Should Instructors Consider Changing Default Due Times for their Assignments?

When instructors design their courses, as they assign due dates, they often leave the default due time of 11:59 p.m. for assessments. This may work well for many people, but there are reasons to reconsider whether this is the best time to have as a deadline for both students and instructors alike. Before the creation and rise of online courses, students used to hand their assignments in during class time or bring them to the professor’s office during office hours (Spangler, 2020). As more classes migrated online, due times often became 11:59 p.m. with learning management systems such as Canvas setting that time as the default. This gives students the entire day until midnight to turn in assignments without pushing the due date to the next day (Spangler, 2020). Setting 11:59 p.m. as the default, however, may be counterproductive and even have negative effects on students.

While some students work ahead of schedule, many don’t. A large number of students wait until the last day to complete their assignments (Kotas et al., 2004).  Further, many students may be motivated and influenced by the time of day that an assignment is due. Howard Aldrich (2018), a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, noticed this when analyzing the times his students turned in their assignments. With a 9 a.m. due time, Aldrich (2018) says that 71% of his students turned in the assignment after midnight. When he adjusted his due time to 9 p.m. the night before, with a grace period until 9 a.m., 85% of the students on average turned in their assignment by 9 p.m. (Adrich, 2018). Most of the students were motivated by the expected due time. While this is only one example, it supports the argument that we take a more critical look at default due times and reconsider them for multiple reasons (Spangler, 2020).

One reason is sleep. While many studies have been done on the sleep habits of younger children, not as many have been done on college students, when there is less parent supervision and more erratic schedules (Lund et al., 2010). Studies indicate that a sizable percentage of college students experience poor sleep (Becker et al., 2018). In at least one study, students stated overwhelmingly that emotional and academic stress negatively impacted their sleep (Lund et al., 2010). While it is certainly not the only reason, late due times may push students to stay up later at night and therefore be a contributing factor to a student’s lack of sleep. The effects of bad sleep are numerous. One of the areas affected are higher cognitive functions such as attention, memory and problem-solving (Curcio et al., 2006). As a result, academic performance may be affected (Curcio et al., 2006). Sleep deprivation may also cause emotional disorders such as depression or anxiety (Bergin & Bergin, 2009). You can demonstrate compassion for students’ well-being by setting deadlines that help encourage students to practice healthier sleep patterns (Spangler, 2020).

Another reason is to promote an awareness of future professional expectations that students will face in their careers (Spangler, 2020). Most employers do not schedule presentations or reports to be completed in the middle of the night (Spangler, 2020). Late-night deadlines may signal to students that it is an acceptable boundary to be crossed in future work situations (Spangler, 2020).

Professors may also find benefits to different due times. Some professors would appreciate the ability to look over assignments earlier in the day or prior to the next day’s class session (Aldrich, 2018). Some professors like to grade and comment on assignments the night they are due. Sometimes, assessments are due the last day of the term and professors need to review them promptly. Avoiding the midnight deadline would benefit professors who wait up late for students to finish their work. Avoiding late-night due times shows students the same type of respect for their time that professors expect.

There are many creative ways to set deadlines other than the standard default 11:59 p.m. due time set by Canvas. If you want to emphasize preparing students for the workplace, you can require assignments to be due during the regular business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Spangler, 2020). You can likewise choose to have assignments due at the start of the next class session. Some professors may want to give assessments during class hours to be due at the end of class or shortly afterward.

It is also important to consider other viewpoints. Some students who have work schedules aside from school, or are parents, may depend on the late-night due time. If you want to consider those students, you may make assignments due the next day in the morning to accommodate those students – although it doesn’t help promote better sleep habits. Another method is to be more lenient about late assignments. You can use a suggested due time with a grace period (Aldrich, 2018). Or, similarly, give a due time that allows students to request extensions in writing ahead of time if they need them (T. Zakrajsek, personal communication, June 24, 2022). This will help accommodate working students and parents. You can also show respect for students’ time by communicating your rationale behind your chosen due times regardless of when you set them (Spangler, 2020).

The influence and effect of late-night due times is an open question, and more research needs to be done. You may want to at least consider adjusting your due times to a system that works best for your class, your students, and you. If you are interested in changing the default due time for your courses in Canvas, it is very simple to do so. For more information on how to make these changes, you can watch this tutorial in the Instructure Canvas Community, or view this article in the Learning and Educational Center’s Canvas Corner.

 

References

Aldrich, H. (2018, March 29). Help your students get more sleep: Set two due dates for assignments. Scholarlyteacher. https://www.scholarlyteacher.com/post/helpstudentsgetmoresleep

Becker, S. P., Jarrett, M. A., Luebbe, A. M., Garner, A. A., Burns, G. L., & Kofler, M. J. (2018). Sleep in a large, multi-university sample of college students: Sleep problem prevalence, sex differences, and mental health correlates. Sleep Health, 4(2), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2018.01.001

Bergin, C. A., & Bergin, D. A. (2009). Sleep: The E-ZZZ Intervention. Educational Leadership, 67(4), 44-47.

Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10(5), 323–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2005.11.001

Kotas, P. M., Finck, J. E., & Horoi, M. (2004). Homework habits of College physics students. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 1(6). https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v1i6.1955

Lund, H. G., Reider, B. D., Whiting, A. B., & Prichard, J. R. (2010). Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(2), 124–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.06.016

Spangler, S. (2020, September 28). Cinderella deadlines: Reconsidering timelines for student work. Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/cinderella-deadlines-reconsidering-timelines-for-student-work/