“Do the Work On Time”: Help students keep on track with coursework by establishing clear expectations, deadlines, and consequences, while offering support.

This week’s “Be a Strong Student” message to students asks them to do the work on time. Here are some strategies instructors can implement to help support their efforts:

Have a clear late work policy

• Balance compassion with high expectations:
  • Send the message “extensions on deadlines are for exceptional circumstances” recognizing that there may be special circumstances warranting extensions.
  • Make clear that submitting work late impedes learning; some students have become habituated to soft deadlines and don’t understand their effect on learning.
• Encourage students to complete their work by deducting points — but be careful to not overdo it and have students fail classes unnecessarily.
  Use Canvas’s “missing submission policy” to set Canvas to post a default grade at a defined time.
• Be clear about make-up classwork: establish whether and how students can make up missed classwork.

 

Offer clear assignments

• Provide students with clear assignments.
• Scaffold major assignments, helping students to work on the assignment in pieces rather than rushing to complete them all at the very last minute.
• Provide rubrics: rubrics help students understand expectations and requirements (and help instructors grade).

 

Encourage and support students

• Remind students of options for help, including student/office hours, the Learning Center Tutoring, the Writing Center, and Manor librarians.
• Offer clear, timely, and actionable feedback; returning assignments within two weeks, for example.
• Encourage students to regularly check the Canvas gradebook to gain an accurate idea of their grade.
• Encourage them to complete a time management activity. See these examples:
  • Time Management Activity (opens as PDF)
  • Time Management Handouts (opens as PDF)