Studies show that building a positive rapport with students is critical for effective teaching. Indeed, in The Courage to Teach, Palmer (1998) argues that “the ability to stimulate strong positive emotions separates the competent from the outstanding college professor.” I have created an after-class activity called “Chat with Your Professor” that gives me an excellent chance to build rapport with students. I share a Google doc sign-up sheet with each class in which students select 15-minute appointment slots to chat with me after class. Chats with students enable me to learn about students’ interests, goals, and struggles, and they give students a chance to ask my opinion about various issues related to their learning and future careers.

How It Works

1. Create a Google spreadsheet with the date of each class when you are available for a chat. Share the spreadsheet with your class using each student’s OU e-mail address. 
2. Discuss the purpose of the chats with your students and show them the Google sign-up sheet. Email students a link to the sign-up sheet and include an introduction to the chats in the sign-up sheet.
3. Place a link to the sign-up sheet in the current module of your course and move the link each time you change to a new module to ensure that students will remember the activity.
4. In large classes, ask students to sign up in the Google doc on their own. (You will be surprised how quickly the slots fill up!) In small classes, assign each student to a date randomly and tell students they can change their date if needed. In the Google doc, highlight the name of the student whose turn it is to chat that day to emphasize that it is their day to chat with you.
5. Send each student a reminder to let them know you are looking forward to talking with them. This also indicates that you genuinely want students to participate in the activity.
6. If you need to cancel a chat, let the student know ahead of their chat time and proactively reschedule their chat for the next available day on the schedule. 
7. Before each student’s chat, read the student’s class member questionnaire from the beginning of the semester so that you have some chat topics ready to start the chat and put the student at ease.

Additional Comments

• I initially used this activity in my General Education courses. It was so successful that I now also use it in my undergraduate courses for majors and in my graduate courses. I suggest you implement this activity starting from the first week of the semester or after the add-drop period.
• When I have chats with students, I want them to be relaxed when they talk with me. I make sure to sit down for the chat, and I ask the student to sit down as well.
• I do not initiate a discussion of students’ course performance during chats. I reserve that discussion for office hours. Rather, I focus on unique points from the student’s questionnaire to learn about each student as an individual.
• I assign all students in small classes to the schedule in random order. I use an online randomizer tool to create randomized lists of names. (Reminder! Never enter full names into the site to be randomized.) I let students know that their names have been placed in random order. If there is time in class, I even show students the randomizer tool for fun.
• If the schedule has empty slots, I remind students that they should sign up for a chat and that I would welcome an opportunity to chat with them a second time. 

References 

Palmer, P.J. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

List Randomizer. Retrieved from https://www.random.org/lists/

About the Author

Helena Riha, Ph.D. is a Special Lecturer in the Linguistics Department and the International Studies Program. Helena has taught linguistics and international studies at OU since 2008, creating 18 different courses. Helena won the OU Excellence in Teaching Award and the OU Excellence in Online Teaching Award. Outside of the classroom, Helena enjoys supporting her high schooler in Rochester High School Cross Country and Track.

Edited and designed by Christina Moore, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Oakland University. Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

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As an older millennial who has endured plenty of “kids aren’t what they used to be” conversations, I hesitate to oversimplify how these days of teaching and learning are harder than years past. But things have been relentlessly rough since COVID--AI disruption, political unrest, global war, economic instability, environmental disasters--and both ourselves and our students are feeling it. Even the most committed of college teachers can’t escape the challenges in class engagement--when they are successful at building class community, they have to work twice as hard to get half as much.

When today’s issues press particularly hard, I find comfort and wisdom in older texts on university teaching such as the late Ken Bain’s 2004 What the Best College Teachers Do. Based on the substantial qualitative study of 67 exceptional college teachers, Bain laid out in browsable form the principles and practices consistent across these diverse people. Among many ideas--now familiar at most universities thanks to Bain’s decades-long work and leadership--was one that struck me as fresh and necessary: “seeking commitments” (pp. 112-114). As we know from every waning new year’s resolution or good habit that stuck, a commitment is not as easy as declaring your best intentions. Solid class commitments require constant cultivation in a way that involves and sustains everyone. 

Saying It Out Loud: The Student’s Commitment

In Bain’s study, professors consistently asked students to formally commit to the course in specific ways such as showing up on time, arriving to class with ideas to share, answering questions in class, participating mutually in group work, and approaching contentious topics with curiosity and empathy. This formal commitment involves explicit articulation and recognition, sometimes as simple as stating the commitments on the first day of class to observable action such as having students fill out a form related to the commitment, writing a personal statement of how they connect to this commitment, and making a plan for how they will fulfill that commitment.

