Dealing with Student Excuses

The Internet contains an assortment of student excuses that instructors have received:

I put all my books and assignment work on top of my car. Then I drove off and it all blew away so I can't do my assignment on time.

I had a car accident last night so I don't have a car. The guy who was going to drive me to the lab test this morning slept in, so I missed the test.

Was that due this week?

I went to the wrong room.

I want to write the test again because I need to do better or I will lose my financial aid.

Missed deadlines. Missed tests. Requests for extensions and make-ups. What should an instructor do?

1. Recognize that some excuses are acceptable.

These include instances when a student is involved in an official university activity (which may include athletic activities), absences due to a funeral or an illness or a health related problem or a court appearance or military obligation.

Contrary to what some faculty members assume, student rarely lie when they explain a missed deadline due to a death in the family.

2. Build safeguards into your syllabus.

Deduct points based on how late a paper is handed in. An instructor might subtract five points for every day an assignment is late.

3. Encourage students to stay on track.

For the most part, students miss deadlines because they waited until the last moment to complete an assignment and discovered that it was more difficult and time-consuming than they had assumed. One way to deal with this is to require students to submit portions of a larger assignment in stages: They might have to hand in a bibliography, followed by an outline, and then a preliminary draft, before submitting the final paper or report.

4. Be flexible-but don't be a push-over.

Require evidence. Depending on the circumstances, this might be a doctor's note or a police report.

5. Require students who must miss a test to notify you beforehand.

Students might be informed that if they fall ill on the day of a test, they need to contact the instructor (by phone or email) prior to the beginning of the test.

6. Create alternates.

Allow students to drop one quiz or test. Or create an optional test or final exam, or require students with less than a B average to take the final, while excusing those with a higher average.