polices are stated in my syllabus, although I leave out the very liberal part as I try to keep politics out of the classroom (just kidding about last part/interthread reference).

I also have not had any complaints. As long as the student contacts me ahead of time and as long as the reason for requesting extension is reasonable, I try to accommodate it. If anything is surprising, it's how rarely students ask for an extension.

Edited to add: I missed the comment and responses about the policy being draconian. I agree with the other posters.

I would add, having worked professionally prior to returning to graduate school, I never had a boss who just accepted late work. A project or report was due when it was due. If I could not make a deadline, I was expected to notify my boss in advance with a reason or reasons why. I didn't get partial credit or a 10% deduction each day something was late.