Replacing Power with Flexible Structure: Implementing Flexible Deadlines to Improve Student Learning Experiences

Abstract

Traditional course deadline policies uphold the myth of the “normal” student, assuming students face few and equal barriers to completing work on time. In contrast, flexible deadline policies acknowledge that students face unequal barriers and seek to mitigate them. Flexible deadline policies maintain structure while transferring some decision-making power from the instructor into the hands of the student. These practices align with current pedagogical movements in higher education that seek to empower all students to meet learning goals. This study explores student perspectives on, and use of, proactive extensions built into a recent university course. We compare extension use in low-stake, high-stake, individual, and team assignments; observe how extension use changed over the term; and examine student self-reported responses about the policy. Students unanimously agreed that the proactive extension policy was valuable to their learning. They reported that the proactive extensions enabled them to improve the quality of their work and to better manage their academic workloads, acting as self-regulated learners. They also frequently described reduced stress as a benefit. Extensions generally appeared to be used as needed rather than encouraging procrastination. Students also identified that the need to request extensions in other courses was a barrier. The instructor of this course also benefitted from implementing this policy. Faculty should consider implementing flexible deadline policies to improve student learning experiences and to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive learning environment.

Rethinking Penalties for Late Work: The Case for Flexibility, Equity, and Support

“…Students may not always access the accommodations they are entitled to or even share their granted accommodations with instructors. Although accommodations for deadline flexibility are allowable accommodation, there are mixed attitudes around this in higher education (Hills & Peacock, 2022).…”

“…Policies must consider various limits such as faculty workloads and academic schedules but move away from inflexible policies that prioritize faculty control over learning. Policies should be transparent and equally accessible to all students and avoid requiring that students make requests and disclose personal and private information (Hills & Peacock, 2022). This paper will outline several key arguments in support of flexible deadlines.…”

HUGPONG: Teaching as a Team in the Social Sciences (A Collaborative Strategy for Virtual Classroom Innovation)

“…That was a compliance setup that transferred a portion of the decision-making to students in meeting their learning goals as set by their assigned faculty. In an exhaustive study by Hills and Peacock (2022), it was discovered that 'floating deadlines' and extensions improved the quality of work submitted by the students and enabled them better management of academic workloads. This is highlighted in the recommendation, where flexible deadlines are encouraged as a 'proactive' classroom policy to foster a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.…”

Empowering college students: UDL, culturally responsive pedagogy, and mindset as an instructional approach

“…Using constructive critique rather than criticism and treating setbacks as formative struggles within the learning process (not summative failures) are important in promoting growth mindsets in learning (Bose, 2020; Yeager et al., 2014). Recognizing the restriction of timelines in achieving high standards (Hills & Peacock, 2022), creating flexible groupings, and using foundational principles such as UDL to support everyone's growth are also growth mindset approaches. Inspiring students to make meanings out of failure by using instructional strategies which help them to recognize that learning involves productive struggle and ongoing intellectual growth must be included (Livy et al., 2018).…”