REF:66-2002-5632528 - Late submission policy

Your comment: The university policy of granting late submissions an instant fail is punitive and unfair. In instances where technology fails or other elements outside the student’s control go wrong, these are not valid reasons the student should be punished. Other universities have an escalating scale depending on how late the submission is, which I think Aberystwyth should adopt.

Our response:

Aberystwyth University’s policies on e-submission, extensions and special circumstances exist to ensure that students are not punished for circumstances which occur beyond their control. However, deadlines for written work are taken very seriously and students need to manage their time responsibly so that they can submit work on time. Aberystwyth University does not operate a sliding scale for late submissions. Coursework should be submitted according to individual departmental requirements and published deadlines. Work submitted after the deadline will be awarded a zero unless a student has been granted an extension. The circumstances in which extensions may be granted and what to do if an extension is not possible or permitted are clearly set out. When something happens beyond a student’s control, and it is too late for an extension request, students may submit a special circumstances form. That said, problems with computers or printing are not considered a valid reason because students should not leave submissions until the last moment and they should allow sufficient time to resolve technological issues before a deadline. Nevertheless we would take, and have previously taken, unilateral action to extend deadlines where there has been a system wide failure. Clear guidance is provided about submitting electronically and what to do if students encounter technology issues. https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/media/departmental/informationservices/e-learning/failed-submission-policy.pdf

a. Attempt the submission in sufficient time before the deadline for any problems to be dealt with before the submission is due.

b. Attempt any practice submissions that are made available using the computer they are planning to use for actual submissions. If their own personal computers are not able to be used for submission, they should use the university computers available in a number of locations across the University.

c. Check that their work has been successfully submitted immediately after submitting. Advice about how to check submissions is available via AberLearn Blackboard as well as on the Information Services FAQs site.

d. Report any problems to both their department and the E-learning Team (elearning@aber.ac.uk) as soon as possible.

e. Save copies of any emails sent by the system confirming submission, as well as taking screenshots of any error messages.