Deadlines
Deadlines for submitted course work
All modules in the Department require students to submit work that is assessed, either summatively or formatively. This work must be submitted by defined deadlines. If the work is not submitted by the deadline, it will not be assessed and a mark of 0 will be given to it. If it is known that required work cannot be submitted by the deadline and there is a good reason for this, the appropriate member of staff must be informed, in writing (which may include email), at least 24 hours before the deadline. If it is agreed that the late submission is justified then you will be informed in writing that the work will be accepted up to the approved later submission time.
Approval for the late submission of work may be given after the appropriate deadline in the case of serious adverse circumstances. If you believe that serious adverse circumstances, such as illness, prevented you from applying for an extension to a submission deadline, or caused you to fail to submit work by the deadline, you must contact the member of staff responsible for receiving the work as soon as possible to explain the situation. If you have independent evidence of your circumstances (such as a medical certificate or letter from a counsellor) then you are advised to produce it. The member of staff administering the deadline will consider your situation and will either
- accept that you had good reason for having defaulted on your academic commitments and that you could not reasonably have negotiated in advance an extension to the deadline. In this case you will be permitted a retrospective extension to the deadline for the submission of your work; or
- not accept that you could not have negotiated an extension to the deadline. In this case a mark of 0 will be given for the work.
It is your responsibility to be aware of the deadlines for submission of assessed work. All such deadlines are displayed on the Department notice board and on the “Physics Undergraduates” pages in DUO. You may also be informed of deadlines by email or via your tutor.
Advice on managing deadlines
Deadlines will be strictly enforced. There are a number of ways in which you can help yourself to meet them.
- Aim to begin work on the assignment as soon as possible after it has been set.
- Aim to submit your work well in advance of the deadline. In any case it is impractical for all students to turn up at the same time, a few minutes before the deadline, so if you can submit it earlier in the day then you are encouraged to do so.
- Take into account your timetable of lectures and other activities occurring near the deadline. For example, if you have a lab report deadline at 1pm and a lecture from 11 until 12 then make sure that you submit your report before your lecture, rather than relying on the hour immediately before the deadline.
- In the case of typed assignments, aim to print out a draft of your work well in advance (a minimum of 24 hours before the deadline). This will highlight any potential issues with software, printing, etc. You then have time to address any such issues. In the worse case scenario if your file is corrupted, say, on the day of the deadline, you can hand in an annotated version of the draft you printed out earlier. We cannot deal with issues such as "the dog swallowed my memory stick" or "my laptop died" on the day of the deadline. These are examples of circumstances that are not normally regarded as valid grounds for deadline extensions, since ultimately the effects of such problems are avoidable.
- Back up your work frequently and robustly.
- If you are relying on ITS printers then check well in advance that you have plenty of printer credits in your account.
- In the case of electronically-marked assignments such as multiple-choice problems or computer programs, do not rely on domestic internet connections on the day of the deadline. Again, dodgy connections are not normally regarded as valid grounds for deadline extensions.
- Do not rely on your friends to hand in your work on your behalf, especially if they are not taking that module themselves, since they may be unfamiliar with the exact time of the deadline, the location for submission or the strictness with which it is enforced. Students have been known to receive zero marks for the Level 4 project report (the largest single assessment component in the entire degree) simply because they asked their friends to submit on their behalf and the deadline was missed.
- Occasionally you may have multiple deadlines occurring close together, especially if you are taking modules from more than one department. This is a feature of life a student; they are known in advance and should be planned for in advance. In order to avoid stressful situations and the subsequent difficulties that such stresses cause, ensure that you have noted down the deadlines very carefully.
- Try to avoid taking new medication shortly before a major deadline. If this is unavoidable (e.g. if prescribed by a physician) then try to make allowances for possible side-effects such as drowsiness or irregular sleep patterns.
- Don't forget that most physics assignments (other than weekly problems) need to be submitted online as well as on paper – allow time to do this.