The stated commitment is powerful: for students transitioning from high school, this act communicates changing responsibilities on who is the primary driver of their success. Without a parent constantly in the loop about their education, students themselves are ultimately responsible for when and how they show up in their education. For older students, increasingly the “new-traditional” student (Costa, 2026), the commitment makes transparent the expectations needed to fit formal education into the rest of their full lives.

Of course, it’s not as easy as getting students to pinky-promise they will do the reading for every class. Our commitments have to be selective, authentic, sustainable, shared, and embedded, all of which require our mutual commitment. Consider what 1-2 things you most want students to commit to, and build these into every part of the course, including your own commitments.

Baking It In: The Professor’s Commitment

Before anything is asked of the students, the professor has to be clear on their own role in these commitments, preferably in the same breath as the student’s commitment:

• “To support a prompt start time, I will be here 15 minutes early with the opening question displayed.”
• “To ensure we get the most out of assigned reading, we will explicitly practice close reading and notetaking strategies.”
• “To get the most out of group work, we will draft group agreements, and I will provide timely check-ins.”

Long-trusted voice in teaching James Lang says, “if you care about it, do it in class.” For the commitments to be feasible for students with different learning approaches and lives, they have to be absolutely essential to the course learning outcomes, built directly into every week of the course, and framed with diverse ways for students to meet that commitment. Students have to see it spelled out in assignments, prodded in class discussions, listed at the very topic of rubrics, coming out of the way you speak and present. 

Setting Up the Commitment

Once the groundwork is set and commitments are clear, students next need to plot an environment where those commitments can take root and grow. To keep these commitments, how will they plan their schedules, organize their tasks, build in feedback systems, set routines, and make a Plan B when (not if) their best-laid plans get disrupted? Encourage them to get as specific as possible: When a student opens their web browser, what pages should automatically open to communicate a priority on course work and time management? What academic support will they take advantage of, and under what conditions? Requiring students to make such a plan supports the side of student engagement and student-centeredness that we need to re-engage, of shared responsibility and mutuality. 

While students need to do this individually, the classroom environment itself needs to be set up the same way. For example, if your commitment focuses on being present for deeply engaged learning, how does this determine the tech use parameters in class? If the commitment focuses on leaning into disagreement, what processes would help students manage the discomfort that may follow? Even if we have plans for such questions, we should get student input to reinforce the commitment as one everyone shares.

Long-term commitments require timely checkpoints: At what two points in the semester should students be prompted to review their first-week commitments in order to assess whether they are on track or need to make adjustments to get back on track? This can be done through a simple “progress report” assignment, or build into exam practice or review via exam wrappers.

Recommit to One Commitment

In the flurry of teaching tasks we’re juggling, what one challenge, opportunity, or essential course component keeps coming to the front of your mind? If you had to choose one thing for both you and students to commit to, what would it be? Which commitment would produce the greatest ripple effect in your classes? What would success look like? As you plan your courses, write this commitment in a single sentence and make it inescapable by putting it in the header of your course planning documents or as a prominent sticky note in your trusted notebook. While we can’t neglect the many responsibilities of a course, we can direct their energy to this one commitment.  

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Harvard University Press.

Costa, K. (2026). An educator’s guide to ADHD. Routledge.

Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center. (n.d.). Exam wrappers. 

Moore, C. (2025, October). Reflecting on course performance with the progress report journal. Teaching Tips Blog: Oakland University Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Lang, J. (2025 December 15). If you care about it, do it in class. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

About the Author

Christina Moore is the Associate Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric. She teaches special courses for the Honors College including the University as Science Fiction and Everyday Universal Design. Outside of academia, Christina plays volleyball and practices aikibudo. 

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

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As we prepare our course syllabi for the start of a new semester, considering all of the sections that require review, few provoke as much debate as the late work policy. And what it really comes down to is this: how do we offer our students every opportunity for success without sacrificing our own schedules (and sanity)?

As an instructional designer specializing in digital accessibility, I evaluate course design through an equity lens considering learners navigating the educational system without the benefit of formal accommodations (those who can’t afford to have their disabilities formally diagnosed or those who choose not to disclose diagnoses). If we remove the burden of judgement, we find that flexible solutions also benefit students juggling full-time work, unpredictable shifts, family caregiving, or any combination of the above.

Beyond equity, rigid deadlines may actually work against learning, triggering panic-driven academic dishonesty. Building structured flexibility into a syllabus offers solutions that work as a safety net for students, helping to diffuse anxiety and maintain academic integrity, while preserving predictable grading balance for faculty.

If you’re ready to revamp your syllabus, here are some flexible late work policy approaches to consider.

Flexible Late Work Policy Approaches

The Mastery and Success Criteria Model (UDL Approach)

How It Works

Grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), this approach maintains high academic rigor by holding success criteria constant while offering flexible pathways to achieve them. By shifting grading from a measure of compliance to a reflection of skill mastery, submissions made by the target date receive formative feedback and are marked using success criteria (e.g., “Met” / “Needs Revision”). However, final grades are withheld until criteria are met, allowing resubmissions up to a set date. 

