Lateness Policy

Many things in life must be done both well and on time. (Consider the decision-making of a physician in an emergency room.) You should always strive to do both. Nevertheless, sometimes that is impossible, and so we must compromise on either quality or timeliness. (This is what real-time systems are about, and it is one aspect of my research.)

Assignments that are one or two days late are not a big problem to me, though I do like to grade things in a batch, so that the standards are consistent. If you are going to turn in something late, please be good enough to tell me. Assignments that are very late (a week or more), are a hassle. It means that I have to grade and return the on-time ones, and then grade yours when I've already forgotten how I graded the on-time ones.

Therefore, my late policy is designed to address these concerns. I will penalize your assignment ten points (one letter grade) per day. Obviously, it is pointless to turn something in ten or more days late; indeed, it's hardly worth bothering to turn something in a week late. For something that is half a day late, it might be only five points, but after something is twenty-four hours late, I'm not going to quibble over whether it's 2.5 or 2.75 days late, so don't ask.

For programming assignments, the time you turn it in is the time of the email message to me or the time you run the turnin script. Alternatively, it is the timestamp on the files, so do not modify those timestamps. Use more or cat if you need to look at a file. If you start up vi or Emacs, be sure you exit without saving.

If this is an application assignment in CIS 100, avoid loading the file into an application. If necessary, copy the file and look at the copy. This is a matter of protecting yourself.

Anything handed in on paper will be turned in by putting it under my door at the end of the day, before the building is locked at midnight. Assignments become late after I arrive the next morning and pick up the on-time ones from my floor.

The end of the semester is a busy time for all of us, and I cannot do a good job grading assignments and preparing exams if I am grading a flurry of late assignments. Therefore, the absolute last day to turn in assignments is the last day of classes. If an assignment is due on the last day of classes, that means it may not be turned in late. I'm sorry, but only in unusual cases, where you have gotten my permission in advance, will I accept anything after midnight of the last day of classes.

Excuses

You will almost always have at least a week to do an assignment, so it's hard to imagine any legitimate excuse for turning it in late without penalty. Leaving it until the last day and then having something come up isn't good enough, since you took that risk when you left it to the last day. However, if you're sick for a week or have to go home because of a death in the family, or something like that, the lateness can be excused. Talk to me or to the academic dean as soon as possible; preferably before the deadline.

Scott D. Anderson

Last modified: Monday, August 24, 1998 at 13:12 EDT