The Impact on Students of Coursework Assessment Deadlines

and Penalties Dr Ray Stoneham

School of Computing and Mathematical Sciencethe University of Greenwich

June 2008

The Impact of Deadlines

• Ariely and Wertenbroch – compared performance of students depending on

whether deadline is • imposed and staged• self-selected and staged• imposed and not staged

– found that fixed imposed staged deadlines improve performance • less procrastination• more focused approach by students

• Are we all "Predictably Irrational" on deadlines?

The Impact on Students of Coursework Assessment Deadlines and Penalties

• Pre-university experience of students• Current Deadline Policies in Universities• Current Implementation at Greenwich• Online system in CMS at Greenwich• Data Collection• Data Analysis• Recommendations• Benefits of Online Systems

Deadlines in Schools and Colleges

• A levels, GNVQs, etc.• Distinction between formative and summative

assessment may be blurred• Deadlines may be flexible• May be different experience for overseas

students

Deadlines in Universities

• Mostly summative• Wide range of policies– Zero tolerance– Sliding scale– Extenuating Circumstances

• Induction is crucial

Freedom Of Information Request • Request sent 15 May 2008• Please can you supply me for the academic years

2006/07 and 2007/08:– A copy of your academic regulations regarding penalties

for late submission of non-exam based assessment (eg coursework, essays, projects, dissertations)

– Statistics for the imposition of penalties for late submission of non-exam based assessment items. Please supply the statistics grouped by main academic structure within the university (eg by faculty or school) and include the total number of items of assessment and the percentage of these items that have been penalised in accordance with the policy in force at the time.

University Deadline Policies and Implementation

Policy Implementation Statistics

Response

University of Greenwich Zero tolerance Not held centrally Yes

London South Bank University Not yet

University of East London Acknowledgement

Plymouth University Zero tolerance Not held centrally Yes

Exeter University Zero tolerance 0.2% Yes

Sheffield University Sliding scale Not held centrally Yes

Leeds University Sliding scale Not held centrally Yes

Hull University Acknowledgement

Cardiff University Not yet

Manchester University Zero toleranceOR sliding scale

Not held centrally Yes

Open University Zero tolerance Not held centrally Yes

The CMS Online Coursework Submission System

• Applies to all CMS coursework• Enforces university policy on deadlines• Integrates with other CMS systems– Assessment Offences– Extenuating Circumstances– Virtual Learning Environment– Staff Intranet

• Integrates with Corporate Systems

The System for CMS Students• Unlimited number of uploads. • The last one uploaded before deadline is the one that

is marked• Upload on the server by 3am the day after the due

date• 3am deadline is strictly enforced• If Extenuating Circumstances approved may have up to

14 extra days• If deadline missed and no ECs then any submission up

to 14 days late may be considered as second attempt and capped at 40%

Statistics for CMS Uploads

• 15,000 Courseworks uploaded by 1,875 Students so far

• 2,800 invalid uploads– 1,300 – wrong file format– 1,050 – ZIP before PDF– 130 – File too big

• 162 Uploads are 10 minutes late• 527 Uploads in 10 minutes before Deadline

The Way CMS Students Work

The Time of the CMS Uploads

Relationship Between Grade and Days Early for CMS Students

The System for Overseas Colleges

• Implemented from May 2008• Deadline is midnight local time in each centre• 4100 Uploads by 687 Students• 26 uploads are 1 minute late• 122 Uploads are up to 10 minutes late• 192 Uploads in 10 minutes before Deadline

The Way Overseas Students Work

The Time of the Overseas Uploads

Relationship Between Grade and Days Early for Overseas Students

The Benefits of Online Submissions• Access to student work is easier• Online marking is possible• Centralised printing• Submission to the JISC Anti Plagiarism service• A complete audit trail is automatically created• Staff time is saved– No more collecting and sorting paper hand-ins– No managing queues of anxious students– No lost work

• Quality Assurance is enhanced– Data analysis is easier– Ensuring policy is being implemented

The Things That Go Wrong

• Students have– Complained when their upload at 3:00:01 was

treated as late and given zero– Renamed DOC files as PDF to enable them to

upload– Uploaded a wrong file (by mistake?) and wanted

to replace it after the deadline

The Recommendations for any Online Upload System

• Make the deadline early in the morning• Put deadlines on Saturdays and Sundays• Prepare students for online submission with a practice run• Warn students that

– they must have the file uploaded completely to the server by the deadline

– server performance may be degraded at the deadline by excessive demand

– penalties for late submission will be strictly enforced– their own technical problems and bad work practice are not valid

extenuating circumstances• Ensure that the server is up to the task, and that server logs can be

examined where students feel they are being penalised unjustly• Ensure all staff are consistent in implementing the system

The Final Benefit

Deadline January 31 each year for self-assessment tax return

£100 penalty plus interest charges