Hello everyone:

One of the colleges where I teach has adopted a new policy: nothing is late until it is really late. Five days late. The students are not docked until the assignment is more than four days late, so on the fifth day, the students lose 2 points out of 100. Big deal.

On the sixth day, the recalcitrant student will lose another two points. Again, big deal. This goes on until the paper is ten days late, with a penalty of 20 points. After that, he or she can still turn the paper in, with no increase in the penalty.

What is my point? In the world of business, people who don’t show up for work get fired. People who don’t turn in work to their boss on time also find themselves suddenly unemployed.

I would argue that tardiness without penalty is setting these students up for failure in the business world. I may be old-fashioned here. I would love to get your take on this.

So what do you think? Should there be some accountability here? (Can you tell which way I’m leaning on this issue?) Do stop by and let me know what you think of this new look at college.

Best,

Dr. Sheri