Flexible deadlines and its effect on the student

With the semester coming to an end, many students are facing different kinds of deadlines from their professors. Some have specific dates when material needs to be turned in, and others, such as UAA writing professor Shane Castle, leave the deadline up to students. 

This brings up the questions of deadline methods and their efficacy. Some research suggests benefits to hard deadlines, though I myself like the flexibility of open ended assignments.

In an interview with Shane Castle, I asked a few questions regarding his deadline method. During our conversation, Castle helped me understand exactly what this type of deadline method entails.

This particular methodology is not just about deadlines, it is the “classroom ecology”, said Castle. This “labor-based grading contract”, a form of “antiracist pedagogy” as he called it, provides the student an opportunity for successful assignment completion amidst differing background practices or experience, especially among writers. 

Castle says, in addition to a no-deadlines approach, the labor based grading system he uses also has to be joined to have the full effect of both approaches. 

Castle prioritizes the improvement of student ability, through these conjoined methods, Castle helps students by “showing students where certain things need additional intention, telling them how they might do it, making yourself available to help them do it.”  

He also said: “A lot of this is around trying to coax what’s natural out of people when given a situation and acknowledging everyone has their own writing rhythms, and then to pretend otherwise, is just an absurdity. We come to our final products very differently and who’s to say which one of those paths is the right way”.

Castle recognizes the individuality of the student and understands the effects multiple deadlines have in the busy lives of UAA students.

While Castle’s grading and deadline method may be tied to successful submissions, other research on the subject offers a different result.

According to a 2022 study in “Understanding the use and Potential Effects of a No-Deadlines Approach” by Fox et al, the study finds that the most common result of the removal of deadlines, leads to a decrease in assignment submissions. 

While according to the study there was a 28% decrease in submissions in the event of a flexible deadline policy, the quality of submissions improved.

Even though the submission rate may decrease in a flexible deadline policy, it’s understandable that the remaining completed assignments were done by individuals more committed to their work.

This flexibility could be used as a “recruiting” process, as each individual is expected to complete their work in an acceptable amount of time, rather than by a hard deadline. A priority of quantity over quality allows anyone to turn in a relevant submission, but a no-deadline policy could make for one that values work ethic over basic completion.

Students often find themselves swamped with assignments that are all due on the same day, pushing the stressed student to work harder as many deadlines approach during finals. With an open ended deadline, students may feel relief and a sense of time to actually complete their work in certain classes. 

In my opinion, I prefer the flexibility of an open ended deadline. Flexible deadlines offer the responsibility and freedom to the student to decide when an assignment is good enough to be submitted. 

This flexibility can partially omit some of the anxiety many students feel during midterms and finals, providing a choice to the student to complete their assignments in reasonable time. And students may turn in assignments when they are amended, rather than rushed due to a forced deadline. 

Implementation of a flexible deadline allows the student to focus on urgent assignments, as well as allot time for students who are parents, working or simply overwhelmed in life.  While some students may fall behind an acceptable personal deadline as procrastination or life events ensue, many students may feel an ease of tension. 

Flexible deadlines are an advantage to the student, anyone who is lucky enough to be presented with a choice of timely submission should not take this policy for granted.