Sample Policy Statement

In this course, we prioritize your mastery of learning outcomes over a rigid calendar. Submissions made by the suggested due date will receive prompt formative feedback. Assignments will be marked using our success criteria (e.g., ‘Met’ or ‘Needs Revision’), but a final letter/numerical grade will not be entered into the gradebook until all core criteria for success have been met. You may revise and resubmit late or incomplete work up until [insert Target Date/End of Module/Grading Deadline]. 

The Extension Without Penalty (EWP) Framework

How It Works

Also known as the dual-deadline framework, every assignment offers two explicit dates: an “Ideal Due Date” (to stay on track) and a built-in “EWP Date” (often 2 days up to 1 week later with zero penalty). 

Sample Policy Statement

To help you manage unexpected workload spikes and stay on track, every major assignment includes two dates: an Ideal Due Date and an Extension Without Penalty (EWP) Date. Submitting by the Ideal Due Date ensures you will receive prompt feedback before our next module begins. However, if life gets in the way, you may submit your work anytime before the EWP Date, no excuses or prior approval needed. Submissions will not be accepted past the EWP without an official university accommodation.

The Predictable Sliding Scale Policy

How It Works

Students can turn in work up to a set number of days late for a flat, predictable daily deduction (e.g., up to 7 days at -5% per day, capped at 35%). Providing students access to a late assignment penalty calculator (opens in a new tab) helps them weigh the trade-off upfront.

Sample Policy Statement

Life happens and occasionally you may need extra time. You may submit assignments up to 7 days past the due date without requesting prior permission. Late submissions will incur a flat deduction of 5% per day late (up to a maximum of 35% at Day 7). Submissions beyond this will not be accepted without an official institutional accommodation or prior arrangement with your instructor. 

The Late Bank Pool

How It Works

Every student gets a total pool of extension time (e.g., 4 days/96 hours) to allocate across select individual assignments throughout the semester as needed. Extension time can be tracked either by whole days or individual hours. 

Sample Policy Statement

Every student will begin the semester with a ‘Late Bank’ containing 4 penalty-free extension days (96 hours total) to use on individual (not group) assignments across the semester as you see fit, no explanations or excuses needed. Once your bank days are exhausted, [insert standard late penalty deduction or hard stop].

Note: explore Becca Cheezum’s Late Assignment Token blog (opens in a new tab) for a similar concept with a bit more structure.   

A Final Argument for Flexibility

A common hesitation related to deadline flexibility is whether or not we are failing to prepare our students for professional careers. A 2022 study by Whillans et al. found that while study participants reported that over half of their everyday work deadlines were adjustable, most avoided asking for extensions because they believed that doing so would make them appear incompetent. However, the same study also revealed that most managers prioritized quality output over speed, and did not view extension requests negatively. By building structured flexibility into our syllabi, we don’t teach students that deadlines are meaningless; we teach them how to navigate actual workplace dynamics, prioritizing high-quality output and communication over panic-driven shortcuts. Ultimately, flexible late policy design can transform your syllabus from a tool of gatekeeping into a mechanism for student equity and growth.

If you would like help setting up your syllabus, building assignments, or organizing your gradebook in Moodle, please email the OU Instructional Design Team at idteam@oakland.edu. I also invite you to schedule a one-on-one appointment with an ID or attend any of our excellent workshops.

References and Resources

Aycock, J., & Uhl, J. (2005). Choice in the classroom. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 37(4), 84-88. 

Cochrane, D., Erueti, B., & Jin, Y. (2026). Impact of a grace period on student submission behavior and academic performance. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 

Fleischman, T. (2024, March 22). Flexible due dates lower student stress without loss of rigor. Cornell Chronicle. 

Lighthouse Preparatory Academy International. (2026, January 14). No more grading. Spark & Signal. 

Novak Education. (2023, February 9). How to universally design assessment practices. The Education Table. 

Rettinger, D. (2022, September 13). A learning culture deters cheating: Here’s how to foster one. Harvard Business Impact. 

Ruesch, J. M., & Sarvary, M. A. (2024). Structure and flexibility: systemic and explicit assignment extensions foster an inclusive learning environment. Frontiers in Education, 9. 

Thomas, B. (2019, August 5). Rethinking deadline and late penalty policies…again. Faculty Focus. 

Whillans, A., Yoon, J., & Donnelly, G. People overestimate the self-presentation costs of deadline extension requests. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 98, Article 104253. 

About the Author

Meredith Gregory is an Instructional Designer at Oakland University’s department of e-Learning and Instructional Support. She specializes in digital accessibility, leading a team of exceptional student IDs in remediating courses for ADA Title II compliance. 

