We recently posted a guide for Subject Coordinators on what new standardised assessment deadlines and late penalties will mean for their Canvas sites. These protocol changes were a response to questions from students on the consistency and perceived fairness of various ‘academic administration’ practices at UTS.
An Academic Administration Working Group (AAWG) was assembled to assess the feedback and determine adjustments could be made for an improved experience. The key changes were:
- Consistent due times across the university
- Consistent late penalties
- Automatic extension of 3 days (no manual approval required)
Working together for a better experience
The working group was created to help the university align various procedures and policies across the faculties. For example, our policies require every faculty to have rules on late assignments and extensions, but it’s up to each faculty to decide how this would work. The AAWG aims to bring faculties to alignment to make due dates and extensions easier for students across the entire university.
I got involved because as a teacher in one of the biggest degrees that combines with other programs (the Bachelor of Business), I observed a lot of confusion and inconsistencies. It was great to work with student representatives to hear about issues students faced and how we could work together to create a single set of rules to reduce confusion. We also had representatives from the Education Portfolio who manage Canvas so that we could explore how standardised due dates and automatic extensions would work, without creating excess administrative work for subject coordinators and academic staff. Amanda White, Associate Professor and member of AAWG
Consistency and equity for students
The University will now move to a single system of 11.59pm due dates for all assessment tasks due as Assignments. Students will also be able to apply for an automatic 3-day extension on Assignments. This excludes quizzes/exams or assessment tasks completed during live class time, regular activities (e.g. weekly at home quiz) where the best X of Y scores are taken for the calculation of the final mark/grade, and final exams.
This change ensures that no matter what faculty students are studying in, the due time should always be 11.59pm and the process to request the 3-day automatic extension is built within Canvas. No late assignments due to them misreading or misunderstanding the due date/time!
Students also won’t need to worry about trying to get to a doctor for a medical certificate or gather other evidence unless they need an extension greater than 3 days (they’ll need to apply for special consideration).
Less admin for academics
Change is constant and there are a lot of other things to consider as set up for Autumn session, from CourseLoop impacts to assessment reform. These changes can add time pressures initially but will mean less admin and cognitive load in the long run. As well as reducing the amount of documentation, these more consistent rules will lessen the pressure on academics to make judgement calls on individual cases.
Although the automatic approval process within Canvas will reduce the administration work for academic staff, there may be impacts on marking schedules and feedback. If tasks are marked immediately after submission, then it is possible that late submissions will receive less feedback or receive marks later than the main bulk of students.
Leading the way with the student experience
UTS will be monitoring students applying for the 3-day automatic extension – if we find some students needing this service consistently – the university can centrally organise someone to reach out and offer support. Consistency shouldn’t mean blanket rules for individuals who require different levels of support in their academic journey. Ensuring student success is at the centre of everything we do continues to drive improvements and advances at UTS. When we improve the experience for students, we also improve it for staff.
If you have any questions or would appreciate some support to begin any of the above, please reach out and book a consultation with the LDT Team.