Late Work Policy Guidance for Online Courses

You are required to have a policy on late work in the syllabus for your online course. Many online students are working adults for whom life happens, so some flexibility is required to meet the needs of this population. In the past we have promoted the notion of “structured flexibility,” but have found that we are becoming too flexible and not structured enough, which can backfire by allowing students to get too far behind with their work to catch up.

Please develop a late work policy for your syllabus that includes the following:

Points deduction:

Consider if points or a percentage will be deducted for late work. Is the deduction implemented evenly for all late work or does the deduction increase as time passes? For example, 10% off for up to 1 week late, 20% off for 1-2 weeks late, etc.

Timeline for late submission:

Consider if you will put a final timeline on missed work. For example, will you take late work for up to 1 or 2 weeks only, or will you not accept late work after week 7 (in an 8-week course) or week 15 (in a 16-week course)?

Prior communication:

Will you require students to contact you ahead of time to notify you that work will be late? Keep in mind that sometimes emergencies happen and students cannot notify you ahead of time.

Final week:

Discourage late work in the final week due to JWU’s short final grading timelines.

Discussions:

Discussion postings cannot be accepted late. Discussions are similar to in-class conversations and rely upon timely interaction between students. A late posting is equivalent to showing up to a classroom after the class has ended.

Keep in mind that your late policy must consider the nature of the assignments in the course. Are there assignments that build upon each other and need to be completed in sequence?

If you need guidance, please reach out to your assigned instructional designer.