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

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A lot of my students choose online and asynchronous courses because they need flexibility: they are working, caring for family, managing health issues, or working with brains that do not always fit neatly into a weekly schedule. As a neurodivergent person and former non‑traditional Ph.D. student, that was true for me as well, so it has never made much sense to assume everyone can—or should—work at the same pace and intensity every single week of a semester. As long as the work gets done and students are engaging with the course, I try to build in maximum flexibility in how and when they get there.

In most of my courses, students complete weekly reading quizzes, lecture quizzes, and short reflection papers, plus two multiple‑choice exams and a major paper. The core of my flexibility strategy is simple:

• All the “weekly” work is grouped into two hard due-date blocks, one before the midterm and one before the final.
• Within each block,  attach weekly due dates to the assignments in Moodle to help with pacing, but the real requirement is to finish everything before the block closes.

This gives students space to work ahead or catch up as their other courses, jobs, and lives allow. It also lets instructors be generous during the block and then firm at the midterm and final cutoffs, because by that point, they have had every chance.

How to Build in Flexibility

1. Two clear blocks instead of dozens of hard deadlines and late penalty policies

Tell students what their only recurring weekly graded work is (for example):

• reading quizzes
• lecture quizzes
• reflection papers

Then explain how the timing works (for example):

• Modules 1–7: All quizzes and reflections must be submitted before the midterm exam week begins. There is no late penalty for submissions before this deadline
• Modules 10–14: All quizzes and reflections must be submitted before the final exam week begins. There is no late penalty for submissions before this deadline

In Moodle, each assignment still has a due date, so the calendar shows a reasonable week‑by‑week plan, and so students who like structure can simply follow it.

 (It also seems to be the case that students who don’t read the syllabus carefully also follow the weekly due dates!) 

But students who have a big chemistry test, a family obligation, or a flare‑up of symptoms can shift work for my course earlier or later in the block. The message is, “You have from Week 1 until the midterm to complete this first set of work; here is a recommended path, but you get to decide how to use that time.” 

2. A late‑work policy that doesn’t make me a judge of need

One of the reasons this structure works is that it reduces the number of “Can I have an extension?” emails where students feel pressured to provide a story or documentation, and we feel pressured to be generous. 

Getting a doctor’s note, having a diagnosable condition, or being able to prove a disruption is a privilege not everyone has, and, beyond that, I am not interested in being the judge of whose reasons are “good enough” for an accommodation. 

A flexible policy helps avoid a “squeaky wheel gets the extension” system, because flexibility is built in for everyone rather than reserved only for students who feel able to ask.

Students do not have to convince instructors that something “really happened” to use that flexibility; the structure itself already assumes that life and brains are variable.

3. How this differs in my in‑person classes

For in‑person courses, deadlines are firmer because our discussions depend on everyone having engaged with the same readings at roughly the same time. That said, I keep the same spirit of flexibility around communication. 

On the first day, I invite students to let me know if they already know about recurring commitments that could affect their schedule. I tell them they do not have to share details, just the fact that there is something. That way, I tell them, when that “something” collides with a due date, it is much easier for me to say, “Yes, let’s shift this” because we already built that possibility into our understanding.

Students also get two free passes for each weekly assignment type, so they can skip a quiz or reflection when life is hectic without the extra burden of asking for permission (see one example of how late assignment tokens could work). I encourage them to come to the discussion even when they use a pass, and my sense is that, because there is no judgment or pressure, most students still show up and participate—even if they skipped that week’s reading.

Conclusion

In both formats, my rule of thumb is: if students come to me ahead of time, I almost always grant extensions. The online block structure just means that those conversations are needed less often because the course already has more breathing room. Stepping back from my own course, this aligns with what others are finding about flexible deadline models more broadly. Research on flexible deadlines and “extension without penalty” systems, along with reporting on disability accommodations, suggests that clearly structured, no‑questions‑asked flexibility offered to all students can reduce stress, support equity (especially for disabled and first‑generation students), and maintain academic rigor when it is built into the course rather than handled case by case.

References and Resources

• For anyone who wants to see the full policy as I give it to students: Due Dates For This Course
• Zannella, L., & Sutherland, J. (2024). Flexible Deadlines Impact Student Mental Health and Course Engagement: A Mixed‑Methods Exploratory Study.
• Inside Higher Ed. Study explores “extension without penalty” deadline policy.

About the Author

Jessica Cave is an adjunct in Philosophy at Oakland University and a Ph.D. graduate of Wayne State University. She teaches remote and in‑person Philosophy and is especially interested in course designs that work for neurodivergent students and instructors, because that makes courses better for everyone. Outside the classroom, Jessica has nearly thirty years of experience as a hairstylist and enjoys tabletop games, video games, and learning ceramics.

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